Ipod2Car works with Prius!

Ipod2Car works with Prius: true but what about the battery?

I have installed my IPOD2CAR on my Prius today (basic model) and it works very well for me.

And it's just a 30 minutes process!!

You really don't need to remove every bits and parts of dash to do the job (thank you very much to Chris Dragon who posted a detailed guide some weeks ago but it's much simplier than that): as gmurphy said in a XM radio thread remove the passsager lower glove box, move to the right a white box filled with cables (secured with just one 10' bolt), the left passenger vent, use a mirror on the back of the head unit, plug the Y cable with clicks down...and that's it!.

The Neo box (ipod2car) can be sticked with velcros on the top of the AC filter.

Now, when I press the mode button on the steering wheel it changes to FM(1,2,3), CD, CD changer (IPOD) back and forth. Yes sometimes you have to press forward twice, but overall it works very well.

However I have a question now: my Ipod is still charging when attached to the ipod2car, even the car fully stopped (IG OFF). So is there an issue this device will drain the (pretty small) 12 V accessory battery???

 

I have noticed a difference in behavior depending on iPod model. My 3G iPod will turn off when switching to a different mode (AM/FM...etc), the radio is turned off, or the car is turned off.

However, my partnet just got a 4G (click-wheel) model and it behaves much differently. When changing modes or powering off the radio the iPod continues to play. When the car is turned off, the iPod does turn off but it appears to continue to charge.

Anyone else notice a difference between the different generation iPods?

 

I have both a 3G and a 4G iPod, and am anxious to hook one up to my NEW Prius. If others have noticed a difference between the two, I'd also like to know.

On a related topic ... I bought one of those car chargers for the iPod, but it doesn't seem to be working. The battery charge indicator on the iPod keeps running down as I use it, even though I have the charger plugged in. Has anyone else had that problem? Could I have gotten a defective charger?

 

That's odd. I have a 30GB 3G model and mine behaves the way you describe the 4G model. Have you put the latest firmware from Apple on your 3G ipod? I have version 2.2 on the "About" screen.

- Robert

 

I've been using the ipod2car with just the first generation ipod, using the aux-in (headphone) cable rather than the ipod long flat cable. When a friend wanted my ipod, I decided to sell to him and buy a gold mini. For the first time, I'm able to use the flat ipod cable... but it's very disappointing. I have no steering wheel control, no power off/on with the car... the only thing that works is the sound and the charging. Even the sound has problems, as it seems to force the ipod to remain at about 1/3 volume (changing ipod volume has no effect) so I have to turn up the volume on the stereo. But at such a high volume, there is a noticable background hiss which actually goes up and down in pitch periodically, making it extremely annoying.

My ipod is firmware 1.2, gold mini model.

I have one of the first MTE devices that worked with the ipod, so I'm hoping this has all been worked out with new firmware... but will they support me since I bought it a few mos ago? Guess I'll find out when I can get in contact with them.

P.S. Nice trick about getting the ipod2car installed through the glove box. I tried that when I first started my installation, but there wasn't enough room to get a hand back there and plug anything in. I guess it sounds like that can be resolved by removing the white box. However, I still prefer having everything set up in the hole covered by the flip-up black cover beneath the stereo, and getting that out definitely requires removing the dashboard and all that.

 

I've been using the iPOD2CAR for about a month now- I used Chris Dragon's .pdf installation guide and it worked quite well.. I mounted the box in the compartment with the flip-down screen(I drilled a couple of holes in there to allow the cables to pass through) and everything tidied up quite nicely. My one question/issue has to do with the volume difference between the iPOD and a regular CD. I've tested the difference using a CD and the .mp3 as a reference point and the signal coming out of the iPOD2CAR is noticeably lower - about 10-15 quieter(i.e. "40" on the CD is equal to about "50-60" on the iPOD) on the volume dial. It's annoying, but I can't seem to figure out whether it's my iTUNES ripping settings or the box.

Anyone else have this problem? It's really pointing out the need for an add-on amplifier to the rather anemic head unit.

Thx

 

Well, I talked to someone there and he had me update my ipod firmware, even though I told him I thought it was already the latest version 1.2... which it was. Called back later and nobody was there who could help me. This morning I finally talked to the original guy I spoke to months ago, and he was nice and said oh yeah, they fixed all those problems in later boxes (including the static hiss during quiet parts of songs) and I have to send them back the box for a replacement. I asked if they could send me a new box first and then I ship them the old one, but no deal... Apparently they've sold the rights to the product to someone else, which is why the Neo is listed as discontinued on their website (www.ssiamerica.com - I wonder why their invoice says Multi Technology Equipment but whenever I call they call themselves SSI?). I'm fairly surprised they're bothering to support me! So, I think those who are buying ipod2car at this point are getting it made from another company, which is interesting. I wonder if the new company still sells the RCA version? I'm rather afraid my new box is going to arrive and the ipod will work but the RCA won't... which may not matter if I never want to use anything other than ipod, but it would still be annoying.

Anyway, I'll post the results when I get the new unit.

 

The ipod2car interface electronics that I bought with my kit is made by Neo Audio. Just go to http://www.neocaraudio.com/prod-ion.html to view the product from the manufacturer's site directly.

 

Can someone tell me how to obtain Chris Dragon's instructions for installing the iPod2Car?

 

Mark,

That URL says that it's not compatible with the Prius. Is this correct?

 

Their website isn't up to date.

I had originally located it through www. mp3yourcar.com, which does in fact show compatibility with the 04 Prius. I did talk at length with Neo's tech support and worked with them through the installation.

I believe others have also had success in getting this to work.

Mark

 

I just had the Neo Ion that I purchased through www.mp3yourcar.com installed in my 2004 Prius (took it to Car Toys). No problems whatsoever. It works as described. The car does default to the in-dash CD changer every time you start the car, so I'm in the habit of switching to AM then to CD when I start up the car and have been listening to my iPod. The auto-off when you shut off the car is particularly useful.

Jeanne

 

Have they fixed this so the Song title information shows up on the MFD yet?

 

I've had the Ipod2Car for a few months now and find it works as advertised and expected. There are some minor issues now and then that have already been listed in this thread but none that I find are deal breakers.

I see a lot of people asking for and in some cases even expecting the song titles and information to be displayed on screen but I have yet to see anyone post that it works well with any of the available Ipod connectors.

Personally, I'm just happy to have a high quality connection with the ability to control my Ipod from the steering wheel.

 

What about the new CoastalETech ViewTech 2005 solution? Does anyone know if it will work better than the other iPod connectors?

Maybe it will work well enough to display the song titles.

 

Do any of you know if it's possible to connect the iPod to the Prius via the iPod2Car connection AND charge the battery cell (the iPod's, that is) simultaneously?

If this is possible, then I'd love to buy one.

 

The connector cable at the bottom sends the audio to the head unit AND charges it as well.

timmyd

 

P E R F E C T ! [font=Tahoma:b511e68d8c] [/font:b511e68d8c]

 

The quality and the charging is nice, BUT beware that it STILL has some annoying issues to contend with. I'll try to be brief as possible :

The customer service at peripheralelectronics.com was kind enough to exchange the unit I bought in October (made by Neo and now peripheral has the rights to make it) for the new model (with a white interface box) because it was not working properly. When listening to the Ipod and then turning the car off, the system resets. So when you start the car again, it is on CD mode and you have to cycle through FM, AM, CD to get to the Ipod again. But if you decide to listen to a CD while you are driving and you are listening to the Ipod, you are out of luck. You have to stop the car, turn it off, turn it back on, then the CD will play. This is not the most ideal situation, but I listen to the Ipod 95% of the time when driving anyway. During a long trip, this could be a royal pain though. So for me, the most annoying thing is stopping the car and forgetting to turn the radio power off before I turn the car power off. When I remember to do that, it starts in Ipod mode and everything is fine. When I forget, the radio blares in CD mode upon starting the car because the Ipod volume is quite a bit lower than the CD volume.

So to end this story, the new Ipod2car that customer service said would fix this issue does EXACTLY the same thing. And no, the advertised text function does not show up on the MFD either.

So despite the lower volume level, the sound is very good and the song track functionality on the steering wheel is nice. But the other functionality issues are a pain. Prius owners just need to decide if they can live with these issues, because it does not look like much can be done about it.

timmyd

 

I have an '05 Prius with the single CD player (and no Cassette) option. I've read all the posts and I'm still somewhat confused. Will the iPod2car work with my stereo? The Perepheral technician tells me it won't work with the single CD radio. Is this because this radio lacks an AUX input?

Can anybody shed some light on this for me? Thank you!