L.I.T

Please forgive me for these questions. I am brand new to this forum, and have searched but not come up with any results.

I purchased (via internet), a certified 2005 firemist red SLK with the Premium, Heating, and Comfort packages. I just received it yesterday afternoon, but had a couple of questions about the radio.....

Can my base model radio be upgraded to the comman HK, or would the wiring not be supportive of that? If it can't be upgraded, then am I able to get satellite?

In addition, on my base radio, is there a feature that shows the name of the song and artist that is playing on the station? I haven't been able to find anything referencing that, but know that SO many other vehicles (of lesser quality and price) have this feature.

Again, sorry for the basic questions, but thank you for any help!

LIT

RoadkingHI

In addition, on my base radio, is there a feature that shows the name of the song and artist that is playing on the station? I haven't been able to find anything referencing that, but know that SO many other vehicles (of lesser quality and price) have this feature.

Nope, not part of the package.... I guess they figure we should be watching the road and not the radio :-)

wil_sutton

The artist/song title is provided by a service called RDS (radio data service). Because the version used in the US is not compatible with the rest of the world, you typically only see it in American cars, or foreign named cars built in the US. All the SLKs are coming from Germany, so no dice. I'm not sure if any of the US built MBs have RDS or not. Never thought to look.

As far as the upgrade, I don't think that can happen. Others on the forum would know a lot more about upgrading to the HK stock system than I would. I have, however, written ad-nauseum about the dangers, headaches, and woes involved with trying to integrate aftermarket upgrades to the stock system. 1 look at older threads will tell you all you need to know.

Have a great one!

SaRiDi

retrofitting the Comand w/ HK is possible through Steve@MBenzNL.com. Try search on this forum, there are few ppl got this done before.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...omand+Retrofit

https://mbworld.org/forums/slk-class-r171/132026-mbenznl-february-cali-trip-o-again-some-specials.html

Maverick

Even when it has full Command system, it does not show the song titles from the radio; just a big beautiful color LCD screen with nothing on it but a huge radio station frequency. What a waste!

As to the German vs US built cars, we just ordered a BMW 325xi to be picked up in Germany, and its radio certainly does display the song, and I believe the radio station. So it's really just a matter of what radio they choose install, or possibly the software of the car's system itself.

Vodil

Does anyone know how work done by MBenzNL impacts ones factory warentee?

gdsmith56

What a WASTE ! We also have German built VW - a 2005 Jetta TDI - and its radio certainly supports RDS. There is absolutely no reason why the HK (or even the base radio) shouldn't have RDS built into it.

wil_sutton

The 05 Jetta was built in Germany? My 00 VR6 was built in Mexico...

It may also have something to do with who builds the actual electronics used as OEM as well. There are (or used to be, I assume there still are) a lot of Alpine and Becker components in the MB. Alpine has never been big on RDS, and I've never seen a Becker product with it (though Becker BARELY exists outside the MB world in the US). Volkswagon uses Panasonic stereo components, which often have RDS in the aftermarket.

Anyway, I've had it on several of my cars. It's been my experience that in this part of the country, very few radio stations broadcast the RDS band anyway, so it doesn't really matter to me... I guess if it's that big of a deal, you'll just have to get satellite...

MBenzNL

that depends on your dealership...all parts we use are factory mercedes parts...your dealer might not have problems with that or they might have problems with that incase of a possible future malfunction.
Fact is that 1) all parts we use are original mercedes, 2) all modifications done by us are fully serviceable through stardiagnose & 3) we do work for several dealerships (in the US, NL & DE).

greetingz,

PS: for those b!tching about the US spec mercs not having RDS: take it to MBUSA as the rest of the world spec MBs DO get RDS (and did get RDS since - I dont know - several decades ago)

GearHead

As posted by others, Steve-meister (MBenzNL) is able to upgrade your COMMAND to receive RDS ....







Hope this helps ...

Maverick

Wow! That's cool. Can he upgrade the iPod interface to show playlists and songs on the Command screen as well? If so, when is he going to be anywhere near Seattle?

GearHead

The IPOD interface is a definite possibility .... to show playlist, I will leave to others to respond as I don't have this modification yet. BUT I don't see why not.

Its best you contact him on whether he is planning to visit Seattle.

vineethm

I'd pinged him and he has no plans to visit Seattle. He does visit California a couple of times a year - and if there's "enough" volume from folks in Seattle, he'd be happy to plan a trip up.

Keep a list of folks who might be interested and we might be able to do a "group buy" to get him up.

BigSis

GearHead's 'comand upgrade' is actually a Euro spec DVD comand... not something that can be versioncoded through Stardiagnose.

MB's integrated iPod kits only work through the instrument cluster / steering wheel. They can NOT be controlled from the head unit (comand), and the can NOT show songs / artists etc. on the comand unit in an R171.

@ vineethm: sounds like a good plan. I am willing to direct my brother to Seattle, provided that there is work for him, a garage where he can work from - and do keep in mind that travel expenses from and to San Francisco have to be compensated.

greetingz,

BigSis