Aux input jack for ALL radios

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acensor

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 15, 2013
Messages
371
Location
Southern Oregon
To produce a audio system that doesn't at minimum have one industry standard 3.5mm stereo audio input jack (probably adding less than $2US to the production costs) is inexplicable in this age of iPods, MP3 players, tablets, smartphones,etc, is inexplicable.
And, no, a USB input... Let alone one costing $125+ even if owner-installed is not a substitute for an audio input jack.

Alex
 
What's really aggravating about this is that we've had independent confirmation (and you can see for yourself if you fiddle enough with the "CD" side of the source selector on your ES radio) that the i-MiEV ES's standard radio does have the connections and controls for an aux-in jack. It would be a big help if Mitsubishi just documented this and authorized it for dealers, etc.; the actual wiring kit already exists for other models, should be usable with the i-MiEV as some have noted, if they'd be good enough to just spell out the procedure for a "correct", supported installation (e.g., the correct pins to connect to). Why this aux jack AND the USB jack weren't just hooked up as standard at the factory is completely beyond me; it would have saved a lot of bother and the embarrassment of selling a 2013 model car with no aux-in.
 
Vike said:
What's really aggravating about this is that we've had independent confirmation (and you can see for yourself if you fiddle enough with the "CD" side of the source selector on your ES radio) that the i-MiEV ES's standard radio does have the connections and controls for an aux-in jack. It would be a big help if Mitsubishi just documented this and authorized it for dealers, etc.; the actual wiring kit already exists for other models, should be usable with the i-MiEV as some have noted, if they'd be good enough to just spell out the procedure for a "correct", supported installation (e.g., the correct pins to connect to). Why this aux jack AND the USB jack weren't just hooked up as standard at the factory is completely beyond me; it would have saved a lot of bother and the embarrassment of selling a 2013 model car with no aux-in.

It is ... as you say... almost beyond comprehension why Mitsubishi left out this aux input on a 2013 or even 2009 car when it would have cost them about $5 to include it.
If they were cash greedy they could have offered Aux input as a $50 factory option or a $90 dealer installed option, or a $50 accessory DIY kit, and made a lot of customers happier.

As for the existing kits for putting Aux input on other Mitsubishis: Those kits do come with instructions that specify which pins, and they are probably the same as long as the plug bank/recepticle is the same one (21 pin IIRR?????) that's on the back of our radios. Those kits sell in the $20 to $40 range,
with "if it don't work send it back" warrenties sometimes.
Only catch is when you order it you'd have to specify you're ordering for a different Mitsubishi model or they won't sell it to you if you say it's for MiEV.
For example:
http://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-Factory-Adapter-Eclipse-Endeavor/dp/B00801SRNI

Well worth a try as IMO the aux in is a superior solution to the USB port as it allows you to control your music (in an ipad or ipod or iphone, or any smartphone or tablet) with the familiar and far friendlier interface than the clunky interface on the radio itself.

Anyone game to try this?
 
When you have a very nice little $20K econo-box that you're unfortunately forced to try to sell for about $30K, it's understandable (at least to me) that you eliminate everything you can to control the ever ballooning cost of the car - Especially items that few owners will miss . . . . that would be the logical place to try saving some money, IMO

We got the cheapest of interiors (certainly nothing like you would expect to see on a $30K car) we have only one heated seat, we have no cruise control, we have the same skinny wheels and tires that the JDM gas powered version which cost half as much has, and we got a really limited choice of colors. I perfectly understand the desire to save every $5 they could, especially if the $5 option is something few owners would use

I can see the logic of leaving off things like audio options and cruise on a car which you can't take a long trip in anyway - If that money was used instead on the excellent regenerative braking system we have, I say it was a good trade-off

I don't even mind the extra $125 for the USB port (I think I actually paid $175) which I use every single day - If it added only $25 to the final price when added to every car on the assembly line, making it an expensive option for the few who might want it is fine by me. I *wish* they had done the same for the Aux jack, for those of you who need it, but I suspect you would all be grumbling over the $75 or $100 price tag for the option if they offered it

Unlike a Chevy Silverado Crew Cab which GM can probably produce for around $20K and then sell for $30K, Mitsu was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place as to what options to offer on a car which most folks already think is way overpriced and which they will probably never break even on

It would be interesting to know if Mitsu actually made a buck or not producing and selling these cars. They're probably praying that they can break even, but I'll bet they won't - Not unless they can sell a few hundred thousand more of them at something close to the list price

Don
 
Don said:
Mitsu was stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place as to what options to offer on a car which most folks already think is way overpriced and which they will probably never break even on
Nope, that's not it - this has absolutely nothing to do with cost, though I'll admit it's very hard to figure what Mitsu's doing here (but isn't that true of the i-MiEV overall?). The radio is exactly the same aux-in-capable head unit used on other models, i.e., the real cost is already baked in. And, as noted above, the requisite $2.99's worth of wire and plastic could easily have been put on the accessories list for a cool benjamin, just like the USB port. The official line to the dealers is some crap about the electricals, but that doesn't make the least sense.

I have the USB jack and that's fine as far as it goes, but your assessment of aux-in is mistaken -- it's on almost every modern car and widely used in cars without bluetooth, for reasons noted by acensor above. The fact that the i-MiEV can't do road trips doesn't mean I want either to drive around town in silence or deal with whatever ad-laden swill's being broadcast (alas, I find the local public stations unsatisfactory, carrying relatively few NPR or PRI shows beyond the usual suspects, in schedules otherwise filled with ethnic music and college radio). In addition to the superior control interface of players and music apps, folks using subscription services like Rhapsody have DRM'ed music that comes out of the headphone jack just fine but is not accessible via a generic data connection. Again, like so much else in the i-MiEV story, this is just another inexplicably dumb thing in a smart car.
 
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