Impreza Hatch / Forester Head Unit Replacement.
Discussion
Hello everyone. Just wanted to share how easy and fairly cheap it was to upgrade the head unit on my Impreza Hatch. I did a fair bit of research and most people were saying that the standard head unit was the biggest weakness of the ICE in the Impreza (and probably the Forester).
I bought a refurbished sony head unit from ebay(argos) 4x52w for £35.00 , this single din adapter which says it also fits the forester(part number CT24SU01) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160861560603?_trksid=p20... for £13.00. Finally this wiring harness adapter ( part number PC2-94-4 ) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251693237313?_trksid=p20...
Total spend £53.00. The sound difference is well worth the money ( and perhaps the slightly dodgy looks) - especially on the fm radio. I am told the factory speakers can handle the higher output easily.
It was very easy to change the head unit and everything fitted together and worked as it should. The most difficult part was the careful removal of the stereo surround and the vents. You can get special plastic tools for this purpose, I used a blunt old swiss army knife and placed it in between the grey plastic of the surround and the black plastic of the dashboard. Gentle twisting action in various places removed the clips safely with then surround. Four screws and the factory HU comes out to be replaced.
Let me know if you need any advice on doing yours. Obviously a double din stereo would look better and be even easier , but costs double for a decent brand.
Here is mine after.
I bought a refurbished sony head unit from ebay(argos) 4x52w for £35.00 , this single din adapter which says it also fits the forester(part number CT24SU01) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160861560603?_trksid=p20... for £13.00. Finally this wiring harness adapter ( part number PC2-94-4 ) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251693237313?_trksid=p20...
Total spend £53.00. The sound difference is well worth the money ( and perhaps the slightly dodgy looks) - especially on the fm radio. I am told the factory speakers can handle the higher output easily.
It was very easy to change the head unit and everything fitted together and worked as it should. The most difficult part was the careful removal of the stereo surround and the vents. You can get special plastic tools for this purpose, I used a blunt old swiss army knife and placed it in between the grey plastic of the surround and the black plastic of the dashboard. Gentle twisting action in various places removed the clips safely with then surround. Four screws and the factory HU comes out to be replaced.
Let me know if you need any advice on doing yours. Obviously a double din stereo would look better and be even easier , but costs double for a decent brand.
Here is mine after.
I put a single DIN Blaupunkt BT220 Helsinki in my WRX wagon earlier in the year. It has Blutooth, Aux-in and USB. I also bought the steering wheel remote control (comes with IR receiver). I also bough the Subaru single DIN pocket to go under the head unit. I keep Aux and USB leads in it. I also changed the front speakers for some Pioneer ones that I'd fitted in an old LandRover.
Fitting the whole lot was a doddle.
My only issue is with the FM reception on the Blaupunkt. It rarely picks up Traffic Announcments and seems to take an age to RDS switch between stations. The standard Unit did this pretty well, though not as well as the Fiat/Blaupunkt unit in my Panda. I'm wondering if this is a function of the head unit or - more likely - a weak antenna given that the Subaru uses wire stuck to the rear window, and I've never been a fan of them.
Fitting the whole lot was a doddle.
My only issue is with the FM reception on the Blaupunkt. It rarely picks up Traffic Announcments and seems to take an age to RDS switch between stations. The standard Unit did this pretty well, though not as well as the Fiat/Blaupunkt unit in my Panda. I'm wondering if this is a function of the head unit or - more likely - a weak antenna given that the Subaru uses wire stuck to the rear window, and I've never been a fan of them.
Yes in my previous Blob Eye WRX I remember the radio reception was not brilliant in either the OEM or my after marked clarion unit.
On my 2008 the radio quality was just awful , well worth the upgrade. As Mr Tax Payer said , its easy and I found it easy too. If you need any advice let me know. I'll help if I can.
On my 2008 the radio quality was just awful , well worth the upgrade. As Mr Tax Payer said , its easy and I found it easy too. If you need any advice let me know. I'll help if I can.
I've got a single din kenwood dvd/satnav/radio I was tempted to put in the impreza but wasn't sure how it'd look , looking at yours I think it'd be fine so I might give it a go, there's a million wires so it'll probably go horribly wrong and cost a fortune for an expert to put right knowing me
wack said:
I've got a single din kenwood dvd/satnav/radio I was tempted to put in the impreza but wasn't sure how it'd look , looking at yours I think it'd be fine so I might give it a go, there's a million wires so it'll probably go horribly wrong and cost a fortune for an expert to put right knowing me
Honestly spend a fiver and get the wiring harness adapter. The antenna already fits so all you have to do is put the wires from your new stereo into the adapter and plug the adapter into the car and test it before you put it back together. The hardest part IMO is carefully getting the plastic fascia off for the first time without scratching it , or your dashboard.
Good Luck , give is a shout if I can help. The wiring is different for Bug / Blob and Hawkeyes to the hatch though, so keep that in mind if you are looking at the reference numbers I posted earlier.
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