iPod USB to be fixed on the 2011?

hi there, i just joined, as i bought my 2011 prius last week. i got the navigation package with the upgraded sound system and all, and the salesman told me i was supposed to be able to control my ipod with the usb connector. have tried three different ipods, and no luck... taking it in to the dealer on monday... see what they say... =P

 

I made a post about this same subject. I bought a 2011 Prius III last week with Nav. The USB player sounds OK but so far it seems to be a piece of junk for listening to audio books and podcasts. It loses the bookmark for the books and the bookmarks for the podcasts. It's a basic function of an iPod player to start your podcast or book where you left off last.

This player sometimes starts at the right spot but about half the time it puts your program back to the beginning. It even screws up the place mark when I turn the car off. Sets them back to the beginning. I would gladly sign a petition to get it fixed. It's almost useless.

 

What cable are you using to connect your ipod? are you connecting to the USB port in the center console?

Thanks
Paul

 

I connect to the USB port in the center console with the standard Apple USB Ipod connector.

 

That didn't work for me. 1st generation Ipod with Apple USB cable. I will have to try another newer Ipod or cable

 

The thing that bothers me the most about this is that I've used my iPod nano, second generation with an Alpine after market system in my Honda for the past five years. It works flawlessly. I don't think it's the cable or my iPod. I think this system is flawed.

Imagine listening to you book or podcast and then every time you take your iPod out of the car it resets back to the beginning. That is unacceptable.

So far I love everything about the Prius. The nav system/bluetooth and everything else seems to work great. I feel however that this iPod player needs to be fixed. I'll have the car for ten years or more and listening to content on my iPod is a normal part of driving. I even told the dealer that not having an iPod player in a new car is a "deal breaker" .

 

I'm hoping that I can plug my iPod into the auxiliary jack instead of the USB port.

 

Agreed this drives me nuts

 

I bought some standard audio wire that fits the auxiliary jack on the iPod. It works! It's not as good as playing an iPod from the standard 30 pin connector that's used for USB, but at least it gets the job done. When using the auxiliary jack you control the iPod from it's own screen, not the audio console on the car. Also I don't think it's charging while it's in the aux jack.

 

Remember, you can scroll forward AND backward to find your song. Or you can simply play the songs in RANDOM order (which is what i do when i don't want a specific song).

In my wife's Acura, you can only scroll forward...now, THAT is a PIA!

 

That sounds rather unlikely. The 1st gen iPod didn't have USB. It had a large Firewire connector on top and didn't even have the now ubiquitous dock connector that's on the bottom of iPod Nanos, Touches, iPhones and hard drive based iPods 3rd gen and later.

 

As a consumer electronics engineer I long ago realized that the automotive audio electronics design cycle is much longer than consumer product cycles. Lower volume, greater reliability requirements, and the inability to offset costs through other platforms (aka iPhones) makes the development time glacial in comparison. I'm just happy there's a reasonable functionality through bluetooth, it has an aux jack, and 12 volts. I'll figure out the rest.

 

I have the same problem. If the ipod is connect BEFORE the car starts, it doesnt recognize the ipod or load any music. I have connect the ipod AFTER starting. Called dealers and nobody seems to be aware of this problem.

 

There's a TSB (T-SB-0063-11) for this that was issued on June 24th.

Introduction states "Some 2010 Prius vehicles equipped with navigation may exhibit intermittent operation of USB/iPod devices while in use. A newly designed Multi-Media Interface ECU is now available to correct this condition."

Had mine updated about a month ago - so far there have been no additional problems.

 

How does one get this update?

 

Contact your dealer; if they're unaware of the fix mention the TSB number (T-SB-0063-11).

 

Does anyone have a copy of the afore mentioned TSB, T-SB-0063-11? I looked on the Gen. III TSB sticky thread and did not see it there.

 

Although not perfect, iPod Version 5 and Bluetooth work great together in my Prius with NAV.
Specifically, voice control on the iPod is what makes it so easy and safe to operate. Pressing the button on the iPod starts voice control and mutes the music. You can then say play album, play artist or play playlist you can also say random without taking your eyes off of the road. Although you can't say play genre it's easy to make a genre into a playlist. You can't say play song but play album gets me close enough. You also get album, title and artist on display (32 characters I think) instead of the abridged display on XM.
If you get a phonecall, the iPod is muted and resumes after the call.
The cool thing about the iPod is that you never have to log on or otherwise interface to it directly except for the voice control button. I just take it in the car, plop it into the cupholder in the console and it starts playing what it was playing before. Turn the car off and it pauses and waits till I turn the car back on.
Since you're running the iPod with the display off, it plays for hours on battery alone.
You can advance to the next song using the left thumb buttons on the steering wheel. You can control repeat and random on the touch screen display.
I agree that the USB function is useless but the Bluetooth interface with voice control although not perfect was a pleasant surprise once I got my new iPod and hooked it up.
One rather strange thing I have noticed is that passing a car that is using Bluetooth causes the ipod to pause briefly. Anybody else notice this?
So forget about USB, use Bluetooth and be happy!!