Best option for Carplay / Android Auto head unit in 2012 FFE

[Roanhouse]

I just got my first electric car in a used 2012 FFE. I have been so used to android auto and Carplay in my wife's Sonata that I can't go back to using google maps on the phone by mounting it.

what is the best sub $400 value headunit and mounting bracket so that i can get my rearview camera access, microphone, wheel controls, and most importantly carplay / android auto support

 

[tinilk]

Roanhouse welcome to the club! Perhaps nobody has replied because very few of us have tried to upgrade our car's infotainment.
I would expect a fancy aftermarket head unit to be a nightmare to wire up and keep all the functionality. But may be feasible to replace your APIM with a newer Ford APIM that's running Sync 3. (Your 2012 has Sync 2 just like my 2014.) An APIM from a 2017 or 2018 FFE it may work, but I don't know if anything was changed either software-wise or hardware-wise that would make it incompatible with your car.

Here's a related older post:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4500

Has anyone done an APIM upgrade successfully? Is there a video or a step-by-step guide out there somewhere for the FFE specifically, instead of a gas Focus or a Fusion/C-Max?

 

[Roanhouse]

This is the only thing i have found about this is getting one from a later car and putting it in as long as you have th my ford touch 8"

https://www.4dtech.com/12-14-ford-focus-sync-3-upgrade-for-myford-touch/

 

[Dobrinia]

TSB 17-1009 replace Sync2 -> Sync3

 

[Pearl]

Your 2012 FFE is probably only worth SLIGHTLY more than this upgraded SYNC system.

This is the only thing i have found about this is getting one from a later car and putting it in as long as you have th my ford touch 8"

https://www.4dtech.com/12-14-ford-focus-sync-3-upgrade-for-myford-touch/