2015 Nissan Leaf S radio replacement: Everything works without cutting.

[takis]

I finally managed to replace the radio on my 2015 Leaf S (the most basic model, no NAV, no BOSE) and i wanted to put down the list of adapters needed to make it happen without cutting into the factory harness.

First of all, respect to the professional car stereo installers. Even though I have some experience with soldering and have replaced other (simpler) car stereos before, this one here was pretty complicated for me.

The factory radio has a tiny screen and the Bluetooth does not support streaming so I replaced it with an Alpine ILX-207. It has all the features I wanted (including android auto and apple car play) but it also has a microphone right on the unit’s faceplate. I never liked those ugly mics included with most units (this unit has one too, if you need one).

Before replacing the radio, I replaced all four speakers with Rockford Fosgate R1675X2 (the factory are 2 Ohm). With the AI NSB710 mounting brackets and the Metra 72-7401 wiring adapters they fit right in (using the factory holes and cabling. No cutting). I found enough guides on youtube of how to remove the door panels but it still took me half a day. Since i had access to the inside of the doors, I added some Scosche Accumat HyperFlex Speaker Kit Damping Material that i cut in strips.

What factory items are integrated: FM antenna, SiriusXM antenna, USB port, steering wheel controls and rear view camera.
What is not: The factory microphone. I could not find a good way to use the factory unit without gutting half of the car or using a weird re-pinning I found in another post.

So here is the list:
• Alpine iLX-207: I bought this from crutchfield (no affiliation) and they sprung the NDK780 2din conversion plastics and the 40-NI12 FM antenna harness and the 70-7552 main plug harness for free. To mount it I used the side metal brackets of the original radio.
• NDK780 Dash Kit: I would say ‘meh’ quality but it does the job and very nearly matches the dash
• Metra 70-7552 Receiver Wiring Harness: As is it covers all the speaker and power connections. I had to buy another one to get some extra pins for the steering wheel signals.
• SiriusXM SXV300v1 module: Plugs right in. The back side of the radio is single DIN sized so I manage to mount it on top of it.
• iDatalink Maestro SAT1: Plugs right in the SXV300 module and the factory SAT antenna.
• PAC SWI-CP2 Steering Wheel Control Adapter: I had to fiddle a lit bit with the WEB interface to update and configure it, but now it works fine. It gets the steering wheel buttons signals from the other plug so I used the AX-NIS32SWC-6V for that.
• AXXESS AX-NIS32SWC-6V: This is the other plug that adapts the steering wheel controls and the backup camera. This is normally for the AXXESS ASWC-1 but with a little bit of cut and snip it works for the PAC unit. It also contained the AX-CAM6V 12-volt to 6-volt for the camera.
• USB adapter: I bought a “Usb Cable Audio Adapter For Nissan Teana Qashqai” out of ebay that works. I later found out that there is a “Metra AX-NISUSB-2” that should work too.

I am very happy with this unit. Everything work and looks factory and I can get back to the factory radio very easily if I want to (sell it).
Don’t forget to de-register your phone(s) from the factory radio before you disconnect it. The actual factory Bluetooth unit I somewhere in the trunk and I don’t know how it will behave after the upgrade.
Also, I found out that I need a “parking brake bypass” with the specific Alpine radio because the old “ground it” trick does not work here. Without it, I cannot access most of the configuration settings.

Here are some pictures.

With the factory mounting brackets.

With the factory mounting brackets and the NDK780 kit.

Metra 70-7552 and AXXESS AX-NIS32SWC-6V connectors.

Installed !!

 

[Lothsahn]

I finally managed to replace the radio on my 2015 Leaf S

Amazing job! Not an easy replacement at all...

 

[kschramm]

Great job! And excellent write up. I hope to be doing the same with my 2016 leaf s. Quick question. Did you sound quality improve? Was it drastic improvement?

 

[takis]

Great job! And excellent write up. I hope to be doing the same with my 2016 leaf s. Quick question. Did you sound quality improve? Was it drastic improvement?

I think it is clearly a drastic improvement. Compared to what i have now the sound before was muffled like having pillows in front of the speakers. It is obvious that i can hear much more frequencies with much less distortion and it can go up to "twice" the volume level now, (At least that's what my subjective ear/butt monitor tells me anyway).

 

[Amund]

Is the Steering Wheel Control Adapter needed?
I switched to an aftermarket radio without buying any Steering Wheel Control Adapter, and the audio controlls on the steering wheel are working fine on the 2014 S for volume and switching channels. I can map the buttons to any functions on the head unit. But the phone buttons does not work.

My problem is that the head unit just had simple standard Nissan plugs, like a 20pins connector for power and speakers, and an antenna connector. What i am missing, is wires for camera and microphone.
Do i need both the AX-NIS32SWC-6V and ASWC-1 to get the camera and mic working, or is there any simpler solutions?
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=26210

 

[gregory.opera]

Hey @takis , what did you need the iDatalink Maestro for, and what sort of functionality did it provide?