Replacing MFT & Nav, but retaining climate controls and steering wheel controls

[spongers]

So, one of the main reasons I purchased my Edge is because of the MFT w/Sync system. However, as of late, even after all of the upgrades I have been a bit dissapointed with it. This thread is not to start a debate on whether or not I am wrong in my thinking, or your experience with MFT versus mine, rather to find out if it is even possible to replace the stock unit, while retaining the climate and steering wheel controls. Because some of the climate controls can only be found on the touch screen (i.e. heated seats) I am afraid this just isn't possible, but I am wondering what other people think, or if they have done it themselves. My end goal is to replace the head unit with a Google Nexus 7, which I currently use via bluetooth, but it would be simpler if I could just mount the Nexus 7 permenently in the dash in place of the stock touch screen.

 

I have a 2011 Edge SEL with MFT and Navigation.

 

Thanks everyone!

[Tacyon]

Have you seen this ? Might be an easier approach. Kind of, "Do not try and bend the spoon. That's impossible. Instead... only try to realize the truth. There is no spoon."

 

[spongers]

Yeah, I have seen that, and I made my own custom mount, but I want to fully replace the system with the Nexus 7, not just have it interface with the MFT. I called soundman and they want $800 for that little piece of fiberglass, BTW.

 

Anyone else? No one has tried this at all?

[Waldo]

Everything about MFT relies on network communication. Even if you can figure out how to physically install the Nexus,7, you're going to need to write a lot of software code to get everything talking properly.

 

There really is no such thing as a "head unit" in the MFT system anyway. There's the touchscreen, then there's the FCDIM (the capacitive) switches, there's the ACM which is the closest thing to a head unit, then there's a RCCM (to control the climate), the APIM to control the bluetooth/USB stuff, the seat heater modules, the cluster and it's menu system, the GPSM which is the GPS signals, the DSP and amplifier to control the speakers and they all talk to each other with network messages, not simple voltage signals. Which ones are you going to keep and which ones are you going to replace?

Edited February 18, 2013 by Waldo

[spongers]

Everything about MFT relies on network communication. Even if you can figure out how to physically install the Nexus,7, you're going to need to write a lot of software code to get everything talking properly.

 

There really is no such thing as a "head unit" in the MFT system anyway. There's the touchscreen, then there's the FCDIM (the capacitive) switches, there's the ACM which is the closest thing to a head unit, then there's a RCCM (to control the climate), the APIM to control the bluetooth/USB stuff, the seat heater modules, the cluster and it's menu system, the GPSM which is the GPS signals, the DSP and amplifier to control the speakers and they all talk to each other with network messages, not simple voltage signals. Which ones are you going to keep and which ones are you going to replace?

 

I would like to keep as much stock functionality in general, just replacing the touchscreen with the Nexus 7. The coding part I can do, just wondering if there are any hardware interfaces already built for the Nexus (or USB in general I guess), or if there are any other aftermarket hardware pieces out there that replace what is in the MFT system already. I know this is going to be a hard endeavour, just want to see if anyone else has done this, or attempted to at least.

[Waldo]

I would like to keep as much stock functionality in general, just replacing the touchscreen with the Nexus 7. The coding part I can do, just wondering if there are any hardware interfaces already built for the Nexus (or USB in general I guess), or if there are any other aftermarket hardware pieces out there that replace what is in the MFT system already. I know this is going to be a hard endeavour, just want to see if anyone else has done this, or attempted to at least.

 

I don't understand what you are trying to accomplish. If you only replace the touchscreen with another touchscreen, what are you hoping to gain? The touchscreen isn't the problem with MFT, it's the software that slows everything down. If you are a software writer, then just jump in, there's no need to change any hardware.

[spongers]

If I can program a Nexus 7 to interface with the varying control modules, the interface itself could become faster because the nexus 7 handles all of the calling, and can move on to another task faster than the MFT can currently (i.e going from climate control section to Nav). On a nexus 7 it is an app, and multitasking is much better.

 

Ideally, I would like to replace everything, but I am sure that is not possible. Maybe I am reaching for the stars here.

[Waldo]

I think you're reaching for the stars. An entire team of engineers spent an entire year just rewriting the software for the MFT without even changing the hardware, how do you expect you can do better in less time? Essentially what you're trying to do is re-write the software to work on Android instead of Windows. I don't think that's a trivial one-man job, especially since you're not likely to have access to all the coding and protocols of all the different modules. And as I pointed out above, MFT isn't just a box, it's an entire network consisting of MANY different modules.