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Ipod interface using XM Satellite emulation

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by Hazmat42, Dec 27, 2006.

  1. Hazmat42

    Hazmat42 New Member

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    I currently have a basic 2006 Factory OEM radio without a "AM-SAT" button and I want to integrate an Ipod using the XM satellite screens. Peripheral's IPOD2CAR Gen 2 says their product only works with radios that have the "AM-SAT" button, i.e. already satellite ready. However, the company Factory Interactive at www.priusxm.com has an XM tuner kit that is fully compatible with any 2004-2007 Toyota Prius radio, specifically those without the "AM-SAT" button. Does anyone know why this can't be done for Ipod interfacing? Is there a satellite digital interface that you can hook up to the radio and then to the Ipod to make it work? Any takers?
     
    #1 Hazmat42, Dec 27, 2006
  2. Gloftoe

    Gloftoe New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Hazmat Pat @ Dec 27 2006, 12:56 AM) [snapback]367072[/snapback]</div>
    Not sure if this will help:

    We have a 2005 Prius with package 6 (6 disk changer, factory nav, bluetooth), and the radio has no AM/SAT button. My wife has been wanting iPod integration for a while now, so I decided to take a gamble on the Ipod2car Gen 2. I found an unused 12 pin port on the back of the radio, and the Peripheral PXH2TY1 cable hooked directly into it. I plugged everything up, hit the "AM" button twice, and low-and-behold, get a "Sat1" display. The iPod plays great, with a couple of exceptions:

    1) the status bar (that pops up on every screen (whenever you change stations, volume, etc) never goes away when I have the iPod playing via the "Sat 1" input. Not sure if this is fixable or not.

    2) The radio won't display song title and artist on the "Text" (or whatever it is) button on the MFD. The Song title and artist scroll by in the top status bar, but when you're browsing via Artist/Playlist/Genre/Album, everything gets cut off after a certain number of characters. I don't know if this is an issue with the Ipod2car or with the radio. I have an email into Peripheral about it. Maybe someone here can offer some insight? Is this something that I can fix with a software upgrade or something?

    Back to your question, it's a gamble as to whether or not the Ipod2car Gen 2 will work in your car. That's what the tech department at Peripheral told me when I contacted them about the unit. About the only place I could find this thing was at discountcarstereo.com. Their return policy for ordering this product, knowing that your car configuration isn't listed as compatible in the application guide, isn't good. They don't allow for returns for that reason (hence why it's a gamble for you to purchase). I can tell you it worked for me (with the above two caveats), and the sound is awesome. Now I just have to route the iPod cable to the glovebox or wherever the wifes instructs me.

    Good luck, and I'll answer any questions I can via email or here.
     
    #2 Gloftoe, Dec 27, 2006
  3. Hazmat42

    Hazmat42 New Member

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    Thanks alot for your input. I've already decided I'm going to try it, and if it doesn't work at all, I'll just try to swap my radio for one that works from a local junkyard. Not paying a grand to Toyota for a mere 12 DIN socket upgrade to get this to work. Just wondering how the steering wheel controls work. I'm assuming that, for example, you can hit album, choose the album name, and then hit track up or down to go through the songs. Don't need a perfect setup - just enough info displayed on the MFD to browse through my Ipod without making playlists or searching through hundreds of songs to get the one I want. Also, what kind of lag do you have between when you select the song and when it starts, and when you hit track up or down and when you see the info on the radio.

    Talked to my dealer at Toyota, and he mentioned that Coastaletech has a harness for hooking up satellite tuners to my type of radio, and he "theorized" that it might make a difference when hooking up the Ipod to the harness and then the car. Don't have the tech saavy to know if his idea is at all feasible, but I'll talk to someone at Coastaletech soon.

    Once again thanks for your response. If I get anymore info, I'll post it here. Suprised that I couldn't find any threads on the subject considering that I've seen other threads of people testing products on their Prius.
     
    #3 Hazmat42, Dec 29, 2006
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