Nissan iPod Interface - iPhone owners beware

[drobertsca]

I've seen a lot of questions, and a lot of speculation about what works and doesn't with the Nissan dealer installed iPod interface. Well this last Friday I acquired some painful first hand experience I thought I'd pass along.

Short summary. This is an iPod interface and NOT an iPhone interface. Integration with the iPhone is, for all intents and purposes, useless. You will not enjoy the experience. iPod experience slightly better... But frankly I'd be underwelmed as an iPod owner too. Read on if you care.

I have a Canadian 2008 Nissan Versa SL with what is called up here, the "Technology" package.

This is the upgraded sound system, with Satellite radio, bluetooth handsfree phone support. The radio has the Aux in jack on the front.

For the record, the iPod interace is still not an available dealer instlaled option here in Canada. However, the US dealer installed option works just fine with the Canadian car.... Well ... as well as it works in a US car.

I have an iPhone 3GS with the latest firmware update. 3.0 (actually 3.01 just came out while I was in the US have the install done).

When the Nissan iPod interface is attached to an iPhone 3gs, the iPhone will display a screen telling you that "This accessory is not compatible with the iPhone. Charging will NOT be enabled".

And sure enough. It does not charge the iPhone. And as any iPhone owner will tell you, not being able to charge the power hungry iPhone on a long drive is a show stopper. Also note, that since the iPod interface is connected to the dock connector you couldn't plug in a cigarette lighter charger at the same time ... even if you felt so inclined to have such a goofy setup.

In addition, you get a prompt asking you. "Do you want to put the phone in airplane mode to reduce interference?" Of course, in airplane mode, you can't get any phone calls. I cound't hear any interference while I was listening, but frankly I didn't listen very closely after I saw the no charging message. I didn't even have the car running. My brief impression was that the sound quality over the iPod interface was actually inferior to the sound through the AUX port ... but I could be making that up.

With the iPod interface connected the on radio controls can be used to navigate play lists, artists, songs etc. The interface is a little non-intuitive. The display is very small and limited. But it does work. The steering wheel controls, however, do not work. Well, naturally the volume control does. But the up and down toggle which you might expect to skip tracks or navigate the menu actually just dumps you out of iPod input mode and cycles through the radio presets.

Also while attached to the interface, the actual iPod controls on the iPhone itself are locked out. While you could use the touch screen to use other phone apps, launching the iPod app just gives you a screen telling you that an accessory is connected and you have to use the accessory do do iPod functions. I know for a fact, there are after market radios that allow control through both the radio AND the iPhone ... for those times you passenger wants to take control and benefit fromthe larger screen.

You require the satallite radio head unit to get the iPod interface. And the iPod interace can co-exist with your satalite radio subscription if you have one. However, you do have to physically unplug the iPod from the interface in order access the satalite radio.

When I went back in to tell the dealer what was up, we spent an hour or so screwing around. They dug up an 3rd genration and connected it. The nano DID charge, and the controls seemed to work the same. The physical nano controls may also have worked while connectd ... I really can't remember.

The dealer got on the phone with Nissan and eventually found out that yes, in fact, this is a known issue and that the accessory is an iPod interface and not an iPhone interface. Apparentley 1st generation iPhone owners are even more screwed. While 2nd and 3rd generations phones give you the option to go into Airplane mode ... 1st generation phones force you into airplane mode!!! No phone calls for you while playing music .... and no charging.

So if you have an iPhone ... don't even think about getting the Nissan iPod interface, it just doesn't work. Stick with one of the many aftermarket options radios. Maybe even some of the after market iPod interfaces will work well ... I don't know. But all of these interfaces are really odd and have their own quirks, I think your best to go somewhere where you can actually attach your iPhone or iPod to the head unit you want and try all the features and find out exactly how they work.

For the record, the dealer did remove the interface and refunded all of my money. I was out a LOT of time since I was waiting for the install as I don't live anywhere near the US dealer. I think it might have been nice of them to offer some free oil changes or something for all the wasted time. I would have expected the dealer to be more knowledgeable about the features and limitations of a genuine Nissan add on.

[Spdracr]

very nice review

i have a pioneer premier head unit in both of my volvo and my mitsubishi and they have the ipod interface and it works well with my old iphone 2g and new 3g and it give u the option to have full control from the phone or the head unit

althought i dont have any interference with it at all

i wanna try the one from the dealer and give it a shot if it isnt too pricey

got a part number ??

[steed77]

I was also looking at this option......Good to know that the factory unit is so limited..... I wanted the iPod and Bluetooth. So the factory deck will be ditched.

Here is the new mill with USB and iPod cable. (hot linked)



And then the Bluetooth that works with every phone I can find.

[blkverssa7]

yeah i think that little glitch is because of the new firmware update ... the new firm ware im almost 100% postive they fixed it ... it wasnt just with the versa it was with alot of cars but its fixed now it had to do with the signal input when its not being used

[mbmotorsport]

My 2G Iphone works with the factory Bluetooth ... It says in the Owners Munual that the bluetooth WILL NOT work with a 3G IPhone , but it is compatable with the 2G...Although none of the track select or any of the other radio controls do not work... I have an Archos 5 (Superior to Apple) and I want to see if the radio controls will work ...KInd of wierd works with 2G and not with 3G

[mbmotorsport]

I was also looking at this option......Good to know that the factory unit is so limited..... I wanted the iPod and Bluetooth. So the factory deck will be ditched.

Here is the new mill with USB and iPod cable. (hot linked)



And then the Bluetooth that works with every phone I can find.

That Alpine got poor reviews espically when used with a 3G IPhone... FYI

[iluvmyVersa08]

As a fellow Canadian versa owner, and one with an iphone, do you have the technology package? I have the technology package too, and was thinking of buying an iphone in a couple months when I'm eligible to upgrade my phone, however, I wanted to make sure that it works with the bluetooth in the car. If not, I will not even look at getting the phone. Let me know Thank you!

[mbmotorsport]

I have a 2G IPhone and it works ... The owners maunal states that the 3G IPhone will NOT work

[steed77]

That Alpine got poor reviews espically when used with a 3G IPhone... FYI

I was understanding that the 400BT would work(3g); I know the 350BT was a no go...

If someone was in the area, I would try it. So far on the G1, it has been very good and sound is fantastic.

[Codelicious]

I have a 2G IPhone and it works ... The owners maunal states that the 3G IPhone will NOT work

Are you sure that it states that in the owners manual? If it does state that in the manual than it is wrong unless I have some freak Versa. lol I used to have the iPhone 3G and it worked with no problems with my Versa built in bluetooth (technology package). I got rid of my 3G as soon as the 3GS came out. I haven't tried to pair it with my Versa yet, but I am like 99.9% sure that this one will work. I will post an update a little bit later or tomorrow when I pair it with my car.

But I do 100% that iPhones can be paired with the bluetooth from the technology package.

[silverarrow27]

Since I bought my car used and never came with a damn manual. What's the bluetooth passage that it tells us to read? Anyone not too lazy to type it all out for me lol

[iluvmyVersa08]

Anyone have the iphone 3GS and paired it with their bluetooth????? I want to make sure it works before spending the money on the phone!!! THanks!

[Codelicious]

Anyone have the iphone 3GS and paired it with their bluetooth????? I want to make sure it works before spending the money on the phone!!! THanks!

I finally got around to pairing my 3GS and it works. I haven't had any problems so far. Go get your iPhone!

[aliciap1214]

Just an FYI .. Nissan is claiming that only the 1st Gen iPhone and iPod are compatible. We have a 2011 Versa 1.8SL with the Interface System for iPod®, and our 2nd Gen iTouch does not always connect.

Anyone one interested in joining with me in trying to force Nissan to do a recall on this? It seems to me that they are miss-representing the options they are selling. We were told it is Apple ready. What a joke!

[robaustin]

Aliciap - my reply on another thread which you may not have seen:

It's not Nissan's fault for any of the issues you are having - it's Apple's. When they update the firmware - it can mess with the way other devices talk to it. As an example, my 4G touch won't even work with a Specktone home speaker system dock we have.

For the Touch - I have found that sometimes it isn't recognized on the first try, but often the second time works. This happens especially after I have done a sync to the PC and the iPod piece of the device hasn't been running. I have also found that if you start playing a song, and then pause, and THEN plug it in - it's seen first time, every time. If I shut the car off, leaving the iPod in the car and then get back in again - it fires up right away because the iPod music playing software piece of the OS has just been running. Same thing if I even remove it, use it for other stuff, and then put it back. As long as the iPod piece that plays audio is active - the Nissan interface finds it right away - the Nissan interface is looking for the actual iPod music playing software service to be running on the device right away, and when it's not, it throws it for a loop.

The reason I think this also - is that my wife has an iPod Classic - which does nothing but play music. It gets seen every time without fail.

Hope that helps explain it. Nothing Nissan does is going to help. The Nissan interface is relatively simple about what it wants. It wants to see an iPod that plays music, and if that piece isn't running, it ditches out. By the way - this is partially Apple's fault - because when an accessory is plugged in that is supposed to access the music player - the OS should fire it up, but it often doesn't.

--*Rob