Upgrading 2012 Jetta wagon to have backup cam and Android play

crazyrunner33

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Location
NC
TDI
'10 Golf(bought back)
When in doubt, Crutchfield is a good source. There's Chinese radios that look like a VW radio with Android Auto that are available. I went with a JVC unit(it has a minimalist design), a cheap 10 dollar backup camera on Amazon, a double din mount kit, a wiring harness from Maestro and a Maestro iDatalink.

The iDatalink is optional. But it allows you to program your steering wheel controls to work with the head unit. As a bonus, it takes your steering angle input and gives you backup camera lines that turn with the steering wheel.
 

crazyrunner33

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2006
Location
NC
TDI
'10 Golf(bought back)
There's a few different flavors of the JVC to choose from, some with and some without a CD player. Below are the Crutchfield links, though you can find them cheaper at other places. Crutchfield is the way to go if you don't mind spending a couple extra dollars to have all the right pieces. Their customer service is top notch.

JVC KW-M750BT

I have the older version of this one without the CD player, the older generation is the KW-M730BT. The model series in JVC's numbering is KW-M7xxBT for the Android Auto/Apple Car Play without the CD player, xx stands for the generation. The version with a CD player has an V8 instead of M7.

Version with the CD player.

Here's the Crutchfield link to the VW1 Maestro wiring harness.

Crutchfield's customer service can help you choose the steering wheel adapter. You can ask about the Maestro RR, but there's cheaper options that could be available for steering control.

For a backup camera, any cheap one off of Amazon will work if it has an RCA cable. I prefer the 10-20 dollar ones that sit behind the license plate. They don't stick out like a sore thumb. There's no need for a fancy VW designed backup camera since the head unit has an RCA input.

If you're interested in exploring the VW look alike units or retrofits from newer ones, there's a thread that's currently discussing this:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=503249
 

bobbiemartin

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Location
Jacksonville, FL
TDI
2010 Tiguan TDI 4Motion, Jeep Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD
If you want a factory radio and back up camera, Kufatec has most everything you need. They sell a complete kit, but you can buy the cable from them and source a used camera off ebay or a local salvage yard. They also have several factory radios. I did this with my Tiguan, once you get it installed and coded it works great. The Tig required an additional box between the camera and radio but it looks the me your car may not. Not sure if this radio would integrate with your phone, but it's a quality radio at a good price. I installed it in the Tiguan. I changed out the shark fin for one with satellite navi and radio antennas. Everything works exactly as it should, navigation works well, put it in reverse and the backup camera comes on, my iphone integrates with the radio or you can choose various media, FM, AM or satellite radio. I much prefer using factory parts when I can, they fit and work better IMO.
 
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