09 / 10 Mazda Axela Stereo / Bluetooth

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RyanDre

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#295377 24-Mar-2022 16:18

Hi all, this weekend we will be buying a Mazda Axela for our daughter. I KNOW she will want / need bluetooth music working. We can probably survive without the gps working, and the limited radio reception

Two cars we have our eye on have slightly different factory audio systems. One has the BOSE system, and the nice looking double din head unit has a rear camera integrated in the rear boot badge. It says it has bluetooth, but I have a funny feeling it may only be for phone calls and not audio?

The second car which is cheaper with slightly more kms, has the standard audio system, still with a double din head unit. Unsure about bluetooth at this stage.

I know there are thousands of these cars around so someone might know if the BOSE system can play BT music? If it cant, that car probaly becomes out of our price range if it needs another head unit, and apparently gets even more expensive making it work with the Bose speakers and amp/sub.

So if that was the case the cheaper car with slightly more kms becomes more appealing as we could put a new head unit in for maybe 5 or $600.

Obviously if no one knows I can spend some time when we look at the car trying to pair a phone in Japanese when we test drive it .....

Cheers for any info.

CYaBro

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#2891489 24-Mar-2022 17:17

Not sure if helpful or not but we have a 2004 Mazda 3 / Alexa and I think that style went to 2009.

I bought an Android head unit off AliExpress for about $200 specifically for the Mazda 3 2004-2009 model and that is basically an android tablet in the dash now.
It has bluetooth and can also connect to wifi so you can download apps from the Play store.
It came with a Mic with a long cable so you can use hands free calling.
It can also take a camera I think but my car doesn't have one.
It has two USB ports on the back so I can power my dash cam from that as well as plug in a phone.
I have since got a USB dongle that gives you Apple Car Play, and possibly Android Auto but never tried, on that Android head unit (using an app you install on the stereo), which is what we use all the time now rather than bluetooth.
From memory that USB dongle was about $80.

It was all very easy to install as the existing wiring loam just plugged straight into the replacement stereo.
Other than the LCD display, that was used to display the time, radio frequency etc from the factory stereo, it all works great.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

RyanDre

59 posts

Master Geek

#2891496 24-Mar-2022 17:48

Thanks, yea this will be the next model car. But yes an after market head unit on the cheaper car will be a possibility if the dearer car Bluetooth isn't sufficient

insane

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#2891520 24-Mar-2022 18:22

My 2013 cx-5 has the Bose audio option. Came with a pioneer unit (3/4 Japanese and 1/4 english). Did in the end manage to get that swapped for a Sony but OMG it was testing and I had to eventually take it to an installer, and after that also buy voltage regulator for the one cameras to work.

It's great now, but what a struggle! I've done a few other Headunit replacements and those were always so simple.

lxsw20

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#2892014 25-Mar-2022 11:53

I had an 09 MPS with the Bose setup, and the factory headunit. It had an AUX input but I don't think they had BT until facelift, and pretty sure you're right about the calling only aspect.

The Bose system sounds great in the Axelas of that generation. I have a feeling the amp under the drivers seat does most of the processing, so you may get away with a headunit upgrade and retaining the Bose system.

I've fitted a Carplay unit in my 06 MX-5 with Bose system. I just had to buy a particular wire harness to do this.

If you link to the cars, should be able to give you a better idea of your options.

RyanDre

59 posts

Master Geek

#2892018 25-Mar-2022 11:57

Apparently you run into problems if you change the headunit in a Bose setup, you end up needing to replace the amp as well, otherwise you get popping and cracking sounds

I havent even heard back from the dealer with the Bose car after 2 emails wanting to arrange to look at it tomorrow, so I may end up not bothering with them anyway.