Ipod interface, steering wheel controls and blue tooth.

[bluesman2a]

1st time poster, so please be gentle.

I just brought home a 2009 SL with the convenience package this evening. It does have the 6 disc changer, but it does NOT have the XM tuner. Based on what I read, I *THINK* the ipod interface will work with this unit, right?

So here is my question: What is the BEST way to attach an ipod to this car? I use a Nano, typically just load a single/long playlist onto it and set it to random. I want to be able to just FF/REW through that list and control it from the head unit, NOT the ipod itself.

Considerations:1) The convenience package doesn't mean much to me. In a perfect world, the steering wheel controls and blue-tooth would still work. I *DID* search, found the $270 interface from Nissan and there seem to be some differing opinions about it. Also saw the install article for it (great write-up).

2) I'm not above replacing the entire head-unit with an aftermarket if it's the better option. Are there any aftermarket models that will work with the steering wheel controls?

3) There seems to be some negative feedback on the nissan interface kits. What are the inherent problems?

Back in the day, I used to be an audiophile. These days, the stock system is just fine for my needs, but I detest radio, so I live by ipod. Essentially I just use it as a large/easy storage device to handle a big random list of my favorite stuff. I'm a computer guy by trade and crappy interfaces annoy me, so I'm looking for something straightforward too.

Any assistance/insights would be greatly appreciated.

[aleg1975]

I have the SL also, but not the xm or the bluetooth or steering wheel controls.

I did buy a cord for my mp3 player to hook in, and while the concept is cool, i have to pick the thing up to skip songs and that's a pain while driving.

What I did do with my last car was save most of my music to cd-r's, getting about 250 songs per disc. this is awesome with the 6 disc changer in the versa, you get about 1500 songs, no need to listen to the radio again

[illf8ed]

The ipod interface will work but you'll need the xm tuner as well. My only complaint about the interface is it takes way too long to scroll to a specific artist with a 160 gig ipod. There are some nice aftermarket headunits that have bluetooth and a better interface but I'm not sure if any work with the steering wheel controls. I'm sure someone with more audio knowledge will give you a more detailed answer.

[bluesman2a]

The ipod interface will work but you'll need the xm tuner as well.

So let me double-check here: there is NO way to make the 6 cd changer work without the XM tuner?

If so, anybody know what that option runs separately?

[bluesman2a]

What I did do with my last car was save most of my music to cd-r's, getting about 250 songs per disc. this is awesome with the 6 disc changer in the versa, you get about 1500 songs, no need to listen to the radio again

I hear you. I've done that before as well, but I look at the ipod as a more dynamic form of media for doing the same thing. I guess I've gotten spoiled. Besides, I hate having to keep up with all those CD's...

[bluesman2a]

OK, I have a solution on this, I went with an entire aftermarket solution. It's still at the shop, I'll post up thoughts/review once I've had a chance to play with it a bit.

Follow-up question here: what is the going rate for a stock 6-CD changer? I have no concept of what these things are worth... Would $150-200 for a unit out of a car with less than 150 miles on it be reasonable? Not trying to pimp my junk here, just trying to get a feel for what's "reasonable/fair". Any assistance would be appreciated.

[bluesman2a]

OK, so here's the follow-up and initial impressions:

What it is:The headunit I chose is an Eclipse CD3200 for around $260

http://www.crutchfield.com/App...=5684

The manufacturer recommends a PAC Audio PAC SWI-ECL2 module to make the steering wheel controls work for about $70. I'm not ENTIRELY sure this is what was used on my application, I need to follow up with my install guys on this, I'll post back.http://www.crutchfield.com/App...IECL2

Features I liked:Direct iPod control on the HUUSB support for listening to musicBluetooth support for both phones and streaming audioMP3/WMA/Etc support. Multiple illumination controls (one of them matches my dash pretty well).

Initial impressions:The steering wheel controls work, but the volume is SLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW. In order to go from silent to just above conversational level is around 20 seconds you have to hold the button.The track up/down on the wheel works but not always, sometimes you have to hit it a couple of times. The source button on the wheel does not work.The phone button on the wheel does not work.

Configuration is arduous. I'm a techie by nature. I don't normally need instructions. I had to sit down and read these multiple times.

Usage is not intuitive. AT. ALL. It took me 20 minutes to set up a single phone.

The bluetooth on the stock unit sounded better (in-car at least, not sure what far end sounded like).

Overall, like the iPod interface, audio is good, but the rest of it is somewhat less than perfect.

These are INITIAL impressions through playing with it for about an hour this evening. I'll post more as I get more time on it.

[bluesman2a]

Just looking through some more information and found Pac Audio's website. They handle more than just Eclipse stuff...http://www.pac-audio.com

They also handle most other aftermarket HU's with different adapters...

Also worth mentioning, don't take my lack-luster review to heart on this just yet. I've had a hell of a day and because everything wasn't perfect, I was significantly less than enthused... Give me some time with it and to do some more digging.