I have 2004 RL with the Nav system...does anyone recommend an aftermarket bluetooth / handsfree system to install and use the existing mic and speaker mutes that the system already has. I saw that Parrot has a harness for the RL, to incorporate with their system, but just curious if anyone has any experience with them or any other system.

 

Welcome to Acurazine!

You have a First Generation (1G) RL and so I will be moving your question to that section.

I'll also give you a partial answer. My wife and I also have a Honda Pilot with navi. I insisted onhaving a handsfree system installed. We purchased a Motorola HTM1000. It connects to the car's speakers, and there's a microphone installed in the headliner. There's a small device that is placed on the dash within reach of the steering wheel; you push a button and speak the phone number you wish to dial from your BT phone, and it dials. Works wonderfully. I'm sure this setup would work with your 1G RL. We paid somewhat less than the $300 MSRP and it was about $80 to install.

HTH.

 

I'm actually trying to do the same with my 2002 RL (no navi). I'm probably going to go with the Motorola HF850 just because it seems to be reasonably priced and I have a Motorola phone. The main issue with this setup is that the head unit does not have its own mute wire as far as I know. This can be resolved by using a relay that cuts the signal to the factory amp when a call comes in. The only other issue that I've not resolved yet is how I want to wire the speakers. Unlike the Parrot, the Motorola comes with it's own external speaker. Ideally I like to use the front two stereo speakers to make for a cleaner install. I was wondering about how hard it would be to tap into the onstar system to use for the integration. Keep us up to date with whatever solution you decide.