USB and Safety Connect Are Almost Here!

I have been wondering the same thing LoraJ, ours will certainly be some of the first with it or the last without it. Talked to the dealer they still have no information on price increase or changes to the IV and V nav package. I'm going to take the car, and pay the extra $680 if I have to, because I have been waiting to long as it is. But I sure don't have a "warm fuzzy feeling for Toyota" any more.

As long as I am going to have it I will use the USB interface for music on flash drives so I'm anxious for someone to try that and report the results. i.e. can I use folders? does it list things in the order I put them on the flash drive? or alphabetically such as it does for the iPod? Cpatch sure did a great job showing us how the Ipod USB interface works.

I will try the safety connect for the first year because I have to pay for it anyway; I will report back on how well it works or doesn't work in areas where I drive.

 

Congratulations! I'm told that mine was already manufactured, but is still in Japan at the docks and won't be here until mid-October. IF that's true (and that is a really big "if"! ), I would expect that yours will not have the Safety Connect and iPod/USB interface. That would be good news if you didn't want them.

 

Quoting Doug from the first post "Basically, units with these features should start arriving anywhere between 3rd week in August and 2nd week in September, depending on where you live (East Coast will tend to be later)."

So I am guessing mine will be one of the last without. Which is fine with me. I usually only use my iPod in the car for audio books. I wouldn't mind those features so much if they did not cost $680 more. If by some chance the car does have the features, I'll just deal with it.

 

Update.

I called Koons Arlington back, and they know have the part # in their system, but not in stock. They said it will 7-10 days for them to get it from Toyota. So, I should be getting iPod integration shortly.

cpatch - Thanks for the awesome video footage! It definitely sold me on this accessory.

 

It has nothing to do with the topic. I apologize, at least inpart I contributed to the temporary derailment of the thread. Hearing that the solar panel option was going to be pushed past the 4 grand mark, led me to a rant. Which admittedly, I thought, led to an interesting thread about the future of automobile sales, package options, almost everything BUT USB and Safety Connect.

If I let myself use "Smilies" I'd be using the one holding the sign saying Back to TOPIC!!!

Thank God, I dislike Smilies.......

 

For"slightly better" I'll stick with my $3 headphone cable. I used the iPod via a tape converter (choke) for 4 years in my C4C DeVille with no ill effects...LOL

 

For the best audio quality at a reassonable price just use one of these:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-iphone-3gs-adapter-toyotas-ipod-adapter.html
I personally use this:
Griffin Technology: AutoPilot - Charge/control/play your iPod through your car's AUX-in port
The Griffin unit give me the incompatibilty warning on my iPhone 3G but I just ignore it and it goes away in 5 seconds or I hit "No" to the message about incompatibility. I've been using it for a few years with different iPhones & Touches and it works flawless. It uses the "Line Out" interface of the connector so you get clean audio. When you use the Headphone jack you are using two amplifiers which degrades sound quality (one amp in the iPod/iPhone that controls volume the another amp in the head unit that controls volume).

BTW, for me and a few others on this forum the Bluetooth streaming is WORSE in quality than the straight headphone to aux audio jack!

 

So the stereo cable on the griffin goes from the unit that plugs into the 12v port and then to the aux?

 

Yes.

 

how long does the dealer install take? I'm getting mine installed next week and they didn't know how long to budget for time.

 

I just ordered the USB Interface kit from metroTPN for $185.

 

I'd give USB a 9 (relative to what I can get out of the JBL system), the AUX jack an 8, and the bluetooth a 6. To be honest, I haven't tried the CD player yet but I'm assuming that it's going to be the best possible, hence a 9 for the USB.

 

I doubt it takes more than an hour.

 

90 minutes is what they billed me for.

 

I still think the best you're ever going to get is using the iPod or iPhone with an aux cord.

People forget that these devices are extremely popular for a reason- their user interface is the best in the world, mainly because that's what they were designed to do. There are plenty of other mp3 players and phones that outpreform and cost less than the apple products, but nobody can touch apple's interface (and even the copies fall flat). Expecting even close to the the same level of functionality from a automaker navigation system is crazy.

If you're allergic to wires then I suppose eventually the bluetooth streaming will be worked out to just receive the audio and let you use the full functions of the device. Some people have reported audio quality issues though. And you may as well plug the device in anyhow so as not to drain it when you are within 2 feet of a power source.

I don't see the logic that pecking at buttons on a second rate interface screen is any "safer" than using the player whose controls you have down pat. The Nav screen is still out of the line of sight of the road. And the steering wheel controls are practically useless for a mp3 player when the only thing you can do is skip tracks sequentially.

 

I FIGURED OUT MY BT AUDIO QUALITY. Thanks to someone that posted about the WiFi being on the same frequency as Bluetooth in the Apple forums. I usually have BT turned on always to use it at home. I tried turning it off and I could not duplicate my problem. I turned it on and instantly the sound quality diminished. On a side note, I had a few friends complain about the sound quality of my calls to them using the in-car BT. Once I turned off WiFi all calls are crystal clear. So hopefully Apple will fix this in an upcoming update. I will be opening up a case with them now that I can repeat the problem.

 

For those who have already placed their order for a new Prius and placed a deposit with everything final but unsure if the new USB and Safetly Connect will be included at the extra cost, do what I did when I ordered my 2006 Prius. When ordering my 2006 I asked for a Magnetic Grey package 8 and they told me they all came standard with floor mats which I was fine with but was promptly going to replace them with the OEM all weather rubber mats anyway so really didn't care for them (to this day they are still in a box and have never been used). When my Prius arrived at the dealer, it arrived exactly as I had requested it, but at the port someone slapped the rear bumper applique on it and the dealer tried to pass the cost on to me. I told them I never asked for it and didn't want it and I'll just take my deposit elsewhere that can get me what I'm paying for. Of course they didn't want to lose a $27K+ sale over a $60 or whatever the cost was rear bumper applique, so they took the cost of the rear bumper applique off the price and settled back at the originally quoted price and I walked out the door with it at not extra cost. If you fight it and have a legitimate complaint, if the dealer doesn't want to lose a sale over something so minor they will let it go.

And for those paying more than the MSRP at the dealer for the kit than Doug advertised it at, the MSRP is only a suggested retail price to give the dealers an idea of how much they should be asking for it. Of course there is also an invoice cost (what the dealer pays Toyota for the part) and they sell it for pretty much whatever they feel like charging for it, as we all know the MSRP of a 2006 pkg 8 Prius was $29,195 and some were asking more, my dealer sold it to me at $27,3xx. If your dealer sold it to you for more, thats just what they felt they wanted for it. If you didn't haggle with them, your loss. If you haggle with them over MSRP and tell them you'll go elsewhere that will happily give it to MSRP or less, chances are they'll give in. I always look at it like this, they'd be better off selling it for anything they can get over invoice, even if it's below MSRP, than not selling it at all and sitting on it... any business loses money on inventory that sits.

My two cents... hope that helps.

 

Thanks for the suggestion ilusnforc. I'm hoping the car will come in without the extra $680 worth of unordered options. If it does not I have the right to refuse it because my deposit is contingent on the price not changing. I doubt if the dealer will eat the price difference because it's quite a bit of money and they would have no problem selling the car if I turned it down.

I may take it anyway because:
1. I want the car and I have been waiting since June 26
2. I wouldn't be able to find another one in stock anywhere around here Prius Vs seem to be in short supply in this region
3. The dealer has been fair and gave me a good price considering what Prius are going for now, MSRP with no extra preparation fees, paperwork fees, etc. and a good trade in allowance
4. The dealer knew nothing about this until I took the post from Team Prius in and showed him.

So I'll just wait and see what happens.

 

I had my car in at a dealer to install the Security system (from PriusChat) yesterday. I asked the service rep about the USB Interface. When he called a little after noon to tell me that the Security system install was done, he quoted me a price for an 'aftermarket iPod kit'. I told him that was not the one I was interested in, but the one Toyota had just announced - I had seen it on Prius chat. He said he would check it out and call me back. Ten minutes later, he called to tell me that the head of the Parts Dept knew all about it - and happened to have a kit in stock - someone had ordered it and, then, decided not to install it. So, I had him install it. He called before 2 pm to say the car was ready. Looks like they charged one hour labor (vs. two hours labor for the security system).

Oh - and the interface kit IS an improvement, in spite of the . . . somewhat inferior user interface on the screen.
At least I can do some control - I could do virtually nothing with the iPod (small print issues). AND the sound quality is definitely better through the USB than the headphone outlet.
I generally would not notice subtle improvements - and notice this one clearly.

 

Will I be able to put MP3s on a flash drive, plug it into the USB connector, and play them? Has anyone tried this yet, if so how did it work?