OK. So I thought I would browse all the threads regarding iPod adapters/AUX to see if the HK Drive+Play unit will work with the factory installed HK HU in my 2005 MCSC. There's a lot of info there, but quite frankly, it has left me more confused than ever!

Here's what I do know;

~I got an iPod for Christmas (Apple 8 GB iPod Nano - 2nd Generation).
~I want to be able to play it through my factory installed HK.
~I don't have an AUX or iPod adapter in my MINI.
~I can have MINI install those for "Around $400" - YIKES!!!
~The AUX/iPod adapter will allow me to play my iPod and will work w/MF steering wheel.
~The artist/title will not be visible on my HK unit, and I'll have to basically click through my songs and listen to each one before finding what I want to play - DOUBLE YIKES!
~I like how the HK Drive+Play lets you work the controls like your iPod and has a big enough display for my old-lady eyes to see my playlists & the songs I'm playing.
~I understand that the FM adapter will lower the quality of sound, I don't want that.

Here are the questions I have;

~Will the MINI installed AUX and iPod adapter allow me to hook up & use the HK Drive+Play system?
~If it does work w/ the Drive+Play, will I lose any functions on my HU (CD/FM/AM)?

Please, any qualified tech-mod geniuses out there? Anyone with experience in this area who can help this little old lady enter the iPod era?

 

Get a DICE - works great with the HK - super easy to install - you'll be able to see title/artist/etc. on the head unit display - full control through the MFSW. I love mine!

Go here for more info:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=68267

 

From reading that thread, seems like you need to run it through the rear CD changer, which I don't have.

Can you still use the iPod controls, or just pull up songs through the HU or the MFSW?

The more I read, the more questions I have...more questions more questions more questions.

 

That thread is several hundred posts on assorted sub-topics. For a brief description, see here from our NAM sponser: http://www.europeanautosource.com/pr...roducts_id=629. You'll have to squint at the tiny font.

DICE connects to the CD Changer cable, not a CD Changer unit itself. There is also a version of the kit that connects directly to the HU. You can still use the iPod controls, and also the HU and MFSW.

 

And it's a Philips head screwdriver and T25 and T40 Torx screws to get into the head unit. Super easy.

 

If you go through the connection in the boot it's the easiest to connect but you have to then run the cables up to the front. I chose the behind the head unit harness and took me all of 10-15 minutes to install (once I got all the info for taking the downtubes off!). There's all kinds of options for where to put the DICE unit and the ipod. I just ran the connector from the head unit into the glovebox and keep the DICE there - when I plug my ipod in I just stick it in the padded glasses holder in the glovebox lid. The cable's plenty long enough to reach in and pull the ipod toward me from the drivers seat but I never need to - full control through the HU and the steering wheel.

 

I also have the DICE connected behind the HU. It is GREAT!!! It took minutes to install and on the 05 and 06 you don't have to mess with the center console nonsense, the downtubes come out just fine.

I have mine in the glovebox, I drilled a hole in the little knock out where the torch is (in cars across the pond.)

 

You only would need the AUX port for the Drive+Play kit. You hook up the output from the control box to the AUX input and just select AUX on the head unit. All the information about the songs and such would be displayed on the little display that comes with the kit.

You aren't going to lose any of the functionality of the head unit with the Drive+Play system.

 

Thank you everybody!

I really want to use the Drive+Play, but two installers say the MINI installed AUX won't work with it, that I need to install a new HU. If what CmdrVimes says is true, I CAN use the Drive+Play! Yay for my old lady eyes and the ability to view the playlist in front of me and work the control like the iPod without having to stop the car first.

I appreciate all the input on the DICE, but really want to use that HK D+P.

CmdrVimes - do you have the Drive+Play installed this way(or know of someone who actually does use the MINI installed AUX for the unit)? The output from the control unit shows 2 cables (L/R - see attached). Also, my HU does not have an AUX selection - it's the factory installed HK unit, 2005.