VW Media Unit vs Kenwood

[Jon Banks]

Hi

My 18 plate California came with no DAB installed in the OEM Discover media unit (with sat nav, rear camera, Apple Car play). They put in a separate unit that didn’t work. I returned it after a few weeks.

After now a month without my vehicle and much back and forth with the dealer who has tried to fit a correct VW OEM new unit, it appears it won’t work and the dealer has given up. Now they are offering the Kenwood DNX518DABS an alternative and confirm this does everything the OEM unit did.

Alternatively I can try and get a third party to fit the VW Discover unit (Happy Daze believe they can) but the dealer is saying this would not come with a VW warranty.

Does anyone have any advice on how the above unit compares with the ‘original’ and whether I should accept

Thanks

 

[Meoncoast]

Ask for a refund of the OEM Discovery unit and a free Kenwood unit for all the inconvenience. A month at the dealers!

 

[Alan Andrews]

I doubt the multi function steering wheel buttons will work with the Kenwood

 

[Ocean Spirit]

So are these the basic facts?
- The VW original fitted unit should have had DAB but did not
- Dealer tried to rectify it with an additional piece of kit which didn't work
- Dealer conceded and then tried to replace the unit with what should have been there originally but this does not work and subsequently wants to try a non VW unit
- Alternative solution is to try to get a VW unit fitted by a 3rd party without VW guarantee

If so, I personally would not take the work to Happy daze and lose OEM guarantee despite their expertise.
This is VW's responsibility to either completely fulfil the requirement of the original order or come to a solution where you are satisfied with the compensation. 3rd party work without warranty is not satisfactory compensation to me.
I would not let VW off the hook because your dealer has not been able to sort it.
However inconvenient this has been needs to come into the equation and a conversation with customer services needs to be had.
You need the correct unit fitted, working and under warranty.
It's beyond my understanding as to why the dealer can't get the correct OEM unit to work and offers for a 3rd party complete it without warranty.
If it genuinely cannot be done a much better compensation should be offered even if you like the Kenwood unit and are prepared to have it.

Disgraceful.

 

[Ting Tong]

The DAB misbuild issue is fairly widely discussed on here e.g. https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/dab.22584/page-4

and @dale6 seems to have got it sorted if you read the last few posts on that thread.

 

[reserves]

Happy Dayz will sort it for you and their units will be guaranteed.

The Kenwood unit for your info will have CarPlay / Sat Nav, your Steering wheel buttons will work and your central display will show Nav directions (if fitted and coded correctly). It’s not as user friendly and the phone integration isn’t as good, although I use CarPlay on my Kenwood 99% of the time and this takes over the phone / handsfree. The Kenwood would have an after market mic and an aftermarket DAB aerial.


Personally I’d get The DAB added by Happy Dayz, it’s neater (factory mic), the DAB aerial willl be the factory one (in the wing mirror)

The Kenwood units are fine but a bit fiddly, a great option if you don’t have CarPlay and want it, but as you have AppConnect / CarPlay on your factory unit I’d go with that.

Also I’d rather Happy Dayz worked on my vehicle than anyone from VW, especially when removing interior bits.

 

[Jon Banks]

Thanks for your comments - I will look to go the Hazzy Dayz route

 

[soulstyledevon]

Thanks for your comments - I will look to go the Hazzy Dayz route

Hazzy are very good and know a lot more than the VW techs from my experiences.
However, I would be looking at Volkswagen to cover the entire cost

 

[Denzilgts]

I know it’s not a Cali, but I have a kenwood unit fitted in my works Vw caddy van. Only gripe in the unit is sometimes after entering postcode details for my next job. The system takes up to 10 minutes to find a satellite signal. It is quite slow to respond. On the positive side the dab is clear, the apple play responds quite well