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General discussion

Honda Fit

Aug 3, 2006 2:18AM PDT

I just wanted to say that I have a Honda Fit (the Sport model) and I absolutely love it! I also test-drove both the Yaris and the Scion XA when I was car-shopping. I liked the XA quite a bit but felt that the Yaris was cramped and didn't drive as well. The Fit beat them both hands down in my opinion. For a little car it's got quite a bit of pep and the amount of cargo space is fabulous!

I also had the MusicLink (iPod-specific and seperate from the auxilary jack) installed. My 3G iPod isn't compatible enough to give me the full screen display, but it still sounds great.

Discussion is locked

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MusicLink
Aug 3, 2006 10:05AM PDT

I have the MusicLink in my new 2006 Accord EX. Maybe the integration is better in the Fit, but I absolutely despise the MusicLink in my Accord. It is virtually unusable in its current form. It's not broken or malfunctioning - it's just the most poorly designed piece of technology I've used in quite a long time. Let's put it this way - despite having a direct connection to my stereo via the MusicLink, I still use a Kensington FM transmitter in my Accord. It's that bad.

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Re: MusicLink
Aug 3, 2006 11:37AM PDT

Because I have 3G iPod, the only functionality I have as far as the screen goes is that I can skip to the next song or back to the previous. Supposedly, if I had a 4G or later, I would get folder and song information onscreen and be able to move around more. It did come with software that has to be installed on my computer to interact with iTunes -- did yours have that? I do know that the MusicLink differs with the different cars and displays.

That said -- until I get a newer iPod (or swipe my boyfriend's 4G for a test), I won't really know how well it works. Currently the main thing that I like about it is that it charges my iPod and frees up the car charger for my phone. And it's nice to be able to hit next without having to grope around for the iPod (keeping the eyes on the road and all that).

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My MusicLink rant...
Aug 3, 2006 6:03PM PDT

OK, you asked for it! Happy I apologize for the length of this post, but I am passionately opposed to the Honda MusicLink - at least as far as the Accord integration (if you can call it that) goes.

When you plug your iPod in, the Honda iPod link completely disables the iPod interface and requires you to use the controls on the car's audio head unit. OK, not the best situation but I can learn how to use the head unit control, right? In the Accord, the head unit doesn't show any artist, album, song, playlist, etc. info on the display, so you never know what's playing. The iPod is recognized as some kind of alternate CD device or something along those lines. Worse, it requires you to install software on your PC that uses the Microsoft text-to-speech engine to index and announce the content (taking up space for the speech files on the iPod in the process). The Honda TTS (Text To Speech) software adds roughly 30 minutes to my iPod sync process every single time. 30 MINUTES!

Let's get to the in car experience. Let's say I wanted to search for ZZ Top by artist, as an extreme example. I'd have to switch myself to Disc 2 on the CD changer (which corresponds to the search by artist function), then wait while my iPod played back/spoke A... B... C... D... and so on until it got to Z. Then I hit the seek button twice and wait while it announces every artist that begins with Z until it gets to ZZ Top. OK, now that I'm at ZZ Top, let's say I wanted to listen to a specific album by ZZ Top. I'm afraid not! Once you get to the artist, your only choice is to start playing every song by that artist sequentially in alphabetical order of the albums, or by random shuffle. If I wanted to listen to a specific album, I'd have to go through the alphabetical Steven Hawking-esque spoken listing search process again to search for a specific album. That is, of course, if I can even understand what the <bleep> it's saying. Hit the wrong button. make a mistake, or miss your artist/album/genre/playlist when spoken? You're starting over from A... B... C...

This is the kind of product that really makes you wonder what company could possibly spec, build, test, and demo a product this bad and decide it was exactly what they wanted to release to their customers. And that's the problem - according to Honda this is exactly how the product is supposed to work in the Accord. The documentation goes through every step of this horrific process like it's obviously the way things should be done. I simply have no patience for technology that makes simple tasks more difficult. Especially something as simple and elegant as the iPod interface.

Here is a link to a blog posting online where a similarly disappointed user goes into much greater detail...

http://www.nuxx.net/hondamusiclink.html

So, the point of my rant is to simply warn any prospective Honda Accord customers to stay far far far far FAR away from this abysmal product. Even if you're not going for the Accord - DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST! It sounds like maybe the integration with the Honda Fit is a bit better, but in that case they shouldn't sell such a substandard product for use in other car models.

I hope that Brian Cooley or anyone else who reviews cars for CNET reads this and thinks about it if the Honda MusicLink ever comes their way in another Honda car model. I sincerely believe that any prospective customers should be very careful and quite specific when asking Honda exactly how this product works with their car.

WHEW! That feels better.

I'd also interested to know if anybody has had experience with a third-party iPod car connection kit that might work with my Honda. I'm thinking about checking out the Harmon Kardon Drive+Play.

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Re: Music Link Rant
Aug 3, 2006 10:38PM PDT

LOL! Tell us how you really feel! Happy

Wow. I've been thinking that it's just the fact that I have an older iPod, but that really may not make much difference because our MusicLink setups sound pretty similar. It does bother me that you don't have access to the iPod interface (and having the link in the glove compartment restricts access, too). You're right -- it sucks. You should forward that rant over to Honda, especially since the MusicLink isn't a cheap add-on.

If it's possible and not too expensive, you might want to consider having an auxilary jack installed. That way you get a direct connection from your iPod (or any Mp3 player) but you still have full access to the interface. Or a CD player that plays Mp3s might be an option, too.

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HaHaHa
Aug 4, 2006 1:13AM PDT

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Happy

My Accord doesn't have easy access to the line in port. It's a special port that is only accessible from the back of the stereo. I did find a simple product that might fit my needs at http://www.mp3yourcar.com/. The product is the Neo iOnAux, and here is the description from their web site:

"This adapter connects the iPod to the Honda Accord's factory radio. Full quality audio and controls for your iPod plus an additional auxillary input - easy installation!"

This device also lets you control the iPod using the iPod interface itself if you desire, or you can use the controls on the stereo head unit itself. This seems like the ideal solution. The H+K Drive+Play is nice and unique, but it seems like overkill to me. I prefer simple solutions to simple problems (or at least what should be a simple problem).

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Re: Honda Fit Interior ?Noise Level? @ Speed
Aug 7, 2006 2:40AM PDT
Chi-Town Godess---I am in the late planning, analysis and evaluation stages as I look to acquire a new five passenger personal transportation people mover sedan. With gasoline at $3.00+ per gallon and climbing, I am looking to buy a high MPG vehicle as a second car to support our road trip travel and friends and relative hauling needs. We are down to one of four options: Fit, Civic, Yaris and Corolla.

The spec?s and standard equipment on the Honda Fit appear very attractive compared head-to-head against those of the Yaris. You have a Fit Sport which includes as standard, extra goodies like Sport Trim Package and cruise control that are not included in the base Fit.

The tech specs for the Fit listed on the Honda.com website are informative as far as they go, but?. I am looking for owner experience data on the interior sound levels when driving the Fit at Freeway/Interstate cruise speeds of 65-70 MPH. I have read anecdotal reports from owner-drivers which seem to indicate the Fit?s engine emits annoyingly high levels of engine noise into the Driver-Passenger cabin when driven at Interstate highway cruise speeds. Questions for you:

1. Do you feel your Fit emits ?annoyingly high? levels of engine noise into the Driver-Passenger compartment when it is driven at 65-70 MPH Interstate speeds?
2. What is your actual measured ?Highway MPG,? and do you have an automatic or standard transmission?

FYI: I emerged into air-breathing ecstasy as a time-shifted, temporal-twin of Jack Kerouac in Chicago on Joseph?s Seal Date. It occurred in the shadow of the Manhattan Project near Enrico Fermi?s favorite squash court. I was raised in the oak forested far farm land suburb bedroom communities to Chicago?s north.

I am one of the ?mad ones? who escaped those hallowed southwestern shores of Lake Michigan to seek my fortune, and have been ?On The Road? ever since. JP Cool
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Late Response on the Noise Level
Aug 23, 2006 8:50AM PDT

Hola mad one! I'm so sorry I took so long to respond -- I'm just slow. I hope I'm not too late to help in your new personal transportation people-mover quest.

I do not feel that Hugo (the Fit) emits annoyingly high levels of engine noise, and if any of my passengers have ever noticed such a thing, they haven't mentioned it.

I have an automatic, and haven't tracked the MPG in detail, but the listed numbers seem to be accurate. The only issue in this area is that the tank is small, so you do have to fill up fairly often if you're driving a lot.

What suburb did you grow up in? And where did you escape to?

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Neither Late Nor Early
Aug 25, 2006 8:34AM PDT

As Uncle Al used to say, ?Trust me, my boy...everything is relative.? I am sure he meant to include the response times of Chi-Town Goddesses to e-queries launched from the Principaut

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Have the 2006 Civic Hybrid. Trade for Prius.
Aug 25, 2006 11:38PM PDT

I'm not happy with this one.

Between the steering issues and only 40 MPG it's not as nice as our 2003 Civic Hybrid which I am able to get 50+ MPG on a 200 mile trip.

Sadly Honda goofed somewhere on it.

To experience the steering issue you need a good flat straight road and you'll find some steering freeplay you won't find in other cars.

Bob

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Re: Civic MPG Shortfall & Steering Problems
Aug 26, 2006 3:16AM PDT

Bob --- Thanks for the input on your 2006 Civic Hybrid.

Because of the various patent and proprietary designs associated with the Honda Hybrid and the Toyota Hybrid solutions their motor-generator and battery charging ?Hybrid? operations and control schemes are different. In this humble engineer?s opinion, the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive

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Consider this... 2006 Civic Hybrid Horror.
Aug 26, 2006 3:38AM PDT

Our 2003 Civic hybrid had the sticker MPG of 45 and 47. We could beat that with ease.

The 2006 had a stick of 50 and 51. We have yet to get much over 40 on a tank. The 2006 is a dud in my book and free play in the steering when I notice it from time to time is not helping me tell anyone to... stay away from this model.

Yes, I've had it to the dealership and talked many times on the 800 line to American Honda. The results of all the hours I put into this has cemented that it is now time to share my horror story.

Run away, run away from this model.

Bob

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Read You Loud & Clear
Aug 26, 2006 5:18AM PDT

Bob --- My Bride-For-Life is and has been particularly kinda fonda Honda for decades because we have owned a few as our 2nd Car/Commuting vehicle. The Civics we owned were highly reliable and cost little to maintain and operate as well as being easy to fix as a shade tree mechanic.

Your R. Proffitt performance data point on the 2006 Civic Hybrid does not sound good. I know that the 2006 Civic has a new and different body-chassis design then the 2003 had. This may help explain your comments on the difference in steering feel. I have read reports that the new down-curving front ?fenders? body style has caused some folks to have trouble judging precisely where the front corners of the car are. This judgment-visibility issue has been reported as contributing to accidental parking lot maneuver prang-ins with other cars/objects.

I expect that the Hybrid system installed in the 2006 is essentially the same as the one in the 2003 you owned. You may know the exact answer to that. I must wonder why your 2003 Civic beat the EPA ?Window Sticker? MPG whereas the 2006 falls short by 20%. Considering that we have the same driver with same driving habits driving two different cars, I think we can discount driver performance as a contributor, and focus on the 2006 vehicle as the primary source of this MPG shortfall.

More data is needed. Is it a data point of one or are others who purchased the 2006 Civic Hybrid experiencing the same below-EPA MPG, loose steering performance? You need to start button-holing driver-owners of 2006 Civic Hybrids your may happen to see in the parking lot at the grocery store, shopping center or wherever to see if their performance experience matches yours.

As my exercised my pudding pod on this, I vaguely recalled you reporting the purchase this new 2006 Civic Hybrid in one of the Forums a few months back. I did a square search and found these:

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7813-0.html?forumID=77&threadID=157100&messageID=1744082

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7813-0.html?forumID=78&threadID=168364&messageID=1863864

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7813-0.html?forumID=78&threadID=168364&messageID=1874189

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7813-0.html?forumID=50&threadID=170897&messageID=1893755

From these posts the Civic Hybrid you reported you ?steal?every time? was the old 2003 which you gifted to your son. You received and put into service the new 2006 sometime in April 2006, and it clearly is not sweetest car you've ever owned. JP Cool

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The issue of freeplay is there. I've let others drive it..
Aug 26, 2006 5:30AM PDT

And each one came away a little bewildered how the dealer and Honda can say it's not there. In 2 cases the persons came away with "OK, I'm getting the Prius."

If anyone takes a drive of ours and I show the issue to them they don't want this years offering.

Next month I'll start calling the 800 number again to see if they'll do something about it.

-> As to the mileable I read some discussion of MPG loss on the Prius after the owner changed make/style of the tires. So next stop will be to double check inflation and take it to the exact PSI + about 2 or so percent more.

There is another issue with this model and it's the vision blockage from the left roof support. It's raked forward and huge compared to other cars I've driven. As time wears on I have to expend more time to move my head around it to make sure that a car or person is not behind this post. I'm amazed that this car is not being panned in car reviews.

Bob

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More Impressions Of The Civic Hybrid
Aug 26, 2006 7:17AM PDT

Bob --- The Honda Civic is being panned in some car reviews and automobile forums because of visibility issues, including the visibility problem you report, but you have to dig a bit to find them.

I drove a 2006 Civic Hybrid a few days back as part of my Hi-MPG people-mover evaluation and search effort. I was focusing more on the cabin noise levels at open road freeway cruise speeds more than I was its handling, so I cannot comment on the steering issue.

I am particularly interested in acoustic noise levels in the passenger cabin because the last Hi-MPG [32 mpg] 4-cylinder powered car we had was a VW Cabriolet. It was fabulous around town, but wound up and tooling down I-95 on cruise control at the 70 MPH speed limit, the VeeDubya?s Four-Banger engine droned out mega-decibels of sound. It was so loud that casual conversation between my wife and I was decibels above quiet casual. In fact, it was reminiscent of my days flying the S2D Tracker aircraft where I was seated between two 1525 HP Lycoming (Curtiss-Wright) R-1820-82A ?Radial Lovelies? vibrating their sweet nothings vibrato as they powered a pair of three bladed props at military power.

Because of the Vee Dubya experience, the Catgicina gave me an estrogen edict regarding the next Hi-MPG 2nd car we buy. It must not emit high levels of acoustic noise into the passenger cabin while traveling on Interstate like the Volkswagen did.

I did notice that at a 55-60 MPG cruise speed I could hear a noticeable whine from the engine and/or motor-generator of the Civic Hybrid. It was not VW Cabriolet-level deafening, just noticeable.

Honda is sensitive to this cabin noise issue in their 4-cylinder cars. The engine and transmission mounting design of the new design 2007 Honda Fit incorporates newly designed rubberized mounting structures to try to moderate transmission of engine and transmission noise into the cabin. Honda also claims they have taken measures to sound insulate the firewall, engine compartment and internal cabin area. Hearing is believing --- that is why I will be test driving the Fit at highway speeds before I make any purchasing decision.

The Civic Hybrid seemed peppy enough starting out of the blocks at traffic lights, probably because of the high starting torque of the electric motor. My wife was not impressed with the fit and finish inside the passenger cabin. I was not either, but was silent about it until she mentioned to me. I was not impressed with the available exterior color selection. Overall, I was neutrally impressed by the vehicle. I thought it was over priced just like the Prius.

Since I am familiar with the details of both the Honda and the Toyota hybrid designs, and the Civic Hybrid and Toyota Prius Hybrid are priced about the same, I would pick the Prius over the Civic. This was before I read your postings on the 2006. With your added user data injected into the mix, it would be a Prius or nothing were I to buy a Hybrid. JP Cool

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(NT) (NT) THE FIT IS GO! (caps lock not used)
Aug 25, 2006 7:14PM PDT
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Where do I get this attachment?
Mar 4, 2008 11:23AM PST

Hiya. I just bought a 2008 Honda Fit. Yes to what you said about all three cars. Now I'm trying to find the adapter that will let me plug in my iPod. I went to Radio Shack and they tried to sell me something that lets you transmit your iPod to a frequency you choose on your radio. I have no idea what to do if my local Radio Shak person can't hand me something.

Would you let me know the exact name of what you got and where you got it?

THANK YOU!!!