[jsouth]

Has anyone done the Bluetooth module replacement yourself? I'm long out of warranty and it will be on my nickel. I can at least save the labor, as it seems to be a simple task of unplugging the old one behind the glovebox and replacing it with new.

If someone has done it:
* is there programming required after installation?
* did they require return of the old unit?

 

[tlogic]

According to the workshop manual the only thing you need to do is disconnect the negative battery terminal BEFORE removing/installing the new unit.

Once the installation is done, reconnect the battery and turn ON the car (engine on/off doesn't matter) and wait a couple of minutes for the new bluetooth module to be recognized.

There is a warning in the manual that if you don't disconnect the battery before installing the bluetooth module it might not get recognized. Other than it should be as easy as you mentioned, just remove the bolts that hold the old unit in and replace it with the new one.

 

[jsouth]

According to the workshop manual the only thing you need to do is disconnect the negative battery terminal BEFORE removing/installing the new unit.

tlogic, thank you for your response. Sounds like you access to the workshop manual. So no reprogramming of the existing head unit is required? Just plug in the updated BT module and go? I'll have to strongly consider it. It's a bit pricey not to know for CERTAIN that it works plug and play. I appreciate your help.


In the meantime I have discovered that BT audio works well. I have an Android phone and use Google Play for music, but offline - using my mp3 and wma files on a microsd card in the phone. It will connect and resume playing perfectly.

 

[tlogic]

tlogic, thank you for your response. Sounds like you access to the workshop manual. So no reprogramming of the existing head unit is required? Just plug in the updated BT module and go? I'll have to strongly consider it. It's a bit pricey not to know for CERTAIN that it works plug and play. I appreciate your help.


In the meantime I have discovered that BT audio works well. I have an Android phone and use Google Play for music, but offline - using my mp3 and wma files on a microsd card in the phone. It will connect and resume playing perfectly.

Yes, according to the workshop manual no reprogramming is needed. Just unplug the negative battery terminal before removing the old one and installing the new one. Once done with the installation connect the battery and set the car to the ON position and wait for a couple of minutes. It will auto-detect the presence of the the bluetooth module. That's exactly what it says However I haven't done so you might prefer to have a confirmation from someone who has done it before.


Re: the BT Audio, yes I have the bluetooth module on my phone and it works fine with streaming spotify pretty much every day.

 

[cellmice]

Has anyone done the Bluetooth module replacement yourself? I'm long out of warranty and it will be on my nickel. I can at least save the labor, as it seems to be a simple task of unplugging the old one behind the glovebox and replacing it with new.

If someone has done it:
* is there programming required after installation?
* did they require return of the old unit?

Hey jsouth, Did you happen to find a Bluetooth module for sale and replace it? I found some but they were $350 which is kind of pricy to fix. At the moment i'm just playing from my phone so it doesn't always go back to first song. I guess there's better headunits at that price point but just trying to see if you found cheaper modules.

 

[jsouth]

Hey jsouth, Did you happen to find a Bluetooth module for sale and replace it? I found some but they were $350 which is kind of pricy to fix. At the moment i'm just playing from my phone so it doesn't always go back to first song. I guess there's better headunits at that price point but just trying to see if you found cheaper modules.

No I have not found ANY source other than the dealer at that price. I have not seen used ones on eBay. At this point with the car being 6 years old, I probably won't spend the money. It's my wife's car and she likes SIRIUS XM. We only wanted the USB playback for trips and I can use my phone for that.

I'm just still pretty bitter that the MP3 playback is so awful in a 2014 model. I have a 2003 Creative Labs Zen NX player with car player mode which does the trick perfectly - it stops and restarts on the same song. Yet 11 years later a software engineer at Mazda could not accomplish this? WTAF.

 

[cellmice]

No I have not found ANY source other than the dealer at that price. I have not seen used ones on eBay. At this point with the car being 6 years old, I probably won't spend the money. It's my wife's car and she likes SIRIUS XM. We only wanted the USB playback for trips and I can use my phone for that.

I'm just still pretty bitter that the MP3 playback is so awful in a 2014 model. I have a 2003 Creative Labs Zen NX player with car player mode which does the trick perfectly - it stops and restarts on the same song. Yet 11 years later a software engineer at Mazda could not accomplish this? WTAF.

Yeah couldn't agree more, I spent 4 months looking for a 14/15GT within my price range and knew about how awful the media center is which is should be livable but no the worst is the stupid play 1st song every time the car turns off/on. If i knew that I might have spent a bit more time/money and look for a 16 GT instead. Still love the car regardless of the flaw in this, was hoping there would be a bunch of used bluetooth module by now but seems not every get rid of their beloved 14/15.

 

[jsouth]

Even though the MP3 implementation sucks, if you put the files on your phone, you can bluetooth music playback just fine on the stock system. It starts/stops in the middle of the song you left when you turned the car off exactly as it should. I have mp3 files on a microSD card in my phone and play back that way. Occasionally I have to set up the bluetooth to use my phone as the media device (it defaults to my wife's phone).