Factory fitted Honda iPod attachment question

**purpleax** · 30-06-2009 01:30 PM

I just recieved my new Accord Euro Lux Nav and one of the options was an ipod attachment.

I was expecting - since it has a huge screen for the nav - that the details of the song/album/artist playing would be displayed.

I have only had 5 minutes to play with it 'cause I am back at work, but it appears that this is not the case, and it doesnt display any information on the nav screen at all.

Is this other peoples experience? Is there a way to see what album and artist to play while browsing through the ipod music?

I have an ipod attached with 30000 songs, and the only info I get is:
"CDC Disc: 8 Track: 1" type of information!! they can't be serious!!

Other than that - freakin awesome car

**purpleax** · 30-06-2009 07:10 PM

found the answer after having a chance to read the manual.

No display of album/artist/song at all.

You have to create playlists titled: Honda1 Honda2, etc and can only play music from them.

Damn, this is some primitive stuff! Will have to go back to having CD's in the car for f#$ sake.

Word to the wise - the $500 Honda iPod attachment comes with some severe limitations!

**dan_euro** · 01-07-2009 01:24 AM

was gonna get the Honda iPod connector put it next service,and i kinda want it OEM, but might rethink it now if you can't get any info on screen and need special playlists. cheers man..agree about the awesome car

**Euro08Jaz** · 01-07-2009 01:43 AM

google xcarlink, same thing for round 150.

**purpleax** · 01-07-2009 12:10 PM

seems like other model Honda's have an option to display the song information, but this model doesnt.

the Honda sales guy is investigating it for me to see if there is any alternatives.

At the moment, I am thinking of just using the built in aux port and select the music manually via the ipod itself.

**purpleax** · 01-07-2009 12:13 PM

Just read the xcarlink product page and it appears to have similar functionality to the factory ipod attachment, granted its cheaper

**primetimex** · 01-07-2009 04:18 PM

purpleax do a search I have posted twice regarding this ipod / audio functionality on the Euro CU2.

Basically only the US version of the CU2 ie. Acura can display the song / track names and information - we get the crap version here - all it says is "Extension" and "Volume Bar" and that's it and you get the track no and disc no on the middle display bit.

And no, the adapter is NOT compatible with neither iphone3G or the latest iteration 3GS - if u try connect it it will say "mechanical error"

Kind of disappointing that a great audio system in the Euro is let down by poor connectivity - 99% of sales people have absolutely NO idea what is ipod connectivity - for me it is not only the capability to connect and control the ipod from the car audio system but also the ability to display information about what is currently being played.

The restrictive track names such as Honda1 - 7 is also really bad - and the only way you can randomise the songs is through disc 8!

So overall, some ipod capability it's not bad - but very disappointing for a car that's had it already in the States but for some reason got cut off here probably due to cost saving reasons (my dealer don't have any idea, much less tell me why) and PLUS the CU2 is missing USB connectivity which is there on the Acura TSX.

**purpleax** · 02-07-2009 12:54 PM

Thats really dissapointing I know.

I just assumed that with a big screen for the Nav, and an official ipod attachment, that they would use the freakin thing.

I have resigned myself to the fact that I will just use the Aux function and select the albums I want to listen to manually on the ipod.

Having had the car two days now, this is the only thing I can pick on with the entire car - I love it!!

**primetimex** · 02-07-2009 01:13 PM

purpleax, forget the AUX function - it's basically useless. At least you can still create the Honda1 - Honda7 playlists in your iTunes and populate them with your favourite songs.

One more limitation of this Honda iPod system is that it can only recognise up to 99 songs - so anything beyond that the audio display will loop back to 01. I'm not 100% sure but I think it has a hard limit of 99 songs per playlist - beyond that it will go back to the first track and not keep playing the 100th songs onwards.

I guess this is a step forward for Honda going from the antiquated CD changer cassette system but it is a serious waste of the excellent 8" SatNav screen that could have been used as a showcase for the car - what surprised me was the lack of knowledge / ignorance around the audio features of the car when I first had a look at the CU2!!!

Other than that the audio system in CU2 is excellent - excellent speakers, sub and soundproofing all contribute to producing a good acoustic environment.

Now that Honda's bought share in Pioneer - let's cross our fingers and hope that the next iteration of the CU2 will have an audio system that will really knock our socks off!

**purpleax** · 03-07-2009 02:12 PM

I havent tested it, but the manual addresses the 99 songs thing by saying only the display loops back to 1, but the songs keep playing in order of the playlist. So you should still be able to play more than 99 songs.

The AUX function isnt useless if you want to know what album you want to play. Just go directly to it on your ipod and away you go. If you use the playlist method through the ipod attachment, then you may have to sit there skipping 50 or 60 songs before you get to the album you want to listen to!

While I hope honda fix this in future models, the selfish part of me says that it isn't going to change things for me! :-)

I somehow doubt they will be releasing Nav DVDs with a firmware update!

**primetimex** · 07-07-2009 04:36 PM

Today I've purchased Michael Jackson's CD "1's" - I can see the Album title, full title and description of the songs and able to select which songs I want to listen to looks nice - too bad only works for music CD's which are CD TEXT enabled!

**alienbeef** · 09-07-2009 09:48 PM

I picked up my new Accord (not Euro) last week with dedicated Ipod dock. I share the same disappointment already expressed above. I would be prepared to accept these embarrassing limitations if I could listen to the songs on an album in random order.

The Ipod dock 'manual' (which was only faxed to me after I mentioned the problems I was having at the 1 week folllow-up phone call) says this is possible by pressing the random button on the CD player. Problem is there is no random button per se. The random option is accessed through the audio menu, and is amongst the choices presented on the sat/nav screen. This is effectively disabled once the Ipod dock is activated.

You can shuffle the entire music collection (via playlist 8) but you can't shuffle songs on a single album, even if you go to the trouble of making that album a playlist (e.g Honda1). Songs can only be played in their original order. This is an unacceptably low level of functionality for me.

I'm considering my options. The information page for the Ipod dock on the Honda.com.au website claims 'full control of the Ipod through the head unit' and also claims that 'Random play mode' is supported. I used this to decide to have the dock installed in the first place. I am seriously thinking of demanding a refund on the basis that this product does not function as advertised, for which there a some very clear laws to back me up.

Has anybody else found a way to play songs on a playlist in random order using the Ipod dock on a luxury version of Accord or Euro ?