iPod Adapter Charge and Audio Cable with USB and 3.5mm for Select BMW and Mini Cooper Car Models - Control From Your Wheel

Yes, this review is for using this adapter with a BMW motorcycle. I have a 2011 BMW R1200RT with the BMW Audio system. I'm also using this device with a iPhone 5, so I had to buy a lightning adapter to work with this.At first it worked perfectly, but the problem was that the length of the iPhone 5 (compared with the 4 and 4S) plus the Lightning adapter plus all of the wiring made for a tight fit in the R1200RT's glove box (where the wiring for the iPhone/iPod sits. So, it would constantly disconnect. I thought there was a problem with this cable, but it's more of a problem with BMW's design of the glove box. I occasionally get the dreaded "NO USB" message on my dash, but I have isolated the problem to BMW's wiring, not this adapter (which is substantially less the BMW official adaptor for the motorcycle, which is the same as the automobile version).I'm giving this adapter 5 stars as working perfectly, and being about one-fifth the price of the OEM version from BMW. I'm giving the BMW audio system 2 stars for not being user-friendly, for trying to crowd 1 meter of cabling in a tiny glove box, and for not designing their system for advances in the iPhone.By the way, to fix my issues, I just bought an iPod Nano. Since the BMW Audio system on my motorcycle doesn't do the phone thing (to access the phone functions, I have to connect it by bluetooth to my helmet through the BMW Navigator IV...yeah, this is ridiculously complex), connecting the iPhone through the audio system right now has no advantage to me.Conclusion: if you want to use your iPhone's music through your BMW bikes audio system (only the RT and the new K1600GT/GTL have it), you need this adapter. If you need the official BMW version and have the cash, go for it, but you'll run into the same NO USB problems. If you want to save a bundle of cash to spend on some farkle, then just buy this cable

Purchased this for my wife's 2011 Honda CRV. In some Honda's, there's a power outlet right next to the Aux. jack in the center console, so this was an ideal solution to consolidate cables. To preface, my wife's CRV has no pre-existing iPOD controls or compatibility built in. The main purpose for this purchase was simply not to have 2 cables (charging, and aux audio cable).Plugged the usb and aux. cable in one end, and her iPhone 4S in the other, and it works beautifully. Charges and passes audio great. Connection is very good even with her Speck iPhone case on. The cable itself is very durable. The insulation is relatively thick, and the joints connecting the cable to the connectors are reinforced well, so there's no fear of bending or handling the cable.We've also used this in our Honda Pilot, where the aux/power outlet is located inside the center console. The cable is thick enough, that when we run it outside of the console and lay the lid down, there's no fear that the cable will get damaged. Very well constructed.Obviously steering wheels controls for these "non-compatible" cars don't work, because you're just passing power and audio through the cable, no data. Glad it actually works though for non-BMW cars (minus the controls).

So the thing works on 2011 328i Coupe without iDrive. I can see artist and song titles on my BMW Professional Audio head unit. However, I don't see any real utility to this gadget. If you have 100s of artists, scrolling is a pain. Say you want to get to ZZ Top. There is no way to cycle back to the end. You have to go from ABBA all the way down to ZZ Top. After a while you will be worried the knob on your head unit is about to fall off. The only real work around is to pre-plan the music you want to listen and organize it in Playlists. Since you are likely to have fewer playlists than artists, scrolling through playlists may be more manageable. A better solution for me is to use Apple Dock to AUX/USB cable and control my iPod via the iPod itself. Maybe iDrive offers better iPod navigation. However, if you have plain old non-iDrive system and have a ton of music on you iPod, don't waste your time with this.

I love this adapter! When I purchased my 5 series, I just used the stock iPod USB cable, big mistake!. I had intermittent errors with the entertainment system and when I tried to connect my iPhone, I received connection errors. After being told by the BMW dealership to buy this cable for $129 from parts, I found the same on Amazon for a much better deal. My iPhone now connects with no error.BE WARNED Do not leave your phone or pod plugged in when the car is off!!! The car system will never shut down completely and drain the battery. I was informed this by BMW service after they reviewed my car's electric profile. I had to replace the battery after one year, thank you BMW for the great warranty! I read a review that this does not charge your pod or phone, but believe me it does!!

I got this a month or so ago for my iPhone 5S and it seemed like it was great at first. The charging portion seems to work fine, and the audio worked fine at first. But then while music was playing it suddenly quit. I checked the iPhone and it was still charging, but acting like there was no audio connection, if I hit play again it just played from the iPhone. I unplugged it and plugged it back in and it was fine again. It does this all the time, completely randomly. I've driven for over an hour with no problem, and I've turned the car on, hit play and had it quit 5 seconds later. I've given up on using it now, having to disconnect the cable and then reconnect it while driving just isn't really an option some of the time, not to mention just being irritating to be listening to a song only to have it abruptly stop.This would have been 5 stars if it weren't for this, but as it is it's basically useless to me.