I was very excited to get my new fit yesterday. The salesman demonstrated the USB connector for playing what I thought was mp3 files. I have since found that it seems the USB is absolutely iTune proprietary. The wording in the manual is that it only plays ACC files recorded by iTunes. I tried to convert some mp3s to ACC and found out that the part about being recorded was key. These converted files were not supported. I am deeply disappointed by this. I almost feel like letting the car go now.

 

You can also use a flash drive to play mp3's
They do not need to be in itune format--will play mp3 or mp4, also .wav files

 

Yep. Just what sooznd said. I don't use iTunes at all and have had no issues moving mp3's to my USB drive and having my car play it.
Is your car stereo giving you an error? If so, what does it say?

 

The stock stereo kinda sucks for navigating through MP3's anyway - may as well just replace it vice trading in a $15,000+ economy car because the stereo Honda paid $50 for (and that's high-balling it) is, well, what you'd expect from an economy car.

When I had mine, I could never find a way to jump around through a long list of artists or songs without having to slowly scroll through one by one. Also, it wouldn't acknowledge the podcasts on my iphone. Someone may have figured out a trick around these issues (other than making new playlists and constantly updating them), but I didn't.

 

Well, I guess you all have a different stereo. There is a line in my manual that explicitly states, *: Only ACC files recorded in iTunes are playable on this unit. I guess my stereo is different. I plug in the USB with my flash and it simply says "unsupported". When the salesman demoed it he used a flash drive.

 

I think you are taking that line from the manual out of context. Are you using a PC or MAC? If you are using a MAC then you may have a problem with certain files on a USB drive,and that can be easily remedied with some software. This has to do with the MAC adding an extra file to the audio,and only THAT file will be unplayable(non audio file anyway). The audio files will still play with the the only exception being DRM.The DRM protected songs will only play from your iPod directly.I listen to song files on a USB drive all the time without any problem. Maybe a call to the dealer,or a quick trip would resolve your issue. You should DEFINITELY be able to listen to audio files on a USB drive through the interface in your FIT.

 

That sentence is for ipods, not for thumb drives. Some people have had problems with some thumb drives- try a different one and make sure there's nothing else on it (no other files, no software, no security, etc.).

 

I didn't have a spare thumb drive, so I used MP3 players I had and the car would not recognize them, even if I formatted the hard drive. Picked up some regular dumb flash drives copied the MP3 files to it and it works fine.

 

I have a problem with the cheap flash drive I bought throwing the "unsupported" error at me when trying to load my drive. Usually, if I turn the stereo off, and then back on again, it recognizes it fine on the second try.

What's annoying is, it'll do this after I've plugged the drive into a computer for whatever reason, be it just to read the files or to add something new to the collection.

 

I have an 8GB Cruzer mini in my fit with loads of mp3s. the unsupported maybe the case if the drive is not formatted in FAT32 format. NTFS or other proprietary formats will not work in the Fit.

~SB

 

OK, thank you all. I just formatted my flash to FAT32. It was unformatted. Let's hope that does the trick. I have about 1800 mp3s ready to go. I'll find out when my wife gets home with the car. That ACC warning was under the flash drive section of my manual. I thought it was weird that it was there. I know you can plug in your iPod there also. If this doesn't fix it I am back to the dealer. Hope it works since he is thirty miles away.

LLC1393, you were absolutely right about me taking it out of context. That warning is simply about ACC files stored on a flash drive. I guess I was looking for a reason it was not working.

 

Good luck navigating 1800 mp3s! There is no way to jump around to the file you want, you gotta scroll one by one.

 

If you can, make folders and sort by genre or artist/album--at least it will make sorting easier.

 

I'll be sorting, trust me. I probably won't put all 1800 on at one time anyway. Probably 200 or so are gonna go into folders immediately. I don't want to be looking for Pink Floyd for too long.

 

I have on 09' sport, and i can play music from my ipod, flashdrive, and other off brand mp3 player. All with songs NOT from itunes. I have never used itunes to download any of my music. And by the way, i have only used my MAC!

 

So you don't get the "unplayable file" message? I was frustrated by this when using a USB drive,as it takes time for the radio to skip to the next song. Using software called "Blue Harvest" took care of that. I primarily use my iPod though,and rarely a USB drive. I often listen to podcasts and audiobooks and listen both in the car and on the go. I constantly move the iPod from the car to my pocket and back again.
As some others have pointed out, the navigation of your files is not so great. I am seriously considering changing the radio so that I can easily navigate the files on my iPod. I went into a car stereo place and connected my iPod to a Pioneer AVH P 3300BT and the iPod navigation is fantastic! It does a whole bunch more too. The stock radio in the FIT works well,but the navigation is cumbersome if you have a large library(which I do).