What aftermarket head unit preserves access to the Sprinter's vehicle settings?

[Ryan35]

I’m looking at replacing the factory radio in my 2018 Sprinter, but I’m worried about losing access to the vehicle settings menu that’s built into the stock head unit. Has anyone found a good aftermarket unit that still lets you get into things like the auxiliary heater timer or the door lock settings without throwing a bunch of error codes?

[Edward.R]

I swapped the factory radio in my 2018 Sprinter last year. The aftermarket unit is fine for sound, Bluetooth, and CarPlay, but the auxiliary heater timer and door lock settings never show up in the new head unit. I startedseeing a few CAN warnings on the dash after the install, and the heater controls stayed on the OEM side. It just talks to the body controller, not the new unit.

[Aaron35]

I tried a Mercedes van specific CAN gateway with an aftermarket head unit. It let me keep some basics like steering wheel controls and radio, but HVAC menus still didn't surface. I could pull some vehicle data, but the heater timer remained inaccessible. People on forums say this is common and depends on the head unit’s CAN profile.

[Stella_W]

I keep wondering if the problem is overstated. Those settings may be locked to the body control module and not meant to be exposed to aftermarket head units. Even with MB bus style interfaces, the access is a mixed bag. I ended up leaving OEM HVAC in place and using the new unit only for media.

[SamuelH]

Do you actually need to access those OEM menus, or is it enough to control the heater in another way?