Upgrade to comand

[Naffdave]

Hi
I have a 2003 Clk which has a standard Audio 10 cassette if I buy a secondhand command from same model car will it fit and work without to much bother. Basically I'd like to get built in navigation.
Dave

 

[clk320x]

I’d say go aftermarket, the old comand unit that would fit in there is useless

You can still retain steering wheel controls etc

 

[WOODYTHEWISE]

Hi. Try giving Comand online.co.uk
A ring.
Any advice from them will be spot on.
Hope this helps.

Or as above.
.

 

[clk320x]

I had my pioneer unit fitted by COMAND for a very reasonable cost, and they really do know everything about these cars. Mark and Richard were a pleasure to deal with from the start.

Abs

 

[Alfie]

You will need a small loom adapter and GPS antenna but in essence yes it will go in and work.

Only comand will utilise the instrument cluster display. Aftermarket stuff can make use of the steering wheel buttons if you get the right adapter. But, you will adversely affect the value of the car. Most people buying Mercedes seem to want factory options not aftermarket. However this may not be important to you. There are some very good aftermarket units from Alpine and Pioneer.

 

[clk320x]

you will adversely affect the value of the car

I agree, I thought the same when fitting mine but realistically how much is my 03 CLK worth now. Pennies so I thought who cares.

Abs

 

[Naffdave]

You will need a small loom adapter and GPS antenna but in essence yes it will go in and work.

Only comand will utilise the instrument cluster display. Aftermarket stuff can make use of the steering wheel buttons if you get the right adapter. But, you will adversely affect the value of the car. Most people buying Mercedes seem to want factory options not aftermarket. However this may not be important to you. There are some very good aftermarket units from Alpine and Pioneer.

I must be the only person in the world that likes comand had two mercs before with it a 05 SLK 280 and a 06 CLS. I found if you set the the treble and bass controls right you get a good sound and i like the interface apart from only half a postcode ( who the hell thought that was a good idea ha ha).

 

[Chrishazle]

It's not only half a postcode (result of European postcodes being 5 digits not 7-8) it's the cost of updating the maps - and in my case the inability to update beyond 2014-15 because the nav partition on my HDD is too small. I love the scroll wheel so I can easily change scale while driving - so much easier than the little arrows on the TomTom Go 6000 I use in the 968. Equally, programming Comand on the move is much easier than the TomTom - where I basically have to find a layby! What really made me chuckle from day 1 is how polite the comand instruction lady is - Please move to the right in 400 yards...Damned sight more polite than the lady (SWMBO) in the passenger seat!!

 

[PobodY]

I also like COMAND in my CLK, but it's post face-lift so perhaps a different version to the earlier cars.

I agree that it does sometimes give me a headache that you can only get so close with the postcode, but I like the sound of the HK system.

As Alfie says, as I buyer I'd probably pass on cars with after-market headunits. - I suppose the implication is that the vendor saw fit to fiddle with other bits instead.

 

[AltonAnt]

I'm just about to swap my Audio 10 CD for a COMAND 2.0 in an S203.
I have bought the small wiring loom, GPS antenna (although I'll unlikely be using nav) and a Bluetooth AUX in which is my main reason for changing. All bought on ebay which including a COMAND 2.0 unit have cost under £150 so far.
One point that I do not see mentioned is that both the wiring loom and bluetooth adapter come with the 18 pin plug fitted so you will have to de-pin one and transfer to the other. These connectors are not the easiest to take apart but can be done.
There are plenty of written and video guides available to help.

 

[Stratman]

Another small point to consider is COMAND does indeed display navigation information in the instrument cluster but only if COMAND was specified by the original purchaser, otherwise it needs to be enabled with STAR.

 

[AltonAnt]

I swapped mine over this evening and all is good. Canbus integration, lighting and nav working as the unit I bought even had a nav DX CD already inserted.
I just need to sort the Bluetooth as it is being seen by my iPhone so I guess the power isn’t spliced in correctly.

There was already some sort of adapter fitted which I think is related to a Parrot unit that I’ll have to strip out at some point.