"an uncle who happens to have an RNS510 in great condition" - that's enough of a warning bell for me, especially as they contacted you.

 

Deal and authenticity aside, you do know about Component Protection right?

 

Don't think they had that in '09- or at least I ran into no issues just installing a random eBay unit in mine.

 

I'm not sure what "the rounded one" is, but when the RNS-510 in my '09 went out I bought a much cheaper and more common regular Golf/Jetta style RNS unit, and adapted the Touareg faceplate and screen to it. The only difference was one of the cables - I think the one that powers the backlight had a different connector, so I cut them both in half and soldered them together to make an adapter cable. It's been working perfectly now for 4 years.

 

I always wonder who it is that falls for these scams, today it's OP.what goes through people's minds when they think this is legitimate?

 

RNS-510 nav/radios use a four-digit SAFE PIN; component protection was introduced in the 7P platform starting in MY2011. --g

 

BTW: method of payment will be through paypal.

I'm gonna bet when you insist on sending payment through a refundable mechanism like paypal with gift mode turned off, this "seller" will get upset and come up with some excuse why they can only accept a non-refundable payment.

 

Thank you all. I really appreciate your input and insight. I didn't want to go through with the deal before asking here first and I won't. I didn't know that the face plate could be changed on these radios. That opens up a lot of possibilities now. I am still torn between getting an OEM HU like the 510, or an aftermarket android unit. Many years ago I did that on my previous T1 and the sound was horrible. I contacted a company called Erisin to ask about their ES8906T model, and if it supported sound from all 10 speakers, and this is what they replied with:

----
1. ES8906T only supports speakers with four speaker wires on the original car plug, and does not support other speakers.
What original car amplifier did the car come with? Are all 10 speakers from the original car amplifier?

2. If it can be decoded normally, it generally supports steering wheel control: supports volume+, volume -, previous song, next song.
----

That sounded a bit confusing to me. They're selling a HU specifically for the Touareg and they don't know how many speakers these cars come with as standard equipment?
I really like the features I would get with an android unit, but at the same time I don't want to compromise sound quality.

 

It wasn't possible to go through with the deal, as the unit you were contacted about never existed.

In regards to "Eresin", you are likely contacting someone who rebadges generic Chinese garbage. They don't know or care what works or doesn't.

 

I didn't know that the face plate could be changed on these radios.

I'd like to emphasize that doing so is not trivial- the parts in these are small and delicate laptop type components- one needs to be skilled with electrical repair, laptop repair, and soldering to successfully do the swap I was talking about.

That opens up a lot of possibilities now. I am still torn between getting an OEM HU like the 510, or an aftermarket android unit.

I have the Kremersino carplay/android auto kit for my RNS-510, and it has a few minor glitches, but is overall a quite excellent system, and the sound quality is great.

As a rule, I don't ever replace factory stereos with aftermarket junk or buy cars where that has been done- the aesthetics, build quality, wiring harness damage, etc. massively devalue the car, and after another decade or so the 'new modern' update will seem even more dated than a proper era vintage head unit. It is almost always possible to simply update/mod a factory unit to do whatever you need.

According to Kremersino, for the faceplate and steering wheel buttons to work properly, you need an RNS-510 unit produced after November 2010, so for '09 T2s like mine and yours, doing the faceplate swap with a slightly newer RNS-510 will be worth it just for that.

 

Thanks casioqv. I would rather just do a direct swap. The remaining question is: would plugging in a RNS510 in a car that didn't have it before work? The reason I'm asking is because some HUs came with external amps and some didn't. I'm not sure if the 510 needs an external amp or would it power the speakers itself, just like the RNS2..

Anyways, so I'm back to checking out ebay, where 510 prices for one in excellent condition are still over US$500!

 

The reason I'm asking is because some HUs came with external amps and some didn't. I'm not sure if the 510 needs an external amp or would it power the speakers itself, just like the RNS2..

It has an internal amp- you can enable or disable it depending on if you have an external amp also with VCDS coding.

Anyways, so I'm back to checking out ebay, where 510 prices for one in excellent condition are still over US$500!

"Steal a man's wallet, and he'll be poor for a week, give him a Touareg and he'll be poor for the rest of his life."

 

"Steal a man's wallet, and he'll be poor for a week, give him a Touareg and he'll be poor for the rest of his life."

Poor with a BIG smile is quite the enticement 😁

 

@qurtuba -- The QuadLock connector in that generation of VW radio units was standard across all radio/nav units. The 7L Touareg RNS-510 had its own part number due to the face-plate, not because of any special functionality. Does your Treg have its vehicle information label under the rear cargo area floor, for example:

In this case, "8RV" in the first column of option codes indicates the passive (no external amp) 10-speaker configuration. PR-9VK and 9VP indicate production builds with an external amp fitted behind the right rear trim panel. --g

 

The sticker is there, but time and temperature have turned it into just a blank white sticker

 

Call a dealer and give them your VIN... they can easily provide the codes or complete build listing.....or spend a little and look it up yourself on erwin.

 

I did get a printout from the dealer many years ago. I just wanted to show what the label looks like now.