We're thinking about getting in line for a 2016 Fit EX CVT. It would be our ninth new Honda/Acura starting from an Integra LS in 1986. (In the same period we've had one each BMW, Ford, Isuzu, and Mercedes Benz.)

But I want to do due dilligence on the Display Audio "infotainment" system, err, radio, so I know what we are getting into.

Functionally, the Fit would be replacing a 2012 Ford Focus 5dr Titanium we sold when we moved last fall. It had My Ford Touch + Sirius + HD + Navi; my expectation level for that was reasonably high based on all the marketing hype but it struggled being an AM/FM HD radio, much less doing anything else that it was marketed as capable of. Five or six software versions later it wasn't much better, and several original features had been de-featured along the way. This was just one of many reasons we dumped that car, after less than three years and 19k miles, for about 50 cents on the dollar we paid for it. Never. Another. Ford. But I digress.

We have two Nexus phones, a 4 and a 5. These replaced Nexus phones and will likely be replaced by Nexus phones.

My understanding is that the Display Audio infotainment in the Fit is almost exclusively iPhone-centric. From what I've read, I'd expect pairing, HFL phone dial/answer, phonebook sync, and Bluetooth audio to work with our phones.

(Only these latter two features exceed what our 2004 Acura TL could perform with our 2010 Nexus Ones. Our 2009 135i did all but Bluetooth audio. The Focus did all of it and more. Sometimes. When it wasn't in la-la land or rebooting from it or…)

And The Fit will play music from USB mass storage devices. (The 135i also did this. Our 2007 CR-V EXLN plays music from a CF card.)

Further, I'd expect none of the other stuff: messaging, Pandora, HondaLink stuff, Honda phone apps, will do anything with our Android phones.

I have not read any complaints of unreliable operation when doing what it is designed to/claims to do. (Unlike the Focus MFT from Day 1.)

Am I missing something? A "state of the art" 2016 Honda infotainment system is basically capable of the same stuff and no more than our 2004/2007 Acura/Honda and 2009 BMW products could do? And less than our 2012 Ford claimed it could do but only occasionally did successfully?

It's not a deal-breaker, but it is disappointing that this is the best Honda has to offer. We aren't buying it for its killer infotainment. Mostly I just want to go into this knowing what to expect to avoid disappointment post-purchase.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 

The new Fit does not support Android. While the 2015 Fit site did initially say it would support Android, Honda removed it. The 2016 Honda Fit site has no mention of Android support.

With that being said I would wait until Honda has their announcement of which cars will support Android Auto. I sent out a tweet to Honda customer service about Android Auto support and this was their reply:

It was determined that CarPlay & Android won't be backward compatible. We'll announce 2016 models with these features soon. ^CB

Source:
I am waiting for this announcement myself. If they don't have Android Auto in the new 2016 Fits (EX+), I have about two options:

1) Purchase a different vehicle (I am thinking about the Golf)
2) Get an LX and just replace the radio with the Pioneer Stereo ( )

If they don't offer Android auto, I am leaning to option 1 because option 2 would not have any the functions of the OEM head unit (and the Golf is a very comparable car).

Also with you rocking a pair of Nexus phones, you should be able to use Android Auto.

 

Although I'd be happy if it did have Android Auto, I'd not expect Honda to make that happen in the Fit until the MMC at the earliest. I'm sure it won't suddenly become available for the 2016s already rolling off the lines.

And I'm not so enamored of auto infotainment that I'd buy a car planning to rip out the paid-for radio and put in aftermarket.

As noted, I'm really just trying to confirm my understanding of functions that would work, and not work, for the Display Audio system with the Android phones.

 

I'm using my Android Samsung G4 with Pandora via Bluetooth and it works great on my EX-CVT. Other features of the radio work as expected including playing from USB storage. For navigation I have a phone mount that slips in the CD player and its on full time being powered by the USB connector. Android automatically semi-mutes pandora to speak navi when needed.

Other than having the convenience of nav built in, I'm happy to save $1000 and its been working great!

 

So you are using Pandora from the phone and having it play Bluetooth Audio to the Display Touch? (Not the Pandora UI on the Display Audio talking to the Pandora app on the phone via BT?) Does Pairing, HFL, phonebook sync all work? Have you tried the MAP messaging integration? And none of the much touted "HondaLink" stuff is there since it's not iOS?

 

I've used both BT audio mode (controlling it all from the phone) and the pandora UI on the honda display (controlling it from the car). I just tested this again just now. The latter works better using the pandora car app since it shows the titles and allows thumbs up/down.

Calls and phonebook work via bluetooth. Have not done much with messaging yet.

 

Galaxy S4 user here to say all the bluetooth features work. The touch unit pairs with no problem and links to contacts and call history. Hands free works well but voice commands can be confused (problems distinguishing between dialing Ken and Karen, for example). I haven't really tried to get texts over the bluetooth but early on I managed to sync with the work email and I somehow replied to a message received as I was pulling all that stuff in. It was one of those canned responses, something like "I'm in my car now, will get back to you later" sent to a co-worker. Well that kind of blew my cover and 5 min later everyone at work knew I was playing hooky to goof off with a new car. Oops.

 

Thanks! It sounds promising that there is at least some value in it for Android users.

Maybe Honda will buy a clue and discover that Android outsells iOS by a wide margin? I do have sympathy for their problem, though, as so many manufacturers and carriers have butchered up their versions of Android. I'm sure also that Honda's development cycle for this stuff is about 10x longer than Apple/Google.

 

I also have the Galaxy S4 and when I receive a text, I get a notification on the touch screen asking if I want to read or ignore the text. If I press the read option, the head unit will read the text to me over the audio speakers. I then get the option to reply (which I haven't used yet). The only issue I have is that it doesn't identify, by name, who sent me the text (it only displays their phone number, and since I don't have many numbers memorized, it doesn't help much).

 

I just discovered this very thing, the contacts don't transfer over to the messaging system so you're looking at only numbers, not names. So crude.

 

Why not just go to a dealer and play with a fit and your phones?

 

A couple of reasons:

1) I don't want to pair our phones with a dealer car and let them start trading our information with the car. I don't pair with rentals for the same reason.

2) It would take longer than I think reasonable to tie up the dealer and their car to get to know how to operate the radio, create the test cases, etc., to find out what I want to find out. This stuff takes time with the vehicle in various situations and that's why I'm seeking feedback from owners who have had time and real world testing opportunities.

Except for HondaLinkButNotWithAndroid®, Display Audio sounds promising and likely to be more functional than I was expecting would be the case.

Drove a '15 EX CVT yesterday--first time driving a Fit. It wasn't as much fun as my '92 Civic Si 5MT or '95 Integra GS-R 5MT, but, for a utilitarian econobox, I'm pretty sure we'd like it, and more than a Versa Note, which is a competitor we've considered. I do wish Honda would go the DCT route instead of the CVT route though. Honda could design a great DCT if they wanted to.

(It also wasn't as much fun as either my '09 135i 6AT or '99 SLK230 5MT, but cars like that are just not practical to own here. Certain concessions must be made…)

 

GoBucky, tbFit

Are your S4s running Kit Kat or Lollipop?
Since upgrading my S4 to Lollipop, navigation messages don't work anymore over bluetooth. If the phone is paired I get no audio navigation messages, I have to unpair it and use the phone speaker.
All the other functions (telephony, audio streaming, etc.) still work flawlessly over Bluetooth.

 

The sygic navigation app works through hondalink, but is expensive.

 

Running s4 on verizon and pretty much latest version of android, 5.0.1. They added a volume feature to the navigation settings, make sure you don't have it set too low. There is also a checkbox for 'play voice over bluetooth'.

 

I was running KitKat up until 2 days ago when I upgraded to Lollipop. I'll keep my eye out to see if there are any function gains or losses.

 

Let me preface my statement by saying I'm no fanboy of either iOS or Android. Having said that Android no longer outsells iOS... old "news" you assume there!

If you watch business news, and/or read reports and such on similar web-based business tech sites you'll find not only Samsung, but Android-based phones in general are losing ground to Apple and their iOS devices as of late. Doesn't mean it will stay that way, but it is what it is for now.

Honda has done some boneheaded things the last few years, in my opinion, but I'm quite sure they focused a little more heavily in the direction of iOS for a reason. I somehow don't think it's because they personally prefer iOS devices, or are too lazy to support anything else as diligently.

Nevertheless, Honda's lack of, or diminished-in-comparison support for Android devices is as "boneheaded" as it gets in my opinion. Really, Honda?

I have a 2013 Ford Focus Titanium with the upgraded Sony Entertainment System and pretty much everything works great on it. It now does exactly what Ford said it was supposed to do. I experienced a few "glitches" when first receiving the system, but Ford released an update shortly after my purchase which pretty much solved all entertainment system problems for me.

The main problem with my Ford Focus Ti is the [at times] jerky and unpredictable, rough performing transmission, which, Ford has admitted some problems with. I'm considering getting rid of mine because of that and a few irritating personal issues with my Focus Ti.


I like the new Fit...especially after owning a 2012 Fit Sport. But I have reservations about the new Honda Audio System in the 2015/2016 Fit because I don't like not having [at least] a volume knob instead of the all-touch system Honda chose for the new models, and a few other things.


If I get rid of the Focus and choose a new Fit it will be the EX-L without Navi... but I will surely miss a lot of audio conveniences of the Focus Ti... especially it's GUI!


Honda's entertainment systems -- especially when it comes to nice-looking interfaces and/or up-to-date features -- have always left me feeling a little slighted! Like I purchased the car for the car and was forced to accept the Audio system they shoved on me.

The much-more-than-dated audio/navi system in my 2012 Fit Sport was hideous to look at... almost embarrassingly so! The new system seems to have improved immensely. Yet, compared to my Focus Ti I will be taking a huge cut in quality, features, and looks, audio system wise, if I switch to a new Fit... any model.

Lacking audio systems can be remedied with all of the options available to the consuming public these days. Personally, the audio system is definitely a choice, but not one large enough to completely make or break a new auto deal for me. It's a consideration for me, but not one I purchase a car solely for.

But, that's just me!

 

We owned the '12 Focus for 33 months. The MFT system was the most disappointing part of the vehicle the entire time. The replacement rack solved the EPS problem. The several drivetrain firmware updates helped drivability a lot. The dealer fixed some of the squeaks/rattles but made others worse. And they fixed the loose taillight. We never tried to get the loose headliner fixed, fearing the side effects. They fixed the rear seat cover coming off--after we had to have a conversation with Ford about why, at 8k miles and 10 months, this was their problem not ours. And on and on. But even after all the updates, MFT frequently crashed or went non-responsive, had terrible voice recognition until the last firmware update that made it merely poor, couldn't reliably display current Sirius information updates, and couldn't remember what program it was playing when the car was last stopped about 20% of the time. Sometimes the backup camera would be on for my wife's entire commute home from work. When it was playing, it did have pretty good sound quality. And its UI was fine by me, when it was responsive. At its best, the DCT gave a great performance feel to the car. In stop-and-go traffic, it could be maddening. Great design for a car, too bad they didn't finish engineering it until they'd been producing it for a year or two.

Everything I read says Android still has a slight lead in US market share and a wide lead worldwide. One US example. At any rate, a potentially very large part of the US Fit customer base has Android and HondaLink NG is giving us the middle finger. Sigh.

As I noted originally, we won't be buying the car for its infotainment and its non-support of Android isn't a deal-breaker. I just want to understand what we are getting into. If we'd known what we were getting into with MFT, it might have been a deal-breaker.

 

Rocking S4 on Kit Kat... functions extremely well... I do like it reading text messages over the audio.. very robotic sounding is the only disappointment... Agree it would be nice if it had more metadata other than just the phone number..

If you're moving, you can reply with standard phrases, like "OK", or "I'm driving, get back with you later" or something similar.... it seams to work only about 50% of the time..

Group text messages don't automagically read... at least on mine..

I'm a podcaster... download and do BT on them.. the steering wheel controls let you skip, etc. Kill engine, come back later, it picks right back up where you left off.

Phone through audio works fine. If you have an icon for the contact, it shows up on the screen.. it keeps call log, etc... I don't use the voice recognition... just go to the call log on the screen, or scroll through contacts on the phone.

I'm an old guy, and not really a techie... Since I don't need the latest razzle dazzle it's fine. I definitely prefer the Honda info system over the 2013 Toyota system in wife's Venza.. Honda is measurably ahead of Toyota at least for this market in functionality.. in a car that cost more than twice as much!

 

To, the OP. Nope, you aren't missing anything. You have it right. The Fit only supports "basic bluetooth integration" for making/receiving calls, phonebook sync (why does a car need to sync my phonebook?) and bluetooth streaming.

Here is the best way I have found to link and use an Android phone with the 2015 Fit (assuming 2016 isn't going to change)

1) In the Navigation apps like Google Nav and Waze, go into the settings of the apps and direct them to send the spoken navigation directions through the phone speaker
2) I don't sync my phonebook to the vehicle. That is an option when pairing the phone to the vehicle. Why do these cars insist on getting between me and the phone with un-needed functionality? Virtually every phone since 1999 has had voice command recognition.
3) I enable the "Ok Google" functionality on my phone so that it is listening all the time and I can just say "Ok Google, Call "So-and-So" and not even use the vehicle's voice dialing system, which I can never get to work consistently. Ideally, a long press of the "voice command" button should initiate Google Voice command like it does for iPhone/Siri Eyes-Free. But it doesn't. It gives a message saying "Smartphone not supported" or something like that. I swear Apple must have paid Honda to cripple the functionality for Android users. Grrrr.

The above is what works for me and handles basic needs. I have a phone holder that clips into the center air vent holding it just right of the steering wheel.