I got this Bluetooth kit yesterday. Installation was simple (actually installed it while driving down the road... I know, stupid). It has a harness that fits between the 24 pin and 16 pin connectors on the stock radio that plugs into the module. It also comes with a microphone with a 4 foot lead for hands free calls (I haven't installed that yet). It also has a 2.1 amp USB port for charging only (which I will use), and a 3.5mm aux in (which I wont use). No wire cutting, tapping, taping, soldering, etc. Plug and play 100%. Heck, I didn't even read the instructions. There are DIP switches on the side, but I didn't play with them.
The unit works on SAT1/2/3 - it doesn't matter which one, and changing from one to the other has no effect. I paired my phone, and it announced "connected" through the system speakers (does that every time it connects). Steering wheel controls and radio controls work to control the device through AVRCP protocols.
Unlike the other unit I tried, this one works without interruption. When the car is shut off, my iPhone paused and Bluetooth disconnected. When the car is started, my iPhone paired immediately and playing resumed without my intervention. I think the issue with the other one was a power issue... the phone would think it was unplugged because it would momentarily stop charging... but either way, it didn't work right. RDS works well, and the song title (the whole thing) shows in the stock head unit display. I think you can toggle it to other options, but I didn't explore that.
I haven't tried the hands free calling yet. I am trying to decide what to do about the microphone. I want a clean "stock" look to the whole system. I don't want a microphone wart stuck anywhere. To this end, I ordered a rearview mirror that has the microphone in it (stock part, probably for NAV systems). Assuming it is just a two wire microphone, I think it should integrate just fine. I will probably plug in the supplied mic just to test how well it works though.
So, if you want to add Bluetooth functionality and retain the stock head unit, I recommend this solution (so far).
The unit works on SAT1/2/3 - it doesn't matter which one, and changing from one to the other has no effect. I paired my phone, and it announced "connected" through the system speakers (does that every time it connects). Steering wheel controls and radio controls work to control the device through AVRCP protocols.
Unlike the other unit I tried, this one works without interruption. When the car is shut off, my iPhone paused and Bluetooth disconnected. When the car is started, my iPhone paired immediately and playing resumed without my intervention. I think the issue with the other one was a power issue... the phone would think it was unplugged because it would momentarily stop charging... but either way, it didn't work right. RDS works well, and the song title (the whole thing) shows in the stock head unit display. I think you can toggle it to other options, but I didn't explore that.
I haven't tried the hands free calling yet. I am trying to decide what to do about the microphone. I want a clean "stock" look to the whole system. I don't want a microphone wart stuck anywhere. To this end, I ordered a rearview mirror that has the microphone in it (stock part, probably for NAV systems). Assuming it is just a two wire microphone, I think it should integrate just fine. I will probably plug in the supplied mic just to test how well it works though.
So, if you want to add Bluetooth functionality and retain the stock head unit, I recommend this solution (so far).
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