Bluetooth
 

Hey guys, I just bought my 08 box a little more than two weeks ago and I'm loving it! Until I get my iPhone (fingers crossed), I am going to need a bluetooth car kit and I was wondering if anyone knew of a good, no no, GREAT bluetooth car kit that works with the xB2. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

- AP

I really don't see how the iPhone is going to solve your need for a bluetooth. It doesn't magically work as a phone through any stereo just because it has iPod capabilities.

Umm.... Don't mean to sound smarta$$y, but yes, it does. Since it has the same 30-pin dock connector that the iPod does, it'll send the call through the speakers and pick up your voice like it's on speakerphone. I asked a rep at the Apple store that owns an iPhone and a car with an iPod connector. Why, do you have any solid evidence that it won't work as I just stated. Because if you do, I'll gladly admit that I am wrong.

Whom ever you spoke to at the Apple store is a moron. I have an iPhone and I have used it in the stock deck in the xb2 as well as the factory navigation. The 30-pin dock connector has absolutely nothing to do with the capabilities of the software at each end of the equation.

The stereo itself and the iPhone would both have to support sending out bound audio / receiving the audio. I can tell you that the iPod part of the iPhone works just as well as any other gen5 iPod.

What I would suggest you do is if you don't already have one is get a bluetooth headset to use with it when you are in the car. When you get an incoming call the music will fade and pause allowing you to answer it. When the call is over it will unpause and fade back in. This works out really well if you mount your iPod some where that is easily viewed you can get the same effect of an aftermarket bluetooth kit.

So no you are absolutely undeniably wrong and I am really surprised that an Apple store rep would feed you such garbage but then again sometimes the most uneducated on their products are the people who sell them :)

Sir, this is me, bowing out.

Sorry to break the bad news to you about that. Another route you could go is picking up a Parrot bluetooth kit and then it would be coming through the speakers etc like you want it to. It would still have the nice fade out and pause when you get a call. Another option is getting a deck that has built in bluetooth and then all you would need is to plug your phone in when you hop in the car.

I really would love to have the bluetooth come through the car, but I'm getting the Premium Pioneer deck from the dealership tomorrow. Is there any deck for the xB2 that you know of with Bluetooth?

I am not sure if the factory nav has Bluetooth or not. Most aftermarket decks either have it included or as a separate module that works with it. You can always get a kit for the stock stereo though.

I've been searching like mad on Google for a Bluetooth kit for the stock stereo. Would you have any ideas where to find one?

Does this thread shed any light on this discussion?
https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=173761

It doesn't say anything I didn't already say but if you needed more proof there it is :D

That's kind of what I was going for. This part of your information could be a recap of the conclusion they came to in the other thread:
On the other hand I just installed a Parrot 3200LS with my base head unit last night.
http://www.parrot.biz/uk/products/32...olor-small.jpg
I have not even had it on the road yet so I cannot say whether it is "great" or not yet.

You can buy the Pioneer Avic-D3 and have BT added for an extra $180 on top of the cost of the HU.

How well does the D3 integrate with your xB2? Does the factory iPod hook up still work fine? I read on some site that you lose the factory AUX input, but that's no big deal considering that there's one on the HU itself. I think that this is the route that I'm going to go if it integrates well since it seems to offer everything I want. But.... I'll wait till you answer first. :P

PM Sent

So was the install difficult? did it "plug in" to the harness?

I had the Parrot bluetooth installed in my last car and as soon as Crutchfield sends my Metra cable it will be going in this car. It worked pretty good. I really liked the feature of it automatically connecting when you get in the car and disconnecting when you get out. I would say this is probably the best bluetooth system out right now. I tried a few...not all...but this worked the best for me. Al & Ed's has them but they also have one called Raytel I think. They swear up n down that that system is better. But I had one installed for one of my bosses and I personaly think the Parrot sounds better and has better features. Though you can also find the Parrot on Ebay. I would recomend it unless you wanna spend close to $1000 to buy a head unit with bluetooth in it.

I bought the Metra harness from Crutchfield for $29+shipping and the Parrot 3200LS from CompUPlus for $139+shipping.
It was a very easy install. I plugged everything in and mounted the Parrot junction box directly in front of the steering wheel inside the dash up high near the windshield.
This was pretty easy to access using Malibu Rapper's dash disassembly pics and the Scion instructions for installation of the SNS.
I mounted the mic on top of the steering column as far forward as possible and the control unit on left side next to the mirror controls.
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/...Xor/parrot.jpg
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/...rrot-close.jpg
I have not decided if I will leave the mic where it is yet. The installation is not really visible from the passenger seat, which I like and it seems to work pretty well. It was definitely easy to install everything in these locations.

Linx, I decided to just post these here in light of the direction the thread was going today. Hope these help. :wink:

One tip, the Parrot junction box has 3 mute wires to choose from when connecting to the Metra harness. I used the Parrot mute wire that matched the mute wire color (orange I think?) on the Metra harness and it works perfectly when making or receiving a call.

Wow, I might be getting the parrot bluetooth system that rox got. Seems REALLY nice. But the allure of having it all nice and compact in my HU is a big draw though. I'll have to see.

Either the Parrot system now, or the D3 in 4-6 months..... hmmm...

Go for the D3. You won't regret it. I love it. Has a factory look to it versus getting that and a new HU. It's nice and all but just doesn't have appeal to all in one and not piece here and a piece there.