I am thinking of getting the rdx and I was curious how people like the true touch infotainment? Does it grow on you? Not a great question, I know, but I do want to know.

On a side note, I love the look of the A Spec but love the 360 cam of the Advance. I do know there is a special edition that does combine both but I am not sold on red. It's nice and all but not my cup of tea.

 

I like it better than using a touch screen

 

There's lots of info and opinion out there about this. Just ask Mr. Google and do a search of this forum. Some people like it. Some people don't. I think it's OK, but my opinion is irrelevant since this is my first car with modern gadgetry.

 

Thanks. I know there a lot of opinions on this. I have searched it on google. It's also talked about intensively on YouTube. However, many of these opinions are from reviewers who have used it once or for like a week. I have tried it and can draw my own conclusions. I thought it was ok but I can see it may improve the more you get used to it. Like most things, it's one thing to review or try it and another to live with it. I was looking for opinions here of people that have used it for months.

 

I don't dislike it, but probably would been happier with regular touchscreen. I know the Lexus version is most often compared to the Acura's (although definitely different and inferior in operation)...so it is better than theirs! On a related note, I just read a review on the 2020 RX and it appears they have dumped the touchpad device and gone back to touchscreen. Only complaint on that is, (like the RDX's). the screen is high and centered on the dash, and hard to reach for a touchscreen.

 

I took to the true touch pretty quickly (mid-50's, pretty techy). The biggest thing to get used to is not using it like a track pad.

After almost one year of ownership, I can put my finger where it needs to be before the icons are on the screen.

Billy

 

+1

The only downside is the additional space it takes up on the console, along with the mode selector and transmission. As an overall operating and driving interface, the controls are very good. I would just like more open space on the console for crap, a change tray, side-by-side cup holders, inductive charging pad, etc.

 

My RDX has been to the dealer 4 times where it is currently for a black screen and freezing. It has been there for 4 days now. Supposedly the service manager told me someone from Acura was flying in to check it out. I am enjoying the new MDX that they gave me to drive. Its smooth and quiet and a TRUE touch screen.

 

I like it. Personally, I didn't find it difficult to learn. In fact, I figured out how to use it on the fly during the test drive (with no input from the salesman), pairing my phone to the car while waiting for a traffic light to turn green, started playing music, and adjusted the sound settings (bass / mid / treble) to my liking while driving. (But I am good with technology)

Suggestions for Acura:

The palm rest that they put in front of the trackpad could be a little further away from the trackpad, as I feel the fingers naturally rest where the buttons are along the top instead of where the trackpad surface is.

Make the screen bigger and put it closer to the driver

Enable touchscreen input. I like the TTI better than a touchscreen, but not everybody does. Let the user decide.

Shade the display with a hood to prevent the sun washing out the display when sunny, or do a better job at changing the level of the backlight with the ambient brightness like smartphones do.

 

I’ve had the Advance 12 months. Once you get the hang of the Infotainment system you will like it. CarPlay needs some work but it is useable

 

You get used to it fairly quickly, unless you are completely tech unsavvy. One way to determine this would be if you were the type of person who thought that the True Touch was non-intuitive. We all need the concept explained to us initially, but if after you hear how it works you are struggling to figure it out and getting frustrated, it might not be for you. The main issues are that the touchpad can be finicky, but you would have to understand that is somewhat on purpose. The pad has to differentiate between moving your finger across it being "a swipe to get to the next screen" or "I'm just moving my finger across the pad to highlight another option on the same screen." So many people have experienced that sometimes the pad can't tell and you have to swipe a few times to get it to go to the next screen. Is that ideal? No. Is it the end of the world? No.

The main question is whether it is superior to a touchscreen. Probably not, but the issue is that a touchscreen would have to be in a different place, for one. You would not be able to use the current screen as a touchscreen. It would have to be moved. In any event, it seems to be more of a complaint that doesn't really matter, since you can get functionality by voice command or steering wheel buttons for many things, such as changing stations or searching for addresses and directions. Keep that in mind even if you aren't a fan of the True Touch pad. I would probably not use it as a "make it or break it" decision point unless you were pretty unimpressed with the rest of the car.

 

I think the system is just great.

After a week of experience I was able to touch the spot I wanted with my first touch 9 times out of 10. After another week I could touch the correct spot 9 times out of 10 without looking at the touch pad. I make a habit of first touching the pad lightly to make sure the correct icon is highlighted on the main display. If I'm on the right spot I push a little harder, and if it's one of those times that I am in the wrong spot, I have the opportunity to slide to the correct spot.

Another benefit of the touch pad is that I no longer have smeared fingerprints all over the main screen.


Although I usually use my voice to enter a navigation destination, there are times where I need to type in a word (perhaps the voice system misspells the street). In cases like that, I appreciate the ability to spell the words using my finger as a pencil, rather than looking for the letters on an "on screen" keyboard while in motion. I can use my finger without taking my eyes off the road. This feature does take a little practice to draw certain letters, but once you learn how to draw those difficult ones, it works quite well. The RDX does give you the option to use an on-screen keyboard if you prefer that method.

Of course if you completely fail at using the system, you can do pretty well anything using your voice. For example "Play FM 107.1" or "Navigate to 123 Main St. Toronto Ontario". I find the voice inputs work very well compared to my Gen 2 RDX. I'm sure one of the reasons is the quieter interior, and the fact that the radio volume is automatically reduced during voice input.

 

I'm good with technology too but I don't do much while driving. I just drive. Navigating menus, adjusting the audio and such can wait till I stop somewhere. Most of that kind of stuff I did in the first few days of getting the car and I've hardly changed any of it since. From what I hear, on many other cars, a lot of the menus are disabled when you're underway. I don't think anything is disabled in the RDX.

 

Thanks for all your responses. They have been helpful. I am not young but not old. I have just turned 44. I am fairly tech savvy. A stroke has left me with limited use of my left hand so I am a disabled driver. I mainly drive with my right hand and use a spinner knob on the steering wheel (I think they used to be commonly referred to as a suicide knob) to assist with situations where you have to turn the wheel more than one rotation. My specific use case is somewhat unique. I say this because using any interface basically requires me to drive no handed which I never do. So like the post above, I will always be stopped to even change a radio station.

 

The RDX has very excellent voice command, although I'm sure other cars that are modern do as well. But I've actually given it weird addresses and it has gotten them correct, for example. So I don't think you'd need to be worried about the True Touch pad.

 

I like it over touch screen. It is great to be able to control the system while barely even looking at it.

 

I prefer Acura's True Touchpad Interface over a touch screen because:

1. No need to reach for a touch screen.
2. NO FINGERPRINTS!
3. Allows the display to be placed higher up so your eyes don't have to look as far away from the road.
4. Allows for more accurate input while driving due to a more steady hand.

 

I love it. Just wish CarPlay followed the same logic but it's not the end of the world. No fingerprints is a major plus!

 

Honestly its a pretty good interface, hampered by pretty bad software. I got used to it in about a day and interaction w/the system doesn't really require much thinking - which is a good sign as far as ease of use, ergonomics, etc is concerned. I still cannot use CarPlay as the audio always skips no matter how i tinker and tweak my use case so i sorta just gave up on it until the next software update which will be out at the end of 2022 lol

 

This video walks you through the design of the touchpad interface system. It intuitively makes sense to me and is in the right direction to reduce distracted driving.