2012 M5S - OEM Head Unit Upgraded - meh...

:
2012 Mazda5 Sport 6MT
Greetings all,
Today the OEM head unit I ordered, pulled from a 2012 Grand Touring, arrived, and being a nice comfortable 80 degrees out this evening I decided not to wait until the weekend to do the install. Considering we had 18 inches of snow just two weeks ago, and can expect another cold snap in a few days, I decided to take full advantage of this wonderful weather. Disassembly and reassembly were reasonably straightforward, although the face did pop off of the ventilation control module as I was pulling it out; a couple of the tabs broke, but it seems relatively secure when snapped back together. The only other issue was my nearly shorting out the battery when the extension on the socket wrench accidentally touched the positive terminal whilst I was tightening up the negative - oops. The connections on the head unit were exactly the same as the original unit in my Sport, so there wasn't a challenge getting it connected. When power was applied it fired up and worked just fine - no sparks, no noise, no errors or anything else odd or unexpected.

There were three reasons why I wanted to add this stereo, in increasing order of importance:

1) Bluetooth handsfree - I don't like to talk whilst driving, so if this didn't work it wasn't a big deal. Given the missing steering wheel buttons, I didn't expect it to function. I already have a visor-mounted BT widget (that I don't use) that could give this function if desired.
2) 6 disc CD changer - nice, but not really important. I never used the CD player with the original stereo, preferring to use the slot as a location to stash my access card for the office.
3) Bluetooth audio - this was the feature I was most interested in, with the goal of making it easy to see track information and control an iPod/iPhone or similar device with the steering wheel controls.

It's a good thing this wasn't a difficult job, because, frankly, I'm underwhelmed. The CD changer seems to work just fine, but that's all that has changed. Like I mentioned earlier, I didn't expect the BT handsfree to work, but I was expecting the BT audio function to, well, function. When I press the menu button, the 'BT SETUP' option never appears regardless of how many times I cycle through the menu. Damn. Any ideas how to enable it? I'm left wondering if some sort of software update is necessary to enable the BT audio function and if such an option is available to the car owner.

The more I learn more about the electronics on modern cars the more I realize that things just aren't as simple as they used to be in the days before our cars became rolling computer labs, not that I'd want to go back to those days. It's not as though I'm a luddite or technophobe or anything of that nature, having been involved in the computer industry as a hobbyist since the late '70s and professionally since the mid '90s. Looking at the hell Car and Driver went through years ago to transplant a Mazdaspeed3 powertrain into a 5, I'm not terribly surprised at the lack of functionality in my little upgrade. Computerized controls may have simplified design and manufacturing, but have complicated the modification process. Of course, their project was infinitely more complex than mine, which led me to mistakenly believe that my little project was going to be a simple plug-and-play affair. BZZZZZT - sorry, wrong answer, but thanks for playing.

And now I shall sit back and ponder what audio functionality is important to me, and what I'm willing to pay to get it. My phone does just fine for navigation and music, so I really don't see the need to duplicate those functions with a different head unit. My goals with this upgrade were to improve the control of the source material (steering wheel buttons and big knobs on the head unit via BT) and a reduction in the number of wires dangling about the cabin. Now I think I shall go back to my old method of using a 3rd generation 32GB iPod touch (with non-functioning display; soldering error - don't ask...) as a gigantic iPod shuffle, perhaps creating a new aux cable with microphone so that I can speak to it to select tracks and playlists. Not ideal, but cheap and functional. Since I have successfully disassembled and reassembled the dash and console, I can probably find clean ways of hardwiring in some of the cables and generally making for a neat interior.

The stereo in the 2013 model, with its USB connectivity, would probably solve most of my ICE issues, but given what I've just been through I don't think I'm going to attempt that swap. I waited as long as possible to buy my 2012, holding out to see what would change between the '12 and '13 models (hoping SkyActive would be one of those changes), but I desperately needed a car and got a heck of a deal on this unwanted, loss-leader, manual transmission model. I'm quite happy with my purchase, and probably wouldn't have done anything different.

A fortune cookie from a couple of weeks back summed up this little adventure quite well - "To be mature is to accept imperfections", and with that I resign myself to the fact that the ideal solution to this relatively insignificant problem will probably neither be cheap nor simple. I've only lost a couple of hours of time and a whopping $10, but I did gain a six-disc changer and a bit of knowledge, and with any luck my experience will help others.
 
Interesting... seems so strange, might want to talk to your dealership and/or Mazda USA, let them know what you did and see if there isn't something simple that you missed or a software upgrade like you mentioned. Another idea that may help and helped me in the past when I was doing a DIY stereo upgrade in a past car and ran into problems... stop by one of your local car stereo specialist shops and chat to one of the installers... bring along a six pack of beers and let him know if has any info/knowledge/expertise to pass along, there's a six pack in the car with his name on it.

Anyway, if that doesn't work out you might want to look into "Grom Audio". I'm using their product for my '07 with the Bluetooth dongle and it allows me hands-free bluetooth phone capability as well as bluetooth audio streaming... works great. Mine, being for an '07, was a little cheaper than yours will be, but still not too bad... remember, when looking at the pricing and ordering you have to add the bluetooth dongle.

http://www.gromaudio.com/store/usb_..._iphone_android_adapter_direct_interface.html
 
Last edited:
I think even if you get the hardware installed correctly with all if the pertinent harnesses and buttons, you will hit the dealer wall. And that is that the onboard computer does not recognize the head unit you just installed. Mazda dealer would have enable the computer to talk to the new head.

Kind of like installing a new video card but not upgrading the drivers.
 

Latest posts

Back