thephantom

I have been in a 2013 RDX Tech since Friday as my loaner from the dealer. I really like the V6, handling and other features of the RDX, but one thing I hate is the fact that you can't program the NAV while the car is moving. I thought this would be different if my wife was sitting in the passenger seat - nope, no go. Is there an over-ride for this??

Italiano

Pull car over and program it....Safety feature

Busy Livin'

BTW...you can thank NHTSA for this, not Acura. This is part of their Distracted Driving guidelines. Currently, the guidelines are "voluntary" but makers are "urged" to block users from being able to input addresses or navigate the web while in motion.

These guidelines were developed in 2012, so 2013 and beyond we will see more and more of this across most if not all makes. We should see a greater emphasis on voice activated commands as a result, and we all know how good the voice recognition in most cars currently is.

saxman48

Frankly, I believe that the voice command is vastly improved compared to our 2006 TL. The RDX recognizes my wife's and my voices quite well and I'm impressed by how the system queues us on what to say on the large, bright and clear display.

I admit it takes practice, but once you spend some time with the nav it really does work well. I found it useful to read the user guide because, while I admit the system is not intuitive, it really is reasonably simple (I know, easy for me to say...).

ottoman101

You know whats funny. The car lets me scroll through hundreds of songs on my iPod and HDD while driving, but it doesnt let me access my phonebook, or use the Navi system.

Ok so with the Navi we're pretty helpless, but when I cannot access my phonebook on the screen what do I do?....I pick up my phone and start scrolling through it to make my call (still using HFL). Did the NHTSA really prevent me? No. Did the NHTSA make me safer? No, they did exaclty the opposite. Before they come up with these rules they really need to understand how human beings operate first.

thephantom

Another thing that doesn't make sense to me is this; when I receive a text message and the screen prompts me to read it to me, I press OK and it tells me the car has to be stopped for it to read the text to me. However, I can reply via the screen and one of the preset messages.

Busy Livin'

Actually, in that situation, the Nav voice WILL read the message to you while you are in motion. There will be a "Read" option for you to select and the voice will read the message. What you cannot do while in motion is read the text yourself, meaning see the text itself on the screen. To do that you have to be stopped. Confusing, I know, made so by the fact that the word "read" has multiple meanings in this context. We were receiving multiple texts while driving last night and got the message that to read the message we would need to be stopped. However, by selecting the "read" option on the screen, the Nav voice read them to us.

parasitius

I look forward to more cars stopping in the striped area near exit ramps, backing up on the highway, and getting killed by semis due to randomly pulling over to the shoulder to adjust one GPS setting. F this gay country, so sick of it all

thephantom

I figured as much, however, it did not read the text to me. I have a HTC Droid DNA that was launched November of 2012, so it can't be my phone, can it?

Italiano

dc5k20z1

I might have found a way to "hack" the nav that would allow the ability to input an address and other functions while driving. I will probably try it this weekend. If it works, I dont know if it would be a wise idea to post a DIY as I dont want to be held responsbile if someone wrecks their car or liability issues

yargok

That'd be awesome! Is it a hardware or software hack? I'd be happy to give it a try as well.

dc5k20z1

its neither hardware or software. It involves the vehicle speed sensor wire on the back of the radio.

thephantom

Very interesting. Please post pics and instructions.

dc5k20z1

Well I tried looking for the vehicle speed sensor wire today and no luck. I have a tech sheet from directechs telling me "on vehicles with navigation, can also use blue at the radio, 24 pin plug, pin 23"

I found two blue plugs, one behind the radio (24 pin) and one at the nav screen (more than 24 pin) and there was no blue wire at pin 23. I also tested pin 23 on each plug by driving around with my multimeter hooked up to it and no reading....

I tested all the blue wires I could find and all pin 23 in every plug that had at least 24 pins. Still no luck.

If someone has better info as to where the VSS wire on our 2013 RDX with tech/nav and 10 speaker ELS Audio, I would be more than glad to try again. There has to be a VSS wire behind the radio because our audio system has the option to adjust the volume according to how fast we drive. I think its called "Speed Volume Control" or something like that.

The wire might be at our audio amplifier which I believe is under our center console in the front, how you get to it is beyond me. I would have tested it if I knew how to take apart the center console in order to get to the amp.

My plan was to put a switch on the VSS wire. I am almost certain our nav lockout is associated with that wire because as soon as we drive and the car moves, the screen locks out. The VSS wire is basically telling the nav to lock up because the car is moving.

Sorry guys but I tried

dc5k20z1

This is basically the concept of this project. Obviously these two videos dont matter to us, its just the concept behind the VSS wire and why I am trying to find it. So if you watch these two videos, just pay attention to the VSS and nothing else

part 1 of 2

part 2 of 2

GRDX

Well if you are really serious about doing this as it appears you are you may want to go over to this link:
https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/logon.asp
Here you will find the same service manuals the Acura techs use. You can buy a three day pass for 10 USD. You should be able to find the pin outs and descriptions of the functions for the radio and navigation unit.

weather

I give you an A+ for effort, an A+ for caring about RDX owners who want to find a way to circumvent the motion/Nav problem....but OMG, I would never have the courage to rip apart my dash and expose its gut as you have done

I'd have all the parts apart and then when it would be time to put it back together, I'd be like this: followed by then then having to do a little of this: and eventually

dc5k20z1

wow that link was a big help. I found my wire and will try again in a few days since the weather has turned cold and rainy. I even found out how to access the audio amplifier, take apart the center console, and a bunch of other stuff. Thanks so much. Now I just have to print as much crap as I can during my 3 day subscription, lol


Oh and I think I read somewhere in the forums about linking your phone to Acuralink..... I found this. Looks like Acuralink uses the XM receiver to communicate......?

AcuraLink is a two-way communication system
between the vehicle and American Honda, using the
XM satellites. It works with the vehicle’s navigation
system, the HandsFreeLink system, and the audio
system.

Mike_TX

Cutting the VSS signal wire and splicing in a switch is a well-known method for overriding the in-motion lockout. I've done it on 2 previous cars - a Lexus and an Infiniti.

Note that if you leave the VSS "off" for more than a couple of minutes the nav system will lose your position, and it may or may not be able to re-acquire it without stopping the vehicle. I lost positioning once on a highway trip and drove for an hour with the nav system thinking the whole time I was somewhere else. As soon as I stopped, the nav system caught up with me and started showing my correct position.

There are kits made for some vehicles that do all this via plug-n-play harnesses. They automatically turn the VSS back on before the nav "loses you". Prestigious society is one of the best-known (http://www.prestigioussociety.com). Unfortunately, they don't make a kit for Acuras, because we've never needed one until now.

I used one of their kits in a Lexus LS460. It still required pulling the head unit out of the car, so it isn't for the faint of heart.

Mike_TX

What we need here, guys, is someone to download the OS from the 2012 or 2013 TL and figure out how to replace the RDX OS with it. They're both HDD systems and should be 100% compatible. If I had more programming knowledge I'd do it myself, but it's beyond my pay grade.

dc5k20z1

A software or hard drive hack would be pretty cool, but I think it will be a little while before someone comes up with a hack. I cannot wait to put a switch on the VSS wire and bypass the lockout, im getting pretty excited.. woooooooooooo, lol

this will definitely have to do for the time being; driving - flip the switch - have your passenger enter address - then flip the switch back

Im curious about the nav losing its positioning as well. I have had some aftermarket in dash radio/gps units in prior cars (Pioneer AVIC-N1 and an Alpine), I never hooked up the VSS wire to those units and the GPS worked fine, never lost positioning.


I cannot wait to put my sub and boston pro components in the RDX too, ahhhhhhhh

MJ-bos

dc5k20z1, this would be AWESOME. It's my #1 and only gripe with my RDX.

This disability actually makes me HATE this car a little bit, so much so that I just don't use the damn nav anymore. My iPhone with Siri has a much MUCH M-U-C-H better voice interface - significantly more accurate and doesn't force me to read menu item #s (how FREAKING safe is that ?????). I'm not 100% happy with Apple Maps yet, so I also using the TeleNav app.

The RDX Tech package was a total waste of $ in my opinion... I can't add my music to the HDD (have to rip CDs, not copy MP3)... AcuraLink isn't supported via my phone/Verizon... Real Time Traffic requires XM which I don't use ... and this nav idiot-proofing is just, well, idiotic.

I'm also considering using NavTool (http://www.navtool.com/acurardx2013-2014.aspx) to route my iPhone video to the screen ... not entirely sure it's worth it or if it displays AppleMaps/GMaps/Telenav on the external screen, but it's a maybe.

Will keep watching this thread for sure! Thanks for all the effort!

dc5k20z1

Alright no luck folks. I put the VSS wire behind the radio on a switch and that had no effect on the screen lockout. Only thing I noticed was you immediately lose your positioning. The arrow on the nav ("your car") stays stationary while you drive.


I've noticed a couple things about the screen lockout.

- It only locks up when the car moves
- If you are able to keep the car steady such as on an incline without your foot on the brake, e-brake is not engaged, and your foot is not on the gas, the screen does not lock out. This leads me to believe the screen lockout has nothing to do with a parking brake or e-brake.

MJ-bos

Mad props to you, dc5k20z1, for the time and effort...

I've got a great mount for my iPhone and I'll just continue to use it -- waiting for Siri Eyes, maybe that will help make things better.

I've made this issue my #1 grip in the JDPower survey, to my dealer, and in a letter to Acura. I'm sure nobody cares about one guy's complaint, but if everyone does it ... and if this is really an NHTSB issue, then we need to lobby for common sense.

-MJ