The 2021 guide to upgrading a 2015 Leaf S radio

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probich0

New member
Joined
Jul 9, 2021
Messages
1
Just bought my newly-licensed stepdaughter her first car, a 2015 Leaf S. Because I don't want her to be tempted to fool around with her phone whilst driving, I want to replace the factory radio with one that has Android Auto. Her mother insists that we preserve the backup camera, which is fair. I want to retain the steering wheel controls to reduce the need to touch the phone when changing songs, etc. All 3 of us want to retain Bluetooth hands-free for phone calls, although I personally don't care if we use the factory mic or a third-party unit.

I've installed maybe a dozen car stereos, so I am comfortable soldering, removing trim, etc. However, most of them have either been in cars where there were no existing systems to integrate with (e.g. a 2010 Altima that didn't have a backup camera) or plug-and-play using off-the-shelf parts from Crutchfield. I'd appreciate some guidance on what, exactly, I need to mate a reasonable Android Auto-capable receiver to the SWC, backup camera, and/or Bluetooth in the car; Crutchfield only offers a harness for the SWC (a Crux SWRNS-63U is their suggestion).

Thanks!
 
Hey, nice first car! I had a Citroen Visa... probably never made it to the states. Anyway, I have been looking at the possibilities here, without finding any real solutions, but then I saw this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rawi5OY4-AQ

A bloke has supposedly managed to install Android Auto onto the original Nav unit. Have any of you heard of this or seen it in action? I am surprised I can't find any word of it here. This would be a game changer for life with an (oldish as he can't do the original 2010-2015 models, only Late 2015-2017) Leaf.

I am not advertising it, because I don't know how well it works, but you simply take your SD card out of the car, stick it in a PC, follow his instructions on downloading software, then send him an ID code from the car and a payment of 300USD and he sends an activation code, and away you go.

I am dubious, but he claims a working AA headunit but without any hardware removal or loss of cameras etc.

Sounds too good to be true?
 
Is that it!?!?

Nobody cares?

Thats weird, I thought this would be quite significant given how bad the OEM system is, but not even a reply from the op.

Hey ho.
 
If I used my Leaf for roadtrips I'd probably upgrade the radio but for me, it's just an around-town car. As such, I can live with the crappy sound system. And on an S model, it is truly sub-standard.
 
tomhanman said:
Nobody cares?

Thats weird, I thought this would be quite significant given how bad the OEM system is, but not even a reply from the op.

I care a lot. So much so that I bought a stereo out of a junked 2016 Leaf (US) so I could retrofit it into my 2013 Leaf (US). What slowed me down there was that the stereo, antenna, and satellite connectors are different between 2013 and 2016, and I'm trying to avoid cutting the factory harness if at all possible. I also like the ability to stop charging at 80% on my 2013 Leaf, which I may lose if upgrading to the newer stereo and/or Xanavi firmware.

I (or you) would need to dig back through the message board and elsewhere to see the other posts on this very subject, but part of the skepticism of the Xanavi approach was that, at the time, "after updating the menu of charging and climate control timers will be unavailable." A response to a comment in that YouTube video seems to indicate that the problem has been resolved. IIRC, Xanavi basically pulled the firmware from a 2018+ Leaf and modified it to work on the 2016-2018 cars. I can't recall if steering wheel controls work with the revised firmware.

Then there's the whole cost aspect. For $300, you still get a seemingly clunky factory stereo experience that will eventually feel as bad as my current 2013 stock navigation setup. Though my car is an SV, I've contemplated downgrading from the factory stereo to a modern double-DIN Android Auto head unit. I would replace the stereo/heater control bezel with one from an S, but haven't found cheap parts to test that out. I know I'd lose functionality by removing the factory navigation head unit, but I still need to figure out if I'll cause CAN errors or other system problems.
 
We’re you able to find a good pinout for the 2016 radio? I’m trying to do a similar upgrade and can’t find that year or 2018. The connectors look the same for the 2016 and 2018 nav head units, but I don’t know if the 40 pin configuration has been changed
 
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