My kiddo has a new Passat, or something like that. He’s happy that he can call me when he’s on the road and he doesn’t have to hold the phone. I’m happy, too. But I can barely hear him. I believe that’s because the mike is a piece of crap. Is it possible to get a replacement microphone that actually picks up what he says and doesn’t cut out just because I’m talking? Does Volkswagen do this? Can I get him a new mike that he can get installed?
My after-market stereo has a built-in mic, but they also provide an external mic, which I mounted on the steering column. People can’t tell that I’m on hands-free.
Not all systems have inputs for external mic, though.
Look at a service manual for your car and go to the radio section. Check the back of the head unit and see how the wires are connected. If there’s a separate mic-in, you might be able to replace it with something better.
Or just pretend it’s 2004 and buy him a Bluetooth headset. Parrot and others also make Bluetooth “speakerphones” that mount onto the visor or whatever, but quality generally isn’t good.
No, not if you don’t know why you can’t hear him well in the first place.
anyway, if the situation is truly that bad the first step would be for your son to bring the car to the dealer and complain. It’s possible the mic is defective or installed incorrectly.
but no, if it isn’t defective then you can’t just go swap in an off-the shelf mic easily. Most of these use these Panasonic 1/4" electret capsules which have more than enough frequency response to handle human voice. if the performance is poor, you’d need to figure out if the mic is placed or oriented improperly, and what its polar pattern is.