Ipod Adapter Installed/Countless Problems
 

I've been having some bad luck with installs this past week...I purchased the ipod adapter kit and also had it installed at my local Center Bmw (Sherman Oaks)

Right after the install I see immediate problems, first...the quality is comparable to a cd playback kit (the cassette adaptor) NOTHING remotely close to "cd quality" which apple advertises. Next, when skipping tracks there is a 3-4 second delay until it actually skips to the proper track. Then I notice whenever I take out the key from the ignition the music continously still plays so I have to manually turn the music off each single time, and...I also noticed about every 15-20 minutes the music just shuts off, not the ipod but the radio/cd as if a ghost had pressed the button.

BMW service pruty much won't compensate any $ back, they said they'll "research" on the issues and give me a call back next week..I'm quite furious with their service..at this point not sure what to do

Honestly, you should have gone with the IceLink Plus. It, too, has a slight delay when skipping track. I attribute that more to delays in the i-bus (which is not a fast protocol) then the adaptor itself. All other atributes of the IceLink are excellent. I'd say the sound quality is every bit as good as the CD changer that it replaced.

Woops I forgot to finish my story..I did end up getting the Icelink Plus, just down the shop from the dealer...the quality is so much better although still not cd quality but close enough. I'm still having the issues with the music not turning off and also the music turning off itself after 15-20 minutes....any idea on why this might be happening? I'm off on a 6 hour road trip on Wednesday, it's the last thing I need :(

I will be dropping back by tommorow demanding a refund on the labor, it's just outrageous....i'll take the loss of the ipod adapter kit, I know their not at fault with that..apple just false advertised the "cd quality" I shouldn't be suprised..but they did F up the labor and for the inconvenience I'd say they should reimburse the $220 labor charge and while at it fix the dam problem they caused....sorry, so pissed off just had to vent

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I installed the BMW iPod kit before the iceLink option was around. I DIY'd it. I have not had the problems you speak of. The only issue I have had is a common one and that is there is an occasional one second dropout on the music, sort of like if a needle skips on a record. (Anyone remember those?) I think the quality is CD quality. It certainly sounds better than the radio and better than a cassette adapter or FM modulator.

The only thing that I can think of that might be causing your problems is your firmware. What version firmware are you running on your iPod? Updating it might solve your problems.

Good luck!

PS: Were you able to install the iceLink Plus even though the wiring had been mucked with to install the BMW iPod kit?

The quality of the music output will depend on your particular MP3 and what the bitrate is at. The ice>Link will not make an inferior MP3 sound better, but it will not degrade the sound one bit. The sound will be exactly what you would hear if you had the headphones on.

You will have to explain this one a litle bit more - I'm confused to what you are referring to.

Also, where was the ice>link purchased?

I took it in the Al's & Ed's Autosound, they did the install relatively easily for me....also which firmware should I have currently in the ipod and how do i find out what I am running on currently?

Tom, the issue I'm having with the music not turning off when I remove the key from the iginition, and also the stereo turning itself off..that has nothing to do with the IceLink...that happened after BMW was doing the Ipod install for me, the guys over at Al and Ed's told me they probably programmed something and messed it up

We spoke via email and wanted to follow up - was your specific issue corrected?

I have the standard bmw ipod install..i have had no problems with it at all..even sounds good..You have to remember mp3 is inferior to cd qualtiy..it will never match up..the audio is compressed so that you can get thousands of songs on ur ipod...