djtech2k

Hello All. I just got my 2007 C230 and it has the buttons and setup for the audio system to use a mobile phone via bluetooth, but the dealer said that I would need to buy an extra accessory for it to work. I am a tech guy, but know almost nothing about Mercedes. I did a little research and I see some bluetooth thing but its like $500. What exactly do I need and where do I get it? I want to use the built-in mic and speakers for my existing smartphone with bluetooth, but I do not want to pay $400 for it. I have several other aftermarket handsfree sets, but I really need to use the one in the car if I can.

So does anyone know what I need, how to get it, and how to get it for a reasonable price?

Thanks in advance!!

djtech2k

Any ideas?

Diesel Benz

I interpret you are from the US and the car is a W203?

You can get the BT adapter at a lower price but I'm guessing your car isn't wired for a phone kit, meaning you would need the microphone, the UHI/MHI connector kit with some panels, the actual phone interface control unit, ideally the phone antenna and antenna compensator but these can be omitted if you would only use the US BT HF adapter.

If you post (or PM) your VIN, someone at the forum could check what you already have in the car.

Some more info here that should mostly apply to your car too:
http://home.earthlink.net/~phdwebsit..._bulletins.htm

djtech2k

I am from the US and it is a 2007 C230. I do not know for sure, but I think the car is wired because it has the controls on the dash and on the steering wheel. That may not mean anything, but the salesman said I needed the bluetooth piece for it. I just dont know. Also, I dont want toe Motorola phone that Mercedes sells. I want to use my HTC phone with it since Bluetooth is universal.

Here is my VIN. Can someone tell me what I need and where to get it cheap?

WDBRF52H27F899567

Diesel Benz

OK, so it is an early 2006 build date car, 203.052. A good deal of options but nothing about phone kits or phone pre-wiring.

The buttons on the wheel and head unit do not mean anything for phone support. I'm afraid you do need the full list of parts I mentioned earlier.

MB has two BT flavours, only HF sold in the US (so it isn't exactly universal). Phone implementations differ, basic HF works fine usually but phone book download isn't universal.

The OEM kit would not be cheap, you could ask from www.mbenznl.com if you are seriously interested.

djtech2k

Ok, thanks for the info, but I am still not clear. What is HF?

You say my car is not bluetooth ready? The dealer said all I needed was a bluetooth "adapter", which was around $500. Are you saying I need more than that?

As for the phonebook download, I dont know that I understand the point of it, but I just need to be able to use bluetooth to use my phone to talk/call/answer. I would like to be able to use it for my zune also, but thats for another day. What do I need in order to do all this. I must say that this is much more complex than I thought it would be for a Mercedes. I would like to be able to use my phone via bluetooth and not spend more than a couple hundred dollars if possible.

Sorry for all the questions, but I am very baffled.

Skylaw

See the AWS site (Mercedes' partner in the U.S. for handsfree communications). http://www.wireless4mb.com/ then click on connectivity options. Once you have chosen a device (cradle, Bluetooth/cradle combo unit, or Bluetooth puck) then see the compatible phones.

You are NOT limited to Motorola phones, and you need not buy from AWS. But see the list of approved phones at http://www.wireless4mb.com/MB.pdf. You will have the best luck with an "approved" phone. If you want to use one not on the list, do your own search of the forum for that model to see if other users have reported compatibility problems.

Although I wrote a "How-To Guide" for handsfree phones for models '06 and older, you may find that it answers many questions folks typically have even for later models. See particularly posts 1, 5, and 6 in the string at https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...77#post2788377. The only thing lacking is availability of the online phone bulletins for '07 and later cars.

djtech2k

Ok. So I have an HTC Touch thru Sprint. Thats the phone I need to use and I want to use my car audio system to use it. I do not care about docking it. What do I need to get, where can I get it, and how much is it?

I am so sorry to be dense and I do understand a bit more, but all this talk of all these things has me confused. Do I need this MHI? Do I need this "puck"? Do I need some sort of kit or all of the above? Will my phone work simply connecting via bluetooth? Do I need to do wiring like for a mic or anything else in my car?

I was told by the sales guy that all I needed was to get this "plugin adapter" that was like $500 and everything would work. I am beginning to think that may not be true.

lkchris

That is exactly the case.

Either that or you need even more.

dan2010

Well it sounds like we're in the same boat...same phone and car.

There is the MB equipment which will run in the neighborhood of 1200 dollars with limited phones.

Aftermarket options...there are two I'm aware of:

1. Eurocarphone.com...bluetooth kit will be 600-900 dollars depending of what kit you get.

2. Parrot- parrot.com has a much cheaper kit, low 100's to 250ish depending if you want steering wheel controls.

I'm trying to decide which kit I'll get myself.

baxterdown

dj, dan,

MBs don't come pre-wired for bluetooth. They come pre-wired for phone. Adding bluetooth involves purchasing an adaptor called a "puck."

It's very easy to see if your cars are pre-wired for phone. Open the center armrest. If you see a connector that kinda looks like this...



or a cap covering it...



you're in good shape! Your car indeed is pre-wired and all you have to do is buy the bluetooth puck, which unfortunately is $420 at the dealership.

If you look in the armrest and all you see is plastic, your car is not prewired. Supposedly, a company called InCarTronics (formerly EuroCarPhone) has come out with a kit made for cars that are not pre-wired.

Hope this clarifies a bit what the whole MB bluetooth thing is all about. I went through the same confusion when I got my first Mercedes. You're not alone!

Welcome to the club!!!

Jose

Skylaw

If you will read what you have been provided, most of your questions will have been answered. You're a "tech guy" but cellular communications is apparently not your area.

Bluetooth is not universal; there are a number of Bluetooth protocols, and not all of them are implemented everywhere - even by the service providers (try getting OBEX on many Verizon phones). Automobile manufacturers try to cover much of the market, but it evolves rapidly. No single manufacturer covers it all. And, within the car, the integration of the phone with the car's own systems is certainly not uniform. The compatibility citation in the link I provided would tell you what you need to do to get around that.

One problem you are having that is related to the car is determining what phone equipment is already present. MB no longer sells its cars equipped with a given phone; that turned out to be far too limiting for customers. So, they sell cars with or without 1) prewiring ("prewiring for handsfree"), and 2) the boxes necessary to prepare the car for a variety of options to integrate a variety of phones ("Handsfree option" or similar wording - it varies). Even without prewiring, the cars come with buttons on the steering wheels and on the head unit that, with the right equipment installed, will operate the phone system. Baxterdown gave you a quick and dirty on how to tell if you have the U.S. Handsfree option installed.

If you have the MHI contact plate shown in Baxterdown's photo, then your dealer is correct. You then have options to install a cradle for a plug-in phone, a Bluetooth/cradle combo for certain phones, or a Bluetooth puck for straight Bluetooth, without connection to your car's external antenna or charging capability. Whether your HTC will work is an open issue. You might search the forums for results from other members.

If the HTC won't provide the features you want with MB equipment (most phones will be able to place and receive calls, but other features such as phone book downloads may not work at all), dan2010 gave you some other options. I would suggest you contact the manufacturers to see if you can get what you need through them - and whether the equipment is compatible with both your phone and your car.

djtech2k

Ok, here is what my armrest console looks like. Does this mean that I need more than the "puck" that you talk about just to link up to send/receive calls via bluetooth?

BTW that site incartronics seems to be completely dead.

baxterdown

Hey DJ, yep, just what it looked like in my C230. Your car is not pre-wired.

Here's a link to InCarTronics http://www.incartronics.com/ I just checked it and it worked for me.

BTW, your car is M.O.S.T. -- According to their website you have two options:

Stage-1 - is for cars with standard audio only. It is not for cars with premium audio (Harmon Kardon or Bose) or COMAND equipped cars. It is a lower cost solution that offers audio through the sound system as well as active steering wheel controls. However, it does not upload the phonebook or have caller-id display on the radio or instrument cluster.

iTronic™ - works just like a factory installed phone system. iTronic includes full caller id display and phonebook use (if the phone supports that feature) in the cars built in radio and instrument cluster displays. It works in all cars with the M.O.S.T. fiber optic system.

P.S. Did you buy your car at an MB dealer? Is it CPO? If it is, I would go back to sales and RAISE HELL because it looks like you placed a lot of emphasis on the BT technology and that idiot salesman didn't know what the h*ll he was talking about!

djtech2k

Thanks a ton. I am going to look now.

I bought my car from a MB dealer. It was a dealer owned car used for loaner. I bought it a week ago with like 8k miles on it.

So my only options are $579 and $949? WOW!

Is that the only thing that can be done? So The MB MHI thing is no good to me?

baxterdown

Yep, those are your only options (I know, it sucks!). The only way the MB MHI would be good for you is if your car were pre-wired. In that case, you would buy the bluetooth puck--pictured (for a measly $420) and plug it to the connector in the picture above like this:

techguy

you could just do the parrot multican and a ck3000 and be done with it ..

uses your steering wheel controls .. and will mute the radio ..

Simple solution . works well .

Less $$

just a thought

djtech2k

I am looking into the parrot thing now. Is it good quality or at least comparable to the factory unit? Does it connect thru a hard wire or antenna or how? I ask because I would like to have good voice quality and mic quality.

Does the Parrot use the sound system for the speakers? I already have a jawbone and a Motorola handsfree for the car, but I really want to use the audio system for my hands-free and would like to use factory controls.

Where is the mic on my car now? Or does it even have one?

Now with the Parrot, will I have to buy one of the Mercedes wiring harnesses? I see they are another $135.

dan2010

baxter,

The American C-classes after around 05 or 06 no longer comes pre-wired as standard, so I wish we could do the puck thing but no, huge bucks to install a factory setup.

dj,

I think the parrot system integrates with your audio system plus you install a mic as well and you can get those steering wheel control modules as well. No idea how well it works, I'm still in the investigation stage like you.

techguy

I am a parrot dealer..

We do alot of these kits ..

Ive done a few C Class -

Without the Bose system it fairly easy.. this will allow you to hear thru the factory speakers ..

MIC location ... i go up near the mirror

Id be happy to get this setup to whomever wants it .. .

if you want one .. soundzplus@aol.com

djtech2k

I sent you an email.

BTW, since this is bluetooth, is there any chance of getting a zune to run thru this thing or anything else?

dan2010

techguy,

All in with a c230 2007, no bose, with full steering wheel control and appropriate module...how much? About how long does it take to install?