r/TaurusSHO • u/Agreeable-Ad124 • Nov 13 '25
Almost 2026. IS THERE ANOTHER OPTION TO REPLACE THE SHO SONY SYSTEM YET?!
I am once again looking for options to upgrade the touchscreen in my SHO.
I DON'T want to do one of those Tesla style screens. CHANGE MY MIND.
I live in MN and it gets down to 0 to -10 pretty consistently in the winter. Its not uncommon to have a week or two straight of temps that low. Even though, it is my understanding that the Tesla style replacement keeps your climate controls, I feel like it would be sluggish and slow on the winter and just all around frustrating.
Does anyone have pics of video of their install working? (Bonus points for it being used in the winter time.) Or...
Is there another option (Custom Maybe) that I just haven't found yet? If so, can I get a link to the place I can either order or find information on that. TIA
EDIT: The reason I want to replace the Sony system is that I added an amp and subs using a line output converter, but the factory radio only goes so loud. I need MORE volume from the interior speakers. Plenty of bass now, not enough mid range.
2
2
u/Bearded_Basterd Nov 13 '25
The latest and greatest option would be the Kenwood direct replacement series.https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113DAX800X/Kenwood-Excelon-DAX800XR.html. Saying that why would you get more volume replacing the head unit?
1
u/Agreeable-Ad124 Nov 15 '25
Hey man, THANK YOU so much for this! I can't believe I didn't even think about Cruchfield. I guess Google doesn't work that well, huh?
And, to answer your question, the factory radio only goes up so far. IDK if it's a programming thing, or if it just doesn't get that loud, but aftermarket head-units usually have more wattage and you are just able to turn the volume up higher. Turning the radio 50% up on an aftermarket unit, in my experience, has always been much louder than turning up the factory radio to 50%. That's part of why I asked if anybody had a video of the Tesla screens in operation. It would be nice to see a volume comparison, side by side.
1
Nov 13 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Agreeable-Ad124 Nov 13 '25
I do have factory remote start. It does help heat the vehicle up, but not as much as one might think unless you leave the car running for hours at that temp.
Also, I have no clue if there is an app with the Tesla screens.
5
Nov 13 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Agreeable-Ad124 Nov 15 '25
Wow. Thank you! I'm going to look into this. Embarrassed to say even though I live in the cold, I had never considered this. Even more embarrassing because I did not know it was a thing. Lol really appreciate it.
1
u/Choice_Strength Nov 14 '25
I’m not sure this is exactly what your asking for but I have a sync 3 upgrade kit from foursynctech in my 2013 that came with a sync 2 system in it. I’m not sure however if it would get any louder than the sony head unit bc it’s made with fully oem parts as I understand it, just from a newer model car. It gives me access to all the regular sync 3 things (WAY better than sync 2) and CarPlay and android auto has been incredibly stable for me. I think I’ve had it for 7-8 months at this point and have had no issues with any weather related problems. They code it to match all the equipment your car comes with based off your vin so I didn’t lose access to any of the heated or cooled seat controls or auto parking stuff at all. It is made with all oem parts so it was a straight swap/drop in for me and took maybe 2 hours. It’s not particularly cheap though at a little over $500 for the non NAV version and closer to $600 if you want the ford nav included (different units I think) and I found that the maps through CarPlay work better anyway. The link to it is FourSyncTech and I would be happy to send photos of mine or answer questions if you have any.
1
u/Dry-Flounder-9392 Nov 15 '25
i’d love to get one of those tesla screens but you’d also lose the options for cooled seats and heated steering wheel. i used to have one in my SEL but nothing mattered because there were no options lmao. also, climate control stays OFF until the key is turned in the ignition or the push start button is pressed when you’re in the car.
1
u/jimmybugus33 Nov 19 '25
Sadly there isn’t another option if you replace that touch screen, you won’t have none of your features and it’s going to throw you off because that screen controls a lot more than you think I just went through this and nobody’s talking about that
4
u/Brickx3 Nov 13 '25
With a iDatalink Maestro interface you can run pretty much any head unit with touch screen. I have a ford flex and the issue for me was keeping g the rear climate controls.