mattsellshouses

Just bought an 01 E430. Code from the dealership isnt working cause the head units buttons are sticky tried everything with it. I need to get an new head unit so I can listen to the stereo. Best buy tried to say its going to be a $1000 cause they have to hardwire everything. I thought I could just replace the deck with pioneer unit and a new harnese and get out of it for $150 maybe. I just want to listen to the stereo. Any suggestions?

martz

Has best buy become BAD buy??? lol..... yes all you need is the adaptor plug and play harness , if i remember right it is the same one they use for VWs which I bought from circuit city when they were still up and running.

ejsheltra

Try Autohaus or Potomac German Auto for used replacement unit. $1000 oh my! They are out of wack.

mattsellshouses

Is it easier to just get an aftermarket deck or try to buy a replacement stock deck? Which is cheaper? Thanks again

ejsheltra

I would think used replacement would be easiest and cheapest way out. No extra wiring to mess up. Just straight plug and play. Both recommended places have been used by many forum members including myself. Service and quality is very good.

mattsellshouses

Is there a link anywhere that I can just buy an adapting harness? I'm having a hard time locating a stock headunit. Also if I get a stock head unit don't I need the code required for that unit? Seems like it could be an issue... Thanks again

ohlord

shipped with warranty.Or you can pick up an audio 10 with cd instead of tape player(who uses tapes anymore?)
from
http://www.audio-10.com/
A grand? you could move the climate control into the radio slot and install a single din flip out screen unit and hard wire the speakers for half that amount.No wonder those places are going out of business
you can also put a tube onto a can of crc brand maf cleaner and spray into the sticky buttons and try yo resolve the code issue.

mattsellshouses

If i buy an audio-10 unit. I can plug the new unit it put in the code and jam out? Or do i still need to get a new harness and worry about all the other stuff? Thanks again

ohlord

and your steering wheel controls would still work.
The audio10 guy knows his stuff but there is a bit of language barrier.
This guy is over here and was out of stock for a bit,but knows his stuff also and units are fairly priced and also pp and work with audio controls on steering wheel.
http://www.perfectmarketaudio.com/
oem from me are less money but stock tape units.

fosmith

For a lot less than this, you can go to the Mercedes dealer and get a reconditioned head unit. Or, like Ohlord said, get an Audio 10 with built in CD player. If you have a good CD player in the trunk AND you want to play casettes, look on ebay or the for sale section of this and the benzworld forum for a good used one.

Yes, there's a risk to buying used but I bought a good used one through the forum for under $100 including shipping and there ARE reputable sellers on ebay. Just check their feedback and you can get a feel for whether they have integrity. I've had very good luck buying from very decent people on ebay and only a few bad experiences.

Personally, I like the casette deck in the OEM Becker unit and having a six CD magazine in the trunk. I have a lot of music on tape that I don't want to go through the trouble of converting to CDs and the sound quality and performance of the OEM tape unit is impressive. Tapes sound as good as CDs, even ones that don't sound so great at home.

Fred

fosmith

One thought, will the Audio 10 allow you to use the integrated cell phone? Doesn't look like it will. That may be a factor if you ever want to the integrated cell phone upgraded and activated. It works throught the radio head unit. I got mine working and I can't imagine living without it.

Fred

stickygreen

If you want better sound quality, go with an aftermarket deck. I am running a Nakamichi CD300 (the cheap one - <$200) with the stock Bose system, and it sounds much better than before with the stock Becker tape deck. I was thinking about dumping the Bose in favor of an all-new system until I switched out the head unit.

I will be swapping in a Nakamichi CD400 ($350-$400), which has phenomenal sound quality (24-bit) and is a near-perfect match to the lighting of the w210 interior. Both of these decks "fit" the interior of the w210, unlike most of the silver & blue space age-looking crap out there.

But then again I don't have steering wheel controls, a phone, or a working CD changer to use with the oem head unit.

E-420

If yours is a Becker radio, give them a call. they will repair it or swap it for a reconditioned unit, your choice. They'll give you a price over the phone. beckerautosound.com

SpaceCity E 430

Hmmmm an Audio 10 looks interesting.

Alpine....Becker......is one better than the other?

Semikolon

If the stock unit supports the D2B phone system the audio 10 cd will also. I thought the cassette unit also was an audio 10?

At least it is this way here in europe...

Semikolon

for the e-class I think you only have one choice, and that is alpine.

mattsellshouses

Also, in the manaul it says enter the code then press ok. I don't see an ok button anywhere. I took it to the dealership and they gave it a shot with no success. The "c" on the code just keeps flashing after I enter the code. Does anyone know if the "ok" button pops up on the screen and you touch from there or if its an actual button on the HU? What a hassle.

Figuero

I just had to reset the radio in our '02. I just entered the code and the radio started working, there was no "OK" step.

mattsellshouses

Ya ive entered the code several times and nothing changes on the dash it just continues to read "Code".

Semikolon

exactly what head unit do you have?

On audio 10 I think I just entered the code and pressed FM, CD or whatever function I wanted to use..

mattsellshouses

I have the stock Becker unit I believe. Ill give it a shot any other suggestions?

Semikolon

Whatever it is I'm pretty sure it has a name spelled on the front...

Audio 30?

if audio 30, press up down left or right to confirm..

ohlord

radios after you enter the code it will say press the ok button.On the display screen you will see pixels display the word(OK) press the selection button directly below that.

mattsellshouses

Ya thats what I thought. The pixels only show the bottom three quarters of the word "Code". After I enter the code provided by the dealership it just continues as if I never pushed the code in at all. I think I am going to try and pull the unit out and see if the serial number matches the serial number provided by the dealership. Incase the HU was switched for another stock HU. From what i've seen though the unit should read something like wrong code after entering the incorrect code three times. Ive entered the code propbably 20 times and it hasn't done that yet so im on the fence.

Semikolon

It would still help you a lot if you tried to tell us what model your head unit is.. on oem models it's spelled with italic letters on the front.

But what I can see from the records in the parts database the 430 was only delivered with MB audio 30 in america.. If you post your chassis identity I should be able to tell exactly what model your car was delivered with. But then again, it should say on the front what model it is if it's an oem unit.