I'm putting myself out there so please be gentle
 

My son showed me something today in the R56 and I am sure I was the last to know but I am putting myself out there if I can only help one person. Wait for it. Did you know there was a switch/plug in the back of the instrument cubby at the base near the shifter and can not be seen unless you really look for it. A RCA type plug connection that connects your IPOD and you can listen to your music through the stereo and control the volume from the MFSW. You obviously can't change tracks via the MFSW and no song list shows. If everyone says "Duh" please disregard this post. :nod:

That's the "Aux In" port.

Duh.

Just teasing. :razz: You found the auxiliary jack! I use mine daily. :grin:

Not an RCA. It is a stereo mini headphone style jack.

which is not part of the r 53 and had to be added .. so not everyone knew.. such as myself

well documented on the R56, but not easy to see.

FWIW, When I installed my Garmin 360 Nuvi, I ran the power wire and a stereo jack from the side of the Garmin through the dash down to that jack. I have a "Y" plug there. One input for my IPOD and the other for the Bluetooth adapter for my phone so I can listen to my phone calls through my stereo, rather than the tiny little speaker on the back of my Nuvi.

ive noticed that mini likes to "hide" things, so when you find em its like yeah i didnt know i had that cool

When all else fails you can always RTFM. Page 71 of your Mini's FM.

Wow I thouth the OP said pretty clearly..."If everyones saying DUH please disregard this post"

Guess you should have RTFP?

lol :lol:

Thanks for sharing. Kids get into cars these days and hone in on the aux in plug no matter where it is whether in plain view or hidden.

Many cars put the ipod or aux in jack out front on the dash near the radio or center console. In my cars the jack is used as much or more than the power plug (charging the cell phones).

I have an old 2003 MCS so no aux in plug with my radio but I changed to an aftermarket radio that had aux in capability. So I hooked up a 5 foot monster cable to the aux in of the radio and coil up the cable and put it on my euro parcel shelf ready to string to the rear seat or front for attachment to the ipod.

MP3 players work the same way, if the port is made for the ipod you get to control things like it's part of the radio but if you have only a "dumb" aux in port then you control the ipod to adjust the music.

In any event ipods are everywhere so enjoy the music, or book, or lecture.
:lol::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thum bsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

WHAT is an IPOD?

I searched and found this thread; glad I did. I was searching the miniusa.com web site for just this question the other day. Glad the R56 has a standard Aux-in port.

Anyone have any issues with the port "dropping off"? In my Bimmer ('03 330i) I had to buy a noise isolator from Crutchfield in order to have a reliable connection to my external sources (aftermarket Sirius radio, Ipod Classic):

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...olator&tp=2653