# Custom Android H/U for Kia Forte5 SX



## fredridge (Jan 17, 2007)

I posted a month back asking about a head unit for my wife's car. She wanted Carplay, preferably wireless. I started looking at options. I was feeling lazy and not totally wanting to do install myself, so I looked at a couple local shops. Obviously a few different options so a wide range of prices. I really didn't like the double din kits that were out there for the car, as it made the radio look like it had a chin and didn't look factory at all. I started looking into custom work and to get something blended well it was going to be about 2k. 

As I started looking at the stereo they were recommending I came across the Android units on Amazon. There are lots of them. One of the ones I found had a custom panel for the Forte5 and was suppose to be plug and play. There was very little info and only a couple reviews, but it was a little less than $500 and I had some rewards points, so I decided to take the risk. This is the one I ordered https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07STZFW3Q/ref=cfb_at_prodpg?th=1

It took almost a week for it to ship, then it got here from China in a few days. It came right before Christmas. I got the unit and it looked good, lots of connections, a basic manual that was more about getting started than install and a few small parts. They had already wired the adapter hardness for the car, so theoretically it should have been plug and play

I had already done some research for install on our car, this thread on Forteforums was extremely helpful. I knew I was probably going to have to do a few things to maintain all factory functions. While researching I found two different wiring schematics and of course, they wired for the one that was different than mine. 

I wasn't too worried as I had read the thread and already planned to do some work. I went through the wires and made necessary changes and contacted the seller. Honestly, I figured I was on my own. Within an hour I got a return email from the seller in China (I was working Sunday night, their Monday morning) and they were extremely helpful. We exchanged numerous emails not only about install, but wiring, functions etc. 

The customer service has been fantastic. Much better than I would have ever expected. I made some of the wiring changes I needed, added the step down transformer for the camera and installed the unit. One issue was a factory USB adapter cable that is rare and couldn't find anywhere. I just got a message that they are shipping me an adapter. 

My wife loves it and it has been pretty good so far. with a few minor issues I am still working on.

1. Mic volume - I placed the mic that came with unit on steering column. So far people have trouble hearing when we call. I am going to try and wire factor mic and if that doesn't work well, I will move the mic from steering column to headliner. 

2. Volume discrepancies for different functions. To hear calls it needs to be turned up and when switches back to music, it's super loud. Might be able to find an android app for that. 

3. Install- the faceplate is the only thing holding the radio, it is pretty solid and it's not going anywhere, but brackets would make me feel better. Also, minor issue with gap tolerances. I am not OCD, so not the biggest issue. 

Overall - this was a great buy and definitely worth it for the custom fit and seems to work great. They have a ton of them for different model cars.


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