My New 2013 Mazda5 GT - Stereo Upgrade Time

Just bought a 2013 GT. First things first, replace the stereo!

After some chatting with iDatalink Maestro reps, seems the Maestro RR won't really do much beyond retaining steering wheel controls. I was hoping to integrate the factory parking sensors, and possibly the Sirius antenna. Since it can't do those things, I'll probably go with the PAC interface kit.

What have others done with aftermarket stereo system installs, and what factory features have you been able to retain? What non-factory options have you added to your new stereo? Not so much interested in new amps/speakers or improving the sound quality.
 
I used a Crux SWRMZ-64C kit with my 09 to install a JVC Android Auto unit. Only thing I wanted to retain was steering wheel controls which work great. Replacing the stereo and dropping components into the front stock speaker locations made my commute much more entertaining.
 
I used a Crux SWRMZ-64C kit with my 09 to install a JVC Android Auto unit. Only thing I wanted to retain was steering wheel controls which work great. Replacing the stereo and dropping components into the front stock speaker locations made my commute much more entertaining.

Found a spare hour at work today to take the dash apart. Not too difficult, but certainly not the easiest I've dealt with. Need to run the wire for my the backup cam before I start putting things back together. Also just noticed the factory headunit had functioning Sirius in it (bought the car last week)! Not sure if there is another box somewhere or if that middle grey connector is only the antenna. Seems to have many more pins than a strictly antenna plug would. In either case, I'll need another adapter.
 
Last edited:
Did some more work last night. Pulled apart the back end, and started work on the RCA for the backup cam. Getting the wire through the rubber boot was a real pain! I probably should have used the one on the right side since there was a bit more room. But once I got started on the left, I was determined to get it done!



 
And it's finished! I ended up going with the PAC controller. As near plug and play as they come. Hardest part was running the video cable. Made sure to place it as center as possible to avoid any possible issue with the side curtain air bags. Also, removing the A-pillar was a bit tricky. It doesn't just pull out. You need to slide it UP after you pull it out a bit. There's a slip on post/tab near the top holding it in place. Getting it back in was a chore as well.

The PAC controller provides reverse, parking brake, and VSS if needed by your headunit. Means you don't have to tap reverse signal from the camera power (brake light), or run a wire down to your parking brake ground. There are 2 Illumination wires. One directly from the car harness and one coming out of the controller. Some cars don't have Illumination from the harness. In my case it did, but either wire will work. Only issue with the controller was programming additional steering wheel functions. The instructions are not clear / incomplete. Each time you program you have to go through every button function 1 through 13, not just the function you want. Also, for each function not supported or that you want to skip, you must tap the programming button on the side of the controller to skip it.

For my Pioneer headunit, Preset+- actually did tuning +-. I skipping Preset+- and used Track+- instead to get the desired preset changing result. I also swapped + and - since the Pioneer layout displays presets from top to bottom with 1 at the top and 6 at the bottom. The End Call button default on the steering wheel brings up the Phone Menu for Pioneer. I left this alone and added End Call as a long press on the same button. I set Mode to change sources and used the Voice Activation button to change bands (FM 1-2-3, Sirius 1-2-3, etc.), with a long press to activate Google/Siri VR. The Info button is used only to change info on the right side of the top display (mileage, etc).

Anyway, here it is!

Parts:
Pioneer AVH-4200NEX (pulled from my old Civic)
Esky backup camera (cheap cam also from previous install)
Metra 95-7521B Dash Kit
PAC RP4-MZ11 Wiring Interface
Metra 40-HD10 standard antenna adapter
Eightwood 3' Fakra Curry Male to SMB Female Right Angle Sirius antenna adapter
Posi-Twist 14-24 gauge connectors 18 pack (no more crimping or electrical tape!)


https://i.imgur.com/be4oQAo.jpg[/img]']https://i.imgur.com/SrhjlYC.jpg[/img]']
https://i.imgur.com/be4oQAo.jpg[/img]']https://i.imgur.com/N3Xh5iL.jpg[/img]']
 
Last edited:
I has an question, did a search, revived this thread.
How many buttons do you have on a steering wheel? Did you reprogram the "mode" button as well?
I'm struggling with my 2014 Mazda 5 Touring. Initially, tried to reuse the buttons via the CAN-bus adapter which came with my head unit, but it didn't work with the "mode" button and I couldn't remap the "speech" button as well.
So, only volume +\- and track < / > and phone buttons pickup /drop worked.

So, I cut the wire going to the canbus box and utilized the "key1" wire on my aftermarket stereo. This made it possible to remap volume +\-, track < / >and mode button. But it seems like the buttons related to phone are somewhere else, because this way "speech" "pick up" and "drop" are not recognized. Like if there's somewhere is another wire going to "key2" and I got to find that wire.

Any ideas?
 
So, I cut the wire going to the canbus box and utilized the "key1" wire on my aftermarket stereo. This made it possible to remap volume +\-, track < / >and mode button. But it seems like the buttons related to phone are somewhere else, because this way "speech" "pick up" and "drop" are not recognized. Like if there's somewhere is another wire going to "key2" and I got to find that wire.

I used the PAC RP4-MZ11 interface which handled everything directly. No need to hack up any wires, and all buttons worked.
 
From another thread:

"For steering wheel controls -> Connect the KEY1 wire to Pin 10 (Red/Black) of the vehicle connector. Connect Pin 9 (Green/White) of the radio connector to chassis ground."
 
I installed a similar pioneer SPH-DA120 in 2015 on my 2012 sport model 5. Used the same PAC adapter (or whatever was recommended by crutchfield for the car, so I’m sure it’s the same). Also wired in the parking brake bypass so on long trips the passenger can adjust stuff in the menus. We don’t do any video or anything with the unit, so it’s not for watching movies while driving. My Sport model didn’t have the built in phone controls, so I didn’t have the option for programming those controls on the wheel. I briefly looked at replacing the wheel/controls with ones that have the phone control buttons, but I don’t even know if those controls would operate and allow me to program the phone buttons if I went through the hassle of installing them. Since the 5 was always a pretty low popularity car in the US there’s been a lot less discussion of modifications and part swaps than on other models. New from Mazda the switches are about $130. Used they vary from about $50 for the switches (if you can find the exact ones), or up to $200 for a full steering wheel. I also saw there are two different sets of switches...... some have the phone buttons on the left set of six controls, while others have the answer/hang up buttons as a separate module between the left and lower spoke of the steering wheel.

I installed my backup camera several years later. The one I used had a skinny 1/4” barrel connector between the camera and the RCA cables, so it was super easy to run through the rubber boot on the door vs. trying to fish the RCA connectors. I did try that for a few minutes before I realized the barrel connector unplugged.

My pioneer unit just crapped out right before Covid hit and got stuck in a boot loop, so right now I have the stock unit swapped back. I’m looking at getting a new DMH-2660NEX. Basically the same thing I had, but the screen is a little bigger and it adds HD radio. Part of the reason I’m sticking with pioneer is because the existing wiring harness I built for the last stereo is compatible, so wiring-wise it’s plug and play. I still have to pull the dash back apart again, but I’d have to do that with any new stereo anyway. I’d love to stick one of the new floating 10” display units they just came out with, but I’m much happier spending $300 on a replacement vs. $1,000+.
 
is the sirius works fine? Thanks

You bypass the stock Sirius unit, and use the aftermarket Sirius kit. The existing antenna is retained with a cheap adapter that plugs in behind the glovebox.

"Eightwood 3' Fakra Curry Male to SMB Female Right Angle Sirius antenna adapter"
 
From another thread:

"For steering wheel controls -> Connect the KEY1 wire to Pin 10 (Red/Black) of the vehicle connector. Connect Pin 9 (Green/White) of the radio connector to chassis ground."
Hello,

Yes, I've seen that post. Seems like everybody has Mazda 5 sport - without the BT unit and call control buttons. I think the extra buttons are somehow wired through the BT unit which I've just disconnected.

On a side note, I'd like to use this opportunity to flex 9" android head unit, see attachments. Sharing my experience: if you ever go aliexpress way, better stick with popular brands that have community, firmware support, etc. I purchased "otojeta", which is a rebranded "idoing" and I'm quite unhappy with overheating, lack of mounting hardware, minimal support and crippled canbus adapter.

Think about aliexpress android units more like as of "DIY kits" than a product.

On a positive note: I would definitely recommend this particular reverse camera. This is not my first installation and these are cheap, they come with an easy to fish cable (round barrel connector) and the picture quality is awesome. Also, you can disable parking lines, which I did, as my head unit has adjustable parking lines.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20200517_210506.jpg
    IMG_20200517_210506.jpg
    78.6 KB · Views: 286
  • IMG_20200517_185722.jpg
    IMG_20200517_185722.jpg
    48.3 KB · Views: 294
Yes, I've seen that post. Seems like everybody has Mazda 5 sport - without the BT unit and call control buttons. I think the extra buttons are somehow wired through the BT unit which I've just disconnected.

The factory BT unit is not retained in my setup. All controls are passed through CANBUS.

Feel free to start a new thread with your particular setup/issues.
 
Ho appena acquistato una GT del 2013. Per prima cosa, sostituisci lo stereo!

Dopo alcune chiacchiere con i rappresentanti di iDatalink Maestro, sembra che il Maestro RR non farà molto oltre a mantenere i comandi del volante. Speravo di integrare i sensori di parcheggio di fabbrica e possibilmente l'antenna Sirius. Dal momento che non può fare queste cose, probabilmente andrò con il kit di interfaccia PAC.

Cosa hanno fatto gli altri con le installazioni di impianti stereo aftermarket e quali caratteristiche di fabbrica sei riuscito a mantenere? Quali opzioni non di fabbrica hai aggiunto al tuo nuovo stereo? Non tanto interessato a nuovi amplificatori/altoparlanti o al miglioramento della qualità del suono.
hello friend, I have a 2013 Mazda 5 with the original navigator and I would like to change, putting an Android 2din.. the problem is that the power cable has a different connection and I have not found any cable that fits, what power cable do you have used? Attached are the photos of the original power cord of the car and of the new car radio that I would like to buy. Thanks in advance
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20181026_125004.jpg
    IMG_20181026_125004.jpg
    81.8 KB · Views: 65
  • IMG20230323173744.jpg
    IMG20230323173744.jpg
    65 KB · Views: 54
  • IMG20230323173731.jpg
    IMG20230323173731.jpg
    46.8 KB · Views: 57
  • Screenshot_2023-03-28-10-37-34-90_b5f6883d2c20a96c53babc0b4ac88108.jpg
    Screenshot_2023-03-28-10-37-34-90_b5f6883d2c20a96c53babc0b4ac88108.jpg
    65.1 KB · Views: 54
Last edited:
I have no idea what you said, but I did see the picture of the total piece of s*** Chinese "Android" head unit. You do NOT want one of those things. Avoid at all costs.
 
I have no idea what you said, but I did see the picture of the total piece of s*** Chinese "Android" head unit. You do NOT want one of those things. Avoid at all costs.
hello friend, I have a 2013 Mazda 5 with the original navigator and I would like to change, putting an Android 2din.. the problem is that the power cable has a different connection and I have not found any cable that fits, what power cable do you have used? Attached are the photos of the original power cord of the car and of the new car radio that I would like to buy. Thanks in advance
 
Back