Well, I couldn't resist - I paid $10 to read the manuals at techinfo.toyota.com - I've preordered my 2006 prius, and wanted to get as much information as possible, even though I know I'll find out everything when I take delivery in January. The good news is that the CD changer with package #8 does in fact play mp3 CDs, displaying the folder names and file names, pretty much the way any mp3 cd player would. I had been worried that the scant information releasedabout the 2006 models was just marketing fluff to hype up the AUX in jack. (which also sounds very cool - it's positioned inside the arm rest compartment along with the 12v power outlet.) The bad news is that the top end "#3" radio CD player unit isn't XM compatible - at least according to the manual. Only the "#1" is. It appears that the 06 prius can have XM OR MP3 capability, but not both. Drats. I guess I'll be waiting to see if coastal Etech or someone else makes a kit - unless someone else here has more information. Anyone? Dave
An alternative would be to use a portable XM receiver and plug it into the AUX jack. It's not built in, but if you want XM, hey.
I think you are reading the manual incorrectly. The Type 1 radio is the ONLY radio in the manual shown with the Navigation system, and it also has the CD changer. Its a little anti-intuitive, but I believe the Type 1 radio is the JBL high-end model, the Type 2 radio is the mid-range model that has AUX and MP3/WMA, but not compatible with XM, etc. The Type 3 radio is the base system (doesn't even play MP3/WMA, I believe). I had a similar confusion as which was which (and there was no car to compare the button layouts to), but check out the diagram of the Type 1 radio -- it shows how it looks if the Nav is installed (extra buttons to the left of the MFD). Neither of the other options shows that.
What I did find interesting from the manual was the support levels for MP3 and WMA. VBR is supported for MP3, but not WMA. However, with WMA you get up to 48 KHz encoding up to 320 kbps. Will be interesting to try out the various options it supports...
Hey Ron - thanks for checking that - you're right. In fact, I think it's page 272 or so where they get into the mp3 mode operation, and it says "type 1 only" - kind of strange since it's right after the rundown of type 3 radio. Whew.... I wonder why when you "build" one on the toyota page they have no options listed that mention the XM radio. Harrumph. One thing I find to be a real drag is that the techinfo page doesn't seem to work with Firefox on Linux or Mac OSX... that's a real drag. Thanks again.... Dave
In the eBrochure, the XM radio is a dealer-installed accessory, not a factory-installed option. And, XM is apparently not available until March.
