Replacing the Head Unit in a 2006 Mustang

[ARK]

Anyone replaced their head unit in an S197 Mustang? I still have the original Shaker 500 in mine and have been looking into getting something nicer. I have a 2006 Mustang GT with a light interior.

I've been worried that any new head unit wouldn't look good because of a mismatch between the interior and the colors on the replacement head unit. Also been worried about switching between radio stations and adjusting the volume, one of my hangups has been that without controls on the steering wheel, I wouldn't want to lose the physical buttons volume knob that the Shaker 500 has. It sounds minor, but I like to fiddle with it a lot while I drive, and have never liked the touch systems newer cars have.

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[pb3]

Anyone replaced their head unit in an S197 Mustang? I still have the original Shaker 500 in mine and have been looking into getting something nicer. I have a 2006 Mustang GT with a light interior.

Yes. I upgraded my 2007 GT Premium S197 with a Kenwood DNX 7100 touchscreen DVD/CD/AM/FM, USB/MP3, integrated Garmin satnav, integrated hands-free Bluetooth system.

Head over to Showcase and look at my "Griggstang" post. One of the photos is an interior shot showing the upgrade.

The factory opening in the S197 is "double-DIN", so any such unit should fit. You might have to do some minor tweaking to the mounting hardware and fascia but, as you can see, my installation is seamless and looks like it came from the factory.

I bought the system from Crutchfield, mainly because they had good instructions and the correct harnesses. I only had to make one mod -- installing a LM7805 12v-5v IC on the power-up signal line to the Shaker power amps. Without the IC, I was getting a "thump" upon powering up the system. After the mod, no issues.

The installation took me a leisurely two days. The center console has to come out in order to remove the trim to get the head unit out. I also removed some of the foot well and A-pillar trim in order to invisibly run the hands-free Bluetooth mic wire, and to place the GPS antenna near the windshield.

Once finished, the unit integrated perfectly with the vehicle - no issues and it worked reliably and flawlessly.

The tactile controls on the Kenwood were a bit small -- sometimes hard to target. Technology has moved 13 years since my installation so I'm sure you'll have a lot more choices.

Good luck.

 

[ARK]

Thanks @pb3, that’s a nice looking mustang. Did you find your Kenwood system made for a better quality sounding radio than the Shaker 500? Mine is a premium too.

 

[pb3]

@ARK. It did improve the audio quality, although the Shaker amplifiers and speakers are fidelity limited.

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