Customer Reviews

IPOD SMART + AUX NISSAN 97-06

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Take into consideration that the product is meant to give you the best option available for the purpose and environment in which it's used. Unfortunately the problem lies with the Infinity factory stereos and the interface options you have.

I too would be very intersted in a product that gave me full control of my ipod from my Infinity stereo but it will not be.

Considering the other option, which is to have a plug to the aux input and only control from your ipod, this solution is much better and at least gives you the ability to navigate through the playlist/artist/grouping that you've chosen (next/previous; ffwd/rwnd).

You can still use all features from you ipod to select your music and honestly if you select a playlist it should be running more than an hour or what's the point of having an iPod.

After a bit of research, I ordered a PA11-NIS from ShipSound. I installed the PA11 in my 2000 Maxima SE which took about 45 minutes start to finish. In general, installation was just about as easy as could have been hoped for. The cable running from the PA11 plugged right into the CD changer port on the back of the Bose HU. The harness for the remaining wiring (power, speakers, etc.) also snapped into place without issue. The cables are long so I did not have to worry about where I mounted the unit. The overall build quality seems seems good; the cables are thick and attach firmly, and the unit seems sturdy.

The bottom line: both the iPod and the aux inputs sound fantastic and the radio interface works just as advertised. The whole setup is well worth the increased cost from a cassette adapter or FM transmitter. Since the PA11 charges the ipod as well, there are no wires running around and no used 12v ports. If you care about how your music sounds and you have some DIY in you, this is definitely the way to go. I am very very pleased!

I installed this in a 2004 350z with the factory Bose system. Upon initial power-up, all seemed great. The PA11 saw my ipod, the playlists appeared as discs 2-6 on the Bose head unit, and it seemed to be working perfectly.

Then came the big disappointment. After shutting the car off, when I started it the following morning I went to play an ipod song and wow - no ipod is seen. Thinking I must have done something wrong, I checked all connections, powered the bose unit on and off, even reset the ipod. No go, it was connected fine, but the head unit would not recognize that a cd changer (how this unit is seen) is connected at all.

As a last resort, I disconnected the battery (as I had done upon installation). Waited an hour and reconnected, then powered up the bose unit. Voila'! It worked! As I was to painfully find, this was the ONLY way the PA11 would be recognized by my bose system, to completely disconnect the power. It was infuriating, especially after having spent over $100 on the unit and several hours doing the installation.

After a day or so of mulling it over, and not wanting to spend any more time messing with this (I had even considered installing a separate switch to totally power off the head unit and PA11), I have decided to get rid of this crappy thing. It is going back to Amazon - and I just installed a Pioneer 3200DVD head unit and it works flawlessly. Should not have tried to 'cheap out' and should have gone with the new head unit from the beginning. I know others have used this item successfully, but from my experience I would highly recommend AGAINST its purchase as it obviously does not work in 100% of the installations.

I had this installed in my Nissan 350Z Touring Edition (2006). Sound quality is great, and obviously it's amazing to have all my music with me in my car, not to mention streaming media like Pandora.

I use it with my iPhone 3GS. My iPhone claims he device is not supported when ever I plug it in, but generally seems to work with my stereo and it does charge my phone.

The reason why I say generally, is that there are a few quirks.

The device has a mode where you can control you iPhone and what ever you're playing will play through your car stereo. To use this, you have to set your radio to CD Changer mode and select a specific disk (5). Usually this doesn't work with my iPhone on the first try. I have to cycle the stereo power on and off at least once, sometimes more, before it will switch to the right disk (5) and work.

The device also allows you to move forward to the next track or move back using your stereo controls (mine are on the steering wheel). Again, this doesn't always work. Sometimes, but not always, I have to press the button twice for it to work. This sometimes leads me to skip a song, when it does actually work.

Overall...I recommend the device, especially because I don't see any good alternative for the price...and because the sound quality is great...and these are generally minor issues.

I have a 1996 J30 and this interface works great. Ran the cable through the small compartment on the console, running the system in Direct mode. Sound quality is great.

Does what it is supposed to and allows for control both from the ipod controls and from the steering wheel controls

Contrary to another review, it does not disable the factory in dash cd changer, at least not on my 06 G35. You just hit the CD button on the head unit to toggle from internal changer to the ipod which the head unit now sees as an external changer. No issues.

The only thing it lacks is the ability to display track title info and time on the head unit. There are other adapters that have this feature but they cost more

Just had it installed in my 350z - sound quality is awesome with my 1st gen nano. It lets you use your ipod or factory radio to navigate through songs. Only small gripe is skipping through songs from the factory radio has a little lag, but no big deal. Music automatically starts playing when you start the car and stops when you shut it off. Very nice...

I looked for a long time at the various products out there for connecting ipods to car stereos. This one fit the bill. The only option I wish it had would be a display that could be mounted that showed track info. That would be a 5 in my book.

I ordered this unit for my '01 Infiniti QX4. It says on Amazon that it would work for both my XM radio and iPod. WRONG!!! It also said nothing about the fact that I had to permanently disconnect my factory in-dash CD changer in order to use it. Amazon has a SEVERELY incomplete listing. Once I received the unit, I actually called USA Spec because the product box said I would need a special "adapter cable" from them (USA Spec) that also wasn't specified on the Amazon listing (I didn't need it, though). The woman that I spoke with at USA Spec wasn't half as knowledgeable as the gentleman from iPodCarParts, who regretfully and apologetically admitted that the Amazon listing was incomplete (he said he'd tried to remedy the situation several times with Amazon, to no avail). He then looked up my specific product and vehicle information, told me what the USA Spec unit would and wouldn't do, took me through a website to show me how to install it myself, and also told me he would refund me my full price plus shipping if I decided not to keep it.

So, does it work for my iPod? Yes. But, I no longer have the use of my CD changer and I still have to use the FM transmitter function of my XM MyFi unit in order to use it. For my particular unit, it will work with the Nav syatem but not XM. And, I didn't want to use it in "Direct" mode because I have roughly 9,000 songs and that is WAY too much to use the factory radio controls to navigate through it all. Best Buy said they would install it for $50 but I decided to try it myself (with the help of the gentleman at iPodCarParts). The installation was easy and only took me 45 minutes, even though the product provides extremely minimum installation instruction or diagrams.

All I can say is, do yourself a favor and call USA Spec before ordering this product and get the complete product description and compatibilty information for your vehicle. To me, it was worth the $100+ to have my iPod integrated directly into my factory stereo, even without the XM integration or the use of my CD changer. Only you can decide if it's worth it for you.

This interface is only worth it if you are going to charge your ipod. I find it very inconvenient to change albums or change playlists since you can't do that using your car stereo. It only allows you to go to next song, previous song, pause, random, repeat, etc. It doesn't even allow you to forward or rewind a part of a song. I will be selling mine and getting the one where you just plug it into the headset jack, since the sound quality is the same. I advise you, don't get it, it's not worth it. iPods have good battery life and if you are afraid your battery will run out get a $20 car charger which you will probably use for 30 minutes max to charge your battry full again. I regret getting this product since it completely disables the ipod interface for me to use.