add CD changer to 2019 SV??

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Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
15
I may have bought the wrong car here, having purchased the 2019 Leaf SV, which comes with no CD player.

Does anyone here have experience with adding an FM modulated CD changer to a Leaf? I know I'd hafta buy one on eBay, as it appears that no one is making CD changers anymore.

the option of adding a little portable CD Walkman is totally unappealing. there are too many wires all over the place in the front of the cabin for the AUX and power. I'm hoping to find a more elegant and permanent solution. it would be awesome if i could find something that fits in the glove box, but that might be unrealistic.

thanks in advance for any tips. i'm really feeling like a fool for not having purchased the S model.
 
You're better off not using FM transmitters. They're inferior to using an aux jack or cassette adapter (which won't help you either).

I've had experience w/all 3. Had a car I wanted to play my old hard drive based iPods in. One had a tape deck. Another didn't nor did it have an aux in (wasn't common on 04 model year non-luxury cars) so I had to use an FM transmitter. :( Then I got my 06 Prius which had aux in. 06 was the first model year of Prius to have it and ditch the tape deck that was on 04 and 05 Priuses.
 
I agree with Cwerdna. FM modulators are mediocre at best, and more usually terrible. Use the Aux jack and a cable. It does suck that the CD player was deleted, but AFAIK it was deleted from ALL Leaf trim levels. There is a topic or two here about replacing the OEM stereo entirely, with Plug & Play components.
 
fm adapters are really from 1970s tech. stay away from it.

What I have done was put all of my cds onto the computer in ITUNES, and then dumped every song I own onto an IPHONE or IPOD.

The Leaf is set up to control an IPOD on the actual radio screen. What I did was plug into car USB plug, and keep the IPOD permanently in the glove compartment.

Now, When I turn on the radio, I instantly have access to all of my music, see the names of the tracks on the radio, and control everything from the steering wheel.. I really love this setup.
 
powersurge said:
fm adapters are really from 1970s tech. stay away from it.

What I have done was put all of my cds onto the computer in ITUNES, and then dumped every song I own onto an IPHONE or IPOD.

The Leaf is set up to control an IPOD on the actual radio screen. What I did was plug into car USB plug, and keep the IPOD permanently in the glove compartment.

Now, When I turn on the radio, I instantly have access to all of my music, see the names of the tracks on the radio, and control everything from the steering wheel.. I really love this setup.

Another easier (and cheaper) way is to rip the CD onto a USB stick. Those are much cheaper than a portable music player (unless you really want one) and no need to download any additional software :

Windows: https://www.dummies.com/computers/operating-systems/windows-10/how-to-rip-cds-in-windows-10/

Mac (though Macs haven't come with optical drives for some time): https://itstillworks.com/copy-cd-flash-mac-10349.html
 
Yes, I thought of that, but and many others have had terrible results from just throwing a memory stick in the usb... At BEST, with a memory stick, the first song on the memory stick comes on each time, and you have to hear them in the same order EACH TIME YOU USE IT!!

I use an Ipod with thousands of songs and can shuffle and control the play completely....
 
I'm in touch with a local aftermarket car stereo installer and they've suggested a USB CD player. I'm waiting to get more info about this, but maybe it's something like this, which can be installed in the glove box and be hooked up to the factory installed stereo:

https://www.ceoutlook.com/2018/02/20/another-distributor-sells-usb-cd-player/

I'll keep you folks updated on this.

thanks!
 
That seems to be a lot more work (and expense) than simply ripping your CD's to a portable music player or USB stick. That unit costs $399, vs. $249 for a 128 GB iPod Touch from the Apple Refurb store. I don't think it's possible to spend that much on a USB stick, unless you make one out of an SSD. And you won't have to swap out a single CD.

BTW one of the comments: "Good luck. The headline should read 'another distributor sells the same USB CD player that doesn’t work' — we have not had much luck with this piece in most of the supposed applications it is compatible with. In the process of putting out multiple fires related to this piece at the moment."
 
powersurge said:
Yes, I thought of that, but and many others have had terrible results from just throwing a memory stick in the usb... At BEST, with a memory stick, the first song on the memory stick comes on each time, and you have to hear them in the same order EACH TIME YOU USE IT!!

I use an Ipod with thousands of songs and can shuffle and control the play completely....

Indeed. At least on the two LEAFs I've had, USB stick was eventually more hassle than it was worth. I don't even know where my "car stick" is anymore. Bluetooth and digital music is far easier than farting with a USB stick. Likewise it blows the doors off of dealing with CDs. There is a really good reason nobody makes CD changers anymore. ;)

If OP is yet to digitize their CD collection then sure that would be some work. Most people with CD collections went through this 15 or so years ago. That's about how long it's been since I pulled ANY CD from our storage cabinet.
 
My 2018 Leaf S came with a CD player. But, the player was not included with the other trims in 2018. 2019 models may be in the same situation... Nissan is funny that way.

I have played around using USB sticks, old MP3 players, etc. and have had good results with them. The USB stick would mimic a CD, where each track is played in order, but you can still skip tracks, fast-forward, etc.
 
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