We knew beforehand that our Eurovan Weekender was equipped with the factory radio. This is an AM/FM unit with a cassette player. Sounds archaic by both today’s standards and even those from 2003! I had a 2003 Jetta that had a better sound system than that. And who has cassettes anymore? Good grief!
We really enjoyed SiriusXM in our old Jeep. It was wonderful to be able to listen to commercial-free music anywhere. No finding local stations, no hunting the right kind of music; with SiriusXM it was always there.
So, one of the first priorities for our new Westy is to replace that factory radio. The space available isn’t large enough for today’s fancy displays; the Eurovan has what’s called a single DIN opening. Nonetheless, there are lots of choices for direct replacements in the single DIN size.
I found Crutchfield to be the best online source for finding the right replacement radio. You can enter in the year, make and model of your car and their system will present all the radios that will fit. Not only that, you can filter out what features you want to narrow your selection, like SiriusXM, CD, Bluetooth, HD radio, etc.
I ended up selecting the Pioneer DEH-X6700BS CD Receiver. It had uniformly great user ratings and has all the features we wanted:
- AM/FM Receiver
- CD Player
- Bluetooth Connectivity
- Hands-free calling
- SiriusXM Capability
- Siri Eyes Free (for iPhone/iPad)
- Can customize colors to match the dashboard light scheme
I bought both the receiver and the SiriusXM tuner and the installation kit to remove and replace the factory radio.
I knew I could replace the radio – I had done that many times in the past with other cars. The installation of the microphone for the hands-free calling and the SiriusXM antenna are another matter. Both require that you are comfortable routing wires inside the trim and outside the vehicle. I am not comfortable doing that.
A specific issue with the Weekender is where to put the SiriusXM antenna. Normally the antenna is placed on the roof of a vehicle and sticks to it by magnetic attraction to the sheet metal. With the Weekender, that’s not possible – the roof is made of fiberglass, not metal. It seems the most frequent spot that Westy owners choose to locate the satellite antenna is on the dash.
In any case, my plan is to go to a local car stereo store and pay them to install the gear. They do this all the time and can get it done far better and faster than I could! I’m planning on getting this done in the next week or so. I’ll post when the job has been done and report on the results.
UPDATE – Radio replaced successfully!!
Today I took the radio, SiriusXM stuff and parts from Crutchfield to a local car stereo installer. They were familiar with the Weekender and recommended putting the antenna on the metal shelf above the passenger seat. I had thought this would be a good spot, but I couldn’t see how the antenna wire could be routed from there without drilling holes. They said no problem – and no holes. Boy were they right! They did a fabulous job and the satellite signal is very strong. They also installed the Bluetooth mic for my smart phone. Everything works great and I’m a VERY HAPPY Westy owner!