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2003 CLK – Replaced climate and stereo. Keeping dash display and controls
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CLS 450 4MATIC
2003 CLK – Replaced climate and stereo. Keeping dash display and controls
I’ve had the C209 CLK 200K for a couple of months now and finally got round to swapping out the original Audio 10 CD player for an aftermarket head unit. I wanted to keep the dashboard display of radio station tuned, song details etc, and also the stereo controls on the steering wheel. As far as I’m aware, the only company doing such a piece of kit to enable this is Alpine. They do the KCE-960B adaptor which delivers the output of any Alpine head unit to the dashboard visual display, including the songs mp3tag info. Additionally the track and volume control from the steering wheel feeds through to the head unit.
My choice of stereo was the Alpine iXA-W407BT. It has full iPod control, including playback of video from the iPod. Bluetooth audio and inbuilt facility to link with your phone, including the phonebook, recent calls etc. You can see the before and after photos below. (Apologies for the poor quality of the AFTER shot, it was taken at night in my garage!)
I also swapped out the original climate control module (Part number A 209 830 00 85) for the luxury unit (A 209 830 02 85) with digital display. Again, see the pics.
I’m really happy with the look of them both, the sound on the head unit is great. One thing that doesn’t work as well as it should is the USB stick integration on the Alpine. I transferred around 30GB of MP3s to a 32GB hi-speed stick, but at each turn on the unit would read ‘banking’ continually. According to Alpine they are organising the library into 1000 song batches for quicker searching. The problem is this would take an age (I’d get bored waiting after 5 to 10 minutes and switch to a different source.)
My choice of stereo was the Alpine iXA-W407BT. It has full iPod control, including playback of video from the iPod. Bluetooth audio and inbuilt facility to link with your phone, including the phonebook, recent calls etc. You can see the before and after photos below. (Apologies for the poor quality of the AFTER shot, it was taken at night in my garage!)
I also swapped out the original climate control module (Part number A 209 830 00 85) for the luxury unit (A 209 830 02 85) with digital display. Again, see the pics.
I’m really happy with the look of them both, the sound on the head unit is great. One thing that doesn’t work as well as it should is the USB stick integration on the Alpine. I transferred around 30GB of MP3s to a 32GB hi-speed stick, but at each turn on the unit would read ‘banking’ continually. According to Alpine they are organising the library into 1000 song batches for quicker searching. The problem is this would take an age (I’d get bored waiting after 5 to 10 minutes and switch to a different source.)
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From: Sydney, Australia
W203 slightly modified
As far as I can tell Alpine is the official aftermarket system of Mercedes for some classes of car. They have given customers the alternative and from what I can tell it still works with the steering wheel.
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CLS 450 4MATIC
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Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2012
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CLS 450 4MATIC
Yes, the frame you need on the 209 CLK's is a "MERCEDES Double DIN Fascia Fitting Kit CT23MB02A". In the UK this is made by a company called Connects2.
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08 CLK 350 sport, 11 BMW 328i, 99 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4, 06 Suzuki DRZ400SM
The only wiring I didn't do are the speaker wires. But everything else is new.
I still have to install the backup camera. The wire for that is ready and waiting
In the trunk. I just have to run it through the trunk door.
I still have to install the backup camera. The wire for that is ready and waiting
In the trunk. I just have to run it through the trunk door.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 49
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CLS 450 4MATIC
Admittedly no amp or speaker additions to mine, but I used an adaptor and it was all plug and play. No additional splices required. It comes on and off with the ignition as it should, only charges the iPhone when on etc (so no drain when the keys are out.)
