Full ipod integration?

Hi reverai,

Thanks for your reply. I had been reading some of the posts from a few years ago about a Toyota iPod add-on, but was not really finding any information about North American availability of such a device. I did however, call my dealership to see what they knew, but they could not offer anything for iPod integration, whether Toyota brand or by a third party.

So I actually bit the bullet this morning and ordered a USA Spec PA20-TOY. I've been assured that this will work in my vehicle with my setup. Once it arrives and I get it installed, I'll repost to let you know how it works.

Thanks,
Troy

 

I hate to glom onto an existing thread, but I feel like I'm in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.

I'm in the process of buying a 2006, Package 7 (basically the "everything but leather" package). I don't want to lose my satellite radio, or my CD changer, but I'd like to add iPod integration. And it seems like most of the iPod integration products I see people referencing doing it via emulating one of those two things. Does that mean I would have to "give up" one or the other?

Also, there's an aux port in the center console. I haven't had a chance yet to really check it out... is it a standard headphone jack, or is it some special plug that I'd need to get a special cable for? (and if I did that, where/how would that appear on my screen?)

I just feel sort of overwhelmed by all the varying options in this space, and the different ways they seem to interact. Any assistance people can give would be greatly appreciated.

 

The AUX jack is a standard mini-headphone jack. What you will need is a male/male cable. Works excellent IMO. I have had no static or noise issues.

I am curious if anyone has any expereince with the TOYOTA OEM ipod cable it is listed at the Toyota site Toyota Prius Accessories . I would like to know if anyone has used it, how much, features, etc.

Am I correct in that the VAIS is the only cable with video integration? That's not my major interst, but kinda of cool for traveling.

 

I just purchased a 2004 WITHOUT JBL, NAV, backup camera, etc...just a basic 04 (package 1), and want to integrate an iPhone 3g... which is recommened, the DICE, or the VAIS? I have read up on this topic, and those two stand out, but want to be sure they will work on the '04 (have seen other years).

 

Hey everyone,

I received my USA-Spec PA20-TOY (ordered through Crutchfield - which is good for the US and Canada) and I just thought I would follow-up. I just got it installed last night, but so far I'm very impressed.

When looking into ordering this, I was finding conflicting information about which box (PA15-TOY or PA20-TOY) would be the right one for my year and package of Prius. Part of my confusion was because of the two basic questions that they ask on the Crutchfield site. One is, "does it have JBL?" This was easy, my Prius does not have the JBL sound system. The other question was more tricky. They were asking if it had navigation or not. My vehicle does not have a navigation system... when I'm lost in a city, I have a paper map and my co-pilot (my wife in the passenger seat) to get me back on track. I do however have the touchscreen to control the climate, audio, etc., which is (I believe) part of all Gen II Prii. So when they are asking if you have "navigation", I think what they are really asking is "do you have a video screen" in you car.

The Crutchfield "Select your vehicle" tool is confusing, because the only clear option that I had was "no JBL audio system", which implied that I DID have a navigation system... which I don't (see screen shot of options - envisiongraphicdesign.com/transfer/Crutchfield_Options.jpg). So, with the advice of the helpful Crutchfield emplyee, we settled on the PA20-TOY, although I was still uncertain about whether this was the correct option or not.

Happily it turns out that it was the right unit. Using the excellent DICE installation instructions put together by "ualdriver" and compliled into a PDF by "eko" (thread: priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-audio-electronics/50594-dice-silverline-install-illustrated-guide.html) I was able to easily install the unit with minimal disassembling of the dash. Only the glove box, passenge side air vent, and wire bundle need to be removed. I was able to easily get the wiring (small plug, clip down) plugged into the back of the radio. I then drilled a hole in the back of the storage compartement under the radio, and passed the small end of the iPod wire through it. I also tidied up the hole with a rubber gromet purchased from "The Source". From there I ran the wires out through the passenger side air vent then put the wire bundle back in place. Then, I secured the PA20-TOY box itself in the hollow spot in front of the wiring bundle and connected wires and tucked the excess in behind the storage box under the radio. The nice thing about this is that the box is now easily accessible - simply pop the air vent off and it's right there.

Before putting everything else back in place, I then tested the unit to enusre that it worked. There are only two small issues that I've seen. the first which is not a big deal is that "Disc 7" does not work in "Hybrid Mode" which allows control via the iPod ClikWheel (giving access to ALL music) as well as "Playlist Mode" which gives stearing wheel/radio control of Disc 1 through 6. The reason is because my particular iPod (Classic 120Gb, with firmware version 1.1) can not be used in Hybrid Mode. I could downgrade my firmware to 1.0, however, I still have access to Disc 1 through 6 on the radio itself and Disc 8 is dedicated to accessing all music on the iPod using the iPod's own clikwheel interface. Disc 7 is meant simply to combine access to Disc 1-6 and iPod control modes in one place... Not having this combined mode is not a big deal to me.

The other odd thing was that according to page 6 of the manual, for my Prius (described in the manual as 07-08, ALL RADIOS) I should have set dip switches 2, 3, and 4 to OFF, ON, and ON respectively. When set like this only six discs showed up on the radio, and only one of them (disc 4) worked. So I shut the car off, disconnedted the wires, set all three dip switches to ON, hoping this would correct the problem - and it did! Once all three were set to ON, all nine discs showed up and I could access all of them.

Once everything was working as expected, I put the air vent and glove box back in place, and that was it! I now have crystal clear access to all my music and I can control it from either the iPod or the radio/steering wheel. The iPod gets charged while it's plugged in, and I can also add a second, non-iPod, audio device such as a different kind of MP3 player or even a portable Nav System (if we ever decide to get rid of the paper maps...). This would hook up with a stereo mini plug via the RCA inputs on the PA20-TOY. Access to this audio input is dedicated to Disc 9.

I appreciate all help I got from various posting here on PriusChat. I realize that this posting is a bit long. But I hope that it may eliminate any confusion for anyone else currently scratching their head trying to figure out what the right option is for them.

Troy

 

Very cool. What made you decide to go with the USA Spec instead of the DICE unit?

 

Weird- mine is the GPS/JBL model and the #581PA20TOY was what came up for me on the Crutchfield site LOL

I am still trying to find out if anyone has ANY experience at all with the Toyota OEM cable listed at toyota.com Toyota Prius Accessories I don't know the part number as the Toyota site is vague.

Any one have any experience or know anyone with the toyota OEM cable?

Thanks

 

Thanks for the description Troy, very informative. I'm just curious, the description for the product as shown at crutchfield, states that it only works for 2004-2007 Prius. I've just ordered 2009 Prius base, and have been trying to research the best product for ipod integration. Will this USA Spec product work with the 2009?

My second question, is has anybody compared VAIS vs. USASpec? (through research on this forum, I've eliminated DICE from my choices) so its really down to these two.

Your help/opinions will be greatly appreciated!