USB PORTS

The USB Port in the arm rest does turn on and off with the ignition switch but so far (I've only had the car for 2 days!Q) I have not been able to get a memory stick to play an MP3 from that USB port. The memory stick does play back MP3 audio from the port in the console between the 2 12 volt receptacles but it does not appear to be connected to the ignition

The reason I want the USB controlled by the ignition is since I retired over 16 years ago, I transformed my music from LPs, CDs, & Tape (over 1000 albums) to MP3 mostly on memory sticks. I have a duplicate set of stcks in my house for an MP3 player connected to my stereo rig and for my car. I rarely listen to the radio and for the past 4 vehicles I have owned had an MP3 stick up and running whenever I turned on the ignition and shutting off when the car was turned off. I don't want to leave a stick in a USB port if the port is hot when the car is off as it drains the battery

Steel188 said:

The port in the arm rest is only for charging things, the only one that’s connected to the media unit is the one in front of the gear shift.

I too have a memory stick with my music collection on it for use in the car, when I wish to listen to an album, I hit the Media button until USB appears on the screen and away I go.

When I put my car in Park and turn it off, you are quite right, the media unit does not turn off. As I said before, that only happens when either you open the door to exit or, if you sit in your car listening to music, after 10 minutes the car will turn the unit off to stop battery drain.

My USB stick has been in the port for 14 months without a single issue.

For further confirmation that the port powers down when the media unit does, or very shortly thereafter, search for threads on the forum about owners wanting permanent power for a dash cam and how none of the USB ports provides it.

Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying that issue. My previous car had the USB port in the actual radio & I, too, left the memory stick in the radio until I heard all pf the songs at which point I changed to a different stick with different songs. I am glad to hear that you were able to leave a stick in the port without any worry. One other possible concern, however... The area where the stick would lie is I used any form of extension is the area for charging a cell phone. Does this use magnetism that could erase memory sticks? I have a small case that holds about 20 memory sticks that would normally sit in the area used to charge a cell phone and I was wondering about that.
Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions.