Kenwood DNX893S in the XLR

[Crimson Pearl]

Someday

Looking forward to seeing it in person someday!

 

[XLRATING]

ALL DONE!!! (except for doing some personalization).

For the last step, Mike took a file & enlarged the trunk touch pad opening just a bit to run the back up camera wire through. That way he didn't have to drill a hole anywhere, and we could still put the car back to OEM condition if we wanted (what we've aimed for with all our mods, just in case we are forced to sell it & can get a better price for OEM condition).

Think I'll be busy playing for a while...

 

[Popbigguy]

I'm looking forward to seeing this at the 15th yr meet. Hope you kept a journal on how you did it Mike!

 

[05 GRAND DADDY]

ALL DONE!!! (except for doing some personalization).

For the last step, Mike took a file & enlarged the trunk touch pad opening just a bit to run the back up camera wire through. That way he didn't have to drill a hole anywhere, and we could still put the car back to OEM condition if we wanted (what we've aimed for with all our mods, just in case we are forced to sell it & can get a better price for OEM condition).

Think I'll be busy playing for a while...

Yup I do the same thing.... Try to keep her OEM.... as of now the only thing that's not factory that I know of, is the Corsa Exhaust, but that was already on her when I bought her!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[XLRATING]

I'm looking forward to seeing this at the 15th yr meet. Hope you kept a journal on how you did it Mike!

Right now we're thinking of just taking the V (which we aren't messing with!), but it's a longgg way off so who knows!

 

[traderricky]

Looks like the Kenwood DNX893S is going to work in my XLR. They are buttoning up everything now after about 3 hours. Added a backup camera and Sirius/XM. I'll update as soon as I take possession of the car.

Follow up:
First off, the guys at Houston Car Stereo on Hillcroft in Houston are jam up guys, willing to do anything to make a happy customer. Their leather sofa in the waiting room never made me tire of sitting.

We used the Metra GMOS-06 network adapter, PAC-TR7 and the PAC SWI-RC steering wheel adapter.
The owner was very good in trying these adapters out, even though every catalog does not list them as suitable for our XLR vehicles. At the very least I would get an updated Nav unit in my car with sound bypassing the Bose system using the Kenwood's amp along with a much needed backup camera. If everything worked as hoped for, I would retain OnStar, Bose, and all the other things that go along with it. I would also retain control over the steering wheel controls as well. After a couple of hours in the shop, the owner came out and said everything was working, Bose, OnStar, backup cam but they had no sound output. I immediately pulled up the wiring diagram that is in the thread "App Radio" and showed it to the tech. He had me text him the link to h is phone, he pulled it up and within 10 minutes we had some serious sound coming from the Kenwood. So I have a new Kenwood Nav unit, with HD radio, Garmin navigation, Android Auto, bluetooth phone and music plus DVD that can play while driving if the passenger/co-pilot wants to watch a movie. I'm not sure I'm going for a Sirius/XM tuner as I have it on my cell phone and can port it over to the Kenwood via bluetooth, time will tell and it's an easy add-on later
The steering wheel controls work for the volume up/down and instead of "Source" for the smaller button it's a scan button for whatever media source
I'm listening to at the moment.
View attachment 6567

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<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/177311048" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
20160802_165607[1] from Rex McCall on Vimeo.

What was the cost if you don't mind sharing??

 

[rexster314]

What was the cost if you don't mind sharing??

Right around 1600 for everything including rear view camera

 

[James Landi]

Right around 1600 for everything including rear view camera

With all of the potential improvements that the Kenwood has as part of its suite of features, and just how limited the original electronics are on the car, your initiative and anxiety and money appear to be a very substantial improvements. Thanks for being willing to share this and so much other information... greatly appreciated... James

 

[Popbigguy]

Right now we're thinking of just taking the V (which we aren't messing with!), but it's a longgg way off so who knows!

Isn't that son 16+ now?? He could drive the other X!!

 

[XLRATING]

Isn't that son 16+ now?? He could drive the other X!!

No, he's not old enough to drive yet (thank goodness!) although he's way ahead of the game shopping for what car he wants. You gotta know he's not driving any XLR of ours!! He already said he's scared to drive ANY car I drive because I "keep them too nice" & he'd be afraid of messing them up.

 

[Full-Tilt-Hiltz]

This is great info... the Kenwood in mine has no ACC ??

Hi

The info on your upgrade is really helpful.
The 2006 that I purchased this summer to replace my 2004 came with a Kenwood DDX770 upgrade. The upgrade has caused the ACC to not work at all. Any info, web site redirects or comparison to your install that you can provide on this issue would be greatly appreciated. I have been searching and have also had the upper console apart looking at what they did in the install. No luck yet, so the result is this inquiry.
Hopefully all that I need to find is just a better set of steering wheel adapters.

Looks like you upgrade was a home run.

Thanks in advance

FTH

Funny, I checked the video settings on Vimeo, and it's set for public viewing. I did a few tweaks on the settings however. Can you check again and let me know?

The drive out price on the install was 1800$, including tax. The 893S head unit is pretty pricey, but it has lots of features available. The price on head unit alone was $1030, which is not bad considering it goes for 1299$ list, and around 1200$ even on eBay. I had what was then the top of the line Kenwood DNX8120 installed in an 09 Buick Enclave in 2008 and that was around 1500$ installed, so not too bad all things considered. Wife loves it, especially the back up camera which gives an excellent view and is pretty wide angle so you can see approaching cars in a parking lot. It is also a Kenwood product. It's 330,000 pixels CMOS camera.

 

[James Landi]

Kenwood in the XLR

Perhaps we can convince our XLR brother to quit his day job and take this show on the road... if he performed the install as a "house call," theoretically he could visit all 50 states and places in Europe and make a good living! It's incredible at just how antique the XLR's installed electronics are BEFORE the advent of smart phone technology that was created and marketed in 2007. In Thomas Friedman's new book, Thank You for Being Late, he analyzes global cultural impact of smart phone technology... a good read... Happy day, James

 

[rexster314]

Hi

The info on your upgrade is really helpful.
The 2006 that I purchased this summer to replace my 2004 came with a Kenwood DDX770 upgrade. The upgrade has caused the ACC to not work at all. Any info, web site redirects or comparison to your install that you can provide on this issue would be greatly appreciated. I have been searching and have also had the upper console apart looking at what they did in the install. No luck yet, so the result is this inquiry.
Hopefully all that I need to find is just a better set of steering wheel adapters.

Looks like you upgrade was a home run.

Thanks in advance

FTH

Sounds as if the installer didn't use the proper wiring harness. the ACC works fine in my X

 

[thumper]

Many thanks to Rexster314 for all the information this thread. It finally inspired me to tackle the installation on my 2008 V.

Armed with a printout of this thread, I visited 5 different car audio installers in the Toronto area. Only Noize Boyz in Aurora said "Sure, let's give it a try."

The installation went smoothly and cost just under $2500 (That's Canadian dollars including tax). I opted for the DNX994S head unit with back up camera. All other modules were as listed earlier in this thread.

They did have a small problem programming the steering wheel module and had to call their tech support people to get it sorted out.

What doesn't work:
Seek buttons on left steering wheel do nothing but the up/down (prev/next) buttons do work
The stations are not displayed on the HUD but speed and directional signals still are.
For some reason, the Mute/Voice recognition button on the far right is now an additional volume up.
(Someday, if it really bugs me, I might take it back and let Chris or Ian see about fixing the Mute button)

Everything else works.

One thing that bugs me though is the glare from the screen. I know it's a real problem particularly with the top down. I've ordered an anti-glare screen protector and I'll post my results after I install it.
Finger prints are also annoying but the screen protector is supposed to help with that. You would think that Kenwood could provide a better screen for their top-of-the-line unit.

I would like to get OBD2 monitoring working on the unit but no luck yet. I'd appreciate any suggestions.

 

[Maverick]

Alpine iLX-007

I had this installed in my 2006 XLR. It work flawlessly and I love it. $200 for the install at Best Buy in Kingsport,TN. All of my steering wheel controls work as well as all of my HUD. I just don’t get the station or song info on HUD.

 

[rexster314]

Sun glare on the screen is pretty bad. It can only be mitigated by tilting the screen down. If the sun is behind you, all bets are off

Of course, I'm talking with the top down

 

[rexster314]

Many thanks to Rexster314 for all the information this thread. It finally inspired me to tackle the installation on my 2008 V.

I would like to get OBD2 monitoring working on the unit but no luck yet. I'd appreciate any suggestions.

I'm thinking the only way to get the OBD info is to use iDataLink box. Since the XLR is not supported by this product, I dropped the idea. There may be a way to get it working, and it may be all it needs is to be installed and the OBD plugged up to the iDataLink. Short of that the only thing would have been to get Panasonic AppRadio instead of the Kenwood. That would have given you a way to squirt in the OBD info. Or use the HDMI or MHL connections to mirror your phone on the Kenwood screen. (Something I haven't got around to)

 

[Als-Garage]

What to do in 2018 with replacing the Nav Unit in my XLR

I bought my 2005 XLR about 18 months ago and desperately need a backup camera and cell phone setup.
Is the Kenwood DNX893S still the unit of choice? Has anybody put together a detailed installation instruction listing or YouTube video?
Is this now a DIY task or does it still require a professional??

 

[rexster314]

I bought my 2005 XLR about 18 months ago and desperately need a backup camera and cell phone setup.
Is the Kenwood DNX893S still the unit of choice? Has anybody put together a detailed installation instruction listing or YouTube video?
Is this now a DIY task or does it still require a professional??

This thread contains all the info you need to make an install. If you're reasonably proficient with some tools, you could probably do it yourself, including the backup camera. There's a newer Kenwood out but I don't know anything about it.

 

[thumper]

Glare

Sun glare on the screen is pretty bad. It can only be mitigated by tilting the screen down. If the sun is behind you, all bets are off

Of course, I'm talking with the top down

I just installed an anti glare screen protector and it is great. Reflection is hardly noticeable. Top down, sunny day.

Here is the one I bought.

Lexerd - Kenwood DNN-992 TrueVue Anti-glare In-Dash Screen Protector: Amazon.ca: Electronics