so over the years i've grown tired of charging my bluetooth head pieces, and i'm constantly disappointed at the sound quality. i was debating on getting a parrot kit for some time and i finally took the plunge.

i bought the MKi9100 since i didn't really need the color screen that the higher models offer, and i actually wanted a screen to display the caller ID on so i didn't want to get the lower end models either. i also picked up a quick connect harness online since i plan on trading this car in after 3 more years or so and i wasn't interested in cutting and splicing any wires.

so far i'm happy with the kit, i haven't really made any calls yet but i figured i'd call my answering machine at home and check out the sound quality (lol, i know LAME!) sound quality seems ok, slightly muffled but that might just be my answering machine.

the install was fast, maybe 20-30 minutes by the time i took everything apart, figured out where to put the brain and put it all back together. i will comment that there is not much room behind the stock radio to begin with and this coupled with my iSimple gateway is basically taking up all the leftover room back there since i now have two extra harnesses clipped in there. i'm putting in a PAC VCI-NIS2 soon so i can hook up a backup camera so i'm going to have to figure out how to squeeze another harness back there

i ended up placing the brain *underneath* the stereo. i'll take a picture when i put in the backup camera but if you take the radio out there is almost like a 1 inch deep metal tray under the radio. the parrot brain fits nicely in there, and i just tried to arrange the harnesses as best i could to fit the stereo back in place.

ok time for pics!!

this is the main power harness behind the radio (directly on top). the quick connect harness actually connects inline with the stock harness.



the quick connect comes out to the parrot harness



i installed the microphone right above the rear view mirror, it clips onto the headliner, and ran the cable down the a pillar cavity with the power leads for the rear view dimming mirror (which i installed last year)





then i ran the wires down to kickpanel then over to the stereo



i velcro'd the screen onto the dash because i'm really not sure where i want it for now. i was going to mount it in the instrument cluster but then it would cover up indicator lights so i may just get some tan velcro for the a-pillar to secure it more and leave it here or maybe i'll move it, i dunno yet.



and i simply mounted the remote on my steering wheel.

cheers!

Bob

 

just an update after a few days. i'm pretty happy with this unit. i bought some tan/white velcro to secure the screen to the a-pillar. it doesn't flop around and is easy enough to view. the call quality is pretty good too. i need to install the USB connector and run it to my glove compartment, that way i can update the firmware whenever i need to without pulling the brain out. i definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested.

 

no love for the parrot?

 

Nice install, thinking about doing something similar for my fx. Nice writeup!

 

Been looking at the Parrots myself. Are you able to bluetooth streaming music (say mp3 from Blackberry) to your stereo?

 

absolutely you can. that's how i stream navigation prompts from my garmin carputer into the stock stereo system. the computer has a bluetooth dongle and i just pair it to the parrot as a bluetooth music device. i actually used it to listen to my ipod friday night (via the ipod connector) and i have to say the sound quality is *really* good for music.

 

Having a base model, I've looked at the same thing. For the LCD, I had thought of mounting it in the little box, just between the shifter and the arm rest. Would it fit there? I've not physically seen one, so I'm unsure of the measurements.

Thanks.

 

txdave - i think you could fit it there but don't forget that the cupholder takes up alot of room. in reality it's relatively flat....actually come to think of it i don't think the harness will reach to the area you're thinking of. you're better off putting it behind the LCD screen or in the tray under the stereo like i did (in my opinion)

 

Thanks for the info. However, I wasn't actually talking about the brain (good tip about the metal shelf behind the stereo, though) - I meant the Parrot LCD display. You have yours mounted on the dash by the A pillar.

There is a little box of sorts between the shifter and the cup holders. Is the Parrot LCD display small enough to fit in there? There is a piece of rubber that sits in the bottom. I was thinking of removing it, drilling a hole for the display cord, and installing the display in the box. Then, if I wanted to remove it, I could just take out the display, and replace that rubber piece.

Does this make sense at all? Regardless, thanks for the great write-up.

 

i think i know just what you're talking about. do you not have heated seats? on the x the "snow" button and seat heater buttons go in the little area you're describing. i'll take a pic of the screen sitting over that area and post it for you, but yea i think it should fit there fine. fyi the connector for the screen is a 4-pin molex type connector so you would need around a 3/8" hole to fit it through the bottom of that pocket.

 

No, I don't. That makes sense, I was never quite sure what was supposed to go there.

 

Just for comparison, here's the "box" I am referring to:


I think you're right about it fitting, I just want to be as sure as I can.

 

ok so here is a pic of our "pocket" area with the buttons...just an fyi to you non-heated seat G drivers out there



and txdave13, as i thought it will fit just fine. you may need to make a little "support" for the screen to sit on top of since the pocket is about 2 inches deep i think? but it will work either way.

 

...and here I thought all G's had heated seats.
I guess it makes sense that some regions just dont need them...they should offer cooled seats for some (or all)

 

Nope. Here in Texas, not much of a need. Although, the weather was much cooler today. It only got to 94 or so.

Thanks for that comparison picture. That's just what I needed. And the box is only about 3/4" - 1" deep. But, I could fab up a support if needed.