I have been reading all the press release information about the the new infotainment system included in the 2015 Fit. Many of the features I read about sound great, but a variety of discussions here at fitfreak have lead me to believe that many of the cool features do not work as advertised or will not work on anything other than an iPhone.

So I started this thread to discuss this system as a whole. And I have a few questions that I bet the experts on the forum will be able to answer:

1. Are the audio/infotainment systems that are part of the new Fit the same exact systems that have been included on the 2014 Honda Civic?

2. There has been allot of discussion about a variety of features that are currently only supported by the iPhone 5, if someone has another smart phone, what features will currently work with them? When I go to the Honda hands free link website http://handsfreelink.com/Honda/en-US...ndAPhone/Index the only phones supported in the 2014 Civics are the iPhone and one HTC model. So if you have another phone, is there no Bluetooth connection at all?

3. None of the press event reviewers commented on the functionality of the phone connection. Does anyone have any real life experience on the basic functions of this system, like making phone calls, seeing who's calling on the in-car display, searching contacts, ease of Bluetooth connectivity?

All the new features of the 2015 fit are nice, but for me, I really want a car that integrates my telephone use seamlessly and works transparently. If this new Honda link system can do a bunch of cool additional things, so much the better, but I really want to know. Will it help me use my phone productively?

I visited my dealer the other day and spent 10 minutes tying to get my phone to pair with a 2014 civic coupe EX, with no success. All I wanted to do was make a call through the cars Bluetooth connection and see if the system would pick up my contacts, but I couldn't even do this with the help of one of the sales reps.

UPDATE: I revisited my dealer and finally did succeed in pairing my Samsung Galaxy phone to the 2014 Civic coupe. The basic call functions worked, but no text message pass thru and my phone directory would not easily synch. But the phone could make a receive calls through the car's Bluetooth.

 

Post deleted as a result of update posted above

 

Honda Media Newsroom - Fit - 2015 Honda Fit - Audio and Telematics

They do always note "compatable phones" whenever they mention bluetooth connectivity. I was inclined to think that would imply any phone with bluetooth... but you're right about Honda only listing iPhone and the HTC =\.

However when talking about HondaLink, it specifically mentions it as an iPhone only feature. I would think they would say that for everything, if that's how it was? For what it's worth, the hondalink features are supposed to be Android compatible by the end of the year and that will just be a software update... I would expect bluetooth features to be included in that (If they aren't available already). The only way to really know is to try it when you go for a test drive, which shouldn't be too far away. Hopefully it goes better for you than the Civic system!

 

Had the similar apprehension and last week cancelled my original choice of the EX and opted for the LX.
Yeah, I know. Posted previously that I would regret not having perimeter entry and push button start. My cheapness started me thinking.
Further pushing for a model downgrade was my limited use for the sunroof and factory alloys. What sealed the decision were the reviews posted that the Hondalink system radio volume control was touchscreen controlled. The LX's 5' screen has limited use and actual buttons for the radio.
In the end it all worked out.

Already have my eye out for 16" alloys. So many to choose from.

 

That sounds like a blessing! Where did you see that, and were there any pictures?

 

The same limitation on the comparability of phones appears to apply to the LX radio and Bluetooth as well. So as long as you are iPhone, you are OK

I have not found any pictures of a Fit LX, nor the 5" radio or even the use of this radio on the Civic LX

 

Ditto, I looked and looked.

 

I think the 5" radio set up from the 2014 Civic is pictured here:
2014 Honda Civic LX 4dr Sedan Sedan Pictures

 

I read somewhere that they are working on having the infotainment and the phone gps system work with Android. Keep in mind that these things will receive software updates in the future - so the features aren't fixed in stone. The hardware is in place - it's just a matter of time before they get it working with Android.

 

Read it in one of the reviews and confirmed by my source at the local dealership.

 

Just turn your phone off and pay attention to your driving.

 

I really felt compelled to post because I think people are going to read the posts here and think that BT only works with the iPhone.

I've driven a number of Honda/Acura vehicles with their latest infotainment setups (MDX, Civic, Accord) and they all supported Android devices for music streaming and phone calls just fine. In fact, I drove an MDX for 6 hours last Friday and I used BT with my Galaxy Note 2 the entire time. If you couldn't get it to work, you might have been doing something wrong or it could have just been your phone.

There's absolutely nothing in the link you posted that makes me believe something has changed for the Fit. The only features that won't work with an Android device are the Hondalink features, like aha or the navigation app. This is understandable since there are about nine billion different Android phones and testing compatibility is a real PITA.

 

UPDATE: I was able to pair my Samsung Galaxy phone with further attempts. Basic call functions worked, but no advance features like text message pass thru.

Here is why I have concluded that Bluetooth will not work with any phone other than the iPhone 5. If you visit the honda-link website reference above and enter in any Honda model, with the exception of the 2014 civic, you find support shown for hundreds and hundreds of phones. If you enter the 2014 Honda Civic, that apparently carries the same infotainment systems that are in the new Fit, it shows only 2 phones that are supported, the iPhone 5 and a single HTC model.

Honda speaks of Honda-Link fist generation as the system supported in all Hondas offering Bluetooth connectivity up to the 2014 Civic, and now 2015 Fit. These two models are listed as having Honda-Link "next generation". They may intend to begin support in the future for select android devices, but right now according to the honda-link website there is no support for Bluetooth in these models except for iPhone 5.

When I could not get my Samsung Galaxy phone to pair with a 2014 civic! I thought it was something I was doing wrong! But when the honda-link site lists hundreds of supported phones for every car they make except the Civic, I am lead to conclude that there is no Bluetooth support in this vehicle for anything but iPhone and one HTC model.

 

Let me be clear: REGULAR BLUETOOTH FUNCTIONS WILL WORK WITH ALL PHONES WITH BLUETOOTH.

This includes normal phone pairing.
This includes the answer/hangup buttons on the wheel.
This includes the next/previous track buttons.
This includes BT stereo audio streaming (Pandora).

The above list is not proprietary to Honda or HondaLink. They are standard Bluetooth function, which will be available on the 5" or 7" radios, or even on the '09-'13 Fit radios once you add the BT-35 HON aftermarket kit.

What may only work with the iPhone 5 is HondaLink. HondaLink allows you to control certain apps from the touch screen, instead of having to control them from your phone screen. This includes navigation, aha, or controlling Pandora on the touch screen instead of on your phone. It's a really neat feature, but the market is still too proprietary to come up with a standard yet. I really hope by the mid-model refresh in 3 years, we'll have a better standard for Android and Honda will replace this head unit with another one.

If I were buying a Fit today, I would get the 5" and plan to swap it with an aftermarket head unit down the road.

 

I just got off the phone with someone at Honda-link tech support. He said that the new 2014 civic should pair with more phones than just the iPhone5, but that Honda has not yet tested them all. So that is why more phones are not listed on the website.

However, when he checked specifically for comparability with my Samsung Galaxy S2, he said, that model will not work, then when I asked about my wife's older LG phone, he said, LGs are flakey and they don't work consistently. So I guess it is telephone roulette. Buy a car and take your chances as to whether it will pair with your phone.

 

I would add, that although it's virtually impossible to find one without it, the Bluetooth implementation must include a "handsfree profile" to be supported. Androids are almost always supported, but some have an additional security screen that must be ticked off to "always allow" the phone to connect. There may also be a security screen to enable phonebook sharing. If these are not selected when you set up, you could have problems.

 

LGs are flakey. I have a customer with a base '11 TL and his old LG has worked fine, but his new 'dinner plate' sized LG has been a problem. It won't stay consistently paired. We're not happy about this, but how can you blame the car? The phone/software must be doing something different with their BT implementation that is affecting compatibility.

IMO, this is probably why Apple is making inroads into this market. They can 'control' the development to insure compatibility with their implementation of CarPlay or Siri Eyes Free, and present this to automakers who value stability.

FWIW, we went through this a lot worse back in 2004 with the TL. The lack of uniformity in the BT software made this really hard. Then by 2006-7 through 2011 it was bliss. Everything seemed to work, but as noted, some seem to be drifting from the established protocols as compatibility seems to have taken a hit in recent years. Always with Android.

 

Though I have an iPhone, I did pair my 2 year old Samsung flip phone on a Civic without issues not too long ago, and I think it would be foolish of Honda not allowing other phones to be paired...Just a thought

 

I think if they build the car to follow BT spec xxx.xx and the handset maker drifts from that spec, the car maker cannot be blamed for this. This is why standards exist.

The extra goodies like hondalink and the upcoming Car Play are probably good with Apple because Apple developed the APIs to make it easy for car makers to interface. Perhaps Android will follow suit (I think they've started) and provide the necessary hooks into the OS for the car manufacturers to create apps for them as well.

 

What's the use of an iphone as navigation device (connected to HondaLink) when you cannot charge it? It's ok for short distance driving but what if I need to drive all day? I drive cross-country a few times a year. No phone's battery will last 8 hours while on GPS, not to mention occasional calls and constant music playing.

My overall gripe w/ the HondaLink is that unless Honda is committed to constantly upgrade the software/firmware of the infotainment system, it can be obsolete very quickly and may even become totally useless in a few years. Unlike the smart phone you can always upgrade after a couple of years, you will likely drive your car 5 years or longer. God knows what technology will be like by then. the smart phone of that time may not work w/ the version of HondaLink you buy now. Of course you can always rely on your smart phone for standalone navigation, music via bluetooth, etc.. But why not just stick w/ the lower tech LX then, unless you really need other fancy features of the EX models?

The low ratings of various HondaLink related apps on itunes also concern me. One of the best part of having a smart phone is its vast library of apps. If you don't like app X, there are hundreds of other similar apps you can try and buy. My personal favorite nav app is Google Map. I also use another offline app when I am in areas w/o data connections. Occasionally I use Waze when I have to drive downtown in busy traffic. If HondaLink allows me to use any of these apps I would be very happy. Instead it requires me to buy a particular app that doesn't have all the features I want. If I had to go this route, I'd rather get a build-in nav. At least if I lose my phone I can still get from A to Z.