Sorry for digging up this post. Glk 250 2015 with 360 parking camera.

if you have one of these installed does it automatically switch into camera mode when you shift into reverse. And then switch back to CarPlay after driving forward for a while. Or does it just stay in CarPlay mode until you manually force it to command mode?

also some posted re phone microphone audio. Currently amazing would hate to loose that. Was that resolved for those with issues?

cheers.

 

Sorry for the late response. Anyway, yes, when you put the car in reverse, the original camera comes on, and when you put it back in drive, it goes back to CarPlay. I do not have an external mic. It's setup to use the Microphone built into the car, and it works just fine.

The only thing that is weird is that you have to hold the "Phone Hang-Up" button to initialize Siri, if you're on car Play, or if you're using Android Auto you have to use the rotary dial to select the microphone if you want to use voice command. I never got it to respond to "Hey Google". But if you press the mic button, then it works fine.

 

Thank you @Dudeman , that’s good to know. I think you just taught me something new. I don’t have a CarPlay unit and the command button doesn’t initiate Siri. I usually press my phone button to initiate (if hey Siri is off), didn’t realise the hangup button was able to do this.

and think you answered another q. The screen wasn’t updated to touch screen? Wouldn’t make a diff in command mode but could in car play mode.

what brand/model did you go for?

 

I don't think these have a "brand name", they're all some kind of clone of each other. The one I bought was referred to as CarlinKit ( ), but it shows unavailable now. The one that bmwstephen shows above is identical to the one I bought

Since I retained the original LCD and head unit, there is no touch, and I must admit that occasionally I reach to the screen to touch a function, then I realize it's not touch, but the center console dial works quite well for navigating all the functions. I have 2 phones paired with it, my Samsung A32 which is android and uses Android Auto, and my wife's iPhone X, which uses CarPlay. When we both get in the car, it connects to which ever one it sees first, so if my wife gets in the car first, it will connect to the iPhone, or vice-versa, but you can always switch between them from the menu.

As I said, for me (on Android) to use voice commands like dialing a call or asking for directions, I have to use the center console dial to go to the microphone icon and press it (the microphone is always present in the lower task bar at the right), so it only takes 2 seconds or less to get to it, then you can ask whatever you need. For my wife, in CarPlay, all she needs to do is press the hangup button for 2 seconds, then Siri pops up.

Anyway, the device works fine, and I certainly use it all the time, since it's wireless and I don't have to get the phone out of my pocket. My only complaint about it is how awkward it was to install in the car. In the GLK, there simply isn't much room, and the big cable harness is very short. You'll have to figure out how to tuck it under the existing command unit, which is not an easy job. On other cars like the C or E class or the ML, no problems at all, but the GLK....

 

@Dudeman thank you kindly. Will definitively be pursuing this in the summer.

I hear you on the glk itself being the pain point. But man do I love driving this thing.

 

On a side note, a friend of mine just bought a brand new 2022 E450 station wagon with the new MBUX, and to my dismay, this thing only supports wired CarPlay or Android Auto, no wireless, and only through a specific USB port in the car.

Really?? after all these years, the best MB can do is wired car play?

 

I just did this install last weekended. The information above was extremely valuable. Just wanted to add some notes for people that are looking to do this.

• The instructions provided with the box are unclear regarding grounding the Aux cable. There is a black ground wire that is along side the aux cable that needs to be grounded to get clear audio from the unit. There is bolt at the back-left of the radio cavity that I used as a ground point for this wire and it seemed to work well.
• Location for the plug-n-play connector. I was able to fit the connector behind the HVAC controls. You have the lift the plastic piece at the bottom of where the radio slides in. You can lift it enough to pop the connector down into the cavity below the radio and behind the HVAC controls. After that there was no issues pushing the radio back into place and the whole process took about 5min to get the radio into place.
• If you aren't getting video to the screen try reseating the connections. Seems like they can be a bit temperamental. Make sure to continue checking that everything is working as you reinstall everything.
• USB/Aux routing. I ran the USB and Aux cable out the passenger footwell by the cargo net. It's a very tight fit between the panels. I recommend unscrewing at least two screws from the vent that runs under the glovebox and the popping the vent out from the left side by the centre console. This will give enough room to fish the USB connector and Aux cable out. The USB cable I left int he cargo net and attached my phone cable and run it up to the phone. The Aux cable I run up the passenger side of the centre console and up into the arm rest box to connect to the Aux port/adapter. Ideally I would like to remove the centre console and hide these wires internally but for now this works just fine.

Hopefully this information will speed up the installation for anyone trying it.