4" to 8" Conversion Overview

Converting your vehicle from the 4” display to the 8” display is easy with SimplyMichigan! It can also save you a bunch of money since pre-built kits have the added cost of convenience. We don’t currently stock complete kits for every vehicle however we do carry the majority of the items you would need to convert and will supply you the programming necessary to make sure the job is done right.

First step. Looking for a complete list of what you need for your vehicle? Please visit the "What do I need exactly for my conversion?" support article by clicking here.

Please note, all of the items below that we do carry for this conversion, they are located in our store. For a total price of the items we carry please add them in your cart. We don't send invoices or give total prices written/verbally as the prices do change from time to time (and most people don't purchase right away) and we can't take into account special promotions, sales tax (if applicable, for Michigan residents), shipping, etc. The total price of your conversion will depend on how much you spend on the other few parts to complete the upgrade.

We highly encourage you to review the other articles on our support page as they may contain valuable information that may help you with your project.
We stock most of the parts you'll need for this conversion, simply add the ones you would like to purchase from us to your cart. To visit our store's 4" to 8" conversion section, please click here.
Please do not purchase hardware from us unless you have sourced all of the other parts needed for your vehicle. If you find yourself over your head or unable to find a harness for your vehicle and need to return the hardware we retain 3% of the total price to cover the costs of the transaction fees per our return policy; further, the $60 programming charge is also non-refundable. Please read this entire article in its entirety. A good handful of people don't fully understand the scope of this conversion and end up returning the hardware due to not understanding this process.

Overview

For all conversions you will need either a ELM327 USB cable (OHP ELMConfig is a great brand) or a ScanTool OBDLink EX cable (recommended but more costly) to connect to your OBD2 port via your laptop, if you have a 2019+ vehicle, we recommend spending the extra money on the OBDLink EX. You will also need FORScan downloaded with at least a trial extended license activated. This is not optional, please don't think you can skip this step. It's strongly recommended that you familiarize yourself with FORScan before proceeding.

You can get a free two month extended license (required) located here.

4” to 8” conversions may sometimes require wiring changes and/or repining of the connections for your center bezel, unless a custom wiring harness is purchased. We currently do not sell wiring harnesses unless it's included with a complete kit.

We will supply you with instructions on how to upload the files required for your vehicle via e-mail. Don’t be intimidated! It’s a very straight forward task and requires you click some buttons a handful of times. We will email these files to you typically within 4 business days, if you don’t see the email from me please check your junk/spam folder as it may incorrectly get flagged. With certain vehicles, such as the Escape and Focus, there are more settings that may need to be changed in the CCC programming (in FORScan), we unfortunately can't provide files for this and need to be changed manually.

How much should this conversion cost?

For the items we provide you should expect to pay around $700-$900, this is dependent on the items your vehicle requires (recessed displays cost more for example) and if you choose a factory navigation system, which will obviously cost more as well. The rest of the cost is in your hands based on how much you’ll spend on the conversion harness, the HVAC 8” radio bezel, etc.

Where do I buy the other parts I need?

Most often people will pick these up on eBay. If you search "4 to 8 conversion Sync 3 harness" in eBay a bunch of harnesses will pop up. Please ensure you read the description completely to make sure that the harness will work with your vehicle. Contacting the seller may help as well, they can offer recommendations for your vehicle. The control panels are usually readily available there as well. Finding one for $100-$200 would be a fair price. The first few you find may be $300-$500, don't purchase those. Those sellers are just fishing to see if anyone will bite. Keep digging, you'll find the fairly priced ones farther down the list.

Parts List & General Information

For a complete list of the items you would need for your vehicle, please click here. For a quick guide, for a good majority of conversions this is the list of the items you would need:

Available at SimplyMichigan

Screen and APIM bundle (with or without factory navigation)
4” to 8” programming (required purchase with hardware, non-refundable)
USB hub and GPS antenna (included with hardware as long as the conversion kit option is selected)
Screen brackets (we will typically have these for newer vehicles that could’ve came with Sync 3 from the factory, sometimes these brackets were used on older vehicles as well but not always)
USB extension cable (we carry these on our website, this extension cable includes special connectors on both ends to securely attach to the USB hub and APIM)

NOT Available at SimplyMichigan

4” to 8” conversion harness (these can be found on eBay or other larger infotainment websites, but they typically will cost more)
HVAC 8” radio/dash bezel (these can be found at your local salvage yard or you can find them on eBay)

This is the typical list of items that your vehicle may require to do this conversion. Your vehicle may require a few more parts not listed above or it might not need nearly as many (typical with newer 2018+ vehicles). Please see our other support article for an exact list of items needed. Some vehicles (typically the Explorer) will require a new HVAC module as well, especially if you're switching between manual and automatic climate controls. The replacement HVAC module needs to be pulled from a matching vehicle model that originally had the 8” display from the factory.

Other Information

When you checkout with us we will need to know if the bezel you purchased has automatic climate controls (will have an AUTO button on it) or if it’s just a manual climate bezel. If you don’t know or don’t have one yet, please choose manual and we can have adjustments made later to your programming files.
Once the purchase is made with the programming, the $59 fee isn't refundable. Please ensure you have a plan ready to do this conversion and hold off buying the hardware and programming until you’re ready.
For newer 2019+ vehicles your conversion will cost slightly more as you will need the latest generation 4 module for your vehicle to ensure that the firmware will be correct. A good rule of thumb, you’ll want hardware from the same model year or newer. You may run into issues using older hardware in a newer vehicle.
We don't sell programming for hardware you purchased elsewhere. Usually when a problem arises, most people will point to the programming being the issue when in reality (in almost every case we've had) it's an issue with the conversion harness that was purchased or a mistake during the install (connectors not being connected properly is a very common issue that we've seen)