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My country's market is dominated by second-hand Japanese imports, a lot of the integrated navigation / entertainment systems are entirely useless if you're not
by EdwardDiego 5y ago
My country's market is dominated by second-hand Japanese imports, a lot of the integrated navigation / entertainment systems are entirely useless if you're not driving in Japan, or can't read Japanese.
When my 2005 Mazda MPV suffered a flat battery, the centre console screen which was the navigation / radio / clock / DVD player (yes, really) was bricked, and to this day displays a message in Japanese asking you to please insert the manufacturer's navigation data CD to continue using it.
Which no-one has access to, not even in Japan (my brother has been living there for about ten years, and is very helpful for obscure parts requests), so now my radio and clock don't work, because I don't have a CD with data needed for a 16 year old navigation system that, when working, was thoroughly convinced I was driving long distances on the bottom of Tokyo Bay and was desperate for me to turn right and get back on dry land.
- deadlyllama 5y agoNew Zealand? My Dad's old Subaru Legacy used its display to show Japan rotating around as we turned corners, us always in the sea. I'm onto my second 2005 Mazda MPV (they're great cars). This time I've replaced the head unit with one of those nasty cheap Android things. Basically a confused tablet with some extra hardware, running any mapping or other app you want.
- EdwardDiego 5y agoHaha, yep, NZ, and the 2005 MPV :D That's not a bad idea at all on the head.
- deadlyllama 5y agoThere's a good Geekzone thread on head unit installation. Especially useful if you want to keep the factory reverse camera operating. Note the camera needs 6V. Voltage conversion boards are ultra cheap on aliexpress or if you're in Wellington you could have one from my stash :)
- EdwardDiego 5y agoThank you for the kind offer :) I don't have a factory camera, but would be worth doing a third party one, the visibility while reversing is rather poor as soon as you get teenagers sitting in the back.