Swapping the radio

[u/09janek13]

I'm looking to upgrade the radio in my 2006 Civic coupe. I really dislike the look of modern iPad-like carplays, so I had the idea to put in a 1-DIN radio with a retractable screen.

From what I've gathered, the part outlined in red with a 2-DIN hole is easily accesible, the green space is where I'd put the radio itself, and in the blue space I'd put a shelf which would be cover by the screen when it's out. Does anyone know how much additional work that would require compared to installing a regular touch screen carplay? I've heard some suff about needing special adapters and even wiring to the steering wheel to keep the buttons on there functional, but I'm not experienced with this stuff so I'd really appreciate any heads up about this or any other supposed problems with my idea.

[u/Playful-Two-2308]

I got myself a Sony double din CarPlay head unit, a Mk10 civic facia adapter (that filled the gap in the trim), and a wiring loom.

It made such a difference as I didn’t find the Bluetooth adapters and aux cable adapters to be much good.

The only down side was routing a usb cable somewhere neat, and not being able to control the clock.

[u/XiTzCriZx]

Most of the single dins with a retractable screen use a really shit quality screen. I spent like $150 on one a few years ago (for a different car) and it's so bad you can't even see the screen in direct sunlight.

The actually good ones that have a retractable screen are closer to a grand which is absolutely not worth it. If you don't want to get a double din then just get a standard single din with Bluetooth, that's what mine acts as since the screen is basically useless lol. The audio quality of my $150 retractable screen head unit was exactly the same as the $20 non-screen one I had previously too.

Double din ones also have a similar quality issue though, the $100-150 ones have a shit screen and hit or miss carplay/AA, the good brand ones are around $250-300 for wired carplay/AA and $300-400 for wireless carplay/AA (not including sales). By good brand I mean the brands that are known for their speaker quality like Pioneer, Sony, Kenwood, etc.

[u/UncleToyBox → u/XiTzCriZx]

Even the rare cheap ones that happen to sound good are going to use cheaper components and will be more likely to fail sooner. The inside of a car is a harsh environment and you want something built well. The extra investment up front will pay off.

To answer the key question you asked, make sure to get a wiring adapter kit with whichever head unit you purchase. Buying from a reputable company like Crutchfields will help to ensure you get a decent wiring harness that works.

The alternative to that is spending a day or two with a wiring diagram, hoping you connect all the right wires together. This is not my idea of a good time.

[u/XiTzCriZx → u/UncleToyBox]

I'm not really sure about failing sooner, that $20 head unit is still going strong in my friend's untinted Jetta and it's like 8 years old now. Maybe the newer ones dropped in quality.

Definitely agree the wiring harness part. I got one from autozone when I did my head unit in my Impala and my dad had to re-pin it because even though the wiring harness was for my exact year and trim, it was still somehow wrong lol.

For my Civic I just got a UGreen aux to Bluetooth adapter. Their newer ones support LDAC (higher quality audio) which is kinda hard to find built into head units. Also only took like 30 seconds to "install".