I’ve looked around a little and didn’t see an official announcement, but…

I was called by my Dealership today and was offered an IPod adapter for my 05 TL. The installed price was ~ $440… So I will wait until I can get it on ebay, but I know there are a lot of other people who want one now.

Since I have been very pleased with the dealership I would like to pass the info on for others.

Joseph Lao of Sterling Acura of Austin, said that he ordered 50 and got 6. I have his email as jlao@sterlingacura.com.


Sterling Acura Of Austin
4801 S Ih 35
Austin, TX 78744-1806
(512)691-3892

 

Definitely let us know how you make out. I'd love to go get it done this weekend!

 

Awesome, so that means the ipod kit isn't only for the 2006+ models?

 

Great news. Thanks for sharing with us. I'll keep an eye out for it on eBay as well.

 

theres a review on this on the TSX forums...they say its absolutely terrible

 

I'd have to say its crap and not worth the cost after reading the thread. I rather get an aux solution done, and do some fresh custom work.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27615

 

That's depressing. NO track information ?!?! Come on Acura! Guess I'll be looking for a custom solution as well.

 

Maybe they don't have tracks for the tsx...but maybe the TL

 

I'd be OK with it if you could still use your iPod to control it and read out the track info. But the fact that this thing has no track info at all and also makes you control it using some ghetto alphabet way makes this all but worthless. A simple AUX jack would have been the perfect solution vs. this thing

 

Not worth the money IMO!!!

 

I would have MUCH preferred a simple auxiliary input, as this would accomodate more players than just iPod. (Especially since I just switched from iTunes with an iPod mini to Napster with a Toshiba Gigabeat.)

 

What a total crock ! Almost $500 for some hack -- give me a break! Yes, I'm wasting my time and energy ranting about this because I think it is total BS. What a huge let down. Voice recognition for selecting songs -- my bootie! This has got to be the most overhyped thing I've heard of in a long time.

Oh, well. I'll be looking for an aux-in solution (preferable one that does not take away the XM radio). Anybody know of one?

My Airclick solution is looking much better now and with aux-in and charging capability, I think I'll be all set.

Thanks,

Dennis

 

Where are you guys finding these custom solutions? Are there shops in your local area that do this kind of work, or are you doing this yourself?

 

Definitely doesn't sound like it's worth the money. The good ol' tape adapter will be working fine for me for a while. At least I can see the track info.

 

what a total crock of poop. ive been sitting here patiently waiting for this stupid ipod thing and come to find out today that it isn't worth it. well now i guess im just gonna have to put the money towards something else (wing). bummer.

 

I dunno, I'm thinking I might give it a try and then see how it works. The review was from someone w/ the TSX. While the systems are probably the same, I'd like to experience it first hand or at least see several more reviews before dismissing it as total crap. At least the sound quality on it will be good. I've tried other things like FM adapters and cassette adapters, and the quality was terrible. We'll see what happens.

 

why is the i pod not worth it i just order it for my 2005 tl from curry acura it's up on there site?

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/best-advice-needing-run-home-theater-sub-woofer-cable-112654/

Currently this is the only way to get it w/o disabling your xm

I've been patiently waiting for the acura music link but screw that now

 

Has any one called Joseph and asked him for more info? I was getting lunch and only spoke to him for a very short time... He did say that it was identical for another car, I thought I heard RL or CL… Could have been a TSX.

The car was 35K... But everyone is upset about 500 bux. Although 200 is more than I'm willing to part with for labor. It’s not a lot in the grand scheme of things.

I would rather have my old school Ipod in my glove compartment running thru the steering wheel than a trashy looking tape adapter or a crappy sounding FM adapter sitting next to me on my center console. That I would have to reach down a click next, be blinded in the middle of the night, and still not know what song is playing. I dont look at the title when the Ipod is in front of me.

I feel that this is more about class than the wow factor.

Now if I was going to play videos with my Ipod video, I would have to spend the money on the Nav to DVD deal... But still.

I'm gunna get it as soon as I see it on ebay.

 

Even though he installed it on the TSX and it works, its doesn't look like Acura meant it to be installed on TSX. On their website its on listed on TSX, but its listed for TL and RL. So it might be different on TL.

 

I hope it's different on the TL....any guinea pigs?

 

All said and done, you have just one wire hanging out of your armrest with a dock connector on it. You control the iPod song next/back using the Airclick mounted on the side of the steering wheel and you use a tape adapter (or, if you have one, an aux-in). You have to look down to see the iPod display (set with backlight always on).

With an aux-in (I don't have one yet), you can hide the wires much better than with the tape adapter as I have it. I'm still undecided whether to ditch XM and get an aux-in or stay with XM and get something else.

With the Sony tape adapter, the sound is pretty good and I'm happy with it for now.

http://home.comcast.net/~dperique/ipod_install.html

Dennis

 

AMIC- What type of tape adapter do you have that connects to your Ipod??? Where could I purchase one from and for how much??? Thanks.

 

I am going to withhold judgement until I see it installed on a TL. I went to Acura's website and they have removed all mention of the Music Link from the TSX's features. Maybe they realized it was garbage. If I am not mistaken (please correct me if I am) the TSX and TL have different brand audio decks. My friend has a TSX and says it is an Alpine deck (TL is panasonic?) and for that you can buy the Alpine KCA-420i ($99) iPod adapter. Why would any TSX owner even buy the Music Link system.

http://www.alpine-usa.com/products/leading_technology/leading_tech_kca-420i.htm

 

Looks like the Alpine deck in the TSX doesn;t have the required Ai-net plug so that add-on won't work.

I am still going to hope that the Music Link works better on a TL. But, it probably won't.

 

Bad news. I have a 2006 TL with navi, I just called Acura Client Services, and they said " At this time the Music Link DOES NOT display any info on the navi screen" She did say that Acura was considering this option for the future.

 

It's starting to sound like Microsoft and Windows. It will have all the features you want "IN THE FUTURE"....

 

i truely believe they are useless...im going to just buy another car.

 

Well I set up an appointment with Acura to get my musicLink installed tomorrow morning. I'm not expecting anything more than what we already know, but I don't know a single TL owner that has it installed, so I figured I'd just try it out.

I'll let you all know how it goes.

 

I just have one from Sony that I got a long time ago. I think it came with a discman that I had bought. It works fine for my ipod. Any tape adapter should work. Not sure how much they cost these days.

 

Well guys last night my brother who works in service at my acura dealership was able to bring home the Acura Music link for a 2006 Model TL. My TL is actually a 2004 model but after looking at radio & navi schematics for my TL and a 2006 Tl found out that all the wires and connections are the exact same. My brother is able to dial right into Honda's main computer in California and get every type of information on any Acura or Honda vehicle.

Well after looking over everything decided to try it what the hell i can get the part and if it dont work i can return it with no problem. So last night i decided to install it at about 7:00 at night. Took me about 10 minutes to rip the radio out and another 10 mins to connect all the wires needed. After the IPOD was connected it took about a sec for the radio to recognize the ipod and it started playing my music from the IPOD.

After about 2 mins of playing around with everything found out that none of the commands work with the navi screen. The screen does display track # but track only reads up to 99. When your on track 202 on your ipod the screen displays track # 02. No Track titles appear on the screen and no commands on the radio work. Only the track skip buttons work. Can't fast forward a song only skip through. So if you have like 3752 songs on your ipod the track number reads Track #52.

As for the IPOD once connected none of the controls work on the IPOD screen all it displays is a large check mark and reads okay to discconect. If you deside to choose an album on your ipod to play then connect to car the vehicle will only play the amount of track in that album nothing more. So lets say one album on your ipod has only 21 tracks but you have 3000 songs total. The vehicle will only play the 21 tracks. You have to disconnect the ipod from the car switch the album or artist in order to play something else on the ipod. The navi screen does display Track # the Track Length and it does count the length of the song.

The connect acts almost as a CD changer option because the Navi also displays Disc # which you can switch from 1 to 6 on the Navi screen but nothing happens.

All in all the sound that comes through is perfectly clear and almost sounds louder then a normal CD. I had a few photos of me taking apart the radio but then rushed at the end so didnt take any other photos. I can Take photos of the display and post it up if anyone is interested.

Maybe because the kit was ment for a 2006 and not an 04 has something to do with it but after looking everything over it looked like it would work. Next week i may actually stop by my brothers work and install the kit in an 06 model to test what happens. Maybe the radio is different.

Sorry so long.

 

The lack of navigation available with the kit is astonishing. If it would have given you full control over the ipod WITH the ipod while it's hooked up it might be worth it. But how can they have an ipod "integration" to the car when there's no way to control what is playing unless you actually DISCONNECT the thing? Strange...

 

Maybe Acura/Honda will get it right next time. Mercedes did it right, info is displayed on the dash.

http://www.mbusa.com/features/iPod/index.do

 

I just finished installing it in my car, 2006 with navi and its the same. So then I tried the Acura TTS software and set up my iPod with it and it was an even worse experience. I promptly removed it from my computer and iPod. So really the only thing the Music Link is good for is setting your iPod to shuffle and letting it run through all your songs. In the TTS users guide it says to check acura.com for software updates.... I wonder how long if at all it will be before we see some. It took me around 3.5 hours to do the install, you have to remove everything to get the radio out. AcuraTL10, you’re the man if you did it in 20 minutes.

 

This whole discussion, along with the fact that I am stuck with XM, is why I am really disappointed in my car. Although I did have an aftermarket radio/navi in my Mustang ( Pioneer Avic-n1), at least it had an ipod module that actually worked. That navi is also 100X more accurate and robust than the Acura navi and costs a lot less! I wish i could figure out a way to put my AVIC N1 in my TL.

 

I'm surprised Acura is able to add the Ipod interface withour disabling XM since nobody else is able to do it. I wonder if you could adapt the ipod interface to accept other audio sources.

 

Appalling and inexcusable. The TL was the techno leader.

 

The reason they are able to do it is because Music Link connects through the CD input. It actually shows up as a CD-C on the navi display, which I assume means CD Changer. As you can see from the attached pic the only control option that is available is Track Random. I also attached some pics of the Quick Start Guide so everyone can get a better sense of what they are getting into. Enjoy

 

What a waste of a good idea ...

 

^^^^^^ Now thats a write up. Thank you peterbanks !!!!