Hi everyone, I just recently became the proud owner of a 09 Honda Sport Fit with Navi and I love everything about it except for a few little quirky things. Can someone explain to me why is it that RDS is missing from the Fit Sport w/Navi since the base and Sport models without Navi have it...? I don't know if this has been asked before, I apologize if it has.. Also I would have loved to have Bluetooth connectivity but I can live without that.. no biggie since I don't like to talk on the phone while in the car...

Thanks!

G

 

Are you referring to "Radio Data System," meaning text display of station/song while driving? I was under the impression it did this, although I don't listen to the radio to know for sure. You may also know this, but it has to be provided by the actual radio station as well.

 

What up, G!? Welcome to FitFreak.net! The 2009 Honda Fit Sport stock Navigation unit does not support nor display RDS data. Also, it does not have Bluetooth.

 

Hello superfriend,
Yes, I am referring to the Radio Data System (sorry I should have been more specific). Yeah, for some reason I've searched for radio stations that I know have RDS and no information is shown. What's even funnier is that if you look at the description on the Honda Fit site, it says "RDS - for Sport Fit without Navi." I just find it strange that the Navi has some really cool features that the base stereos don't have, yet this simple feature is not included...

 

Reako is correct!

"The new Fit features a 4-speaker, 160-watt AM/FM/CD audio system (6-speakers in the Fit Sport) with an auxiliary input jack for an MP3 player and Windows Media® audio playback capability. The new Fit Sport is also equipped with a USB audio interface* for connecting an iPod** or other compatible audio device. Other audio features include Speed-Sensitive Volume Control (SVC), which automatically adjusts the volume based on vehicle speed, and CD/MP3 text readout with a customizable welcome screen. New for the 2009 Fit is a display now compatible with Radio Data System (RDS). It shows supplemental programming information from participating radio stations while also offering search-by-genre capability (not available on the Fit Sport with Navigation)."

Reason why is not apparent.

 

HAHA, Whatup Reako! I was aware that RDS and Bluetooth wasn't included, I just wanted to know why (if anybody knew...) It just seems kinda backwards... I wonder if things like this get updated with an upgraded Navi DVD that usually comes out in the fall. This would be my first time having a car with Navigation. When I was looking (dreaming) about the Acura TSX I know that it's Navi system has RDS and all the bells and whistles and then the sales person at the Honda dealership said, "Honda and Acura have the same Navi system." Apparently Not... hehe

 

My 08 TL-S has navi without RDS too which I though was odd given that the car has every other tech gadget you can imagine. The Fit probably has last gen navi if the 09 TSX does have it. I actually much prefer my $200 Garmin portable to factory Honda GPS. I like the 3D view much better and it gives better directions.
For what they charge, the factory GPS should come with an Asian girl in the passenger's seat giving you....directions.

 

I'm half-way offended by that comment since I'm only half Asian... haha... NAH, just kidding, I'm not offended... but I see what you're saying.. The TL didn't have RDS, that's crazy! I supposed the TSX has it since it seems like the Navigation panel is just a screen and the stereo has a different display, similar to what the fit without Nav's have...

 

Way to offend people there, CBR.....

 

Sorry for the off-topic, what part of Arizona are you from?

 

Goodyear, about 20 minutes west of downtown Phx.

Sorry if anyone's offended by my joke.

 

Really CBR, no offense taken, at least not by me, I was kidding. Going back to the RDS, I was reading somewhere that the Nav system could potentially get hacked via signals through the RDS, maybe that's why they omitted it.... This is an old article but I'm sure it has some valid points...

Hacking the Car Navigation System - Security/Client - DarkReading

 

Wow, pretty interesting; never knew that was possible, thanks for sharing! You see folks, omitting RDS is a "safety feature" for our protection! In reality, RDS probably got cut from the Navi model either because of hardware issues, the Navi software could not accommodate that feature at the time, or the unit was buggy when equipped with RDS and they got sick of trying to make it work... they were likely very pressed for time to move the unit into production and made the call to simply bump the RDS feature.