Upgrade 2008 Edge Limited Radio and Instrument cluster

Wesley · May 22, 2014

My '08 Edge Limited has been great, but for two basic gripes:

1) The dash instrument cluster is all but impossible to see at night. The bulbs are all on and as bright as they will go. The greenish chrome with red needles dont make a good contrast.

2) The Sync radio is ok, but just.

I had an opportunity to drive a '14 Edge SEL this week and loved the LCD dash and the new Sync touch panel Nav setup which included radio etc. I'm not in the market for a new Edge but I dont mind spending a little money to update the drivers area. I am fully aware they are difference components but those two items just stood out as impressive.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a dash-radio-nav system replacement or should I just hold out another several years?

Wesley · July 9, 2014

Update on the in-dash upgrade:

I ordered a Pyle PLDNV77U 7-Inch USB/SD Bluetooth Touch Screen Receiver with GPS from Amazon. After a few false starts (there are no instructions or wiring diagrams) I did a wireup when I found that the colors matched the Ford adapter I bought from Walmart. Everything worked, sort of. The AM/FM radio never worked even though I had the adapter harness and the unit would turn off all by itself. The maps Nav setup was not very intuitive, certainly not as easy to use as my Garmin Nuvi 50 or Magellan Maestro and not even close in graphics quality. I'll give it a 5 out of 10. The map function worked but looked about 10 years old in graphics quality.

I decided to RMA the unit after it went out for the third time while sitting at a traffic light. The original Sync unit reinstalled in less than 5 minutes and I'm undecided about what to install next, or if I should even do it.

As a word of advice, the aftermarket steering wheel touch control adapters are all but worthless, especially when you have to install another LCD screen.