GTA Car Kits review for Toyota Camry 2007 LE

[supri]

As I upgraded my car with iPod adapter for GTA Car Kits - here is my review of this product in case somebody else is interested.

Before buying the adapter for my car, I did some research (see my previous thread iPod adapter for Toyota camry 2007 LE - advises?). I picked GTA Car Kits because of the price and their video instructions that are specific to my car. I don't like the fact that other suppliers don't take time to provide instructions as removing the stereo is not a trivial task.

So, the price was $99 with free shipping and my kit arrived in 4 days after placing the order. Stereo removal procedure is exactly as in the video:

You Tube

You Tube

It took me about 1 hour and a half to do the complete installation and there is no any visible scratches left.

Basically, there are 4 places where you can run the iPod cable: through the vents (it is what I did), to the glovebox (perfect solution if you have iPod that is not moved back and forth), to the compartment with AUX that located below the stereo and to the arm rest. I also highly recommend car holder that is sold on the same website for $20. It is quite handy and perfect for my iPhone 4.



The sound volume is the same as in FM mode and it is CD quality.

To get to iPod mode you need to press DISK button or Audio Mode button on the steering wheel. You would get into CD1 mode as on the picture above.

There are two submodes - one is hybrid submode where you can switch songs both from iPod/iPhone and from the stereo/steering wheel. On the stereo you would switch songs using "SEEK-TRACK" buttons. To get into the hybrid submode you need to press DISC DOWN (button "3") until it gets into Disk 1. But in this mode Random button does not work and you cannot see the name of the song.
Second submode is the Playlist - where you can switch songs only from stereo (iPod is locked). In this mode you can switch between playlist using DISK DOWN/DISC UP (button "3" and "4"), use Random song feature (button "1"), use Repeat song feature (button "2"), see the text of the song and playlist number ("Text" button).
I also really like fast forward (button "5") as I usually listen to 2-hours trance shows like State of Trance and without this feature you can get stuck with very bad music .

I also like that the iPod is automatically gets paused when you turn off the stereo, remove the key or switch to FM mode. It resumes at the same position when you go back to CD1 mode or start your car.
Also I like that iPod is not charging when you remove the key from ignition, as I had an issue with DICE in my old BMW when it completely discharged my battery.

Overall I highly recommend this upgrade as it gives you great features for little price.

Let me know if you have any questions regarding my installation.

Enjoy,
supri

[Bills07CamLE]

GREAT WRITE UP! I think you helped me decide on what iPod interface to get

[thrawnis]

Thanks for the info. A couple of questions:

1. Does this device connect directly to the head unit and not use the car's aux jack? My current solution (Kensington LiquidAux) requires the use of the aux jack which reduces the sound quality.

2. Have you tried using other music apps like Pandora or Slacker to see whether the steering wheel control work within those apps?

3. Does this mount give the "This Accessory is Not Supported by Your iPhone" message when you connect your phone?

Thanks!

[mattblair09]

Originally Posted by thrawnis

2. Have you tried using other music apps like Pandora or Slacker to see whether the steering wheel control work within those apps?

I second that!

I realized that after spending too much time on the road, I don't have enough time to discover new artists for myself. I let Pandora do it for me :-)

If this device lets you control Pandora from your steering wheel...I'd dish out a franklin or two for it!

[supri]

Some answers:

1. This kit does not use factory AUX in any way. I can still use factory AUX after pressing AUX button and listen to the music through this port.

2. I don't use Pandora, but I have "Jango radio" installed. I tried it and the kit streams the sound but does not switch songs. When I change the song on the steering wheel, the Jango radio is paused and my iPod music resumes.

3. Indeed, I get message "This accessory is not optimized for iPhone" every time I connect to the kit which can be annoying. I read somewhere that it is because this kit is not made by Apple, but I am not sure. I just ignore this message and it disappears at some point without any actions on my side.

Hope it helps.

[mattblair09]

Originally Posted by supri

...
2. I don't use Pandora, but I have "Jango radio" installed. I tried it and the kit streams the sound but does not switch songs. When I change the song on the steering wheel, the Jango radio is paused and my iPod music resumes.
...
Hope it helps.

Sounds like it must send a very specific "next iPod track" signal instead of a generic "next song." Too bad for us Pandora/Slacker users...

[amvbochok]

Will this work in stereo without SAT button?
I noticed that your stereo has no SAT button which is usually located beside the AM button.