enable command DVD while moving for passanger
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Super Member
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: Texas
2015 White/brown Nappa S550, '13 S550 4 matic, 11 S550 sold, '10 S550 Sports BLACK 08 S550 P3 sport
enable command DVD while moving for passanger
has anybody done this mod or not. need help. S550 2008.
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2007 S600
I plan to go to www.midcityengineering.com to get mine done.
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From: New Jersey (Metro)
S550 / S430 / E320
I ordered the module from midcity and installed it myself. Really nice piece of work. All OEM connectors - no cutting or splicing needed. Just snap in the connectors per the instructions. It's really not complicated to install. You can see the installation instructions on their website.
Works perfectly - just hold the mute button for 2s and it turns the block off. If you press it for less than 2s it works normally (mutes the sound). It's nice that it's a hidden feature. It hasn't had an effect on anything else - seems to be done right!
I would recommend it.
Works perfectly - just hold the mute button for 2s and it turns the block off. If you press it for less than 2s it works normally (mutes the sound). It's nice that it's a hidden feature. It hasn't had an effect on anything else - seems to be done right!
I would recommend it.
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 650
Likes: 24
From: Texas
2015 White/brown Nappa S550, '13 S550 4 matic, 11 S550 sold, '10 S550 Sports BLACK 08 S550 P3 sport
I ordered the module from midcity and installed it myself. Really nice piece of work. All OEM connectors - no cutting or splicing needed. Just snap in the connectors per the instructions. It's really not complicated to install. You can see the installation instructions on their website.
Works perfectly - just hold the mute button for 2s and it turns the block off. If you press it for less than 2s it works normally (mutes the sound). It's nice that it's a hidden feature. It hasn't had an effect on anything else - seems to be done right!
I would recommend it.
Works perfectly - just hold the mute button for 2s and it turns the block off. If you press it for less than 2s it works normally (mutes the sound). It's nice that it's a hidden feature. It hasn't had an effect on anything else - seems to be done right!
I would recommend it.
that sounds great, could u tell me how much does it cost and on a scale of 1 to 10 how tough is it to install. thanks
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2007 S600
Big Question
I ordered the module from midcity and installed it myself. Really nice piece of work. All OEM connectors - no cutting or splicing needed. Just snap in the connectors per the instructions. It's really not complicated to install. You can see the installation instructions on their website.
Works perfectly - just hold the mute button for 2s and it turns the block off. If you press it for less than 2s it works normally (mutes the sound). It's nice that it's a hidden feature. It hasn't had an effect on anything else - seems to be done right!
I would recommend it.
Works perfectly - just hold the mute button for 2s and it turns the block off. If you press it for less than 2s it works normally (mutes the sound). It's nice that it's a hidden feature. It hasn't had an effect on anything else - seems to be done right!
I would recommend it.
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Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 228
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From: Los Angeles
2010 S600 sold
I ordered the module from midcity and installed it myself. Really nice piece of work. All OEM connectors - no cutting or splicing needed. Just snap in the connectors per the instructions. It's really not complicated to install. You can see the installation instructions on their website.
Works perfectly - just hold the mute button for 2s and it turns the block off. If you press it for less than 2s it works normally (mutes the sound). It's nice that it's a hidden feature. It hasn't had an effect on anything else - seems to be done right!
I would recommend it.
Works perfectly - just hold the mute button for 2s and it turns the block off. If you press it for less than 2s it works normally (mutes the sound). It's nice that it's a hidden feature. It hasn't had an effect on anything else - seems to be done right!
I would recommend it.
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From: Europe
223.168 & 213.012 & 906.633 & 214.005
Did you look at the installation guide that was referred to on an earlier post in this thread. Looks pretty sufficient to me and I'm sure they give installation support if you face a problem.
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From: Europe
223.168 & 213.012 & 906.633 & 214.005
What do you mean by "reversible"? The device should not modify OEM installed parts. If you take it out, the car is like from the factory. My understanding is that the part is completely transparent when VIM is not activated and should then not affect car operation. Of course if it physically fails, then it would confuse the car even if set off. But again, reconnect the CAN bus as it was and you should be find till you get a new VIM part.
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From: Europe
223.168 & 213.012 & 906.633 & 214.005
Not sure what you mean actually but I'm not aware of something like the AC diagnosis screen on a W211 (or W210 and older with automatic AC) from the REST button.
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2008 S class
At any rate its been 6 months that I have had it and no problems.
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2007 S600
No I haven't seen that guide. Must have been napping that day. I'll take your advice and give them a call and ask how much is involved in doing it myself. I've done some elaborate car mods before involving trim pieces in the past and this sounds like something right up my alley. Once I find out, I'll post what I know.
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Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 281
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From: New Jersey (Metro)
S550 / S430 / E320
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 281
Likes: 1
From: New Jersey (Metro)
S550 / S430 / E320
I wouldn't worry. It clips in and can be removed just as easily. It's a nice piece of work - all OEM connectors. It just sends a signal to the radio telling it the car is in park. Has had no effect on any other function and I have just about every option.
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2007 S600
They quoted me $499. I'll try to get them down a tad when I call them back. Heck, that's the same quote they gave me if they installed it. You'd think they should back off to $399 if we are doing the work ourselves especially since the part probably only costs $20 to make.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 281
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From: New Jersey (Metro)
S550 / S430 / E320
They quoted me $499. I'll try to get them down a tad when I call them back. Heck, that's the same quote they gave me if they installed it. You'd think they should back off to $399 if we are doing the work ourselves especially since the part probably only costs $20 to make.
Last edited by NJS430; Feb 11, 2008 at 05:46 PM.
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2007 S600
I'm sure it costs more than $20 to make. I'll bet just the connectors cost more than that. I'm sure the components on the circuit board to enable it to communicate on the network aren't cheap either. I thought $399 was a fair price to pay for the device and the knowledge that's in it.
Looking back on it, I think he quoted me the $499 BEFORE I told him I wanted to install it myself. He probably thought I was going to their location when I asked the question. Can't wait to install it. Looking forward to it and thanks again for sending me the info.
I will take photos along the way as I install it and post them to assist in giving further visual details as to what's involved. Hopefully I can get this all done in the next week or two.
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2008 S class
They quoted me $499. I'll try to get them down a tad when I call them back. Heck, that's the same quote they gave me if they installed it. You'd think they should back off to $399 if we are doing the work ourselves especially since the part probably only costs $20 to make.
Definately ask them for the discount price: Both I and a co-worker told them that we found them on the forums here are they gave us the discounted price...
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2007 S600
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2007
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2007 S600
Ordered the VIM221 module today and got the forum discount. Should get it Friday and I will take pix of my installation.
Thanks to Rob at midcityengineering for his kind handling of the deal. I highly recommend these guys for your aftermarket techno-gadget goodies. I wish I could have afforded the rear video system in the headrests but it just isn't feasible for me at this time.
Thanks to Rob at midcityengineering for his kind handling of the deal. I highly recommend these guys for your aftermarket techno-gadget goodies. I wish I could have afforded the rear video system in the headrests but it just isn't feasible for me at this time.
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2007 S600
Most likely it will operate just like normal. I really don't think the car operates any differently because of this module. I think it is very OEM-like.
As far as the installation of the module, it is a piece of cake if you do exactly what midcityengineering instructions tell you what to do. The hardest part is getting the little blue plugs with the yellow wires to come out of their sockets because the release tabs are so small and you can't pull the plug way out in the open to see very well. After plugging everything up, I tucked the module and spare wire up into the dash and snapped the CAN access door back in place. Other than that, it went well and operates exactly as advertised. I let the kids and the wife watch "Kong" on the test drive. The surround sound of this car is awesome!!
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2007 S600
Helpful tidbits
For those of you who have read this far and are in the process of installing the VIM221 module yourself, let me share one helpful tidbit when choosing which yellow wire to remove. There are three yellow wires to choose from, of which, only one is the correct one.
Your car may not have the radio wire placed in the same socket location as the next car. One car may have it in slot #1 whereas the next car may have it in slot #2 or #3. Mine was in slot #2 (the middle wire). The way to know for sure that you have selected the correct wire is to have your radio on while disconnecting the plugs and when the radio/video turns off, you've got the correct wire.
The instructions say to look for error messages to pop up while pulling the wires, however, even when I pulled the wrong wire (#1 closet to the end of the harness) , I didn't get any error messages!!! (The error messages did pop up later after I attempted to crank the car but by then it was obvious I chose the wrong wire as the video in motion didn't work). This is why things didn't go well for me at first. So my advice is to keep removing and replacing wires until you notice the radio stops working. That is the best way to identify which one is the one to connect to the module.
Hope this helps.
Your car may not have the radio wire placed in the same socket location as the next car. One car may have it in slot #1 whereas the next car may have it in slot #2 or #3. Mine was in slot #2 (the middle wire). The way to know for sure that you have selected the correct wire is to have your radio on while disconnecting the plugs and when the radio/video turns off, you've got the correct wire.
The instructions say to look for error messages to pop up while pulling the wires, however, even when I pulled the wrong wire (#1 closet to the end of the harness) , I didn't get any error messages!!! (The error messages did pop up later after I attempted to crank the car but by then it was obvious I chose the wrong wire as the video in motion didn't work). This is why things didn't go well for me at first. So my advice is to keep removing and replacing wires until you notice the radio stops working. That is the best way to identify which one is the one to connect to the module.
Hope this helps.
Last edited by trumpet1; Feb 15, 2008 at 06:52 PM.
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From: Europe
223.168 & 213.012 & 906.633 & 214.005
I got the module installed this afternoon. Shweeet! Took me about 45 minutes because I didn't follow the instructions exactly right and chose the wrong plug. Tried again and it worked just fine. As far as your question above, I forgot to test the nav while giving the car a test run. I'll check out your question tomorrow.
Most likely it will operate just like normal. I really don't think the car operates any differently because of this module. I think it is very OEM-like.
Most likely it will operate just like normal. I really don't think the car operates any differently because of this module. I think it is very OEM-like.
But could it be that the US VIM is only fooling the park signal, the Euro devices work out of park and at slow speed. Then a VIM module needs to fool the speed signal. I would have assumed that the US device is expecting both speed and park to be zero.
Would be nice to have feedback from driving/navigation experiences with the device active.
