Purchasing RCD510

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Hi Guys,

I'm planing to purchase RCD510 for my 2007 VW Passat 2.0 Sports
I raised an query with VW support and they called me back yesterday to tell that this stereo is not compatible with my car.
Tried to get more information from support guy but I think that the was reading it all from a screen and just said "not compatible" because that's what it said there.
He couldn't really give me any valid reasons.

However, I also checked sellers description on the RCD510 and he mentioned that 2007 VW cars which were factory fitted with RCD300 or RCD500 (mine was RCD500) then I will need a new CAN BUS.

Now, that's another £50 on top which I am not willing to spend.
However, if I don't get this new CAN BUS then stereo will drain battery which I am also not happy about :)

A guy in my office said that battery drain can be fixed by swapping yellow and red wires in stereo (something to do with 12V power blah blah blah which I didn't really understand)

Would like to hear your professional opinion guys, is it worth me purchasing the stereo if I'm not planing to upgrade CAN BUS?
Will it still work properly?
Are there any other stereos that are compatible with my car?

Hope to hear from you soon.

[RichardSEL]

I had the RCD500 fitted as standard to my '06MY -- might as well have had valves for all the features it didn't have -- no MP3, no BT, no DAB, no navi, no CD changer. Bought car in '07 and by '09 just had to get rid. Then there was only a few second-hand RNS510 out so tried a cheepo Chinese Waywell (with TV) which lasted for six months before refusing to eject CDs, and the navi never worked (would see sats but not lock onto them)

With second hand RCD510s and RNS510s still expensive, from scanning the forums the three most popular upgrades were to RNS510, RCD510, and MFD2. RNS510 and MFD2 offer navi, but only an RCD510 DAB version offers DAB – but it doesn’t offer navi. There is a RNS510/DAB now. All of them mean a CANbus module upgrade for me -- If your CANbus module is older that revision “E” with software version 0048, then you may have battery drain problems. This is avoided with an up-to-date CANbus module, latest revision “Q”, available from dealer at £136 inc. VAT. There are second hand, and also far east manufactured ones available cheaper. But at that time there wern't and only very few "F" revision and upward second hand modules for sale.

Doing the wires swap, or modifying the fuse box connector, will result in your navi having the Regensburg syndrome: This is only an incomplete fix, as although this has been reported as saving radio stations’ presets, it won’t remember last CD track played. Instead unit reverts to track 1 on switch on. And it doesn’t cause the sat-nav to remember it’s last position when unit is switched off. Instead, the sat-nav will centre on Regensburg at switch on.

There is software available that can modify some functions of your RNS510 so as this battery drain problem does not occur:
Unofficial 272x software and SWL recovery CD (http://vwnavi.com/volkswagen-factory-fit-navigation-systems/rns-510-mfd3-navi-system/firmware/13672-unofficial-272x-software-swl-recovery-cd.html)
You want the one named "Fix for old CAN gateways". You will need to download, unzip it, burn it onto a CD (it’s a .iso file), and then pop it into your RNS510.
Unpack part 1 RAR FILE with WinRAR (free software) and it will automatically unpack all parts into one .iso file. Burn that with IMGburn (free software) to a DVD If file is 4GB or less it will fit on a standard DVD. If bigger you will need a dual layer DVD.

But given there's CANbus modules around for £50 now (if you're willing to take the risk on far east made or second hand) these kludges really arn't worth it.

I gave up and went with a JVC. Even the dealers have been exasparated by VW's attitude and offer a Kenwood DNX521DAB made specifically for Volkswagens. Sat Nav by Garmin. Details at:
Kenwood Electronics UK Ltd. | VW/SEAT/Å*koda/VW Commerical Navigation > DNX521DAB (http://www.kenwood-electronics.co.uk/products/car/vw/DNX521DAB/)
There are others that fit flush into the Passat’s radio aperture such as the Pioneer series. Or the latest Chinese-made direct imports. These are now much better quality than when I got my Waywell in 2008/9.

Hope this wibble helps?

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Definitely helps mate . Thanks :)

However, I am planning to get a non sat-nav version as this is something I don't really need.
When I purchased the car I had a single din stereo in it which I replaced with a different single din stereo with USB support but it looks sooooo damn ugly in this car that I want to replace it.

Although I was going to purchase an RCD510 from China (Genuine VW Stereo removed from cars in China (so second hand) and sold for £70 a pop) I don't really want to mess around with CANBUS upgrades as not really to invest much money into stereo just yet :)

Thank you for detailed description thought, at least I will know what to do in future.

[RichardSEL]

Dunno about your last CD track, radio presets, etc. on an RCD510 if you do the fusebox kludge. I've collected together the useful bits I've seen in the 'net into a Headunits.doc. PM me an e-mail address and will return attach.