timd38

If you pm me your address, I will send you a copy of a disk thats woks in my car.

Oh ya , it also plays in the Corvette but not in the LS or Jeep.

timd38

I used Magix MP3 Maker 10 deluxe.

timd38

OK I have to eat crow. I went to take a picture of song 108 and it won't play past song 16 on one disk and song 18 on another.


I was wrong.

KidQwik

I tried the all the CDs I made and zero work. Garbage they shall go. We were so false advertised by Acura who tries to make their cars look all luxury like but the company itself is cheap as fuck.. Customer Care my ass.. I'll never recommend an Acura to anyone again after the way the regional manager did zero to get me what I thought I was supposed to get as per their own brochure which they still distribute and their own press release on Honda's site that says the car comes with with a 6 Disc CD Changer that plays MP3s. I should have stuck with getting a Mitsubishi Eclipse like I had orignally planned. It has a 6 Disc CD Changer that plays MP3s. Acura lost a customer with me. I'm so pissed tha I'll be stuck with this car for 3 yrs now. Sad thing is it's a nice car otherwise. It's just I'm so sick of the bullshit Customer Care department I'd rather have another car just for that reason. Oh. And my passenger side window seems to squeak on and off when I lower it and raise it. I think I read other people were having this problem too.... Grrr..

mltk53

timd38

I guess this mp3 thing is not a big deal for me since I didn't try it in depth until this thread. How may of us don't have an ipod or mp3 player. I am over 50 and with a 60 gig ipod, and XM how much more do I need.

I also have another confession, I listen to channel 127 almost all the time on XM....

davidspalding

Why not just demand they take it back and refund your money. You clearly bought the car based on the brochure's stated specs. If you can't get traction, bring in the Better Business Bureau.

davidspalding

Gotcha beat. I listen to 83 and 007 (and not only because it's the last three #'s of my phone number) from time to time. My free trial just expired, so I'm using my Pioneer Inno for a while, or ... "WINBACK" City.

Tex929rr

I too was disappointed that the TSX player wouldn't play data formatted mp3's (I hope that description is understandable) like in the Corvette.

When the 2005 Corvettes came out (1st year of the new generation) one equipped with the NAV and premium audio would not play mp3's. However, after a few months GM provided a set of discs to dealers that would re-program the unit to play mp3's as part of a TSB. You could even buy a set of the discs for about 10 bucks as a GM part. (Although DIY was not for the faint hearted - it apparently wiped the system clean and reinstalled new software in the unit).

I wonder if Acura could do this? I'd pay a reasonable price to have the audio system reconfigured. With that single disc with mp3's in the GM system you still get a considerable amount of music. Six of those in the Acura would probably be more music than I'd ever listen to.

KidQwik

I don't think it's that easy. I wish it was. I think they have a retro 6 Disc CD Changer in there that would need a hardware upgrade with not only the drive, but the circuit boards, etc. I think Acura decided to be cheap and not upgrade the technology in the CD Changer thinking that it should be something only the RL and other Acuras have. Like it's a high end feature. I mean, to play MP3s it looks like they want you to purchase a $500 ADDITIONAL CD drive that will install underneath the other one replace the compartment you have store stuff. So then.. You would have paid $500 to have a ridiculous setup of TWO CD players in your car simply because Acura is cheap and wants you pay for their cheapness AND their Brochure and Press release errors. Yet for $20K you can get a car that has a CD Player or CD Changer as a standard option that plays MP3s. (See Scion, Eclipse, oh.. And the Honda Civic....)

I went to Bestbuy today and was going to buy a Ipod Classic JUST to have the MP3 storage ability that I was SUPPOSED to get with my TSX. I got angry while I was about to buy it cause I was like "Why the %$@# am I having to pay for something additional that was listed as coming with my car and isn't because of THEIR error?" Then the idea of having to pay an additional $135 to get like a USA Spec installed in the car to give me the same ability to control the Ipod from the steering wheel control or the dash radio made me even angrier. This is the ability that I was supposed to get as per the Brochure and Press Release posted on Honda's site on 9/12/2007. I don't want to have to pay for an Ipod, then just do their cheap Aux cable input which they can't even truthfully describe correctly in the brochure either saying it allows WMA files, etc etc. The Aux input is nothing more then a mini jack for a simple mini headphone like connection that feeds to your stereo. It has zero technology in regards to playing different file formats, etc. Yet another big lie trying to make the MP3 Aux input be something more than it is.... I don't want the ghetto Aux input way because I just think it's really unsafe and dumb to have one hand on the steering wheel and the Ipod in the other hand having to switch songs and search through the Ipod for songs to play while you're DRIVING. UNSAFE. They ban cell phone while driving here in NJ for talking so I think looking down at your Ipod while driving is even worse. It's almost like a lawsuit waiting to happen for the safety concerns alone to have a setup like that.

I'm going to write Acura since Anothony at Acura could care less about my safety and not wanting Acura to pay only $350 to provide with me the ability to drive safely and get the things I thought I was getting by reading their false information on the vehicle. They should provide the people who got 2008 TSX's with an Ipod and a USA Spec connection to play their Ipod from their steering wheel control or their dash controls due to their false product information. If they brush me aside like Anthony did then I'm going to get in contact with Shame On You and 7 On Your Side. They're CBS and ABC's TV News customer grief segments for the NYC metropolitan area. If Acura wants to look bad in the NYC metropolitan area so be it. It's one of their biggest markets and people should know not to buy TSX's based on false advertising from a company that seems to care less about Customer Care as they boast when selling you the car. I've had enough.. Enough of me trying to handle this nicely.

KidQwik

If I could do that I would. It's really not the dealerships fault though so I don't want to start a war with them. It's Acura's Customer Care-less department. To be honest Open Road Acura in Wayne was actually as easy car shopping experience. It was almost too easy. I was told by them to take up the problem with Acura and they should be able to help me a day after I drove the car home and started questioning the "6 Disc In-dash CD Changer that plays MP3s". I know this experience with Acura's Customer Care deptartment has totally turned me off towards any further Acura leases or purchases. I've had nothing but positive experiences from their dealerships when I had a problem with my RSX and with their billing people on the phone. Customer Care in regards to false advertising and not giving me what I thought I was paying for the next 3 years due to their at fault wrong information has made erased all the good things I thought about Acura. If they don't give me what I researched I'd be paying for then let them deal with the WABC and WCBS in NYC on their show. I shouldn't have to keep calling them and being treated like I'm just some pee on who got screwed over and it's MY problem now. It should be THEIR problem and I will make it so..

psychmon

Eloquently articulated; I was originally interested in an '07 TSX, but when I learned that the '08's were "supposed" to be equipped with an MP3 changer for a nominal difference in price I decided to wait. Why would I now purchase an automobile from a company that engages in such deception?

KidQwik

Mistakes can happen, I understand that. In this situation we're talking about Acura shelling out like $350 to make up for their error to give customers what they thought they were getting. It's even less then their ridiculous single disc MP3 CD player for $500. I don't even want an Ipod for outside the car, I could care less in carrying one around. It's the fact that if I had an 6 Disc In-dash CD change that played MP3s like I was supposed to have, I'd have the ability put 6 CDs in the car that could have about 100 songs on them each because they would be in MP3 format. I usually only have stuff thats between 160 and 192kbps. If I had them at 128kbps I could store even more. So.. I'd have 600 songs loaded in my CD changer. I'd need to have less CDs stuffed in the door compartments and in CD carrying cases. Now I'm forced to go with 6 CDs that can hold about 20 songs each or an equivalent of 80 minutes each whereas if I could play the MP3 CDs like I read I was supposed to have, I would be able to have about about 80 more songs I could play on each CD x6. Instead of this being a simple resolution and by havingin Acura provide about a $350 fix for their error, this Anthony guy was like "things change... read the small print in the back of the manual that we're not resposible for print errors or if things change". WTF? He was like they started printing the brochures about 4-5 months before the car is released. So in that 4-5 months they don't realize the brochures are wrong? And to make it more ridiculous, Honda releases a press release to the media as per the website dated 9/12/07 that says the car has the 6 Disc Change w/MP3!!!! That's a little more than 2 weeks ago and it is STILL up there! I'm paying $389 a month for 36 months for this car.. I put $3K down and this is the treatment I get??? Like I said, it was an easy fix and they chose to screw the wrong person over...

davidspalding

There's nothing preventing you from pursuing what I suggested. Unless you're just making a lot of noise here and aren't serious about returning the car. (I say this, because the Acura you bought is the Acura you get, I doubt they're going to reengineer the car for you.)

I think you're going to lose everyone when you insist that Acura "compensate" you with an iPod and the iPod interface. It's a simple matter of the audio system in the car you bought does not match what the brochure promised. Get BBB in your camp and try to make Acura replace the head unit or compensate you with a cash settlement. IMHO, trying to get "gimmes" is going to cloud the issue. Not sure what the safety issue you perceive is, but an audio system is NOT a safety feature. I'd drop that line of argument double-quick.

Alternative.... I wouldn't wait for more Acura people to hem and haw. If your purchase is < 30 days, start talking about full-price buy-back. Seriously. You're this pissed, make them refund your money and take the car back. Get the consumer advocates involved now. Instead of whining that you want an iPod, make the story that you bought the car for this feature, didn't get it, and want them to reverse the sale. If they refuse, the bad press is on them.

I empathize with your anger, but your complaint won't gain traction with anger. Reasoned discussion and evidence that you have in hand will fare better. Best of luck, soldier, now go out there and FIGHT.

wackura

One might say that if this were a deal breaker that you should have tested an mp3 CD in the car before buying it. I know if you bought it for the 215hp and it turned out to be 205 you couldn't test it at the dealer but it's within your capability to bring an mp3 CD with you. I might be mistaken, but usualy mp3 capable decks boast their mp3 reading ability on the outside of the unit. I've been lied to too many times to not take something like that into my own hands.

davidspalding

I just remembered that I did bring an audio CD with me on delivery. I tested most everything I knew how to operate,... and did the phone pairing and seat folding and stuff that weekend. As I had a 3-day, 300 mile return window, I made sure I did a thorough inspection that weekend. I suppose something like popping in a CD-R with MP3s isn't that urgent. Wackura makes a valid point, but I would accept that it takes a new owner a few days to finally get around to exercising every single feature of the car. Heck, the owners manual is hundreds of pages. And as the "Easter egg" thread illustrates, there are things the car does that aren't even documented.

davidspalding

I just remembered that I did bring an audio CD with me on delivery. I tested most everything I knew how to operate (heated seats, windows, stereo, etc.),... and did the phone pairing and rear seat folding and stuff that throughout weekend. As I had a 3-day, 300 mile return window, I made sure I did a thorough inspection that weekend. I suppose something like popping in a CD-R with MP3s isn't that urgent. Wackura makes a valid point, but I would accept that it takes a new owner a few days to finally get around to exercising every single feature of the car. Heck, the owners manual is hundreds of pages. And as the "Easter egg" thread illustrates, there are things the car does that aren't even documented.
Just to reiterate, you've only had your vehicle for eight days and you claim that you immediately found a problem and called it to the attention of the dealer and some regional Acura corp office. With no relief.

You ought to be talking to the BBB and local consumer advocate people. You have a brochure that claims one thing and a car that does another. Heck, how do you KNOW that you've got a 2008 model? Have you run the VIN?

KidQwik

For the most part I do like the car. I leased it so I'll have it for 36 months then byebye it goes and no Acura anymore for me. It's really not a gimme gimme, it's more like "provide me with I thought I was getting by what you said came with the car". The reason I say Ipod with USA Spec is this:
1) They don't have a 6 Disc In Dash CD Changer that plays MP3s. If they did I'd so want this over any Ipod setup.
2) $350 for an Ipod and USA Spec is cheap. I'm not asking to make money off this, I just want the capability to play MP3s and be able to control them from the steering wheel controls and the indash unit like the brochure and press release said the car did for what turns out to be a nonexistant product.
3) The current setup of using the Aux input to plug an Ipod or whatever with a mini audio hjack is unsafe because you have to change songs by looking down at the Ipod in your hand to change them. It would be similiar to sending a text message on your cell phone I guess. There is no control from the Audio Aux input into the car stereo. Your car is basically your headphones to whatever device you plug in. If the car came with the 6 Disc CD Changer that plays MP3s like they said it did, you could control cycling through the songs on the CDs from the steering wheel or the stereo. You wouldn't have to have an Ipod in one hand looking down to change the songs and the other on the steering wheel. An Ipod and USA Spec would let you control your Ipod from your steering wheel or in dash unit just you like it would if you had the 6 Disc CD Change that plays MP3s. You wouldn't have to pick up the Ipod to look at it and change the songs.

I'll be writing a letter to Acura this week along with copies of the brochure, press releases, and other print outs of sites that reviewed the car and have mistakenly posted the comes with MP3 part due to Acura and Honda's inaccurate information. What has really fed my fire he Acura Customer Care. The "oh well, your SOL. Not our problem as per he fine print at the end of the manual that says anything in he brochure can be a big lie and we're not resonsible..."

KidQwik

I dunno. Insurance couldn't pull up the car with the VIN #.. For all I know I have a 2005. I mean, the stero technology is that if not older so.. I'll call the BBB and the other people if someone else from Acura acts like Anthony did to me.

davidspalding

You're doing EXACTLY what they want. You're frittering your time away trying to talk to another Hydra-head of the Acura beast, meanwhile, the longer the car stays in your possession....

Okaaaay, you go ahead and plough ahead with the "I want an iPod" angle and see what you get. Let us know how far you get.

Sorry, you can't convince me that the car is less safe because you'll have to look down at the iPod plugged in the armrest. You're the driver, you have to make the judgments for yourself. Besides, unlike the CNET bozos, I DID find the cable pass-through, and have a long enough cord so my phone/pda/Inno can reach to the front storage bin.

If the VIN didn't come up ... hrm.... Very innnnteresting. Can't remember what on the car shows the date of manufacture, the driver's door label? under hood label? Might want to look around a bit. I'm wondering what PROOF you have that it's a 2008. Have you examined your paperwork?

KidQwik

I really want a 6 Disc CD Changer that plays MP3s. If they can do this, screw the Ipod. I'm just saying that I don't think a thing like that exists for the TSX from my conversation with Anthony from Acura. The Ipod and USA Spec thing would give the same functionality of the Ipod 6 Disc CD Changer that plays MP3s setup, that's why I'm saying that. You can control the Ipod from the dash or the steering wheel just like you would be able to with a the MP3 playing CD changer.

Being able to advance through songs through your steering wheel or in dash changer is safer than it would be with shuffling through the Ipod's screens to find songs by going into playlists, etc. You would only have the option to advance or go back with the USA Spec and Ipod, just like you would with a CD Changer that plays MP3s. Having an Ipod in one hand and looking down at it and not on the road and going through different menu screens on the Ipod is less safe than hitting a forward or back button on the steering wheel while being able to look ahead and drive. I wouldn't do the Aux input method specifically for this reason. The CD Changer that plays MP3s was what I thought came with the car. The safer way.

As for the VIN thing it's no big deal. My insurance company hasn't received all the 2008 VINs yet. It happened with my 05 RSX also. They didn't have the 05 VINs in yet in Dec 04. Yeah, it's an 2008 though. I can smell it. And have the sticker, etc.

KidQwik

The 3 page letter is typed and printed along with copies of their brochure and press release that are in error. I also printed out a review that states how people who have the 2008 seem to be confused if the car has MP3 playback capability or not as it was listed it did. We'll see what happens. I said I'd like for them to install the 6 Disc In Dash CD Changer that plays MP3s as stated or the Ipod/USA Spec setup to give the ability that the 6 Dash CD Changer that plays MP3s would provide. I'm mailing it out tommorow with delivery confirmation.

KidQwik

It's in the mail. I'll let everyone know what happens.

davidspalding

No joking, keep us posted. This could easily become a class action suit if a legal eagle can establish that Acura was misleading buyers and reviewers.

wackura

I too am interested in expoiting your pain for a freebie. I bought an 07, but the salesmen said there was no difference between the 07 and 08, so by extension my 07 should play mp3s as well.

davidspalding

Well,... KidQwk is finding that to be true.

I've realized that I've sat in some others' cars and text info came up for some FM stations. Nothing like that on my unit. Is that another new-ish feature that the "premium" audio system is lacking?

wackura

People get too worked up of the "premium sound" thing. I'm no lawyer but even I know that the word "premium" is a highly subjective term.

Even having such obvious marketing words painted onto the interior is insulting and unbecoming of a luxury car because we all know it's just an adjective and not a description of anything measurable. I don't want to be felated by my car.

That and a couple other things are probably the biggest reminders that they call this an Accord in other countries. It's a very cheap-car thing to do. A luxury car shouldn't realy have to tell you it's a luxury car.

KidQwik

I'm not sure what the reviewers used to figure out the cars specs when posting their reviews. All I know is the brochure is wrong and so is the press release on Honda's site: http://corporate.honda.com/press/article.aspx?id=4222

I just want my car to do what I thought it would do from what I read. When I test drove the car I paid attention to the Bluetooth, the controls, and ride, etc. From what I read in the brochure about the car having a CD changer that played MP3s, the fact I saw cars that cost less came standard with CD players or changers that played MP3s, and that this was a 2008 car and not a 2005, I didn't question the MP3 capability. First and foremost because I read it did in that lying brochure! Oh! Now I just remembered something else Anthony said to me on the phone when I said I was reading some posts online that some people said they got MP3s to play.. He said "Don't believe everything you read..." I responded "And don't believe everything you read in brochures about what a car's features are, right?" I don't think he responded back when I said that..

KidQwik

If the 2007's brochure said it did, more power to you. I'm not sure if it did or didn't, but the 2008's listing of it playing MP3s is on the brochure and all over the web.

KidQwik

I never consider stock radios premium. They either are ok or not. In this case what I paid attention to was "6 Disc In Dash CD Changer that plays MP3s and 8 speakers". That was enough for me to say "Ok, at least it should be a somewhat decent stock radio.." I didn't even care about the XM radio. When I found out it didn't play MP3s it became a "not ok radio".

KidQwik

The only text I see on my screen with real words is when I've tried the XM. Otherwise it's that confusing T01 02, etc. Not a very user friendly radio in my opinion, but it's deciperable after you get used to it.

Zyuan10

Wow... i didn't even care at all whether or not my TSX plays mp3 because the songs I listen to when I'm driving are also the songs I listen to when I'm on my computer. I don't want to get sick of all my music. My drive are also not very long so I never finish even half a CD anyway. some 110 songs (18-20 tracks x 6 CD) is more than enough for me ^_^

What really did bugged me though was that there's no track duration...

wackura

Oh what a perfect world it would be if everyone was exactly like you.

timd38

I just received a survey from Honda on my car. I told them what I thought about not being able to play mp3s.

http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com/site/si...y=2&id=6055231

Update, I tried the link and said the survey was completed so you can't take it, but if you get one tell them what you think.

mltk53

omg. sad story. i just drove an 07 sonata, and it plays mp3 cds..... -_-

davidspalding

I was referring to FM radio, not CD (or CD-R) track titles. I'd be impressed if ANY car radio showed text for those "enhanced CDs" which display title info on my Yamaha home DVD player.

mltk53

^^
yeah those are pretty neat. text info from a cd, my phillips does that too

KidQwik

Hell.. I'd be happy if my 6 Disc Changer just played the MP3s like it was supposed to. Forgot about the text! :-b

KidQwik

Err. Forget about the text I meant.

mriouserw

I use to work at a car audio store, where a lot of people complained about a similar problem where their mp3 players don't play, although it says clearly MP3 on it. I don't know if this is the case with the 08 stock radio, but sometimes the burn speed of the mp3 CDs must be at a certain rate, otherwise the player will not recognize it. Hope that helps!