Chip

I've looked into having the dealer add the oem navigation to my non nav 2011 mustang GT premium with the shaker 500 and they told me at this point it's not an option! So my question is if I found a unit out of a wrecked mustang is it possible to swap out everything (nav unit and bezel with the heater controls) and have the dealer program it to work in my car?

OAC_Sparky

Yes, of course you could "get it to work" but there are quite a few components and harnesses that you would have to recover from a wreck ($$$) and tear apart your dash to install them all ($$$). Dealers in most cases want a plug-and-play solution because it isn't worth their while to deal with troubleshooting and providing a warranty for a Frankensystem. It adds a lot of complication because the heater controls aren's just heater controls, they're dual zone climate controls.

What most people would suggest is to either go to an aftermarket solution (you can get a decent NAV/DVD/backup cam head units for under $1000, some which can even be integrated with SYNC, so I am told); or just use a portable GPS unit.

dmhines

I've been researching this question since the only Sunset Gold GT I could find in my area was non-nav. IF you had a complete parts car at your disposable ... and was able to swap out EVERY different component and wiring harnesses it MAY work. More than likely the dealer would also need to program something to enable all the features ...

So as MYTHBUSTERS would say ... PLAUSIBLE ... but highly unlikely to get it to work. I've seen a couple on eBay for $1K+ and I'd love to experiment ... but not for that kind of money.

There is a setup on eBay right now ... all the harnesses were cut ... stupid. It's not optioned for heated seats so I couldn't use it anyway ...

LLZuB

if I was in your boat, i'd just get an aftermarket unit

I have an aftermarket unit in my other car that does pretty much everythign sync does...

not only will an aftermarket unit do eveyrthign sync does..it'll sound better too

but I didn't want to open up the stang like I did with my last car so I ordered factory nav...but if i didn't order it..this is the route i'd take

Chip

I was thinking that the wiring harness that I currently have would basically be a plug and play. I don't think that the harness would be different! as far as going after market the only option right now is to go with the Metra adapter because of the heat and ac controls and I'm not really crazy about what that looks like! My buddy owns a 2010 Raptor with the stock nav unit with Sony speakers from the factory and his stereo blows my shaker 500 away!!!

dmhines

You could always buy the setup and give it a try. I have not found anybody that has actualy TRIED it ... However a Ford Tech said it could not be done.

If I could get everything out of a junker for $400 ... I would attempt it ... but all the salvage yards want a lot more than that ...

LLZuB

if the climate control will plug in without any modifications, then buying just the center console without the factory nav would be a awesome mod. That way you can just throw in your own Nav screen and still have your climate control functioning and looking OEM

Itravelalot

I understand the need to make everything look nice in the car, but I refuse to buy something from Ford that is so very overpriced like the NAV is. Come on Ford, even my phone has GPS, and I do not even need to pay for map updates or traffic subscriptions. I think if you just put the work that you would have to pay to get the OEM stuff in your car, you could have a really neat aftermarket solution. I hate apple, but I would even consider an Ipad mod before I would OEM. I travel a lot and use GPS a lot and I trust the GPS systems I use now more than I would Ford OEM. I like Ford, but they are just plain greedy with the price they charge for Nav.

Overboost

If you really take the time to do the homework on considering this swap, you quickly realize that it's just not cost-effective.

Keep in mind, to correctly do this install, you'd need several things to start, including a Sync-equipped vehicle and a boatload of parts to integrate with the existing controls. Many times, you're going to have more wiring changes than just the main radio harness. You'll also be adding in a GPS antenna, and a CD/DVD slot to read the disc (although this may be behind the unit itself, I'm not sure).

I priced out a similar install in my previous car, and I already had the screen. The harnesses alone were over $3500 through Mazda service parts. Further investigation showed me that short of a total interior tear down, this was going to be a nightmare install.

That said, I'd suggest simply finding yourself an aftermarket nav head unit, or ordering the vehicle with it in the future. Ford (to me) is getting it right with allowing MyFordTouch and nav to be selected as separate options. The $795 price is a much easier pill to swallow than a $2400 one.

eurocobra

OEM Manufacturers charge $2000 for essentially the same nav you have in your phone as well as a $100 portable unit (only with a larger screen)? Well I have disassembled the entire system in an effort to slightly modify it to have European maps. Well the fact is the system in much more complex than a simple GPS receiver which is integrated in a portable device. One thing for sure is Ford and other manufacturers do not make the hardware and there are costs for those parts.....GPS receiver, monitor, console control panel, and they are also required to pay for the map licenses. One map set costs well over $500K on a large volume. Trust me I tried to come up with a solution for Europe, Austrailia, and Asian maps for people who export their cars. Then there are the engineering costs to integrate the additional functions as well as the development of the firmware/software.

So when you look at the number of portable nav devices - phones and TomToms, there is no comparison in the small packaging/high volume sale of these devices world wide as compared to the buyers who opt for in-vehicle communication/nav system. I wish the prices were much cheaper but I know why the cost is around $2K.

Learn more about the system also before you make such a statement. You may be surprised about the system's features. See the videos below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0DS_...eature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtIrQ...eature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWVmZlDseNk

dmhines

You would have quite a few extra buttons and a CD slot cutout. Also ... There is no space behind the factory opening for a full size Double-Din HU ... the factory only mounts a thin LCD display there.

Itravelalot

I stand by my statements. No matter what their excuse is for not being able to get me a Nav solution cheaper, I am not going to pay $$$$$$ for something that honestly my Droid does better. Maybe they should have used Google instead. I know the features that the Nav system has and they really are not that unique. I have a $200 GPS from Best Buy that does essentially the same things. It checks traffic and fuel prices as well as the other things that Sirius "Premium" services seem to do from the video, except that it comes with 1 year included, rather than just 6 months. It also does google searches The only thing that I am unsure if it does is voice commands, but believe me, it is not all that hard to find GPS devices that do have voice navigation included, some as low as $100 at Best Buy. Tell me, which great features do you see that I would not have in any other good GPS reciever??? Have you ever used a Droid? I usually just use it because Google makes such very good search tools that even good GPS devices often do not have. Yes, the droid can do voice recognized navigation. I am really not a wet behind the ears noob in the tech field. I travel a lot and know the good and bad points of the GPS devices I have well. Even the droid does have its weak points, but if I wanted something better, I would certainly not pay thousands more for a GPS device than I can get elsewhere for far far less. Sync already comes with the GT premium without needing to shell out extra $$$. There are some nice features that the Nav system has, but there are also amazing things that aftermarket stuff can do for a lot less, that Ford Nav cannot. And about my comment that Ford is greedy with its high Nav costs, if Best Buy can get maps and most of the same features into a $100 to $200 insignia GPS, then Ford would have to be a lot more stupid than I think they are if it really costs them $2000 to make a gps unit fit in their vehicles. Even a $500 fee per unit for maps would be completely nuts. Maybe for an individual who needs specialized maps of someplace other than the US, but definately not a major company that sells as many cars as Ford does. There is no way around it, either they are making buttloads of money off of the Nav system, or they are morons. For far less money, I can get stuf that really does way more. How do you really have the nerve to come and say that I am not aware of the features? Maybe you should get out and look around at a few other GPS devices before you decide to make your statements. If tons of other much smaller companies can do it for far less, then I am sure that Ford can too.

LLZuB

^ you can't compare apples to oranges man

the 2400 is actually a realitic price for this unit..if you go and look at the top of the line units from alpine or pioneer..they will run you the same price and still won't have everything that sync has

top of line pioneer goes for 1799.99 canadian on crutchfield now...and like you said theres no good aftermarket kits to install it.

add the cost of the harness and the install kit, and your close to the price for factory..you can't compare a entry level reciever to sync, because it has a hardrive and voice command and everything

stangfoeva

you're wasting your time man. If people want to believe they can get the same features on their droid, garmin, etc. then so be it. Maybe those devices do fulfill their needs. But they can't say the system is overpriced. Look at the cost of all the other oem nav options, ford's price is right in line and for a system that is the best factory nav/entertainment.

Sure aftermarket is cheaper, it usuallly is. But you get what you pay for. You'll have wires all over the place, or a giant suction cup on you windshield, or tape on your dash.

Having all those features integrated cleanly onto a huge lcd is more than worth it to me. I use it everysingle day

eurocobra

I agree!!!

I didn't want to be one of the guys trying to save a few hundred bucks and searching salvage yards to get plug and play parts. Once you do the math it is cheaper to just pay for the factory system.

I have multiple portable nav devices and tech toys that will make your head hurt.....modded/hacked Clarion MiND Tablet running Windows XP, Samsung Galaxy, IPAD, TomTom devices, and a couple of netbooks to name a few and all of which have a navigation solution or program. I am also an electronics technician so I really understand most devices and system features better than most end users. I knew of no better solutions than the factory system and the next generation of MyFord Touch will be even better than the current system.

I bought the Nav system in my car. I knew before hand that I had challenges to get Euro maps. I also knew that I would have the car equipped no other way than with nav. I understood that the system does more than nav and I would like to use certain features daily. I have never used the factory nav or Sirius but I feel I got my moneys worth especially when I look in every other mustang and see the difference in my dash as compared.

I did however look at other cars before I commited to the 2011 mustang and all Nav systems cost over $2K (including $2600 of the Jetta TDI). So as I began to compare the features and nothing came close to comparing to the touch screen nav from Ford with Sync. I wish I could recommend a way to retrofit the factory nav system but it is quite difficult and more complex than most can even comprehend. Trust me I have open lines to correspond with the system engineers.

Good luck

OAC_Sparky

Very true. People expect the world and expect it for free.

For one, the NAV unit isn't JUST a NAV unit. it's a NAV unit, MP3 player/jukebox with a 10GB internal drive, satellite radio, handsfree interface, HD radio, climate-control interface etc.

It's much much more than JUST a NAV unit. As much as I applaud the efforts of the guy who did the iPad interface, it's still not as sturdy as an OEM setup (jury is out on how well it'll hold up in the hot and cold a car interior goes through) and you still have a $500 iPad sitting out waiting to be stolen for the effort of busting a window.

$2000 is not an unreasonable price for an integrated solution. If you can do better, more power to you.

Double-EDad

I am one of those for whom $2340 was simply too much money for the Electronics Package (EP) option. I don't deny that it's wonderful. In fact, I got to live with it in a dealer loaner car for a couple of days and really grew fond of it. But came away happy that I didn't spend $2340 extra on my car for it.

That said, my advice to the O.P. is if the EP is what you want, then you ought to just buy a car that already has it. The other posters have already proposed other good compromises. But the long and short of it is that while you can make it work (anything is possible if you throw enough money at it), it will require lots of time, money, and patience, something I rarely have enough of myself.

BlueSkyVert

The Toyota dealer told me that swapping an OEM nav into my 2010 Tundra was "impossible", but once I found someone that knew these units inside and out, I was able to source the HU, antenna, and he made the harnesses for me based on Toyota schematics. Normally I go with aftermarket units, but the design of the '10 Tundra's dash made it very ugly to do so.

Like others have said, it's probably not that "easy" for the Mustang system which has some hidden parts. But if you can find a vendor that has a good knowledge base of Ford electronics, that's a great first step.

MustangGTPilot

FWIW I did spring for the nav system after a bit of thinking about it and can say it was by far the best choice I made (apart from the car ). It makes things so much easier and right at your finger tips, phone, climate, radio, nav etc., and far less "fiddly" than than an after market nav mounted on the window. Not to mention a far less cluttered interior.

Like previously mentioned, the price isn't out of line if you went to Best Buy et al and got a system installed that could do almost the same.

eurocobra

When you see how nice the mustang interior looks as compared to a couple of European cars which are reknown for nice interiors, I think it the mustang is getting closer to that level of quality. Not quite on the Audi level yet but the electronics package is a step in the right direction. One thing for sure is the Ford Electronics out performs the other two systems handily for nearly the same price. No matter which vehicle/manufacturer you look into, the hardrive based nav systems are not a $500 - $750 option. It costs to add that feature. Not only FORD charges over $2k. Most other similar offerings will set you back more for less. I will state it again, I cannot use the factory guided nav because the map data contains only North America and I am in Europe. I am still more than happy with the system. I just entertain my friends with the Dave Chapelle DVD that is in the dash for example and watch their reaction to the overall system. I also switch between the Jukebox source for audio and my USB port for the IPOD for demos. I also have 30 photos of family saved to the home screen which switch randomly. Many other settings and features to configure. At night with the ambient lighting and a music source playing it looks really nice. The equalizer/split home screen view doesn't look over busy. It looks pleasant. After market Clarion, Kenwood, and Pioneer systems offer similar features but this is seamless and well sorted out from the factory.