CarPlay Screen Head Unit for Renault Scénic II (2004-2009): how to install Android Auto and Apple CarPlay

The Renault Scénic II was for years the best-selling compact MPV in Spain, and it is still a common family car on the road: plenty of room, individual rear seats and, in the Grand Scénic version, seven real seats. What has not aged as well is its multimedia system.

The Scénic II factory radio was designed when a mobile phone was just a phone. It knows nothing about maps, streaming playlists or messages read out loud. If you use the car every day for the school run or for long trips, you notice it. The good news is that there is a specific Android screen for the Scénic II that fits its console without touching the dashboard and adds wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Does the Renault Scénic II have CarPlay as standard?

No. No version of the Scénic II (2004-2009), before or after the 2006 facelift, left the factory with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Renault did not introduce phone projection until the much later R-Link generation. What you may have fitted is one of these systems:

• Update List radio: the most common one. Small monochrome display, CD, radio and little else. Many units do not even have Bluetooth.
• Radio with Bluetooth hands-free: on high trim levels and phase 2 cars it lets you make calls, but not run phone apps.
• Carminat navigation: Renault's navigation system of the period, with map data on CD or DVD that is outdated today and whose update, where it still exists, costs almost as much as a new screen.
• Upper multifunction display: the small central screen at the top of the dashboard showing time, temperature and radio station. It is informative, not a touchscreen.

In every case the result is the same: to use Google Maps or Spotify you end up with your phone in a holder stuck to the windscreen.

The solution: Android head unit for Renault Scénic II

The specific screen is not a universal radio forced into the slot: it is built for the Scénic II's aperture, trim and connectors, so once fitted it looks factory. This is what it brings:

• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto: the phone connects on its own when you start the car, no cables.
• HD touchscreen, far better than the original monochrome display.
• Navigation with Google Maps or Waze, with live traffic and up-to-date speed cameras, no map CD or DVD needed.
• Android with the Play Store: Spotify, YouTube, podcasts and audiobooks for long trips with kids.
• Steering column stalk control kept thanks to the Renault-specific CAN-BUS module.
• Hands-free with external microphone, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and outputs for amplifier and subwoofer.
• Reversing camera input, very useful in an MPV with a high tailgate window and a third row.
• Split screen: map and music at the same time, without leaving navigation.

Renault Scénic II compatibility: supported versions

The screen is designed for the Scénic II JM platform throughout its production run:

• Renault Scénic II (2004-2009), phase 1 and phase 2.
• Renault Grand Scénic II (2004-2009), including seven-seat versions.
• Trim levels with the Update List radio, with and without Bluetooth hands-free.
• Cars with Carminat navigation, replacing the whole unit with the new screen.
• Versions with the steering column stalk control, which stays fully operational.
• Diesel and petrol engines alike: the installation does not depend on the engine.

If you are not sure which radio you have, send us a photo of your console on WhatsApp and we will confirm yours free of charge before you buy.

What is the installation like on a Scénic II?

It is a plug & play job: it uses the car's original connectors, with no cutting or splicing.

1. Disconnect the negative battery terminal before you start taking anything apart.
2. Release the centre console trim with a plastic tool. It is clipped in place; do not lever it with metal screwdrivers or you will mark the plastic.
3. Remove the original unit (Update List or Carminat) by undoing the fixing screws and unplug power, speakers and aerial.
4. Connect the specific harness from the new screen to those same connectors. Each plug only fits where it belongs, so there is no room for error.
5. Plug in the CAN-BUS module: this is the part that translates the car's signals and keeps the steering column stalk control and warnings alive.
6. Fit the microphone next to the interior mirror and, if you are adding a camera, run its cable along the roof trim to the tailgate.
7. Test everything before closing up: sound on all four speakers, wireless CarPlay, GPS, steering controls and camera. Then clip the trim back and reconnect the battery.

Most installations take 30 to 60 minutes. The screen comes with a manual and with WhatsApp support while you fit it.

How much does it cost to install CarPlay in a Renault Scénic II?

At an official service centre the usual route is to replace the unit with a navigation head unit, adding radio, trim, wiring, steering control adapter and labour. And even then, on a car of this age you normally end up without wireless phone projection.

Buying part by part at an installer is no better: you have to choose the unit, the adapter trim, the Renault harness and the steering control interface separately, and hope they all work together.

The specific screen arrives with everything in one kit —trim, harness, CAN-BUS, microphone and GPS— and with wireless CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. The product page shows the current price and the memory versions available.

Frequently asked questions

Do I lose the stalk control behind the steering wheel?
No. This is the most frequent question on the Scénic II. The Renault-specific CAN-BUS module keeps the stalk control working with the new screen: volume, track change and source.

I have the Carminat navigation. Is it worth replacing?
Yes. Carminat map data is frozen in time and depends on a CD or DVD. With the new screen you navigate with Google Maps or Waze, always up to date and with live traffic.

Does it work the same in the seven-seat Grand Scénic?
Yes. The dashboard and the radio aperture are the same, so the installation is identical on the Scénic and the Grand Scénic.

Does the display at the top of the dashboard still work?
That display is independent of the radio and keeps showing the car's information. Music and navigation move to the new touchscreen.

Can I add a reversing camera?
Yes, the screen has a video input ready for it. In an MPV with a third row and a high rear window it is one of the most appreciated upgrades.

Will it pass the roadworthiness test?
Yes. It goes in the original aperture and does not alter any safety component of the vehicle, so no type approval is required.

See the CarPlay head unit for Renault Scénic II

➡️ See the CarPlay and Android Auto screen for the Renault Scénic II (2004-2009) · if your car is the next generation, we have the Scénic 3 guide, and every other model in the general Renault guide.