MY08 Bluetooth integration with Sat Nav
 

Howdy,
If you're like me and don't want to spend $455.25 with Subaru for the Bluetooth kit (yes you read it right $455.25, then read on.

The bluetooth kit (for those that already have the sat-nav system is literally a cable with a plug at one end, and a microphone at the other.

I've done some searching and I found someone that has found a workaround. You just buy a female plug and microphone from Dick Smith's and solder up the five wires (Pos,Open,Open,Pos,Neg).

Once plugged into the back of your unit, the Bluetooth settings are all active and you can 'partner' your phone.

Total cost is around $20.

Follow the link.
[url]http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21569092&postcount=152[/url]

I bought the microphone ($14.95) and connector ($1.16)and 2M of wire ($2.48) from Dick Smith.

Alrighty. I took the plunge and attempted to install the microphone. The MY08 dash is quite a bit different than my old MY03 - so I took it extra careful so not to bust anything. I managed to get the sat nav head unit out eventually and proceeded to make up the speaker.

The wires in the microphone were tiny, so soldering onto my fabricated plug needed to be neat.

To test it, I plugged the head unit back into the car. Magically the Bluetooth was now active on the menu, so I paired my mobile up to it - piece of cake. I made a phone call to test and it all worked well.

The only issue is that it doesn't allow my Contacts list to be uploaded to the head unit. I've got a JasJam running Windows Mobile 6, but it works with my Motorola V series phone.

Ater testing, I reinstalled the head unit and put the dash back together and routed the microphone wire to the top of the plastic airbag cover. It fits nicely and even has a little clip so I don't need to use double sided tape.

All up it took 3 hours, but if I had to do it again I could do it in around 1 hour.

The thing that gets me about this whole thing, is why doesn't Subaru supply this with the Sat Nav in the first place? The Bluetooth electronics are already in the head unit, so why not include the microphone?

Obviously it's about profits - especially since the head unit is $4k to begin with.....

This is what turned me off buying the MY08 actually (and I wasn't too happy with the sales methods, but that's another story).

The car feels unfinished given it's pricetag without things like sat nav imo.

Also when you add in the cost of sat nav, bluetooth phone and subwoofer to the cost, the STi is suddenly dearer than the X MR.

Good find with this little hack (that should come with the sat nav standard I would have thought).