Hello forumites. So the wife needed new wheels after the beloved Sir Max Ford (S-Max 
) decided he'd had enough of being a good car and downed tools. Needless to say, she saw and feel in love with the Captiva LTZ in my profile pic! So, we bought it earlier this month and set about discovering the wonders of owning the Captiva in reality. The garage visit on Monday will sort out the missing service record and the couple of warning lights (airbag - tried wiggling and reconnecting switches under front seats, but not convinced I did it successfully; also, engine light - some DPF thing).
Anyway, this post is to add my experience to the collective re: the wonderful(ly bad) audio system Chevy decided to furnish this otherwise awesome car with. As has already been discussed ad nauseum, the functionality is basic and the the speakers sound like they're playing in some other car a half-mile down the road. I have a fair bit of car audio experience gained from hard yards in my own cars, so I took on the upgrade challenge here. I can say that it was probably the easiest overall project I've done, with the most noticeable difference before and after.
I have successfully replaced the head unit with a Sony XAV-3005DB Android Auto unit using standard car kit CTKCV02 for the Captiva as developed by Connects2 - harness inc SWC, cage and fascia surround.
Caveats
I've also replaced all the full-range speakers in the door bar the driver's side front. Why you ask? Because that was the only one doing it's job....the others had decamped to the car half-mile away. As the tweeters were fine and I wanted to keep the budget reasonable, I went for this pair in the back -
Sub-Zero Ice SS3327 Speakers, 6.5-inch Coaxial https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0047CVJ3Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and this for the front passenger door - Vibe 6in replacement speaker Vibe 6" (16.5cm) Replacement Speaker | Halfords UK
I know there's a half-inch difference in measurement here, but in this case anyway, size doesn't matter. I followed this guide for removing the door card -
then I proceeded to rip out the factory speaker and use the frame as a speaker mount for the new! See the gallery here: Captiva audio project
This worked surprisingly well and while I have no doubt there's probably a Vauxhall/Opel speaker bracket that would do the job, I didn't know which might fit. So, I listened to inspiration when it was striking and I have to say, the end result is magnificent. Full, rounded bass and mids with decent balance from all four doors. So very worth the time and reasonable effort.
Caveats
Right, it's late and I'm done. Had fun doing this and the change is magnificent. Herself is well pleased and hopefully the garage can sort out any mechanical bits that I wouldn't touch with the proverbial barge-pole.
) decided he'd had enough of being a good car and downed tools. Needless to say, she saw and feel in love with the Captiva LTZ in my profile pic! So, we bought it earlier this month and set about discovering the wonders of owning the Captiva in reality. The garage visit on Monday will sort out the missing service record and the couple of warning lights (airbag - tried wiggling and reconnecting switches under front seats, but not convinced I did it successfully; also, engine light - some DPF thing).Anyway, this post is to add my experience to the collective re: the wonderful(ly bad) audio system Chevy decided to furnish this otherwise awesome car with. As has already been discussed ad nauseum, the functionality is basic and the the speakers sound like they're playing in some other car a half-mile down the road
. I have a fair bit of car audio experience gained from hard yards in my own cars, so I took on the upgrade challenge here. I can say that it was probably the easiest overall project I've done, with the most noticeable difference before and after.I have successfully replaced the head unit with a Sony XAV-3005DB Android Auto unit using standard car kit CTKCV02 for the Captiva as developed by Connects2 - harness inc SWC, cage and fascia surround.
Caveats
- had to fiddle around with the fascia surround to get it secure to the Sony cage; unfortunately, the Connects2 one wasn't quite right for the Sony chassis. Got there in the end.
- This car didn't have phone controls on steering wheel, so had to compromise on which functions to map to SWC. Eventually went with Vol+-, Seek, Mode and PWR(is that right?) mapped to the Sony's Attenuate function.
- No factory DAB aerial, so I used an internal windscreen mounted one. This sucks for the Captiva but worked fine in my Zafira...🤷♂️ so I will fit an external magnetic one this week.
I've also replaced all the full-range speakers in the door bar the driver's side front. Why you ask? Because that was the only one doing it's job....the others had decamped to the car half-mile away. As the tweeters were fine and I wanted to keep the budget reasonable, I went for this pair in the back -
Sub-Zero Ice SS3327 Speakers, 6.5-inch Coaxial https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0047CVJ3Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and this for the front passenger door - Vibe 6in replacement speaker Vibe 6" (16.5cm) Replacement Speaker | Halfords UK
I know there's a half-inch difference in measurement here, but in this case anyway, size doesn't matter. I followed this guide for removing the door card -
then I proceeded to rip out the factory speaker and use the frame as a speaker mount for the new! See the gallery here: Captiva audio project
This worked surprisingly well and while I have no doubt there's probably a Vauxhall/Opel speaker bracket that would do the job, I didn't know which might fit. So, I listened to inspiration when it was striking and I have to say, the end result is magnificent. Full, rounded bass and mids with decent balance from all four doors. So very worth the time and reasonable effort.
Caveats
- the Sub-Zero speakers are 2-way, so have a (thankfully) removable tweeter 😁. As this pushed up on the speaker grille which is unfortunately non-removable, I'd suggest going with a straight full-range speaker similar to the Vibe.
- the door clip that is nearest to the speaker position doesn't go back in, leaving a little gap. Possibly due to me mounting a speaker on top of the factory bracket. the rest of the clips are fine, so I use some of the sticky foam tape on the door itself in that lower 'corner' to provide a seal and stop any rattle.
Right, it's late and I'm done. Had fun doing this and the change is magnificent. Herself is well pleased and hopefully the garage can sort out any mechanical bits that I wouldn't touch with the proverbial barge-pole.
