Opinions for a new head unit.

[Laz1287]

I'm sour on Kenwood after my experience with the Kenwood HU for my 2003 Wrangler. Awful radio and even more awful customer service. Thank goodness for the good, kind folks at Crutchfield for taking care of me and letting me swap it for something different.

That being said, the Pioneer unit looks fine to me. I don't mind the "non-factory look" as long as it fits in the space properly. So if you have familiarity with the Pioneer, I'd like to ask a few questions if you don't mind:

1. How is the performance of the unit? When I say "performance" I mean as far as swiping, opening/switching apps, etc.? For the money, I expect it to be snappy and not laggy like the factory HU.
2. Will this unit retain all of the steering wheel functions, such as volume control, hands-free calling, etc.?
3. Will this unit display all of the menus on how to manage the car (such as the car preferences), as well as the car performance data (such as fuel economy)?
4. Can the stock shark-fin antenna be retained for SiriusXM? I understand that a separate unit is required for sat radio functionality, but would like to retain the factory antenna if possible.

Thanks in advance!

1) Imho it's very responsive. Little to no lag from touch commands. If you have a Best Buy near you, you can walk into their car audio dept and test it for yourself. Every single store is required to have one on display.

2) At the moment the ASWC-1 is the only steering control module I've found that is fully compatible with all the controls on the steering wheel. The only catch is that you can not use it's auto detect feature when you program it. You'll have to manually program all the buttons during install. Once you do that, they ALL work as intended.

3) This one is a little more complicated. All the civics I've done so far were entry level models ( including my own ) with little to no vehicle information on the radio themselves, so the clients didn't care much for it anyway. However, when installing a head unit like these that have a data port exclusively dedicated for this very thing, it's usually an option. HOWEVER iData does NOT make a compatible harness for the new civic YET. Imho it's only a matter of time before they release it. Feel free to check up on their website every now and again: http://maestro.idatalink.com/

4) Last I checked the answer for this one was a solid no. I did not see a sat ant plug behind the radio the last few times I removed the oem head unit in a civic. Honda usually tends to have their oem satellite receivers in the rear of their vehicles. I haven't sought it out, so I can't accurately claim it isn't possible. If you can find the module, then there is a good chance you can reuse the oem fin for an SXV300V1 instead of the ant it comes with. Sirius and XM have never changed their ant plug. The housing may be different, but if it is, then the ant port can be removed from said housing and will plug right into the new receiver. The trickiest part will be finding an extension that allows you to run the cable to a location closer to the head unit.

Sorry for the delay in responses btw. This is the busiest time of the year for us.

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[Luckyarmpit]

1) Imho it's very responsive. Little to no lag from touch commands. If you have a Best Buy near you, you can walk into their car audio dept and test it for yourself. Every single store is required to have one on display.

2) At the moment the ASWC-1 is the only steering control module I've found that is fully compatible with all the controls on the steering wheel. The only catch is that you can not use it's auto detect feature when you program it. You'll have to manually program all the buttons during install. Once you do that, they ALL work as intended.

3) This one is a little more complicated. All the civics I've done so far were entry level models ( including my own ) with little to no vehicle information on the radio themselves, so the clients didn't care much for it anyway. However, when installing a head unit like these that have a data port exclusively dedicated for this very thing, it's usually an option. HOWEVER iData does NOT make a compatible harness for the new civic YET. Imho it's only a matter of time before they release it. Feel free to check up on their website every now and again: http://maestro.idatalink.com/

4) Last I checked the answer for this one was a solid no. I did not see a sat ant plug behind the radio the last few times I removed the oem head unit in a civic. Honda usually tends to have their oem satellite receivers in the rear of their vehicles. I haven't sought it out, so I can't accurately claim it isn't possible. If you can find the module, then there is a good chance you can reuse the oem fin for an SXV300V1 instead of the ant it comes with. Sirius and XM have never changed their ant plug. The housing may be different, but if it is, then the ant port can be removed from said housing and will plug right into the new receiver. The trickiest part will be finding an extension that allows you to run the cable to a location closer to the head unit.

Sorry for the delay in responses btw. This is the busiest time of the year for us.

Don't apologize at all - your answers are extremely informative and very helpful. I want to make sure everything works as originally intended and if it's just a matter of finding the plug to use the shark fin, I'm not scared to take the dashboard (?) or trunk apart to find the SiriusXM module. Really don't want another antenna if I don't have to have one. Thanks again!!

 

[fsucutter]

May I ask what reasons you were given, that prevented an aftermarket radio from being installed in your vehicle?

The explanation given has to do with the harnessing - as I can understand from Crutchfield and others that simply have nothing to offer my setup. Once I add into the mix that my Civic is EX-L with Navi, the whole list of available HU's goes away and each representative I've chatted with (I've tried three over time) have said the same thing, sorry, but there way things are wired makes it too hard to even sell anything to me!

Seems crazy, but...

 

[Luckyarmpit]

I just got off the phone with Crutchfield; the advisor said the holdup is the climate controls. When they manually connect things to a new HU, everything works, but the climate controls. Like Laz1287 said, most everyone is waiting on iDataLink to come out with a compatible harness/adapter that allows aftermarket HUs to communicate properly with the car's onboard computer so the climate controls works. Once that happens, that will open up an entire new world of aftermarket options.

I'll let this ride until around the first of April (it's what the Crutchfield advisor recommended) and I'll keep my eye on iDataLink's website in the meantime. He also mentioned that it's taking time because Honda is one of the most difficult cars to communicate with, as far as the onboard computer goes. Figures.

 

[darryldarryl]

I just hope Alpine and iDatalink comes up with something, not a fan of the stock interface.

 

[WolfTrax17]

Yes I am an MECP certified installer. And yes I do work for a company that carries those products. However, I do NOT get paid per sale. I get paid by the hour regardless of what I am installing. My opinion stems from my experience installing car audio, security and leather products for 20+ years. Whenever a client shows up for an appointment with one of these radios, I warn them ahead of time. If they choose to install it anyway, I do so. And yes, the radios usually look much better than most brand name units once installed. The issues come into play a year or two ( or sometimes less than a year ) down the road when the radio starts giving the client issues. The most common problems I've encountered are usually cosmetic ( touch screen losing touch sensitivity, buttons falling off, etc.... ), but more often then I'd care to count the clients had complaints with the software. For example, GPS updates, if you purchase a unit with onboard GPS getting an updated map of the US is near impossible. Another complain that I've dealt with stems from units that claim to pick up local TV. These units aren't manufactured to pick up our local HDTV frequencies, they can usually only pick up frequencies seen and used in Asia. Yet another complaint I've dealt with involves units that come with built in steering wheel control interfaces. They also rarely work 100%, and if you're not aware of how your OEM steering wheel controls are wired or how they communicate, then you'll have an even harder time getting them work. Lastly there's the sound quality that these units provide. Not only do these Asian radios not give you the same amount of control of your audio system that the American equivalent does, but they use significantly cheaper sound processors. This can of course be offset by purchasing a separate amp coupled with an external sound processor, but Kenwood, Pioneer, and Alpine radios have this included already.

There's an old Cuban saying," Lo barato siempre sale caro ". Basically, you get what you pay for. And this holds true here. If you're on a budget and want to get one of those radios due to the cost, go for it! But don't expect the same overall quality or reliability that you'd find in something that's been manufactured to higher standards like Kenwood, Pioneer, or Alpine products. Same applies to the oem look, if that's your thing, then by all means, buy it. It's all about perspective, and in mine those radios just aren't worth the effort.

@Laz1287 You were absolutely right. I just installed my aftermarket unit and it took just 3 hours to realize it's a low quality POS that hopefully I can get my money back on

I loved the beautiful factory navigation look but the radio antenna reception and Bluetooth microphone were awful and a deal breaker.

Do not waste your time, effort and money on one of these

 

[n9yty]

@Laz1287 You were absolutely right. I just installed my aftermarket unit and it took just 3 hours to realize it's a low quality POS that hopefully I can get my money back on ... Do not waste your time, effort and money on one of these

Do you mind pointing out which one your ordered? It seems that some of them have higher quality components than others. The Phoenix seems to get good reviews, and I also saw this one referenced, and the page specifically talks about having higher-end [relatively speaking, I'm sure] tuner and audio amp components.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/9-Quad-Cor...Honda-Civic-2016-Stereo-GPS-Navi/152571308660

It would be nice to know which one you ordered that was so unsatisfactory.

 

[WolfTrax17]

Do you mind pointing out which one your ordered? It seems that some of them have higher quality components than others. The Phoenix seems to get good reviews, and I also saw this one referenced, and the page specifically talks about having higher-end [relatively speaking, I'm sure] tuner and audio amp components.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/9-Quad-Cor...Honda-Civic-2016-Stereo-GPS-Navi/152571308660

It would be nice to know which one you ordered that was so unsatisfactory.

This was the unsatisfactory one ahttps://www.ebay.com/p/9-Android-6-...PS-Navi-Mp3/2170474365?iid=122634693125&rt=nc

The one you linked was actually the better model radio they were going to send me for no extra cost but I declined and just asked for my money back

 

[beefalo]

I, too, have the base model radio (Sport Hatch, needed that third pedal) and am looking to upgrade.

This has been such a difficult decision. I like that the Phoenix unit reuses all of the existing harnesses, has the ability to add CarPlay, and appears to expose the hidden factory settings you usually need the upgraded HU for. (I really want to turn off the dashboard lights that tell me I’m having fun driving).

I saw Subie Panda’s videos, and it really does look like a nice upgrade.

But then I hear that their customer service is lacking, and of course with a newer product like this, longevity is a concern. Plus their BBB rating is B-, so...

Maybe I get a decent radio from a known brand, or risk it and get access to the vehicle settings.

 

[Luckyarmpit]

Getting a bit more anxious to replace my radio (and irked that iDataLink didn't respond to my email), I called them yesterday afternoon. I asked them about the status of their Maestro unit for the Honda Civic. The guy I spoke to was nice, but vague. He said that the Honda Civic "should" be in the next release which is going to happen in a few months. Of course he couldn't confirm, and I understand that, but he said that as far as he knows it will be. Told me to call back around the September time frame as the new units with Civic support should hit our shores by then. If all works out, hoping to have a new HU installed in my Civic by end of the year.

 

[n9yty]

It is rather amusing to see the state of things... The Chinese have managed to reverse engineer and get a product that is fully functional (or so it seems), just of dubious quality and support. On the other hand, we have mainstream companies who cannot manage to come out with a product for a two year old generation of a very popular vehicle. It's not like the Civic is really a niche market vehicle, is it? Maybe the nubmer who upgrade the radios, but still, overall, I think it sells pretty well and should garner some interest from these folks.

I have a Pioneer AVH-4200NEX I took out of my 2002 Civic before selling it, and I'd probably be happy to throw it into this one with an appropriate faceplate wrap... It wouldn't look as sexy perhaps, but it would work, except no support for all the integrated things which those Chinese radios seemed to have nailed down pretty well. I also paid probably twice the cost of the Chinese radios for the Pioneer, and would have to throw a fair bit more money at it to get the harnesses, faceplate and Maestro unit to adapte it... For that I could buy two of the Chinese radios and have a spare. LoL

The things the Chinese radios are lacking, and I think they may need to have to really make a big push here, is HD RADIO support for AM and FM, as there are several stations in the area that I listen to the -2 or -3 station on... And SiriusXM, which likely will never happen becuase Sirius won't touch it. But I can live without Sirius, but I know many can't. Not sure Streaming over an phone connection would make everyone happy. Also, if they can integrate the Android Auto/CarPlay support it would help. Lots of little add-on dongles/boxes/etc makes it confusing.

Anyway, for now, I'm learning to cope with the factory unit. It's an EX so it isn't bad, but the Android chinese unit would get me a much more "flexible" system.

 

[beefalo]

It is rather amusing to see the state of things... The Chinese have managed to reverse engineer and get a product that is fully functional (or so it seems), just of dubious quality and support. On the other hand, we have mainstream companies who cannot manage to come out with a product for a two year old generation of a very popular vehicle. It's not like the Civic is really a niche market vehicle, is it? Maybe the nubmer who upgrade the radios, but still, overall, I think it sells pretty well and should garner some interest from these folks.

I have a Pioneer AVH-4200NEX I took out of my 2002 Civic before selling it, and I'd probably be happy to throw it into this one with an appropriate faceplate wrap... It wouldn't look as sexy perhaps, but it would work, except no support for all the integrated things which those Chinese radios seemed to have nailed down pretty well. I also paid probably twice the cost of the Chinese radios for the Pioneer, and would have to throw a fair bit more money at it to get the harnesses, faceplate and Maestro unit to adapte it... For that I could buy two of the Chinese radios and have a spare. LoL

The things the Chinese radios are lacking, and I think they may need to have to really make a big push here, is HD RADIO support for AM and FM, as there are several stations in the area that I listen to the -2 or -3 station on... And SiriusXM, which likely will never happen becuase Sirius won't touch it. But I can live without Sirius, but I know many can't. Not sure Streaming over an phone connection would make everyone happy. Also, if they can integrate the Android Auto/CarPlay support it would help. Lots of little add-on dongles/boxes/etc makes it confusing.

Anyway, for now, I'm learning to cope with the factory unit. It's an EX so it isn't bad, but the Android chinese unit would get me a much more "flexible" system.

A lot of the radios have the option to by a DAB tuner as an add-on, if you are in it for Digital Stations.

 

[n9yty]

A lot of the radios have the option to by a DAB tuner as an add-on, if you are in it for Digital Stations.

I could be wrong, but DAB is different from the digital radio used in the USA. I think I used the wrong term, maybe HD Radio is better, or as a quick search says, IBOC - In Band On Channel.

 

[EgyptMuscles]

As per Phoenix, they told me the Tesla-style radio will get a processor upgrade and come with a newer OS than the current available unit. I have the CTR and the HU is the only thing I really cant stand about it lol... I like their 9" model too and might go that route... I'm also not in a rush to change anything just yet!

I seems like you own a Type R. I contacted Phoenix and they told me the Tesla Style head unit was not compatible with Type R especially the amp part (Civic uses Digital and Phoenix uses analog). Do you know if it is true and is there a way to bypass or fix ? And how about the 9", is it compatible with Type R ?

 

[the1dynasty]

I seems like you own a Type R. I contacted Phoenix and they told me the Tesla Style head unit was not compatible with Type R especially the amp part (Civic uses Digital and Phoenix uses analog). Do you know if it is true and is there a way to bypass or fix ? And how about the 9", is it compatible with Type R ?

I haven't heard anything about the amp... And they are pretty unresponsive lately... So I haven't pulled the trigger on this unit yet because I wanted the one with the updated specs... But so far no word from anyone and their website has conflicting info now...

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