Headunit help and suggestions

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BasicRef
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2020 5:25 am

Hey guys. Brand new owner of a bone stock 2012 Kizashi. Price was right, so were the miles and she's an upgrade over my 2004 Trailblazer. One of the things that almost kept me from buying is the complete lack of any way to stream music from my phone to the car. No aux, and I have the factory headunit with no bluetooth. All I have is the USB in, which does not work with my phone. No matter which option I choose (Mass storage, File transfer etc) it says "USB UNSUPPORTED".
So, naturally, I'm not gonna go without streaming music. Downloading is so 2012. I get bored of the same songs so I need to listen to my Spotify premium or SoundCloud streams. My question is as follows, is there anyway I can upgrade from the factory (Panasonic I think) headunit to the Rockford Fosgate one that supports bluetooth audio streaming? I know my steering wheel doesn't have the call buttons, which is what is needed to control the bluetooth functions so I'm thinking it kinda won't work right, even if it would look the most natural. If that's a no go, what kind of headunit can I get that will look seamless or close to stock? Is it worth going with an android double din, and if so are there any recommendations? I'm not above just buying a cheap headunit like the Jensen CMR8629 or the Dual XDVD251BT and throwing that in there is that's what I have to do, but I'd like it to look as seamless or clean as possible, basically I don't want any gaps or weird fits or mismatching aesthetics or anything.
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Woodie
Posts: 1167
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 10:09 am
Location: Laurel, MD

Welcome BasicRef!

The USB input is only good for charging or a USB stick, won't talk to a device like a phone or iPod.

EDIT: Maybe I'm wrong about that, look here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5283&p=51514&hilit=stereo#p51514

The Rockford-Fosgate front end will plug right in there, but it's designed to work with a big amplifier in the trunk, I think you need to do the whole system. You're probably best off just putting an aftermarket front end in there, lots of folks have done that, there are trim plates available that make it look pretty good. There are examples on here if you search around the site.
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bdleonard
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 4:39 am

BasicRef wrote:Hey guys. Brand new owner of a bone stock 2012 Kizashi. Price was right, so were the miles and she's an upgrade over my 2004 Trailblazer. One of the things that almost kept me from buying is the complete lack of any way to stream music from my phone to the car. No aux, and I have the factory headunit with no bluetooth. All I have is the USB in, which does not work with my phone. No matter which option I choose (Mass storage, File transfer etc) it says "USB UNSUPPORTED".
So, naturally, I'm not gonna go without streaming music. Downloading is so 2012. I get bored of the same songs so I need to listen to my Spotify premium or SoundCloud streams. My question is as follows, is there anyway I can upgrade from the factory (Panasonic I think) headunit to the Rockford Fosgate one that supports bluetooth audio streaming? I know my steering wheel doesn't have the call buttons, which is what is needed to control the bluetooth functions so I'm thinking it kinda won't work right, even if it would look the most natural. If that's a no go, what kind of headunit can I get that will look seamless or close to stock? Is it worth going with an android double din, and if so are there any recommendations? I'm not above just buying a cheap headunit like the Jensen CMR8629 or the Dual XDVD251BT and throwing that in there is that's what I have to do, but I'd like it to look as seamless or clean as possible, basically I don't want any gaps or weird fits or mismatching aesthetics or anything.
The 2013 SE AWD had a non-Rockford head unit with Bluetooth, which should drop right in. I know because that is what was in my car until I replaced it with an aftermarket Android Auto setup. You wouldn't have the steering wheel controls for the phone functionality (and I have no idea if the microphone exists in the cars that didn't come with Bluetooth), but the other audio controls on your steering wheel should work fine (volume, source, mute, etc) . The part number is 39101-57L21 . For quick photo identification the face plate, below the mute button is PA57L2

In order to get the controls for calling, you would need to swap to a steering wheel which has the Bluetooth calling buttons, or wire your own set of 3 buttons in to the proper spot in the connector. IF it was missing the mic unit, you would also need to wire in an appropriate microphone. If your car lacks cruise control (I think this was only missing on the base manual transmission models), the replacement wheel with the cruise buttons would also enable cruise control.

Here are some identifying pictures of the unit used in my car:
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Face Plate.jpg
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Label.jpg (75.56 KiB) Viewed 2887 times
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Woodie wrote:Welcome BasicRef!

The USB input is only good for charging or a USB stick, won't talk to a device like a phone or iPod.

EDIT: Maybe I'm wrong about that, look here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=5283&p=51514&hilit=stereo#p51514
Not sure about the non-RF units, but the RF units definitely take USB input from devices for audio. I've been using an iPod via the USB port since I got my Kizashi in 2012 and it's very reliable.
I use the Bluetooth for streaming audio from Spotify on my Android and it works very well.
bdleonard wrote: You wouldn't have the steering wheel controls for the phone functionality (and I have no idea if the microphone exists in the cars that didn't come with Bluetooth), but the other audio controls on your steering wheel should work fine (volume, source, mute, etc).
It's very easy to check for the mic. It's located in the same overhead panel as the light buttons/moonroof controls.
Drop down the sunglass holder and remove a single screw. You can then remove the panel and unclip the main harness. If the vehicle came with a mic, it would be visible in the panel from the backside.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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