I bought a Pumpkin 2 Din 7 inch Android car radio several weeks ago.It is perfect for my Honda Civic 2007.
The sound quality isn’t the best I’ve heard, but still very good. The touch screen is instantaneous, and I love that you can download apps to it. The wifi and GPS have worked flawlessly so far. I’ve used both my home wifi in the driveway and my phone as a mobile hotspot. The video quality isn’t as sharp as my phone but far exceeded my expectations. I’ve made several Bluetooth calls and asked the person on the other end how it sounded, and they couldn’t tell I was on Bluetooth. I ordered the pumpkin backup cam which also works awesome, but the wiring instructions were garbage. My only issue so far is that I seem to have to connect the BluPetooth every time I get in. There is an automatic connect function, but it doesn’t seem to quite work. It’s quick and easy to do from the head unit, so not that big of a deal. I may just not have figured it out yet. Very happy with my purchase and highly recommend!
A friend of ours recently picked up a 2005 Mercedes CLK 320 as a daily driver. He commutes to LA from Orange County nearly every day, and the OEM head unit just wasn’t cutting it.
The 2002 – 2005 CLK 320s were a cutting edge car in the 2000s. The CLK 55 and 65 AMGs were a force to be reckoned with. My dad had a 2004 CLK55 and at the time it was an incredible car, especially for a 17 yr old who would take it for joy rides when his dad was out of town.
But even then, I remember sitting in the AMG and felt like I was let down by the functions of the head unit. It was clunky, slow and didn’t have a touchscreen which made it very challenging and time consuming to use. I remember thinking that my friend’s Toyota Sienna had a touchscreen, why wouldn’t this luxury car. And the standard models were even more of a let down – back then! So we decided to upgrade it and bring it into the modern times.
The folks at Pumpkin reached out to us with an opportunity to test one of their units at the perfect time so we hopped on the offer and installed it. We also did a full writeup on installing this double din head unit in a 2002 – 2005 CLK 320.
Android Auto vs Android Head Unit
So, in the past 3 or so years we’ve started to see a shift towards incorporating mobile phone OS systems into the OS systems of head units. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are the two dominant versions of this, where Apple and Android are building specific versions of applications with limited functionality to be used directly from your vehicle’s stereo. When I say limited functionality, I mean bare bones (at least at this point). And, the number of applications are pretty limited, it’s not like you can connect your phone and get access to YouTube. It’s only compatible with things like Waze, Spotify, Pandora, etc. And when you open up the apps from within your Android Auto or Apple CarPlay they don’t look or feel like the version on your phone, there a ‘lite’ version.
But, if you compare it to how we have been accessing our smartphone applications in the past, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a HUGE step forward in terms of ease of use. Gone are the days of picking up your phone, opening Spotify, selecting the music or playlist and playing the song(s) you want – you can do it all through your vehicle’s head unit. I’m describing Android Auto (and Apple CarPlay), but there’s another way to bring Android compatibility into your car – buy a head unit with the Android OS.
A head unit with Android OS is very different from Android Auto. It’s essentially a tablet in the form of a head unit, with vehicle specific settings and configuration to configure the head unit.
Benefits of an Android Head Unit
Like I said, an Android Head Unit is essentially a tablet in the shape of a stereo. You get all of the benefits of Android at the touch of your fingers from your dash. This includes”
Applications within the Google Play store with access to apps like YouTube, Netflix, etc
App management and homescreen customization
A familiar user interface
Plays videos, games and more
Literally feels like a phone or tablet
Everything you’d want to do with a tablet or phone is available in an Android head unit, and more. When we first opened this head unit up and turned it on to roam around its features, we left ourselves wondering why more head units are not utilizing the Android OS platform. It has all of the functionality you want to bring to your car. The only kicker is that it needs WiFi, but if you have a hotspot you’re set!
Installation
We installed this unit into a 2005 CLK 320, the full writeup can check on here.
Pumpkin Head Unit Core Features
Let’s dig into the core features of Pumpkin’s Android 9.0 double din head unit. Pumpkin crammed all of the features that you want to have in your car onto a familiar OS (to most of us) that looks and feels like a tablet. This was the first true Android unit we’ve tested in person, and to be honest we were quite impressed and enjoyed the familiarity and flexibility of the Android OS.
Android OS
We can’t say this enough, but this unit truly is an Android tablet in your car. From the home screen and app management to the Google Play store and even Google Chrome. It looks, feels and functions like you’re looking at a mobile tablet. What’s great about the Android OS in a head unit like this is that it’s not limited to the normal features and restricted capabilities like many other head units. If you want to watch an Amazon Prime Video movie or show, you can just download the app and sign in and watch. YouTube? No problem – just download it and search like you would on a tablet.
Vehicle settings, WiFi, Bluetooth and all other Android OS configurations are the same on this head unit, including the file management and APK functionality to install custom applications. So if you have or like the Android OS, this type of head unit is just for you.
Bluetooth Connectivity
Bluetooth is a standard in today’s vehicles, but we have to cover it. Connecting your phone or other Bluetooth was pretty easy with this head unit. It’s like connecting a bluetooth device to your Android tablet. We had no issues whatsoever connecting our iPhone up to the unit and using the connection to make phone calls or stream music.
With your device connected you can play music from any of your favorite music streaming services. Simply open up the application on your phone and play the song. The head unit will do the rest. You can control simple functions like play, pause, next and previous song from the head unit but you’ll need to use your phone to navigate into specific playlists, artists and etc in apps like Spotify.
In terms of quality of sound, the Bluetooth calls were flawless. We could hear, and be heard quite well. And streaming quality was decent as well. We did notice that there was a bit more high-frequency distortion while streaming music via Bluetooth vs connecting to USB but overall streaming quality was good.
Customization
Customization is a set of features that we like to look at to gauge how well an aftermarket head unit will blend into your car’s dash. It’s important that it looks the way that you want it to and that you can personalize it to make it truly yours.
Pumpkin’s unit checks the boxes with customization features. It’s incredibly flexible. You can change the button colors to match your vehicle’s OEM interior colors, upload custom wallpapers or gifs. Additionally, you have all of the standard widget customization and app management that Android OS provides. One thing we also liked is the steering wheel customization. You can open up the steering wheel control settings and assign any key to any function of the head unit using either a one-press button, or a press & hold button function.
With the Android OS at its core, this is truly one of the most customizable units we’ve tested actually.
Navigation
The Pumpkin Android double din utilizes Google Maps as its core navigation engine. There’s a ton of good things about this:
It looks, feels and functions like the Google Maps app on Android and iOS.
It’s quick and accurate
Allows you to search for addresses or points of interest (e.g. Target)
Reliable and always up to date.
You get everything you want in navigation from Google, and this head unit brings Google’s navigation to you. The downside is that it’ll require you to be hooked into your phone’s hotspot to function properly.
Entertainment
We sort of covered this in the OS portion of this article but figured it would be helpful to detail a few additional things about how flexible and capable this head unit is for entertainment in your car. First off, it has two sets of audio video RCA outputs that can power your headrest monitors, overhead/flipdown monitors, really any kind of external video monitor. And if you wanted to hook in an external video input, like an xbox, it has a video input and AUX RCA inputs as well.
From an operating system standpoint, the Pumpkin unit is also stacked with features that will help you enjoy your drive. The key thing being access to apps within the Google Play store, where you can download things like YouTube, Hulu, etc. Once downloaded, you simply open the app of choice and stream your video content on the road. *Note that you need WiFi tethering/hotspot from your phone or another hotspot device for this.
It also comes pre-loaded with Netflix, which was a major plus. You need to access the APK installer app and install it manually but once installed it works great. We did notice a minor bug though when watching video that would pause the video when the volume was adjusted.
And it’s also worth pointing out that the OS allows you to manually toggle whether or not you can watch video content on the fly in the settings. So, even though we wired our unit up with the parking break permanently grounded to enable these types of features (on most other units), you don’t actually need to do this to enable video watching while your car is in motion. Another awesome feature that most non-Android OS systems limit out of the box.
All-in-all, we felt like the video features of this unit were fantastic apart from some of the glitchyness with the Netflix app.
Apple CarPlay & Android Auto
The head unit does not natively support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. HOWEVER, they do have a dongle, PUMPKIN-NA7006B, that hooks into one of the USB ports and will enable the feature. At the time of this review they were sold out of this dongle so we aren’t able to comment on the functionality but we will update as soon as we’re able to access one.
WiFi Connectivity
WiFi isn’t something you typically see tied directly to a car stereo. But Pumpkin included a WiFi antenna and capability in order to power some of the great features. It’s also the crutch of the head unit. Without it you have a normal head unit with apps that don’t work and navigation that doesn’t know where you are. But, if you’re like us and have a hotspot on your phone and an unlimited data plan, this unit is truly fantastic with WiFi. Literally everything that you’d access on your Android tablet becomes available directly on the head unit.
This is a SUPER powerful feature that non-android based head units typically don’t have.
Audio Quality & Features
In terms of audio quality and audio features, Pumpkin’s unit performed well. We tested various songs at multiple volumes and weren’t disappointed. It features a 10-band EQ that you’re able to adjust on the fly with custom settings or you can select one of the preset options to customize the output to your liking. Balance, fader, loudness – all of the normal features and functionality are included with easy touchscreen sliders.
In terms of power, Pumpkin’s website claims to have 50W x 4 Peak but doesn’t list RMS. Typically when head units have around 50W peak, it equates to 18-22W RMS x 4 but we weren’t able to find the true number. This is a pretty standard power output. In recent years, we’re seeing more and more units with a 55W Peak output but the RMS varies.
OBDII Support
We didn’t get to test this feature out either, but thought it was really cool that the head unit supports OBDII inputs to measure real-time data and error codes from your vehicle’s computer. They do have an adapter to enable this functionality as well.
Final Thoughts
This was the first Android OS based head unit that we tested, and we were thoroughly impressed. All of the logical things that you TRULY want in your car are included – video and music streaming, bluetooth, internet (with WiFi connectivity), apps and Google App marketplace, Google Maps, wallpaper and button customization. The list goes on.
The Android OS was incredibly powerful, and we loved it! But for the individuals that might not be as tech-savvy it may not be the best option. Simple is key sometimes and all of the functionality that’s crammed in this unit might not be easy to use for those who struggle to use Google Maps to find your local gas station.
And a lot of these types of features come with a heavy sense of responsibility. There’s a reason why manufacturers have omitted these types of features, although amazing, from their units. Your safety should be the priority for all manufacturers and although the features are amazing to have in your car, if you purchase this unit or a unit like it you really need to use it responsibly. Otherwise it’s no better than looking at your phone to watch a YouTube, or scroll through Instagram. We certainly don’t encourage that type of distraction, but love it when you’re sitting in the driveway!
All-in-all, the price-point is right for this unit and you get a ton of features. We really enjoyed learning more about Android OS head units and using them and although it may have some glitches here and there, we would recommend the head unit.
Let’s face it, most vehicles in the 2000s era have head units, or just car stereo technology in general, that’s outdated. Bluetooth was just catching on (although aux inputs were the thing), GPS navigation was a luxury and touchscreen head units were few and far in between from the factory. At the time, the 05 CLK 320 was a great, stylish and luxurious car but to bring it into the modern age it needs an upgrade.
We sought a price-friendly but powerful head unit to upgrade our 2005 CLK 320’s stereo and bring it up to speed with some of the latest technology to make it a decent commuter. We were thrilled when PUMPKIN reached out to us with a unit that we could test for them.
The Head Unit – PUMPKIN A ndroid 9.0 Double Din
This installation will apply to nearly all double din touch screen head units, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, or double din multimedia head units regardless of the unit we chose to install. If you’re looking to match the product we used in this installation, the head unit that we chose was PUMPKIN’s Android 9.0 Double Din, model AA0495B. You can find it directly on Pumpkin’s website here.
About PUMPKIN
PUMPKIN is a China-based manufacturer that was founded in 2014. They’re primarily focused in the European market, but also have a presence in the U.S. Their staple products include OEM replacement head units, double and single din head units, portable and dual screen DVD players along with headrest monitors. Most of their products are Android systems, including the one that we installed in our CLK 320.
Out of the Box
In the box, the PUMPKIN head unit comes with:
1x Android Head Unit
1x ISO cable
1x external microphone
1x USB+ Mic cable
1x Audio Output cable
1x wifi antenna (4.9ft)
1x GPS antenna
1x AUX Input cable
1x Cam-in cable
1x Installation Accessories (wire harnesses)
1x User manual
Installation In 2002 – 2005 Mercedes CLK320
Note that the instructions and parts below are for a CLK320 WITHOUT Harman Kardon. If you’re looking to install a head unit in a CLK320 with Harman Kardon/amplified stereo you’ll need a special harness. It’s all-in-one so the only thing you’ll need to do is substitute this harness for the Axxess harnesses that we show below.
Necessary Parts for the Installation:
Head unit (of course) – We used our PUMPKIN double din head unit
Axxess XSVI-9005-Nav harness – adapts the OEM Mercedes head unit wires to the aftermarket head unit. Also creates an accessory 12v power. Without this harness and adapter, you’ll have to find another source for wiring your accessory turn-on power. This harness also plugs right into the ASWC-1 below.
Axxess ASWC-1 – Steering wheel control interface. Optional if you want to retain steering wheel controls.
Metra 40-EU10 – Adapts the OEM radio antenna plug to an aftermarket plug.
Metra 99-874B – Dash kit that adapts the double-din to the factory dash cutout.
Step 1: Disconnect Your Battery
First things first – you’ll need to disconnect your battery so that you don’t blow any fuses during your install. The battery in the CLK 320 is located on the passenger side of the car under the hood, just in front of the firewall. Remove the negative terminal on the left hand side of the battery (when facing it).
Step 2: Remove Dash Trim
Start with the console trim piece that surrounds the shift boot. Open up the ash tray and pull upwards starting from the front, working your way backwards. Next, gently pry the back side of the shift boot trim upward and work your way to the front. Once the boot trim has been removed, you can then feed this trim piece through the hole in the console trim piece and fully remove the console trim piece.
Next, you’ll remove the ash tray by pulling the two pronged-like clips on the bottom towards you and lifting it out of the dash.
Now that the ash tray is out of the car, you’ll have access to two torx screws below the climate control unit. Remove these two screws and pull the climate control unit out. Note there are two clips at the top corners that are holding it in that’ll ‘pop’ out as you pull it. Once the unit is removed, you’ll pull the connected wires – there are two to remove. Remove these two wires and remove the unit from the dash.
With the climate control removed, you now will have access to the two bottom screws that hold in the head unit. However, there are two above the unit as well so before you remove them, you’ll need to pull the trim panel and buttons off that are above the head unit. To do this, press the cup holder to extend the cupholder out. Using your fingers, pull on the inner right hand corner of the panel to unclip the corner, then work your way to the left. With the trim piece removed, unclip the wire harness from the back of the unit in order to remove it entirely.
Once this panel is out you’ll be able to access the two top screws to the head unit.
Step 3: Unscrew and Remove OEM Head Unit
Now that all the trim pieces are removed, you’ll have access to the four torx screws to pull the head unit out. Remove these screws and pull the head unit straight out to get access to the harnesses on the rear side of the head unit. Remove the large harness on the left of the unit by pinching the clip and pulling the bar downwards. This harness is large, and includes multiple sub-harnesses. The whole thing should come out. Then, unclip the two wires on the right of the unit by pressing on the top of the clip. Once all of the wires from the back of the unit have been removed, pull the head unit from the dash and remove it from your car.
Step 4: Prepare Your Wiring Harness & Head Unit
With your OEM head unit out and your dash ready for your new head unit, the next step is to prepare your wire harness adapter and your head unit for installing in the car. In our case, the adapting Axxess XSVI-9005-Nav and ASWC-1 plugged together, but we needed to adapt the aftermarket head unit wire harness to the vehicle adapting Access harnesses. To do this, we soldered each of the wires from one harness to the corresponding wire on the other. Typically, all of the colors will match but just in case, we have a list of all of the aftermarket wire colors to help guide you.
Couple things to note:
Brake wire – we typically just combine this with the main ground wire so that any features that are restricted by movement will be unlocked. Note that some units are smarter and use GPS to sense motion but this will typically open up any video or other features that are locked when your vehicle isn’t in park.
Steering wheel control – the ASWC-1 comes with a 3.5mm plug that will adapt to most head units by plugging into the rear of the unit. However, in some cases it needs to be further adapted into two wires: Key 1 and Key 2. These two wires will need to be connected to the corresponding Key 1 and Key 2 wires from the aftermarket head unit harness.
You can either solder each of the wires like we did, or use crimps and a crimping tool. Here’s what the resulting wire harness looked like:
To prepare your head unit to be mounted into the dash, you’ll need to mount your new aftermarket head unit to the Metra 99-874B dash kit. Do this by mounting the two left and right mounting plates to the head unit losely. Once they’re mounted, place the adapting dash trim over the face of the head unit to check your mounting point and that the unit sticks out as far as you would like it. If your satisfied, tighten the side plates and mount the trim piece to the side plates.
Step 5: Wiring Accessories – Antennas, USB & Microphone
Before you mount your new head unit in the dash, you need to make sure that all the wiring that plugs into the back of the head unit are wired into the back of the dash. This includes things like:
USB chords
GPS and WiFi Antennas
Microphone
The PUMPKIN head unit that we chose had all of the above so we wired up all three to the back of the dash before we re-installed our new head unit.
USB Chords
Our head unit came with two usb inputs that are wired up to the back of the head unit, so we had to choose a spot for the new USB chords to go and then wire them. In our CLK 320, we decide to utilize the ash tray below the head unit. No need to cut holes, simply pull the removable ash tray component out of the ash tray cubby and feed the wires into the ash tray cubby.
GPS & WiFi Antennas, Microphone
For all three of these components, we fed the wire from the dash area, underneath the steering wheel and to the far left side of the dash. To do this, there’s a panel above your feet that has two torx screws. Remove the torx screws and pull the panel to gain access to behind the dash under your steering wheel. Then, remove the panel on the left hand side of the dash that faces the door (when closed). Feed the wires from the central dash area through to the left side of the dash. We used zip tie to fasten the wire under the dash.
Once your GPS, WiFi and microphone (or any combination of the three) are through the dash and out of the side panel of the dash, we mounted the WiFi antenna straight to the dash right next to the fuse box. Continue to feed your GPS and Microphone up through the pillar by placing the wire in between the pillar panel and the rubber seal. Tuck your wires behind the pillar panel.
At the top of the pillar, feed your wires across and to the window. We typically mount our microphones in the top left hand side of the windshield and clip it in between the head liner and the windshield. For the GPS, continue to tuck the wire behind the head liner through to the left hand side of the rear view mirror. This is where we mounted our GPS unit.
Step 6: Installing Your New Head Unit
Finally, you’re ready to re-install your head unit and connect all of the wires. One last step before you place start connecting your head unit and screwing it in – use the Metra 40-EU10 to connect to the black antenna wire that was connected to the back of your OEM head unit (there was a black and a yellow/tan one – use the black). Plug the antenna wire into the back of the unit.
Now, move on to the microphone, GPS and WiFi connections (if your head unit has them). Connect these to the back of the unit. Finally, connect your new adapting harness with the Axxess modules connected and tuck the modules behind where the climate control would go. You’ll need to make as much room behind the head unit so that it will have enough depth to mount. If you don’t tuck your wires and modules neatly out of the way of the back of the head unit it will not have enough room to mount flush.
At this point, you should have all of your wires connected and the head unit should not be fully mounted yet. Re-connect your vehicle’s battery and test out your unit. You’ll want to check:
Power – obviously this is the most important first-check
Radio – check sound and that the radio has reception
GPS – If your unit has GPS ensure that it has signal
Bluetooth call – make sure that your new microphone works
USB – check that your USB connection works
WiFi – in our case we had a WiFi antenna, check that you have signal and that you can connect to a WiFi network
Test general features – Roam around the features of your new head unit. Make sure that nothing is defective before you permanently re-install it!
Once you’ve checked your unit and everything is confirmed working, you can begin mounting it back. Mount the unit by screwing the four torx screws.*Note – the climate control has clips that you’ll need to remove from the old head unit. Take these clips and place them on the back side of the screw holes on your new unit BEFORE you screw it in.
Move on to the trim pieces, reversing the process that you took to remove them. And your finished product:
