Aftermarket Bluetooth Install and Mic Question

About three weeks ago I completed the install of a Parrot CK3100 in our 2005 Prius with package #2 (sorry, no pictures ). The install itself was pretty straightforward. In addition to the Parrot kit I got the BT1761 wiring harness from Crutchfield. The whole thing went together Plug-and-Play. I used the various dash disassembly instructions found on PriusChat to get the dash apart and pull the radio. Connected the BT1761, then the Parrot kit. All the connectors just popped in to place. The whole thing results in a BIG ball of wires and components, which I dropped down behind the radio and stashed in the space behind the kick plate on top of what would be the transmission tunnel in a rear-drive vehicle. There's lots of room in there for all of the wires, mute box, etc.

I used double-sided tape to connect the LCD to the door of the compartment under the radio, right next to the shift lever. I snaked the wire through a crack and down to the kick plate (I'll mod this in the near future now that everything is tested and cut a small notch for the wire - my wife is cringing as I type that). The LCD is pretty easy to see while driving, and the compartment door opens just fine to get in to the iPod when needed.

The microphone wire I routed up behind the heater vent on the driver's side next to the MFD. The mic itself is clipped to the dash piece that has the vent and the shift lever and is located right beside the MFD housing.

Overall we've been very happy. Call quality is great on the listening end. The stereo mutes automatically and call volume is adjusted independently on the CK3100. Outgoing quality is pretty good, the noise canceling works well, but a little bit of a tunnel sound (the mic is about 18 inches from the driver's mouth, if you lean forward over the steering wheel outgoing call quality improves). I can tell when my wife is in the car, the voice levels are different, but not annoyingly so. Also, when I call her I can hear my own echo for about the first second of the call, then the noise canceling kicks in and my echo is gone for the rest of the call. Voice dialing works perfectly, once you get the thing trained it really is a hands free device. It's mostly my wife's car, she leaves Bluetooth on on her phone (a Motorola RAZR V3 with T-Mobile), as soon as she starts the car the phone pairs with the CK3100. When she shuts down the car she has to open her phone and say "yes" to transfer any call back to the phone (the CK3100 has a continuous power wire and doesn't shut down until the call is ended or transfered). If she's not on the phone at shutdown she simply walks away. The unit stores up to 5 (I think) phone profiles, so mine is also in there (a Nokia 6086), with separate voice commands. The phone book syncs well, and if you don't have voice set up for a particular number it's pretty easy to scroll through the phone book with the single knob.

Which leads to the question - does anyone know if the factory wiring harness to the overhead microphone is installed even if you don't have the factory option? I'd love to try that location, see if it helps with the slight "tunnel" effect, but don't want to get inside the pillar with the airbag to run the wires. It looks like that question may have been answered here before, but I can't find the thread when I search, and none of the links to the thread seem to work (all of the links seem to point to topic #25400, but nothing comes up when I click). If anyone can tell me how to get in to that thread, or just has the answer to the question that would be great. And if there's any more information I can provide, please chime in and ask.

For anyone considering this install, it took me about half an hour, soup to nuts. I'll caveat that by saying I've had the dash apart many times and know what tools are needed, etc. I've previously put in pretty much all the other dash mods (Factory EV, Dash Receptacle Power, Coastal Door Lock, DICE Silverline), so there is some familiarity with the process. Your mileage may vary.