Audio and Connectivity Overview for 2016 Honda Civic Sedan

[takemorepills]

It's not about intolerance. It's about realism of what the market demand drive the automakers to sell and what most buyers want. Now, one could argue that they created this demand with marketing. But the aftermarket guys are putting in the same features. You seem to think that some large proportion of car buyers want what you want: a less functional, less connected, car audio system, and that automakers are forcing the more functional, more connected, stuff on them for some nefarious reason like just to piss you off. I see no evidence for this and a lot of evidence for the opposite view. If you think that's intolerant, so be it.

Seriously, go back and read what people are saying:
Those unhappy with the way Honda is going: they are complaining about Honda's path, a few say a CD player would be nice. Most are unhappy that it is buggy at this point, but I suppose they will be fine once things (HOPEfully) are working as intended.
Then there are people who get right into discussing why people would be "stuck in the past" and "unwilling to accept change". Those discussions are absolutely discussions that call into question the character of people who think OTHERWISE. Yes, it is a bit intolerant. Basically, you've got people saying something to the effect of "why don't you just get with the program and start buying into the new tech? don't you know about the cloud?"

I also don't begin to know what makes you think the Android HU will become "useless" in the future. Unless you are expecting that Honda won't fix the bugs that make it borderline useless now. Other than that risk, the suspect areas, to my mind, are the vendor-specific apps like Pandora and Aha. That is does not integrate the telephony but uses the customer's is an argument for it not going obsolete as quickly. How many OnStar systems died when they pulled the plug on AMPS? I bought the cell phone option with my '99 SLK230. It was an AMPS phone and a proprietary connection to the phone from the car. Rendered the entire option useless when Verizon pulled the plug on AMPS. Is USB going to go obsolete in the next 10 years? Bluetooth HFP? (My first car with that was an '04 Acura TL. It was one of the very first HFL cars. Bet it would work today with my '14 Nexus 5. But the cassette player in it would be just as stupid and useless as it was in '04.)

Well, you answered yourself right there:"I also don't begin to know what makes you think the Android HU will become "useless" in the future. Unless you are expecting that Honda won't fix the bugs that make it borderline useless now." We can discuss this all day. At this point in time, I am correct, and your statement proves that at this point in time I am correct. Have you not ever seen a technology that was promised to "get fixed" but ended up never quite working right?? Many people have this kind of stuff sitting unused in a drawer somewhere at home. We are not being guaranteed anything by Honda yet. That is only an assumption. You and I and everyone else knows that there is a very strong chance Honda will deny, deny, deny anything is wrong, but we hope one day we will wake up to a world where Honda releases a patch or firmware that fixes everything. Then you can come back here and say I am wrong. And I will admit it, and hopefully enjoy the WONDERFUL product that Honda will some day deliver to us.

And regarding OnStar and your '04 Acura, that further reinforces my point. All of that is technically obsolete. Are the cars that harbor that tech obsolete?? No way! The 04 TL is regarded as one of Honda's better products overall, and people lament that the current Acura sedans have nothing on the TL. BUT, the '04 TL does have obsolete tech, technically speaking. Such a shame as I bet most TL's of that generation are perfectly fine cars nonetheless!

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[takemorepills]

From what I've read so far, Pioneer seems to be doing phone integration right. More so than even other aftermarkets. I wish auto manufactures would just drop in a decent head unit from a company like Pioneer. Let Honda stick to what they know and do well, let electronics manufactures do what they do best. At least Honda doesn't do the stupid co-branding stuff like paying Bose to let them slap the name on some cheap paper speakers. Of course it would eat into their margins and probably raise the sticker prices.

The Civic Display Audio HU is built by Mitsubishi not Honda. The bigger question is who is writing the code? (And where do they live…)

And I'm not defending the quality of the product Honda is delivering. It is inexcusable we have to talk about pulling fuses to get the radio working. I hate to have to keep repeating that I'm not defending the buggy Honda implementation but there doesn't seem to be a middle ground. Some posters seem to think either you want a 2001 technology audio system or you are defending the bugs of the current infotainment systems.

The sad thing about this is that Mitsubishi, as I understand it, has been on life support for a long time now. It's been quite a while since Mitsubishi Electronics (let alone their other industries) has offered anything competitive in any market. I almost wonder if Mitsubishi is just subcontracting to some Chinese company?

 

[hondo]

The Civic Display Audio HU is built by Mitsubishi not Honda. The bigger question is who is writing the code?

True, though these kind of units are pretty much custom made for auto manufacturer. It would be easier if they shipped with the same model units you can buy on the market. It would be easier to compare specs and it would be clearer who maintains the dev cycle. Kind of like a hard drive in a computer. Instead it's more like android phones where you are not just at the mercy of the phone manufacturer, but also the cell provider for updates.

 

[hondo]

The sad thing about this is that Mitsubishi, as I understand it, has been on life support for a long time now.

Yeah, our installer put in a bunch of Mitsubishi projectors and within a year Mitsubishi got out of the projector biz. Made getting replacement lamps a huge hassle. It sucks to get left high and dry.

 

[dick w]

Well, you answered yourself right there:"I also don't begin to know what makes you think the Android HU will become "useless" in the future. Unless you are expecting that Honda won't fix the bugs that make it borderline useless now." We can discuss this all day. At this point in time, I am correct, and your statement proves that at this point in time I am correct.
…
And regarding OnStar and your '04 Acura, that further reinforces my point. All of that is technically obsolete. Are the cars that harbor that tech obsolete?? No way! The 04 TL is regarded as one of Honda's better products overall, and people lament that the current Acura sedans have nothing on the TL. BUT, the '04 TL does have obsolete tech, technically speaking. Such a shame as I bet most TL's of that generation are perfectly fine cars nonetheless!

That the current product is buggy is not why it will become useless in the future. My statement that it's borderline useless now, sans bug fixes, does not make you correct that it will become useless at some distant future point. You were arguing that there will come a point when the Android HU "becomes useless in the future".

Oh, and the '04 TL did not have OnStar. It did have BT HFL. And, as I said, that tech is hardly obsolete today. It's cassette player is. The CD changer it had isn't far behind and the '04 TL did not have anything like a USB port or even the aux jack.

Once upon a time, FM was a new-fangled option. AM is essentially the only car audio technology that has survived more or less unscathed all these years.

 

[dick w]

BTW, to those saying the DIN form factor is the answer to your prayers, I think you will find that the HUs in the '16 Civic are DIN sized boxes. The issue is really the display unit that covers it and the integration with other car features and functions.

 

[takemorepills]

BTW, to those saying the DIN form factor is the answer to your prayers, I think you will find that the HUs in the '16 Civic are DIN sized boxes. The issue is really the display unit that covers it and the integration with other car features and functions.

Agreed. I bet it is a single DIN (lower part) that has a facade causing it to "float" over the upper dash. However, we don't know how deep the DIN box is, if it is like my Pioneer, it will be shallow as there is no need for a mechanism.

I was looking at the LX HVAC controls, they appear to be single zone. Aren't all EX-up trims dual zone? That will be the issue, finding a way to display the EX-up HVAC functions when the HU is removed.

 

[theevanshow]

Yes I know. But people call MP3s and such digital, vs. a physical CD. I didn't make up those naming conventions.

No, you don't know. It stands for compact disc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_disc

 

[dick w]

Oops. I stand memory refreshed. Compact Disc Digital Audio. I had a CDP-101 once.

Oh, and the '04 TL had DVD-Audio. That technology was dead on arrival.

 

[takemorepills]

Oops. I stand memory refreshed. Compact Disc Digital Audio. I had a CDP-101 once.

Oh, and the '04 TL had DVD-Audio. That technology was dead on arrival.

Haha, you just reminded me, in my drawer next to me here is a Sharp MS -MS702 MiniDisc player/recorder in it's original packaging. See, I was once "into technology"!

 

[Design]

BTW, to those saying the DIN form factor is the answer to your prayers, I think you will find that the HUs in the '16 Civic are DIN sized boxes. The issue is really the display unit that covers it and the integration with other car features and functions.

Not too worried on high volume platforms like the Civic. I give it a year before a quality integration kit becomes available, complete with factory controls. But I wouldn't be surprised if Honda works out many of the bugs within 6 months.

 

[tcl]

I saw a reference to an auxiliary input jack when I downloaded the owner's manual. Is that just applicable to the models with the 5" display 160 watt audio system or do the other models have it as well?

 

[lightthief]

I saw a reference to an auxiliary input jack when I downloaded the owner's manual. Is that just applicable to the models with the 5" display 160 watt audio system or do the other models have it as well?

Definitely none on the EX and Touring models.

 

[Bworks3]

I really feel like the passive aggressive tone of your post just isn't necessary. Just because you don't like what Honda is offering doesn't mean that others don't like it. I understand what you're asking for in wanting a standard audio system, but your long winded rant and attack at Heath3990 is pretty unnecessary for an adult. You should take out your grievances with Honda customer service, as posting on this forum isn't going to make much of a change.

I really feel like the passive aggressive tone of your post just isn't necessary. Just because you don't like what Honda is offering doesn't mean that others don't like it. I understand what you're asking for in wanting a standard audio system, but your long winded rant and attack at Heath3990 is pretty unnecessary for an adult. You should take out your grievances with Honda customer service, as posting on this forum isn't going to make much of a change.

I disagree. He defended his position with examples and his passion mirrors my own frustration with the product. I may have missed something in regards to an "attack", but all I detected was empathy illuminated by sarcasm. I am debating between the LX and the EX in part because I may end up just scrapping the stereo and replacing it with an aftermarket. I tried out the EX stereo a few days ago, and although it sounded better than some other cars I had been in, the tech was odd and I found myself thinking If I own this car 10 years from now..... How useless is all of this going to be? Why wouldn't they just update the product regularly because they stand behind their product and it's the right thing to do?

 

[lightthief]

I disagree. He defended his position with examples and his passion mirrors my own frustration with the product. I may have missed something in regards to an "attack", but all I detected was empathy illuminated by sarcasm. I am debating between the LX and the EX in part because I may end up just scrapping the stereo and replacing it with an aftermarket. I tried out the EX stereo a few days ago, and although it sounded better than some other cars I had been in, the tech was odd and I found myself thinking If I own this car 10 years from now..... How useless is all of this going to be? Why wouldn't they just update the product regularly because they stand behind their product and it's the right thing to do?

Because they already have your money.
Would be the most cynical answer.

More realistically you have to differentiate between the posts of people who actually have the car and people who are reading from the sidelines.

The day to day experience is very poor.
Basics that worked consistently in previous iterations or other cars don't work consistently here.
It's not just that they got the new stuff wrong they got the relatively old stuff wrong because it's also unstable.

Outside of that.
For users who are familiar with development vs hardware it's very clear they didn't make even a minimum effort here. The hardware is there. There is enough memory. Enough storage. Presumably a fast enough processor.

This isn't just poor design and dev.
It's lazy design.
Last minute "the paint is still wet" design.

It may be the case that some people accept the flawed system, I'd have to assume all the people who have been using Windows their whole life, but that doesn't make it less flawed.

Which means either Honda has a long term plan to "fix it in post", of which there have been zero signs of so far, especially if you look at their "Honda link" apps.

Or they still haven't learned how important this stuff is to people under 35.

And the argument that "they made a nice car" falls apart.

I get weekly emails from them talking about how great all the tech options are and I've already bought the thing.

There is a good possibility they think this is actually fine.

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