Road Top 8.9" CarPlay Screen for BMW 3/5 Series CIC (2008-2013) | Linux HD Screen for BMW 3 Series E90 E91 E92 E93 & 5 Series E60 E61, Support Wireless CarPlay, Android Auto, Mirrorlink

***Update***. I’m Still loving it in November 2025, and I am now adding a front view camera. Before purchasing the camera, I reached out to their tech-support via What’s App, and they gave me the specs for what type of new camera I should get. I did have some trouble at first with the back up camera, But with their tech-support, I realized I had purchased the wrong camera type (AHD 720P is required). I returned the one I had and purchased the correct camera type. Plug…Play…success! The same spec goes for the front camera. I was fortunate enough to find one…on Amazon, of course, which is small enough to be mounted just beneath the lower edge of my front bumper. I’ll drill a hole under the bumper edge, run the wiring up and through the space behind the front grill, route through the engine compartment and through the firewall. This operation will only require the removal of the new CarPlay unit itself (two screws….simple removal). The unit is already equipped with a connection point for the front camera. After the install was completed, I purchased some split wire loom to contain and dress up the wiring for the backup camera that runs through the trunk area. If I’m going to tear my car apart and run wiring through the exposed trunk cargo area, I might as well make it look professional. ************** I’ve been using this unit now for 5 months, and I have to say it is still perfectly suited to updating an older vehicle to have a modern infotainment system. It works perfectly. It boots up right away every time I start the car, and makes road trips, or even local driving very pleasant. This review might be a bit long, but it may help someone who is considering this product. First: It works perfectly! The hardest part of this project was getting the dashboard apart to get the wiring harness in. All cars are different, of course, and mine is a 2012 BMW 335i. The existing factory display needed to be removed, the Heat/AC control panel needed to be removed, the woodgrain trim panel running horizontally across the dash had to be removed, and the existing radio needed to be pulled out as well. You will need to remove the center console finish trim panel, which is a pain. The car needs to be turned on (engine not running, but key in and ignition switch pressed) so you can move the shift lever toward you into the Sport shift mode. The radio will not come out unless you do this. All of this is shown on any one of a number of YouTube videos, but a set of nylon pry bars (designed for just this task) easily pries each dash trim panel out of its friction fitting. The display is held by two screws. Once these pieces are all removed, it's simply the process of following the steps in the manual, removing the wiring harness from the back of the radio, removing the fiber optic cable from the radio, and reinstalling them into the new provided wiring harness. Its fiddly work, but if you take your time, don't be too brutish with the removal of cabling connectors, it will be fine. Once you get everything installed, WAIT BEFORE REINSTALLING the dash panels, etc. Turn the car on, look to be sure the new display powers up, link your phone by BT, try the radio, yada, yada, yada. Be certain everything works before you stuff all the wiring harness cabling back in....if everything works, then gently but firmly push the radio back into its slot. It may take some pressure (remember...you've inserted a larger wiring harness behind the existing radio) but be gentle and firm and it should go ok. Then...after the radio is in... try everything's functionality again. Be sure you didn't crush something or knock the connector loose pushing the radio in. Once that is confirmed, replace the trim panels, face plates, HVAC control unit, etc. Setting the unit up to work with your specific car stereo is another small project to undertake. At first, the sound that was being produced was really not good. Lots of echo and so forth. I discovered, by the process of elimination, that the Graphic Equalizer in the new unit was fighting with the Graphic Equalizer in the factory stereo installed in my car (Harmon Kardon High Quality stereo), so I opted to synch my phone to the car and use the new units Bluetooth channel to connect to the car. Now...the sound only comes through the car and it blows me away! I did not use the AUX option. Some other cars might be different. Take the time, sit in the car, and walk through all the menu options until you get it right. The tech support these guys offer is excellent, and if you're having a problem, they will walk you through the steps to solve it. I can't say enough about them. I'm still having trouble with my aftermarket backup camera, but it's a wiring problem on my part....not this unit. I'll figure it out. but, they provided Awesome customer service! Bottom line is this: This has taken my 2012 luxury car, manufactured prior to the introduction of high-tech conveniences in all cars, and brought it up to the current standard of infotainment. I would buy this unit again in a heartbeat!

2011 335i . Followed instructions for Oem I-drive resolution setting. Tried and checked wiring/connections few times , same result. CarPlay screen works fine , but when switching screens to BMW I-drive interface screen is cropped and flickering. Also audio quality is horrible . Hopefully i just had a bad unit

This is a two month review of this head unit in my 2009 BMW 335i. Overall, it has exceeded my expectations. The sound is better. The screen quality is better and the wireless CarPlay is amazing. I also use the screen paired with a midtier Amazon reverse camera as well and it works great. I would recommend this head unit above the $400 plus Xtrons unit. See below for important notes. Installation notes: The instructions are decent. They have been translated so some things do not make a lot of sense, or are incorrect. One thing to note is, if you have a CIC system the instructions tell you to disconnect a ground wire on the harness. This is incorrect. Do not do this. Keep the ground connection attached otherwise the sound will be distorted. Ask me how I know. You can choose to take more time on installation and have a professional finish where you cannot tell it is not factory. I chose this option and I am pleasantly surprised. For the resolution, I chose the 1080 x 800 resolution or something like that for my CIC system so that the screen functions with the old BMW interface correctly. If the wrong resolution is selected, then the screen will be all buggy when you’re trying to go to the old BMW interface. Reverse camera notes: There is a supplied RCA cable with an attached supplemental power wire that is crucial for the camera to work as it should. One end of the power wire connects to the “reverse cam pwr” wire on the back of the wiring harness for the screen. The other end connects to the power wire from the reverse camera in the trunk. Any ground in the trunk can be chosen for the reverse camera. Once the settings are adjusted to your liking, the reverse camera is excellent and a great upgrade for a 2009 in modern day. (The reverse camera is very high quality but it has a few raindrops on the lens in the photos.) I hope this review was helpful for someone in need!

2011 BMW 335i sedan rear drive sport package. CIC iDrive Nav screen. Great car that I want to keep deserved electronics upgrade to bring it up to current tech and this is just the ticket. Keeping OEM appearance always important to me and this looks the same but what a difference in functionality and display. Effectively layers over existing BMW system (Settings, Vehicle Info, etc.) and all steering wheel and iDrive controller functionally is retained for the legacy system plus for navigating the new features of the Road Top unit. Plus in addition, now can use touchscreen and voice command as well for the Road Top functionality. I used professional install and Cory is a total pro top 50 in North America and highly recommended. Upgraded all speakers, subwoofers and amplifier components with Audiotec Fischer as well and wow everything looks and sounds terrific! Rear camera added as well. DC Car Audio Sarnia did it all for me I just provided the Road Top unit to Cory who took it from there. However, connectivity is an issue at least for me. I lose Android Auto connection between my Galaxy S25 and the Road Top unit often, even multiple times a day and have to go to my phone settings to reconnect. Cory says that is not uncommon as traffic cameras, police radar, etc. share the same frequency range and lots of clutter so Apple CarPlay/Android Auto disconnects can be common. I live in north metro Detroit and we have zillions of traffic cameras that I know. I don't have another newer car with CarPlay/Android Auto to compare rate of drops or if it auto reconnects but Road Top/Linux unit does not auto reconnect. Must be done manually. It's a drag but still well worth the upgrade in my opinion. Maybe where you live won't drop so much? January 3, 2026 update. After using for some months I feel I owe it to this unit to update my user experience. Maintaining connection or reconnecting with my phone not that big a deal and well worth the upgrade over the stock BMW CIC unit. No way would I go back. I love the Road Top unit. I agree with another reviewer 10/10 upgrade!

The original screen stopped working in our 2006 BMW 330xi. I was excited when I found such an awesome screen for such a great price! The install was fairly simple until we got all the way to the final connection, the power connection, and we realized that it was not compatible with our car. Every other cord connected just fine, but the power cable was totally different. So we then decided to go to a car audio shop to ask about a possible adapter or to have the power connection changed and the shop advised against it. So this screen was a flop and I’m having to disconnect and return it☹️

Worth the money, instructions are pretty clear but there’s lots of YouTube videos to help, hardest part was routing the harness but if you tuck the bulk of the harness for the radio unit to the bottom right corner towards passenger side you can get it to fit, I routed aux through the side of the center counsel and through the rear air vent area. Sound is great too, only had to adjust screen to cic. And it worked perfectly. Not much lag at all 10/10 upgrade

Very nice, well thought out product. Works excellent. One thing to remember is, make sure original radio is set to play music as well as phone thru Bluetooth. If not set to play music, CarPlay/Android will look like it’s playing on the screen but there will be no sound. Other than that, performs better than expected

The screen is bright and crisp with excellent overall build quality. Stock BMW integration is solid, and CarPlay responds quickly. My only functional quirk is that the factory seek buttons on the dash don’t work—steering-wheel controls and the touchscreen do, so it’s minor. Audio over AUX isn’t perfect, but after dialing in EQ (I tuned using Hotel California and Babylon Sisters for balanced highs, mids, and lows) it sounds clean and full. Call quality is where it falls short. Several callers say I sound distant or occasionally cut out, which could use improvement. Bottom line: a well-priced upgrade that delivers the CarPlay convenience I wanted with sharp visuals and mostly seamless integration.

Good android head unit , has a quality display screen and was reasonably easy to install , android auto works well and Idrive cic works well , this is a really good upgrade for the older gen BMWs and brings my car up to the current modern day , im not sure how well it will do in cold weather yet but the touch screen works well and is responsive overall a good budget upgrade . Thanks