Rob_K
07-28-2008, 09:37 AM
Name is Rob. I picked up my Ridge July 17. Live in Mississauga. Its a silver EX-L Nav and sunroof. I got the hard tonneu and chrome tube side steps.
I also had the dealer install the ipod iLinc. What a waste of money and am really disappointed which is driving my next project. I called Honda to complain about that and the lack of XM radio.
So far I'm getting way better mileage than my previous Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi. I'm at 400KM on half a tank of gas. Anything over 500KM is an improvement over the Dodge since I could only get 500KM on a 100 Liter tank.
First project since us Canadians are not good enough to get XM radio even though both USA and Canada models are made in Alliston is try to swap out the head unit with a XM ready one from the USA.
I found the part number and hope it is plug and play. What I'm not sure about is if the XM button will automatically appear on the Nav screen as I don't know how much the Nav "Brain" plays into the radio functions. I know the voice commands come from the "Brain" but am not sure if the USA model differs from the Canadian model to actually support XM and voice commands related to XM such as the voice preset commands.
After trying to research the head unit harness for the USA model vs. the Canadian model, it looks like the harness is the same. The only plug missing is the 14 pin for the XM tuner which would come with the kit but the 20 pin is the same, CD changer is the same and so is the antenna so I don't see why this wont work.
After calling College Hills and a couple of other USA dealers the conclusion is nobody knows.
I guess I will be the only one in Canada trying this as I can't find any other posts answering my questions. I did see someone on this board asked in 2005 but he also never got a reply.
If that is successful and the XM button shows up on the Nav screen, next will be a PXAMG iPod adapter to get album/artist on the Nav screen.
If that works, I will order the XM tuner from College Hills and see if that works.
If the project fails, I'm out 330 bucks plus shipping for the head unit.
I tried eBay to get one cheap but the only head unit listed is the one with the CD changer for the non-Nav models.
I guess as long as the existing functions work as they do today and iPod text is limited to the LCD on the head unit, I will still call that a win.
Well, enough rambling... I will report back my success or failure to save other Canadians the aggravation.
Cheers!
I also had the dealer install the ipod iLinc. What a waste of money and am really disappointed which is driving my next project. I called Honda to complain about that and the lack of XM radio.
So far I'm getting way better mileage than my previous Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi. I'm at 400KM on half a tank of gas. Anything over 500KM is an improvement over the Dodge since I could only get 500KM on a 100 Liter tank.
First project since us Canadians are not good enough to get XM radio even though both USA and Canada models are made in Alliston is try to swap out the head unit with a XM ready one from the USA.
I found the part number and hope it is plug and play. What I'm not sure about is if the XM button will automatically appear on the Nav screen as I don't know how much the Nav "Brain" plays into the radio functions. I know the voice commands come from the "Brain" but am not sure if the USA model differs from the Canadian model to actually support XM and voice commands related to XM such as the voice preset commands.
After trying to research the head unit harness for the USA model vs. the Canadian model, it looks like the harness is the same. The only plug missing is the 14 pin for the XM tuner which would come with the kit but the 20 pin is the same, CD changer is the same and so is the antenna so I don't see why this wont work.
After calling College Hills and a couple of other USA dealers the conclusion is nobody knows.
I guess I will be the only one in Canada trying this as I can't find any other posts answering my questions. I did see someone on this board asked in 2005 but he also never got a reply.
If that is successful and the XM button shows up on the Nav screen, next will be a PXAMG iPod adapter to get album/artist on the Nav screen.
If that works, I will order the XM tuner from College Hills and see if that works.
If the project fails, I'm out 330 bucks plus shipping for the head unit.
I tried eBay to get one cheap but the only head unit listed is the one with the CD changer for the non-Nav models.
I guess as long as the existing functions work as they do today and iPod text is limited to the LCD on the head unit, I will still call that a win.
Well, enough rambling... I will report back my success or failure to save other Canadians the aggravation.
Cheers!