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Review on πŸš— Enhance Vehicle Control: Metra Axxess Universal RF Steering Wheel Control Add-On Interface, Standard Packaging by Sergio Guardado

Revainrating 3 out of 5

A great idea spoiled by a terrible button block.

As other reviews have said this is a great idea and just what I was looking for to add steering wheel controls to my aftermarket radio, however the steering wheel controls are so poorly designed that no reprogramming is required! I may have a lemon, but I've tried 7 ways to reprogram myself to a different position since Sunday and it just doesn't work. 1. Problem mounting rubber band, how strong do you think the band will be. something for your steering wheel with rubber band? Not much! Other optional wireless remotes use a real metal mount that screws on, so I have no idea why Metra made them cheaper. It also comes with double sided tape and instructs you to trim off the excess after installation, so want it to be semi-permanent? Keep this point in mind as I get into the battery. As others have said, zip ties work much better, so just toss the rubber band and use strong zip ties. Second release? reprogramming. Maybe I got a lemon, but the instructions for reprogramming are: within 20 seconds of turning on the ignition, press and hold the volume up button, ie whichever button you want to increase, until the LED on the device lights up. Okay, no problem, press and hold the I want to increase the volume button and the LED will flash! Okay, just so I don't go crazy, let me try again, but hold down the button, which by default is louder, and. firmly! In other words, you can't reprogram the volume, and the default orientation looks like you might want to mount this on the underside of your steering wheel. You can move it about 45 degrees and have the keyboard activate the same buttons so the right side of the steering wheel with the buttons is about 45 degrees like I ended up with. 3. Problem, change battery. Let's say you get past the first couple of issues and get on with it for a while, and then the battery needs changing. How would you go about it? Remove it from the steering wheel (cut the rubber band or zip ties), unscrew and separate the front and back halves of the controller, pull the small controller board out of the front half, and then slide the battery pack out of the slot on the circuit board and insert a new battery. Then snap/twist the body halves back together and get more zip ties! To connect to the radio it's really plug and play, red and black power cables, antenna cables and remote control cables. , super easy. You just messed up the actual device you are using and the ability to reprogram so badly. Also, it's not the cheapest option.

Pros
  • Sleek design
Cons
  • Questionable purchase for seniors