Customer Reviews

Not Great Tech nor Support

I installed this on my 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL as instructed. Once in Carplay it would randomly disconnect Carplay and then switch to standard bluetooth. Then the GPS would be out of whack as well. I placed the GPS antenna on top of the dashboard and then added a metal plate underneath it, which improved the GPS showing incorrect geolocation, but the Carplay still randomly switches from Carplay to regular bluetooth, frequently when I'm on important calls. Crutchfield support hasn't been so great either, which is unusual. I called Crutchfield support and they basically told me we can just send you another antenna, which they did. What struck me is that the typically great Crutchfield support wouldn't take any time to troubleshoot the issue to see what other options existed and how many people may have reportred similar issues. I also created an Alpine support ticket with no response 5 days later. I would not recommend this and nor would I recommend buying from Crutchfield as support has degraded.

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Crutchfield response on 3/18/2025

We were sorry to hear about Elie's experience with our Tech Support team. Our Tech Support specialist, Cezar, reached out to Elie to help. Whenever you encounter a problem with anything you purchase from Crutchfield, please contact our Tech Support team right away. Lifetime tech support comes with every Crutchfield purchase.

Alpine Restyle i509-WRA-JL

Quality is great. Fit and finish is superb. Vehicle interface is more than adequate and allows for all functions through the head unit. You do have to allow for plenty of time for install. It's not an easy installation but it is a very complete installation.

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Crutchfield response on

Awesome sound

The unit is nice but I can honestly tell you it is not plug n play at all ..Also if your having echo issues on phone calls or camera is messing up ask for thumb flash drive to plug into the usb to update the head unit software ..other than the mentioned issues ..this thing is awesome ..as advertised it looks like it belongs in my 23 Jeep Gladiator and the sound is amazing over the stock radio I had feeding my after market speakers and subs w/3 amps

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Crutchfield response on

Alpine Restyle i509-WRA-JL

At first I was unsure with the price of this Stereo but I'm very satisfied with the Alpine i509. Item was well packaged and shipped. I took two days on the installation about three hours a day, I followed the Alpine TV installation video on YouTube and bits and pieces from the installation manual. I have only had it installed in my Gladiator for five days now and I love it. Still learning what this system can do. Also purchased a Sirius XM module/antenna and the Alpine KTX-NS01 which is their off-road module for this unit so still a lot to learn. Thanks Crutchfield for everything.

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Crutchfield response on

Big money down the drain

I hope I can help others avoid the negative experience with Alpine and waste of money I've had to accept. I've had my i509 for over a year now. It had generally worked as advertised but for a few months now, basic functionality has been broken due to firmware updates. It's not unexpected to have things break once in a while when dealing with complex technology but I would expect that a company who makes a device for this price would address those problems once notified of them. Alpine has simply not stepped up in this regard. I've talked to their US tech support several times and the only answer is "...when Japan gets to it". Alpine doesn't even provide a way to open some kind of trouble ticket to track status of the issue or even make it official that an issue was reported. I was told that I'll know it's been fixed if it shows up in a new firmware update. This is just terrible customer service. As of now, it's been 7 months since my unit was broken. I bought this device primarily to play music from local USB media and now that fairly basic feature is not working as advertised. Who knows what would happen with an even more complex issue? It's too late for me but I hope I can help somebody else from wasting their money with this company.

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Crutchfield response on

Beware

This head is nice when everything works so long as one is OK with losing OEM features. The one I received has a defective backup camera module (broken FAKRA input connector) so I have no backup camera. And now the Maestro isn't communicating with the CANBUS so no steering wheel controls etc. For the huge price tag this thing is a joke and will be removed and the OEM head reinstalled.

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Crutchfield response on 9/27/2023

Ryan contacted our Customer Support team for help. Whenever you encounter a problem with anything you purchase from Crutchfield, please contact our customer Support or Tech Support teams right away. Lifetime tech support comes with every Crutchfield purchase.

Gladiator

Great

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Crutchfield response on

Really nice

When I ordered this I felt that it was way to expensive for what it was but it's the only option available for the wrangler that I really liked so I ordered it & I'm definitely impressed; very nice and my music sounds soo much better than it did with the Uconnect

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Crutchfield response on

Alpine Restyle i509-WRA-JL

Unit looks good but that's about where it ends. Came from a 7" radio with the factory alpine system. What they don't tell you is how you'll lose your compass on the dash, mine no longer works since installing. If you have the factory alpine system you are not able to utilize any of the sound upgrade features so it really doesn't sound any different better or worse. It's also kind of dumb you have to use their mic when there's already one mounted in the jeep from factory. Another major downfall is the video quality from the factory reverse camera. It used to be clear on my factory radio but looks horrible on this. Really blurry and over pixelated. To top it off there's really nothing else in the interface that would make you wanna upgrade. Big screen, no apps lIke the previous model. All in all you're better off looking for a factory 8" used, it's also half the price.

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Crutchfield response on 1/18/2023

We're sorry you're having issues with your receiver. If you purchased this product from Crutchfield, feel free to contact our Tech Support team. They can help you solve the problem or set up a return within 60 days of purchase. Lifetime tech support comes with every Crutchfield purchase.

Ridiculous

Alpine advertises this unit as a plug and play. It's not. You have to go through a lot of disassembling, wiring the new, have to program the maestro power type of vehicle. Does this sound like a plug and play

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Crutchfield response on

Great improvement over factory

Great radio with a few quirks. Upgraded from the base 5" screen so the additional real estate is a great addition. Really nice to have carplay, I also added the aftermarket sirius brain and antenna. As promised it looks like it belongs in the jeep. The bezel is a great fit but a little more silver than the trim in the jeep. The install took some time and didnt require any specialty tools. I used both the paper instruction manual as well as Alpines youtube installation video. Both had a few slightly different steps performed in different order. The only other slight issue I have had is the main wiring harness just barely makes it between the screen and the brain under the steering wheel. It adds an HDMI port to the mix that I havent tried yet. The quirks. As Advertised: The only USB port that works between the radio and the jeep ports is the bottom one in the new "media center", the rest are charge only You lose the factory microphone and use the cheap little plastic one you have to install yourself If you are coming from the 5" screen, you will lose the volume dial. This means you can buy the hvac stack from the wranglers that come with the 7" or 8" screens, but be prepared for it to cost an extra $400 Not Advertised: The Maestro has a built in parking brake sensor, but sometimes to get the maestro to register that the jeep is in fact parked you have to release the parking brake, lower it all the way and reset it in the on position.

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Crutchfield response on