My 2011 GLK came with the (popular?) iPod integration wired into the glovebox. It connects the old-school (long connector) iPod interface to the car. It plays music just fine, and you can more or less move up and down the playlist using the steering wheel controls, but how in the world do you select a particular album or artist (or book)?

I can't access any of the iPod controls through the iPod when it's plugged in, and it always reverts to the same mode if I change the selection with the iPod unplugged (play all music alphabetically) when I plug it back in.

I've downloaded some books for an upcoming road trip, but seem to have no way to get to 'em. ;-)

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Did yet more digging, and it's pretty clear that the iPod interface is limited at best (pretty much plays with no control other than next / last song selection).

During that research I learned about the PCMCIA / Compact Flash Memory option that looks to be a LOT better than the iPod interface. Some digging on Amazon and I have the PCMCIA card and 32gb card on the way for delivery tomorrow for about $37 delivered). If it works (and the adapter manufacturer lists MB integration) I'm a happy boy.

 

"iPod" ... hmmm ... my wife and I had one of those, um, I guess about 20 years ago

Anyway, on her 2014 GLK350 base, there's the Bluetooth option, so we play music wirelessly from our phones' music collection (see below)

 

I just saw your original post. Maybe your 2011 GLK has NTG 4.0 and it lacks the ability to do anything other than play in sequence. Or maybe GLK (X204) was different from C Class (W204). My 2013 C250 has NTG 4.5 and I have complete control over my iPod (song, artist, album, playlist) with the COMAND controller. My iPod has been plugged in to the connector in the console, not the glovebox, with the multimedia cable for years.

Sounds like you have the solution now.

 

Dumb question on my part:
Is there a "firmware upgrade" that can be checked for, and if an update is available, Apply those updates for the components.

(my parallel thinking is in terms of how we update our smartphone and its installed apps. you know, we can go to the "app store" and check for updates for all the apps installed).

 

Looks like that became available for the models that replaced the GLK, like the GLC, etc. Our GLB has touch screen instruments and entertainment which is fully upgradable with over the air updates. It’s made by Samsung and the underlying firmware is Android based. It can run Chat GPT so you can hold a conversation with the car. Apps that weren’t purchased with the car can be added, some without additional hardware, some needing a different button panel on the steering wheel or the console. We refer to it as our cell phone on wheels. Brave new world.

 

On the audio screen, highlight MUSIC at the bottom and press the COMMAND controller. This will open a list of artists, albums, genre etc. I use the COMMAND controller for all functions, never the steering wheel controls. Take it from there. I have a 2010 and have been using my iPod for several years.

 

Thanks, Silver Shadow - my GLK has a very different screen (no "Music" option on the audio menu). I have to select AUX to get to the iPod, and from there - nothing, other than the steering wheel controls to go forward and backward through whatever playlist that it's locked into (which apparently can't be selected manually since the iPod controls are frozen when plugged into the cable).