Thanks man.

 

Review: Belkin Auto Kit for iPod

Just got the Belkin Auto Kit for iPod from JR.com for $25.



What You Need:
-An iPod or an iPhone (not confirmed to work by manuf, but it works with current version of iPhone)
-Aux Audio TSIB done
-Short (less than 12" is plenty) 3.5mm male-male audio cable. Radioshack
-Angle adapter for 3.5mm male-male audio cable. (Only if 3.5mm plug is too tall to fit in console box) Radioshack
-Angle adjustable cigarette lighter splitter. Radioshack

Good: It reduces your clutter down to one black cord which is well disguised on my black interior. Now I don't have 2 cords coming out of the console getting tangled with everything. The unit also comes with a little wire strap so you can keep the console box organized as well. Also, no more charging the iPod overnight at home and forgetting to take it in the car the next morning! I am no audio expert, but the music sounds only slightly better than through the male-male 3.5mm jack. The volume can no longer be controlled by your iPod, but there is a master volume dial on the charger itself. I set this to about 75% and will control the volume through the car. This charges and plays music with 5g iPods as well as my iPhone. Your iPhone will display the "This accessory is not compatible turn to airplane mode" hit No and you will be able to play your music/charge.

Bad: Since our console box was poorly designed, most cigarette lighter chargers and audio cables will not clear the lid. This is no exception. The console box will NOT close with this installed. You will need an angle adjustable cigarette lighter splitter. Mine is from Radio Shack. Another gripe is that the plastic plug leading to the iPod is rather long and therefore feels flimsy when attached to the iPod. If stressed it would seem like the plastic lead would break.

Verdict: For people with iPods (and iPhones) and the Aux Input TSIB done, who want to charge and play their music at the same time. I recommend this product.


3 out of 5:

 

just looking at that pic I'm not seeing a 3.5 cable... does it have a jack in the power-plug part and you still need a 3.5 male-male cable to run from that to the AUX IN port? Any issues with the console closing with that plugged into the power port?

 

The 3.5mm port is to the left of the wire (in picture). This does NOT come with a 3.5mm male male audio cable. One can be purchased from Radio Shack for dollars. You will need to plug the 3.5mm audio cable from the charger to the aux input. This is less than 5 inches away, so I bundled up my existing 3.5mm cable since it was too long.

It does NOT fit in the glove box on its own. I am using a angle adjusted cigarette lighter splitter from Radio Shack which works fine. Edited review. Thanks.

 

That I do not know... I would assume that this is only for the US, but I really have no grounds to base that on. Sorry.

Any other Canadians out there who might know?

 

GRRRRRRR !!! Just got this done in Canada and gave them the TSB and showed them how my Sirius Stiletto plugged to the 12V makes noise when i accelerate and they said they changed the jack due to a short ( I call shenanigans ) but it still makes lots of noise. I have to go back next week.... I dont think they installed the inline filter.

 

Yeah, get that fixed.

I also noticed the ringing noise with acceleration prior to fixing it...

 

I got it fixed. I wonder why they don't fix the grounding issue on the car rather than just insert a ground filter. Granted, it's a $125 ground filter, according to the fix information, but still. Since it's probably a grounding issue, that means the newer models won't have a ground filter and will sound better. Filters, no matter how good they may be, still distort sound slightly since you're not going to be able to filter out the whine completely as it changes frequencies.

 

I have a horrible static noise coming from my mp3 player, but it's due to the horrible placement of the Aux jack. The cables get worn ("high quality" cables too) when you have the armrest closed.

Good job Lexus, wait to last minute that feature

 

Thanks for the post! This made my day. I use the AUX port to play music from my iPhone and iPod -- but if I want to charge while I listen I hear that annoying electrical whining noise -- this looks like the solution and it is COVERED under the warranty! Sweet!

Thanks again!

 

is this that wierd noise coming from the stereo when i have a phone or my ppc6800 connected to play music through aux? if so i def need to bring it in..it drives me NUTZ! thanks! i also get this annoying sound when i accelerate too..how is it that it ties into the stereo when you accelerate?

 

I'm in Toronto and had the TSB done on the aux jack. Today I drove to Ottawa listening to my iPod while charging and for the first time there is no noise in the background. The TSB is available in Canada and it works.

 

Does anyone have word on whether this has been fixed on the '08 models?

 

Nothing offical... but the once or twice I've had my ipod hooked up in the car (using the Belkin car kit that provides both power and a 3.5" out jack via the dock connector) I had no whine issues... Probably haven't used it enough to be sure if it's not something that's obvious and constant though.

 

I'll vouch for this. This Belkin connection does not have any stray noise coming through it.