Rear Seat Entertainment System

[3Fords1Vette]

I will own a 2018 Ford Expedition within the next few days.... unfortunately I have been unable to find the vehicle I want with the Rear Seat Entertainment.

Please let me know;

1.) What is the difference between the Factory installed Rear Seat Entertainment and the Rear Seat Entertainment installed at the Dealership.

2.) If my vehicle does not have the Factory installed Rear Seat Entertainment then should I have the Dealer install one or should I have it done at a specialty shop.

Thank you in advance!​

 

[rcompart]

If I could do it all over again, I'd go aftermarket. The amount of work to get them going is horrible unless you're siting in the second row and routing the audio through the vehicle sound system is laggy and requires the audio/video sync to be changed whenever they system looses it's bluetooth connectivity with SYNC. Also, when using it and stopping for a gas and go break, when coming back, it's unpredictable whether things will start back up where they left off or if you have to start everything over by hand, the ability to control anything from the front is a incredibly cumbersome and requires the FES to already be fired up from the unit themselves as well as having the phone connected to the car via the USB cable and the phone connected to the FES via wifi. The long and the short of it is the factory installed FES is a joke.

 

[st381183]

Just get a couple of iPads with unlimited data or use a hotspot (the Expy has one built in) and let the kids stream entertainment and games. Bonus, they can go in the hotel with you! If mom or dad need to get things started you can pass them back and forth. Headrest mounts re also readily available. Half the cost, all the access.

 

[07xln]

I will own a 2018 Ford Expedition within the next few days.... unfortunately I have been unable to find the vehicle I want with the Rear Seat Entertainment.

Please let me know;

1.) What is the difference between the Factory installed Rear Seat Entertainment and the Rear Seat Entertainment installed at the Dealership.

2.) If my vehicle does not have the Factory installed Rear Seat Entertainment then should I have the Dealer install one or should I have it done at a specialty shop.

Thank you in advance!​

Factory installed and dealer installed are almost the same thing. The dealer will have a department that is dedicated to installing parts added on that didn't come installed from the factory. They'll use the same parts, same dvd players etc that it would have been built with.

When I bought mine I had them add rear dvd's after the fact. Parts were ordered directly from Ford. I brought my truck back to the dealer a couple days after I initially purchased it and they had everything installed same day. Has worked like a champ from day one. Because the dealer installed it and its factory parts that means its all covered under factory warranty also


With that said mine is a 17 model. From what Ive gathered on here theyre using different parts on the 18's and its been kinda buggy. Lots of complaints about the whole system. Aftermarket might be a better option for you. Its up to you

 

[Randy Schmidt]

I went with the iPad idea. The work great. They can be plugged into the usb ports and charged, connected to the Expedition's wifi and kids stream movies and tv shows all trip long. Works great!

 

[aggiegrad05]

I went this route. It works great for our purposes (our 4 year old and 18 month old love them) and they were $150.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073S283N7/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[aggiegrad05]

I went this route. It works great for our purposes (our 4 year old and 18 month old love them) and they were $150.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073S283N7/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here they are...but forgive the AWFUL picture that looks like it was taken on a potato.

I hid the wires a bit, that was just a real quick "do they work?" install the day they showed up. In any case, they only go up for road trips so I don't work too hard to hide the wires.

 

[twernst]

how

Here they are...but forgive the AWFUL picture that looks like it was taken on a potato.

I hid the wires a bit, that was just a real quick "do they work?" install the day they showed up. In any case, they only go up for road trips so I don't work too hard to hide the wires.

How do you pipe the audio into Sync?

 

[aggiegrad05]

how

How do you pipe the audio into Sync?

I bought a $10 fm modulator off amazon and I just plug it into the headphone jack on the TVs and tune the radio to that station. It’s not fancy, but man it works and I don’t have to worry about lag or the sound getting out of sync or anything. Sometimes the old technology works better than the new stuff.

 

[Mothnuts]

If I could do it all over again, I'd go aftermarket. The amount of work to get them going is horrible unless you're siting in the second row and routing the audio through the vehicle sound system is laggy and requires the audio/video sync to be changed whenever they system looses it's bluetooth connectivity with SYNC. Also, when using it and stopping for a gas and go break, when coming back, it's unpredictable whether things will start back up where they left off or if you have to start everything over by hand, the ability to control anything from the front is a incredibly cumbersome and requires the FES to already be fired up from the unit themselves as well as having the phone connected to the car via the USB cable and the phone connected to the FES via wifi. The long and the short of it is the factory installed FES is a joke.

Is using the DVD part of it just as much a PIA as the rest of it? I’ve been reading every bit of information I can find. We currently have a ‘17 Tahoe Premier with the rear DVD player and it’s easy to start and stop the DVD player by opening and closing the player. Makes it easy for my wife to do manage going down the road. We’re seriously contemplating trading for the ‘18 Expedition because of the back seat space and car seats. Ease of use is a big deal to the wife. We have a 2 year old and another that’s 9 days old.

 

[dlcorbett]

From the reviews on here and other forums, unless you have the time to sit and fidfle with it, dont bother spending 2k on the stock rse. Get 2 ipads or tablets, get cords to hook em up to the stereo turn on the in car wifi and save 1500

 

[zarga]

Is using the DVD part of it just as much a PIA as the rest of it? I’ve been reading every bit of information I can find. We currently have a ‘17 Tahoe Premier with the rear DVD player and it’s easy to start and stop the DVD player by opening and closing the player. Makes it easy for my wife to do manage going down the road. We’re seriously contemplating trading for the ‘18 Expedition because of the back seat space and car seats. Ease of use is a big deal to the wife. We have a 2 year old and another that’s 9 days old.

The headrest DVDs are awful. I so wish there was in integrated overhead DVD option. My kids are now much older than yours and it's still a PITA. It cannot be managed while driving down the road. A major reason we bought this car was the back seat space, but had I known just how awful the DVD system was, I may have kept our previous car longer.

 

[Mothnuts]

The headrest DVDs are awful. I so wish there was in integrated overhead DVD option. My kids are now much older than yours and it's still a PITA. It cannot be managed while driving down the road. A major reason we bought this car was the back seat space, but had I known just how awful the DVD system was, I may have kept our previous car longer.

That is really disappointing to hear....

 

[Mothnuts]

The headrest DVDs are awful. I so wish there was in integrated overhead DVD option. My kids are now much older than yours and it's still a PITA. It cannot be managed while driving down the road. A major reason we bought this car was the back seat space, but had I known just how awful the DVD system was, I may have kept our previous car longer.

I got an Expedition to drive for a few days while my pickup is in the shop. We played with the DVD system today and actually seemed to get along alright. You can reach behind your head and press the power button on and off pretty easily, and it picked up from where it was powered off without having to press any other buttons. That was our main concern. You could also use the power button on the remote. Switching DVD’s on the go is about impossible if you are by yourself and driving, but normally my wife and I are together on trips where we might get convinced to switch movies. There are times when it’d be nice to have only one centralized system to manage, but I like the idea of getting my rear view mirror back as well.