Installing an iPOD in the Touareg

[Prhim]

Well, it took me a while to get round to it, but I've finally got my iPOD hardwired to the Touareg's SatNav/Stereo unit. If anyone's interested, here's how I did it.

The guy who supplied the lead is called Jim and you can get his stuff here: http://www.tm-techmark.com/tri.htm

Oh, but before I get started, I'm very pleased with the results. It wasn't an easy job by any means, but well worth it!

OK, here goes:

1. Before anything else, you will need four of these radio removal tools. I got mine from VAGParts.com for about £20. You need to ask for "Audi Radio Removal Tools" - not VW.

2. Locate one tool in each slot at the corners of the Nav unit - with the taper facing inwards as shown below:

3. When all four tools are in place, the Nav unit will pull straight out. Do this gently and lay the unit on a towel or something soft to stop it scratching anything:

4. Now remove the radio tools from the unit - but pressing in the brass stopper at each corner (you need to do this before you replace the unit).

5. Look at the back of the unit. Towards the upper right corner (as you look at it from above) is the AV-in slot, which the Spockcat-sourced lead fits straight into - see his own site for specific instructions on fitting the lead (although it's pretty straight forward).

Now is a really good time to test the connection. Hook up the iPOD and turn the Nav unit on. Switch to AV and set it to Audio Only. You should hear the iPod music coming through the car's speakers (you may need to turn the iPOD's volume up to max).

From this point on, this write-up is purely an example of how I did things - not how you should do them - and I accept no responsibility for anyone breaking anything on their own vehicles!

6. Feed the grey Aux lead down into the right-hand side of the dash (UK cars) until you can just see it poking out in the footwell - it may well take several attempts and cramped fingers to get this right (but the alternative is dismantling the dash...)

When you have the lead at the bottom, pull it through gently.

7. Now you need to remove the armrest cubby hole. First, pop out the little lamp (from the top, with a screwdriver) and then lift out the felt-lined tray. It isn't screwed down, but can take a while to prise free.

8. Now you need to remove the two screws that attach the wood dash panel to the cubby hole structure (you will need a 'star' screwdriver bit for this). Then be very careful as you lift the wooden panel out of its moutings - I can't stress enough how much on your own you are here. I was in constant fear of beaking something...

9. To get the lead up into the cubby hole, I fed some stiff garden twine down the side of the transmission tunnel and then tied it round the lead. Then with a fair about of eblow grease, I managed to pull the lead up inside the plastic into the main cavity (you should feed the lead along from under the dash along the side of the transmission tunnel - just inside the plastic cover at the side - hides it nicely).

10. Now it's time to drill a hole for the jack plug socket into the felt-tray. Do this on the front side as near to centre-bottom as you can (too high and it won't fit back into the housing).

11. Connect up the jack plug.

12. Push the wooden dash panels back into place - look for the guides on the underside - and replace the two retaining screws (Learn a lesson and don't forget these until after you've refitted the box!).

13. Refit the felt box and rinstall the light.

14. You're pretty much done! It's time to hook up the iPOD to the jack socket and try the AV-souce on the Nav Unit.

15. You should also see "AV A" come up in the dash display

Ready to rock and roll! Just remember that you can adjust the volume using the normal radio controls but you will still need to use the iPOD to change tracks (which, of course, you should never do on the move!)

[Snail]

Sweet write up Prhim.

How come you didnt go with the adapter that allows you to change tracks and everything from the stereo?

Hows the sound quality?

[s4dreamer]

Great write-up prhim - thanks!

Just a thought for #7, but I've found a vacuum cleaner can help to get the trays out. Put the vac on max and stick the end of the hose/attachment to the bottom of the felt tray, then ease it out (may still need screwdriver assistance).

My only particular concern about what you've done is having to change tracks via the iPod rather than the head-unit. Probably not too much of a hassle in reality, but I think if the option was there, I'd prefer to be able to change tracks using the HU.

[Prhim]

I'm not aware of any kits you can buy for the Touareg's SatNav unit that will give you that sort of functionality (changing tracks etc). If there are any out there, I would be interested to hear about them (I think there is an Alpine unit available, but this would mean swapping out the current SatNav).

I too share you concerns re changing tracks on the move, so tend to set up quite long playlists (which I know will last longer than the journey itself) so I don't need to fiddle on the move.

Not perfect, but it works for me. And with 1,500 songs on the iPOD so far, it is great having your whole music collection with you at any time!

Re sound quality - the volume is noticeably lower than the CD or Radio - but the actual quality seems very good. I rip my tracks from CD at 192Kbps rather than the more common 128, so that might have something to do with it.

[Snail]

Mate, so you've had the iPod in the car for a bit now, what are your opinions? was it worth the effort?

[bulldog]

There is Dension icelink for ipod. As I understand the tech it emulates your CD changer specific to your head unit. In theory you should be able to operate ipod playlists like cds from the wheel. Fairly new stuff - our car is in the list but backordered.

http://www.densionusa.com/x/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=375&Itemid=79

[Prhim]

[ QUOTE ]

Mate, so you've had the iPod in the car for a bit now, what are your opinions? was it worth the effort?

[/ QUOTE ]

Definitely, I use the iPOD all the time!

Haven't changed the disks in the CD changer since I got the iPOD set-up. Nuff said really!

Only bad thing is that I won't leave the car parked up with the iPOD on show (for obvious reasons), so it has to be stored away in the armrest before you leave the car. But that's hardly a big hassle...

That ICElink thingy looks interesting, but to be honest I'm now used to operating the 'back' and 'next' buttons on the iPOD by feel alone, so simply skipping or repeating a track isn't a problem.