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So, when I bought a car for my wife recently, a cheap, reliable Mazda2 fit the bill perfectly. Unfortunately, even the top of the line 2005 Genki model we purchased only comes with a fairly run of the mill standard audio system. It’s also near impossible to fit anything other than a factory unit, as like most recent model Mazdas, it’s a custom fitted head unit for that model only. Having had iPod connectivity in my previous car, I was determined to do something so we didn’t have to rely on the CD player in the unit. After investigating for a while, the options seemed to be fairly limited:
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Rely on one of those rubbish FM transmitter units. I’ve tried one in the past, and whilst they are acceptable if you’re out in the country where there’s no interference, in a city, there’s far too many things already broadcasting on the frequencies the unit usually allows. This means you either have to change the frequency quite frequently, or, maybe snap your car aerial off (not recommended). Also, the sound quality is not great in my experience.
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Fit some sort of auxiliary input to the head unit. Again, there didn’t seem to be a great range of options available here, and most of the ones I found seemed to have rather complicated procedures for when you actually wanted to use the thing anyway.
Resigned to not actually finding anything decent to solve the problem, I ran across the AuxMod. This fairly simple device attaches to a little used connector on the bottom of the Mazda2 headunit which was used for connections to either a cassette player or minidisc player. The AuxMod simply plugs into this connector and provides a 3.5mm input socket and uses the selector on the front of the unit marked “MD/Tape”.
Sounds simple, right? Well, not quite… you still have to install it on the bottom of the headunit. Getting inside the dash to access the connector is no simple task. Searching high and low, I was unable to find any information on how to actually get the headunit out of the dash. So, here’s my guide on how I did it  This guide could be useful for someone seeking to fit a Bluetooth handsfree unit to your Mazda2, like I have (you can see bits of it in some of the pictures).
You’ll need:
- 1 Phillips head screwdriver – about 4mm across
- 1 Flat head screwdriver – again about 4mm across
- 1 Socket wrench
- 1 200mm (min approx) extender for your socket wrench
- 1 6mm (I think) socket
- 1 AuxMod
- 1 3.5mm Male to 3.5mm Male cable - approx 75cm – 100cm long
Step 1
You’ll need to take off the shroud between the two front seats. Put both seats as far forward as you can, then unscrew the two screws at the back of the shroud as shown in the next two photos.
Part 2
Slide the seats all the way back, then undo the snap locks on both sides of the front of the shroud, as shown in the following picture. You can use the edge of a flat head screwdriver, but be careful with them, they are fragile.
Part 3
You need to take out the plastic section underneath the handbrake as well. Use the edge of a flat head screwdriver on the slight indents as shown in the following picture. The plastic is a bit soft though, so don’t use too much force, as you can easily make some ugly marks on the plastic as I did.
Part 4
Take off the selector knob thingies on the front of the dash panel. Ease them off with your fingers, you shouldn’t need to pull too hard. There are screws under two of them, as shown in the picture below. Unscrew them, and make sure you don’t lose them, you will need them again  Also, there’s a slider for ventilation underneath, you’ll need to pull that off too.
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