There were a few curveballs here, but wanted to share that by and large this is a straightforward install, if time consuming. I couldn't find any documentation on the r59 install, so just dove in.

1) if you go with a license plate light cam, you have to solder on the wires

2) you have to drill a hole in the license light handle, and the trunk lid

3) the autoabc install video walks you through the box, largely

4) it fits perfectly under the CD player, plenty of room

5) you have to remove quite a bit of plastic - trunk lid cover, firewall speaker panels, etc -, to route the wiring into the cabin. Be careful, these are super brittle from age.

 

Do you find that squeezing the display for Auto/Carplay to be quite limiting on the original screen size? I've been tracking down every type of Android head that's been made for the R5x series and all of them have got something I really don't like about them, so my thinking is to either go for maximum usability and buy one of the latest designs that mimic the 4th gen cockpit and stick a whopping 12" LED dish in the car and then use the middle bit of that, or to keep the car as standard as possible and just do similar to what you've done. I just think that the small screen and lack of touch would make it too fiddly to use, I'm not someone who naturally sits there saying "Hey Google, take me to Tesco", or "Play music by Kajagoogoo" etc (assuming this hooks up to some sort of mic that is).

 

that’s amazing work! thank you for the detailed description.

 

I would have gone with one of the big screens - touchscreen is definitely nice to have - but every one I've encountered doesn't seem to fully integrate, and/ or loses some measure of oem functionality. Last I looked, none of them support setting the clock, which I would find annoying. A whole back I tried an aftermarket lcd gauge cluster, and it gave me a cel.

It's actually surprisingly easy to use - the rotary controller works perfectly fine. It's not fiddly. 10/10 would recommend. It does come with an external mic, which input on the a pillar, and it works fine even with the top down.