Does anyone know if it's possible to swap the 2015 Radio with the 2016? It may not be possible, and possibly too expensive, but just wondering if anyone knows. I would like this radio much better!



Thanks!

 

My answer is that I do not know, but I doubt it. Both 2015 and 2016s LX models have the 5" non-touch radio that you cherish. Both 2015 and 2016 EX and up models have the 7" touch screen.

From a plugs-in-the back-viewpoint, there are many differences between the radios. From a software programming viewpoint, this is also the case. The LX radio is much simpler and does a lot less stuff. For example, the Lanewatch feature is not available on the LX radio. Fuel efficiency stats are also not available on the LX radio.


2015 Honda Fit LX: Rear view of the LX 5" non-touch screen radio, with volume control knob. (above)


2015 Honda Fit EX: rear view of the 7" touch screen radio, touch slider volume control. (above)

 

My answer is no. By merrit of the fact that the HU is tied to the CANBUS system of the vehicle, which also mates the VIN# of the vehicle to the HU. Without a way to "handshake" the HU to the 2015 vehicles new 2016 HU, its not possible.

The VIN# is stored on the flash memory of the HU. To change/edit that information requires soldering debugging tools to "sniff" the data, then reflash that memory to the VIN# of the new vehicle. Its way harder than it sounds. I'm going by what I've gleaned from my audio install, and developer contacts on here that have done extensive research.


In theory, if Ducktapemasters prototype for the HDMI unlock hack works, he can reprogram his intercept device to pass the updated VIN# pretty easily, the problem is will the HU be bricked if it receives the incorrect VIN#? My guess is no, but I'm not sure if I would want to take the risk.

 

Wow, there is one thing I see on the back of the touchscreen radio that makes me want the LX radio even more: A cooling fan!

Probably the most frequently-failing item in any modern electronic device!

Built-in obsolescence that I don't want on a vehicle I'll likely keep for 10 years or more!

 

There is a thermal sensor that forces the head unit to shutdown in the event of overtemperature. The biggest heat generating devices inside are the 4 channel amplifier, and the MPU. The fan is located nearby those components heat sinks to pull away the heat. While I agree that its a point of potential failure as those fans only have so many hours on them, I can't imagine the HU would destroy itself unless you simply never changed the fan. It would simply keep going into protect mode due to temp.

 

My decision to go with the LX radio rather than the EX 7" touch screen hinged on the fact that I could not find a single instance on the internet where Honda had upgraded their HU software post purchase. Basically for Honda, you bought it, you get what you bought and no updates.

The 7" touch screen HU was too sluggish and insensitive for me, it did not have a volume knob and I posited that Honda would never issue an software upgrade. Long term the sluggishness would have bothered me. I intend to keep my Fit for over a decade, so I'm in for the long haul.

In this age of Android and Ubuntu software upgrades that happen daily, often due to patches for security holes, a HU that is software run but unupdateable is not only not acceptable but unbelievably backward. I'd rather the more reliable but older 5" HU. Honda has no infrastructure nor processes to handle ongoing software updates, and they seem to not want to change. This is diametrically opposite to today's technology companies, who have been doing internet software updates for over a decade. How much more time does Honda need? If Ford can do it then why not Honda?

Only time will tell if my decision to favour the older HU is correct. Frankly, I hope that I'm wrong and that the 7" touch screen gets an update, but alas, Honda has already said that the 2015 Civics will not get the software upgrade now available for the 2016 Civics. Some of these Civics had not even been picked up by customers yet. If I just bought a 2015 Civic I'd be pretty mad.

 

I'd be willing to wager a guess that Honda did not develop the software internally and had a 3rd party developer customize the software in the Mitsubishi branded HU, and rather spend more money on developing the HU software/hardware further to accommodate future compatibilities is not likely.

the explanation may be even more simple....politics with Android Auto, Carplay etc.

 

Just curious, if the HU is linked to VIN, what do we if our stock HU fails/stolen/etc? We would have to go and buy a new OEM unit and have it programmed/installed. Seems we could/should be able to do this to swap in other updated HUs.

I only bring it up out of frustration with my EX 7" unit, and the Sophies choice of getting a third party Carplay unit at the cost of losing current imid features (lane watch/etc).

I wish they'd let us choose to purchase a newer HU with features we want (i.e. Carpal) have it installed/flashed as needed at the dealer. Something just feels wrong with this situation. I guess Im too much of a pragmatist/idealist.

 

Is this (red) plug used on non nav 7" in my 2015 fit?...It is either not used, or I have lost the plug. Which is it

 

I do not remember who, but someone else asked the very same question. He seemed to believe he took his radio apart and "lost" one of his plugs. I recall the red plug was for the nav system antenna, but if you have an EX without nav the plug will be vacant. Please verify my recollection, as I could be barking up the wrong tree.

The 7" radio rear view image came from the thread about his missing plug.

 

I put in fm module for sirius ....every thing works BUT radio.....It has constant 12v, but that's all I can find.....Changed fuse 17 and 37 which were good, but??? Any ideas would be appreciated thanks again.......dave

 

Wow, that's a big difference. Now I know what that "fan" in the diagnostics referred to...Where's the SD card that contains the firmware? Is it inside? More to the point, is it removable, or soldered in?

GeorgeL said:
My thoughts exactly!
Bassguitarist1985 said:

This is some of the "venom in the snake oil" I referred to here. Looks like "rolling our own" just got harder. A lot harder. Aftermarket's starting to look better, if there's a way to interface cameras, MID, the trip computer, and other sensors to it (via CANBUS, I guess).

 

Moral of the story,, don't buy Honda's top model buy the lower model and spend what you saved customizing with stuff that isn't part of the borg/honda collective..

 

I chose the simpler lx radio, not because of the borg/Honda collective, but because it was plain to see that Honda had no infrastructure to update the head unit software by the car owner. This continues today.

 

Yes it is removable. it will be some time before we see an aftermarket head unit that interfaces with the car with all the OEM functions. It will take the blue/black hat hackers and legit developers some time to reverse engineer Honda's fiasco of a hardware interface system.

 

Good luck with trying to reverse engineer that SD card. Did you take a look at what's on it? Can you throw it into your computer and make a copy of all the files?

 

To get it "on the computer" is the easy part. You'd just need an SD HC card reader, plus a direct, bit-by-bit copy: on Mac or Linux, using Unix "dd" would probably work, e.g.,

in Linux. On Windows, there are (AFAIK) free utilities to do this. You'd then have an exact copy of the card's contents, including any empty space.

Reading it is another kettle of lutefisk. As Bassguitarist1985 and Ducktapemaster have noted elsewhere, there's no filesystem per se on the card. Also the contents are (apparently) encrypted; quite apart from the task of cracking it, it's illegal in the US to do so—if it's encrypted and proprietary, then it falls under the purview of the DMCA. Doubtless similar laws exist in the EU, Japan, and elsewhere. In other words, yes, you'd have a copy, but it would be an unreadable mess of bits weighing in at 4 GB, and would probably get you in some serious legal hot water.

There are two ways around this. Both are very gnarly and complex, and both would require a roomful of expensive test equipment and a small army of Ph.D.-level EEs and CSEs.
(1) Sacrifice an actual EX head unit for some very intrusive, and probably destructive, hardware bit-sniffing, or
(2) Using the radio's schematics and OEM data sheets (if they're even publicly available), build an exact replica of the radio in software (essentially, reverse-engineer the firmware SDK), and then run the firmware on it. Doing so would also provide a platform for development of any putative alternative "SnakeOil OS".

Oh, and one other thing: VIN keying, especially if (1) is the road taken.

In other words, it's not that it can't be done, but it's a LOT more trouble (and expense) than it's worth. Which, no doubt, is exactly what Honda and its OEMs intended.

Which brings me back to the subject of aftermarket alternatives. Companies like Pioneer, Alpine, JVC, Blaupunkt, et al., have a vested interest, and thus the R&D wherewithal, to develop solutions de novo. CANBUS is, AFAIK, an open spec, so anyone can interface with it. Likewise, the cameras and other stuff are probably off-the-shelf from third parties. And these companies also would be able to acquire the necessary licenses for CarPlay/Android Auto/MirrorLink/whatever.

Hence, my "SnakeOil OS" idea is probably best relegated to the realm of dreamware. Save your shekels and sanity, and be patient...

 

So out of curiosity: what kind of software does the LX 5" non-touch run? I've been searching but haven't come across any names. I heard one mention of Windows Mobile but nothing to back it up.

 

is there anyway to simply remove this ##$#@$ of the lx model ? is there somme kind of code ....

 

Do you wish to simply remove the radio? I do not think anyone has tried to remove the LX radio and try to start their car. Unlike the 7" touch radio the LX radio has no environmental controls, so you'll only lose the backup camera, USB input.

A question is: Can the LX run without the radio? You'll need to disconnect the radio and try, to see if you get an error.

If the LX can run without the radio then you should be able to put in a completely separate circuit, independent of the car, for an auxiliary radio.