Peep our new high-tech, high-strength rubberized iPod retention device. Slick, ey? Sigh....who am I kidding, the GT-R broke again. This time it was the return spring in the iPod connector. If you're not familiar with how one of these works, here's the skinny: There are two prongs on the side of that cable, each has a hook-ish thing at the end that holds the iPod tight to the cable. Push the cable straight in to dock it, push the side-buttons and pull to un-dock. Easy. Well, except when one of the prongs refuses to hold.
I've got a bunch of liberal arts degrees, my solution was to jam my iPod in the glove box (where the cable resides), under the 5,600-page owner's manual, and then bolster it with some additional paperwork we keep handy. After that, I'd rest the cable on the iPod and drive real careful so as to not upset the delicate balance achieved. (It was either that or write a sonnet about it and hope that spurs someone else to fix it.) Dan Edmunds is an Engineer, as such, his solution involved actually doing something productive. A big rubber band held the iPod in place until we could take it to the dealer to complain.
And complain we did!
So it turns out the cable doesn't work in the good way-- the way the 370Z does (pictured below). The Cable in the Nissan GT-R goes from the glovebox to the head unit and then to the steering wheel control and then to some third place that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. If we had narfed it and it had died on its own-- which, given the location of the plug and the fact that the glove box moves while the cable is static, is likely-- it would have been expensive. Whoa expensive. Like, 900 bucks expensive. Like, 3,600 CD-Rs off Amazon expensive.
Thankfully, we didn't harm it. It just stopped being springy of its own accord and was covered under warranty. Zero cost and back the same day we picked it up from its other warranty issue.
As promised earlier, above is a shot of the iPod cable in the 2009 Nissan 370Z. Note how short it is. Note how it doesn't move. Note how the area the iPod is intended to live in doesn't move. Note how it's replaceable if it breaks. Note how much better a solution this is.
Mike Magrath, Vehicle Testing Assistant
jaguar36 says:
04:29 AM, 08/13/09
The more I hear about the GT-R the less I want one. It sounds like so many corners were cut to get to the price point they wanted that if you plan on keeping it past its warranty you'd be better off buying a Ferrari... even a 1984 308.
dougtheeng says:
05:44 AM, 08/13/09
Are you saying the GTR iPod cable is a fixed line? Its not removable? Or am I misunderstanding something here.
carguy622 says:
06:44 AM, 08/13/09
dougtheeng: Sounds like the GT-R's iPod cable is not removable and comes out of the glovebox.
I think these hookups make more sense in the center console. Often with a passenger it's a pain to ask them to move their legs out of the way if you need to access the glovebox. Unless you have the gentlemen's function ;)
s1gins says:
06:49 AM, 08/13/09
You guys and gals seriously have the most hamfisted hands around. No one on the GTR forums has had this problem. You need to look within your team of editors and ask who ripped their ipod out of the socket. I have had my ipod in the glovebox since we took delivery of the car last August and have had zero issues! This is not Nissan cost cutting this is Edmund neanderthal's running the asylum!
bankerdanny says:
08:19 AM, 08/13/09
Given the miles accumulated on this car and the huge number of different drivers it has had compared to most other GT-R's I would have been shocked if anybody in the GT-R forums had experienced this problem.
I would bet a reasonable amount of money that this car has double the amount of miles of just about every other GT-R in the US.
brn says:
08:27 AM, 08/13/09
Well I'm not going to count this one against the GTR, unless they need to have it in the shop for a couple of days to fix it. Hopefully, the dealer can just toss you a new cable as you drive by.
rcalcaide says:
08:33 AM, 08/13/09
OH NOOOOO, The IPOD cable broke! Now the GT-R is truly a lemon!
I am going to sell my GT-R today for $40k! Who wants it?
bodyblue says:
08:47 AM, 08/13/09
Geeeze you GT R owners are sensitive! Get over yourselves! Criticizing your cars is not a personal attack. It is just a car, nothing else.
mjp16 says:
09:19 AM, 08/13/09
I have to say that I thought of something else entirely when I read "performance rubber."
The 350Z's setup is better anyways because it allows you to purchase cables for other brands of devices (Zune, or regular old USB flash drive). Audi's system works this way--comes stock with the iPod cable, but you can purchase cables that will accept the Zune, a USB flash drive, or AUX input.
esoterica says:
09:29 AM, 08/13/09
This is truly poor design on so many levels. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the CTS does this the best, with a built-in USB port and minijack connector, with an included iPod adapter cable, so not only is the cable a quick exchange but it also supports any non-iPod device that's USB Mass Storage compliant, including MP3 players, USB thumb drives, portable USB hard drives, etc., plus anything else that has a minijack output. I have an iPod but I certainly wouldn't want a car that tied me to one.
pyo_s65 says:
09:48 AM, 08/13/09
I think for all the minor faults the GTR has, it still has raised the bar. Very much like the NSX did for the Supercars of that day.
Just get it replaced and move on.
kingkhalas says:
10:29 AM, 08/13/09
endless nickel and diming
ptcdawg says:
10:57 AM, 08/13/09
Frankly, I've never understood the hoopla over this car. It doesn't even offer a proper manual transmission...not that that is important to anyone anymore, it's amazing the amount of kids these days that can't drive a manual. The car wash guys always freak out.
fuhteng says:
11:11 AM, 08/13/09
The GT-R should have gone through another 6 months of quality testing.
carguy622 says:
11:11 AM, 08/13/09
@ptcdawg: I agree. My father insisted on teaching me manual but I didn't want to learn. I was terrified. After driving stick for 5 years I switched to an automatic and I was bored to tears. I can't imagine having my sole vehicle be an automatic.
I know that the transmission in the GT-R is not a traditional automatic, however, I still think a manual should have been offered.
hybris says:
05:59 PM, 08/13/09
My aftermarket radio in F150 has a USB and AUX jack on the front face and I will tell the world now that USB (as long as its on the face of the radio or somewhere close)is the way to go especially if you are on a budget or just really hate ipods.
Also a question why would you want to keep your ipod hooked up in the glove compartment?
srlracing says:
09:16 PM, 08/13/09
This wouldn't happen in the Ferrari 308! 25 year old Ferrari > Nissan GT-R