Greetings Fit Freakz!

First post.
Just picked up my '10 Blackberry Pearl Fit Sport w/Navi yesterday. Mmmmm.... purple....

I got the Navi because I wanted the VSA/traction control, as Nav was optional to me (since I'm accustomed to using an app on my iPhone for nav). Guess what... I HATE HATE HATE the interface for nav, audio, you name it on the stock head unit. And I knew I'd want handsfree bluetooth soon anyway, so was already figuring I'd be shelling out some bucks for a Parrot or something.

So... the car's less than 48 hours in my posession and we're already googling aftermarket replacements for the headunit. (Hubby is a happy hacker of anything and everything.) We have read the info here on FitFreak about the FlyAudio unit with great interest. We figure we can probably eBay the stock headunit and make the replacement cost not much more than doing bluetooth alone.

So... my question... Have any of you installed the FlyAudio headunit as a replacement for the stock navi unit, rather than an upgrade for a non-Navi headunit? I'm sure it'll work... but what I'm wondering is whether I'll lose the ability to use the steering wheel controls for audio and voice commands, or whether those controls have a way to be connected to the FlyAudio unit.

Also, has anyone who's gotten the FlyAudio unit changed out the nav software for another one? I'm interested in experiences there, since I'm hearing that the nav software that's standard with the system might not put me in my happy place (literally and figuratively)!

Thanks in advance for any input!

KathMeistr

P.S. I haven't posted a photo of my new baby because a) I don't have a good photo yet... darn it's hard to get the purple to show up well in photos, and b) The dealer located my car and the place they got it from had already put a two-toned silver pinstripe on it. I fear you will mock me, for I kinda like it. Be gentle, I beseech you! I am entering this relationship with my heart on my sleeve.

 

Hey, I have the FlyAudio for my Fit and have been really happy with it for about 4 months. However, I don't think that the system is plug and play with cars that have factory navigation (I believe the wiring is different). However, you should talk to Automax, they have always been super helpful. Also, they are offering a sale on the unit right now for $499, so it's hard to beat that price!

 

Thanks for the reply, kman. In fact Hubby installed a Pioneer AVIC X920BT a few weeks back and all is working swimmingly. Couldn't tie in the steering wheel voice command and back buttons, but got the volume controls just fine. The voice command stuff is iffy in performance, but I don't need to use it much anyway. The bluetooth works great and I've got all the iPhone/iPod integration I could hope for between the hard-wired connection and the bluetooth audio source option. I'm rolling happy these days! Now all I need is a good dash mount for my iPhone.