Apple Car Play and rear A/C ??

[Lgpalmer]

Hi everyone, we have a large family and been doing a lot of research which car we should get next. Really like NV. Does anyone know if the van has Apple CarPlay. So I can plug in my phone and it would display google maps on the screen?

Also, we live in the Palm Springs, CA desert area it’s very hot, was not impressed by the rear A/C. Do you know if I could having like camping world or another suggestion of someone else could install and rear A/C the unit?

Thanks

[radin2son]

Not available in oem unit for now and probably the foreseeable future. Apple and Android car systems are entertainment by design. Not much commercial use value. Some NV owners have changed out the oem unit to get this, but no feed back on their opinions or use.

 

We have Apple car play in our VW. You have to chose which system you want, Apple or Android. The Apple version doesn’t let you use Google maps. It is better to just use your iPhone or iPad to have access to useful apps.

[Mark Rogers]

Problem solved for $6.   :)

 

https://www.amazon.com/WizGear-Universal-Swift-Snap-Technology-Smartphones/dp/B00PGJWYJ0

 

Okay, so it's not exactly Apple CarPlay, but it's a very cheap and practical way to use Google Maps on the go.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Mark Rogers

[Lgpalmer]

Thanks Mark Rogers, but that looks like a phone holder.

Radin2son, So it sounds like I can plug my phone into the AUX in the NV and will it display , like google maps in the navigation screen?? Or I’m just using my phone screen? Do you use all the extra Bells and whistles that come with the technology package, like XM radio, Navigation, Facebook, etc? Cause I have a Apple phone and I have a VW and like the Apple CarPlay.

[Mark Rogers]

It is a phone holder.  That's because you can't use Google Maps on the OEM nav screen.  You have to use your phone screen for that.

 

If you plug an Android phone into the nav system, all it does is slowly charge the phone.  (Android can still play music via bluetooth.)

 

If you plug an iPhone into the nav system, it plays music and slowly charges the phone, but nothing else.

 

There is a limited set of optional apps for the nav system that integrate with your phone, but I haven't found any of them to be useful.  For example, the Facebook app lets you use the nav system to "check in" at your current location, but can't do anything else.  The Google app lets your nav system send Google search requests to your phone, but searching directly on the phone works better in my experience.  Although, the Pandora app might be nice for people who use Pandora.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Mark Rogers

[radin2son]

I wouldn’t say NVs have a lot of bells and whistles. It is a great truck! If you are serious about buying, ask the commercial dealer about radio options. There may be a guy on the lot who upgrades radios.

 

We didn’t go with XM and their traffic alerts. We do use the nav as a back up or to get us through cities. It works well in the US and Canada, not at all in Mexico. We rarely program a destination. Too cumbersome and annoying. We often are in no service, remote areas and make unplanned, frequent route changes so storing maps in our iPhone is not a good option. We carry a lot of paper maps instead.

 

If you plug in your iPhone to the aux, it plays music etc. It can hide but does not change the nav map display. So you are back to using your iPhone and apps with a phone holder. Or you can replace the oem unit. Will the oem nav still work and does it matter?

 

Facebook? No one has ever mentioned this.

 

The nav unit was was updated in 2014 or so and there are 2 different nav cards. The cards are updated every year but are hardly worth it. We updated ours after 5 years.

[Mark Rogers]

I agree with radin2son about the map updates.  Not worth it at all.  For less than the price of a single update for the nav system, you can buy a Garmin GPS that comes with free map updates for life.  Or you can use your phone, which is what I do.  (Although, that might may require downloading maps ahead of time, depending on where you're traveling.)

[radin2son]

CNET has a review of Apple CarPlay from 2016. Little appears to have change.

 

I just checked CarPlay apps and they just go on and on... Mostly music, radio stations, podcasts, audio books and sports, MLB for example. Little change here as well.

[Corey10e]

Going back to your original question... the Rear A/C was an afterthought and Nissan should be embarrassed.  Had I really known how bad it was I would have never spent this much on this van.  I should have looked into the Transit.

[goingape]

The rear A/C in our 2015 NVP 3500 is not good. The blower sounds like there is a blockage in the duct work. The air flow in the roof vents it so bad. It is hard to keep it cool back there in the summer. I took it to the dealership two different times to have them look at it and they say it is working the way it is supposed to. 

[ASD Dad]

There are so many random complaints about the rear AC that there is a whole FB group page dedicated just to the rear AC.  Many have no issues.  I am one of them.  I live in SC and even when it is 100* out with high humidity the rear AC is fine if I turn up the fan.  If it is cooler than that outside my kids tell me to turn the AC down.  

 

There are many things that can sucked into the rear AC fan housing and evaporator coils.  The intake is on the drivers side, sort of under the first row of seats.  You will see the slots.  

 

Photos of what people have removed from the fan is crazy.  So much junk especially if you have lots of kids.  If it makes it deeper it can cover the evaporator coils so think that they fail to work.

 

There is NOT an easy way to clean those coils.  It requires a full teardown of the rear AC system and you need to evacuate the system to do that so it requires a full recharge when done.  All that means is $$$$ and lots of it.  

 

There are how to videos to clean the fan.  There are how to videos and a kit a engineer guy made to install a filter over that opening.  Others just tape a small cut up furnace filter over it.  He (engineer) also posted how to actually get to the whole system but you better be very handy with tools and then you still need to take it to get evacuated and recharged when you reach that point.  

[Mark Rogers]

That filter kit is pretty cool, by the way. It's super easy to install. And it even comes with a template you can use to cut your own replacement filters in case you don't want to buy the pre-cut ones.

[ASD Dad]

Kit is cool but a little pricey to be honest - BUT - he is the only one making them (they are 3D printed and a complete DIY kit).  For $5 you can cut up a furnace filter to make a dozen filters or more and tape to the intake if you are worried.  Wont look anywhere remotely as nice and finished but I dont look at my floor intake.

[evac05]

I installed a Pioneer W6400NEX head unit with WIRELESS or wired CarPlay and it is awesome. I can run the GPS system that comes with the receiver, as well as either Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Waze. I really like Waze with its user entered road hazard data. This headunit allows you to display CarPlay without physically plugging anything in. It also allows two video feeds ... I use the non-stock rear camera as well as a newly installed front minibullet camera to help me park this huge vehicle.

 

I’m still working on an AC solution for the back ... but I have a cargo model I’ve converted to a camper van. I’m fine up front, but it gets toasty in the back once stopped.

 

Dave