w203 comand

[lancebond]

i've finally bought and fitted the comand today.

obviously it needs coding for the cluster to display nav commands, will the coding also allow the ipod to show up on the screen? as at the moment all i can do is select AUX and then control the ipod through the steering wheel.

 

[Alfie]

i've finally bought and fitted the comand today.

obviously it needs coding for the cluster to display nav commands, will the coding also allow the ipod to show up on the screen? as at the moment all i can do is select AUX and then control the ipod through the steering wheel.

The coding wont change the track/artists/playlist display. Its only ever going to appear in the cluster (assuming its a genuine Mercedes ipod kit).

To control the ipod properly you will need the phone buttons enabled aswell if you dont already have phone pre-wire.

 

[lancebond]

your kidding! that is a really badly designed bit of kit in that case.

i figured if it was official mb kit, then it would enable full control via the screen. or at the very least it would show the id3 tag on screen
so if my nav works and the telephone and steering controls work, all the coding does it move the nav to the instrument cluster?

i'll not bother

 

[npuk]

I assume you already had the ipod kit in the car so it was already coded and all you have done is just upgraded to the Comand headunit so the coding needed is just to enable navigation on the cluster.

 

[lancebond]

yeah thats it, the ipod kit i fitted ages ago, didn't need coding though.

the telephone was pre-wired in... so it's just the nav coding needed... but thats not hugely important tbh as i'll be needing the cluster to change tracks on the ipod.

it's total madness mind, i'm shocked at the ipod not working with comand.

 

[npuk]

You didnt need coding for the ipod kit as you have phone pre-wire.

AFAIK it is the same with all Mercedes ipod kits, it only displays track info etc on the cluster. I think only Media Interface displays the info it on the Comand unit as well but not 100% certain, Alfie will know for sure.

 

[lancebond]

so the media interface would replace the ipod kit?

if it shows up on comand, anyone got a part number for it?

 

[npuk]

You would need the MY09 Comand NTG2.5 (one with harddisk based navigation and SD card slot) to fit Media Interface.

I assume you have the older Comand NTG2. One solution albeit not cheap is the mCar which would display the track info on the Comand screen, you could sell the ipod interface to recoup some of the cost. http://www.comandonline.co.uk/mcar_umi.html

 

[Alfie]

so the media interface would replace the ipod kit?

if it shows up on comand, anyone got a part number for it?

Media interface isnt available for the W203 unless you have the NTg 2.5 version of comand fitted.

Considering the ipod kit uses the AUX input it does very well with display in the cluster. What you need to remember is that Comand APS was designed at a time when no-one had ipods or media players. There are some third party offerings that will give you track names on the display and the instrument cluster at the expense of the CD changer. The mCar is one such device.