Trip computer enabled using Acura MDX/RL DVD

UPDATE UPDATE: Read on, there may still be a solution for this.

UPDATE: turns out this won't work. All the Nav DVDs have the code for each model: Ridgeline, MDX, RL... on the same DVD. When you pop in the DVD it talks to the head unit and sends the appropriate code so even popping in a MDX DVD would still upload Ridgeline code. Oh well, back to square one of complaining to American Honda, squeeky wheels get the grease


Making a new thread for this as I think it's an important developement. Below I've copied the messages about it from another thread.

csimo:
The Ridgeline uses the EXACT same nav hardware as a 2005 Acura MDX and RL (it is a completely different system than the Accord, Pilot, TL, TSX, and Odyssey have). The current DVD version for the MDX and RL is 4.13a. The Ridgeline uses DVD version 4.20.
If you were to put a Ridgeline DVD into an MDX or RL it would automatically upgrade to version 4.20 and DISABLE the trip computer.
If you put a version 4.13a DVD into a Ridgeline it will tell you "incorrect version" because you can't go backward in versions without getting the service department involved.
You need to have the service department enable the nav unit for a backwards revision. Once the unit is wiped clean you can then load DVD version 4.13a from a MDX or RL and the trip computer SHOULD be enabled.
So the bottom line is that you need a cooperative service department and a DVD from a 2005 (2004 and previous won't work) MDX or RL. Don't count on burning a copy because it just won't work.
If you accomplish this you can't put the Ridgeline 4.20 DVD back in the unit or it will automatically upgrade and disable the trip computer.

vertrkr:
My DVD version is 4.13a although hondanavi.com says 4.20 is the latest and only version shipped with the Ridgeline, guess I got jipped on that too. Basically I need a DVD in there so if it did update with someone's elses borrowed DVD I still have to put my original DVD back in so either it will reject it because it's a lesser version or update the firmware again disabling the trip computer. So, then I guess at this point my only option is to fork out $185 and buy a MDX DVD when they release a new version higher than what I got and then I can keep that one in. So I guess I'll wait it out until then. Hopefully Honda will see the light and re-enable on their own otherwise I'll just hold a grudge and fork out the dough so I can get the damn thing.

I got to the bottom of the question "why did Honda disable the trip computer?". I can't reveal my source, but I assure you it's directly from the top at Honda. I hesitate to provide the info, but since I'm not revealing the actual source I'm going to take a chance that it won't be viewed as a breach of trust. Here's what I was told... quoted word for word (broken into segments since I had several questons):

"To your questions - First - we have to define the competitive vehicle set:
Toyota Tacoma
Nissan Frontier
Dodge Dakota
Ford Sport Trac
Chevrolet Colorado

These are all compact trucks which are direct competitors with this model.
None of these vehicles currently offer a navigation system."

"Next - the screen shot that was issued in the quick start guide was an error
taken from a prototype navigation system from the Odyssey. The quick start
guide was corrected to remove this oversight by the publications department
at American Honda. The trip computer function is not included in the Honda
Odyssey Touring Model navigation unit either. The Odyssey displays the fuel
information in the speedometer on the Touring Model only. The Touring Model
with Navigation retails at $38,000. The Ridgeline is $4,000 less expensive
than the Odyssey Touring Model. The base MDX costs $37,000 - a model with Navigation retails for $42,000. Comparing a $34,000 vehicle with the feature set of a $42,000 unit is hardly a fair comparison.

The MDX suffers from severe IQS complaints due to displaying the fuel
economy. After being brutalized by a significant number of complaints over
this issue, it is unlikely this feature will be adopted any time soon. The
JDP survey is currently under going a major revision for the third time
since its introduction. The new survey will weigh less on feature complaints
compared to severe mechanical issues that are currently treated equally.
Perhaps we will see a different environment after this next revision."

CSIMO,
I don’t have Navi so have no dog in this hunt…

But, not sure you intended to expose or protect the anonymity of your source? If you want to protect them, I suggest removing the text and substituting your own paraphrasing. It contains enough distinctive language that someone at Honda who knows this person could easily finger them.

Dunno if you know this but big companies usually have zero tolerance for exposing company secrets – no matter how righteous the cause . Your call.

CSIMO,
But, not sure you intended to expose or protect the anonymity of your source? If you want to protect them, I suggest removing the text and substituting your own paraphrasing. It contains enough distinctive language that someone at Honda who knows this person could easily finger them.
Dunno if you know this but big companies usually have zero tolerance for exposing company secrets – no matter how righteous the cause . Your call.

I was told the exact same info from a different source so the cats out of the bag and more than one hand let it out. Not sure if it's a big deal or not to them. What ever the reason it still is bogus they disabled it on our trucks. Maybe if we all promise not to bash the RL's milage they'll enable it :rolleyes:

I was told the exact same info from a different source so the cats out of the bag and more than one hand let it out. Not sure if it's a big deal or not to them.

Not to quible, but there's a difference between relaying information orally vs. having your e-mail published in a public forum. Of course, it's their fault for putting it in e-mail anyway.


What ever the reason it still is bogus they disabled it on our trucks. Maybe if we all promise not to bash the RL's milage they'll enable it :rolleyes:

Yes. Honda's solution to the peception of poor milage is to make it less obvious, knowing most people won't do the math to figure it out. You must admit it's easier than improving milage. :)

Not to quible, but there's a difference between relaying information orally vs. having your e-mail published in a public forum. Of course, it's their fault for putting it in e-mail anyway.



Yes. Honda's solution to the peception of poor milage is to make it less obvious, knowing most people won't do the math to figure it out. You must admit it's easier than improving milage. :)

I think it's safe to say that everyone with a brain knows that the posted EPA MPG numbers on the sticker are almost impossible to replicate in normal daily use. Those numbers are obtained in controlled settings that fail to replicate the variables we all see in real life. If the sole reason behind Honda not enabling the Trip Computer is to save face, then shame on them. As a world leader, they need to accept responsiblility for the products they produce, good or bad. I owned a Ford Expedition, with the trip computer, and it was not uncommon to see numers like 6 or 8 mpg in the city sometimes. Granted, this was a larger, heavier vehicle with a 5.4L V8, but the posted MPG was 14 city. I even tracked the MPG myself, and the computer was within .5 mpg of my calculations. What I am saying is that I understood the numbers on the sticker were "best possible MPG", and not what I would see normally......

UPDATE: turns out this won't work. All the Nav DVDs have the code for each model: Ridgeline, MDX, RL... on the same DVD. When you pop in the DVD it talks to the head unit and sends the appropriate code so even popping in a MDX DVD would still upload Ridgeline code. Oh well, back to square one of complaining to American Honda, squeeky wheels get the grease.

UPDATE: turns out this won't work. All the Nav DVDs have the code for each model: Ridgeline, MDX, RL... on the same DVD. When you pop in the DVD it talks to the head unit and sends the appropriate code so even popping in a MDX DVD would still upload Ridgeline code. Oh well, back to square one of complaining to American Honda, squeeky wheels get the grease.

I don't understand what you're saying. There are three different NAV families supplied to Honda/Acura. The DVD's are interchangable between families. You can tell which family you have by the color of the actual DVD. There are white, orange, and black DVD's. If you have an orange DVD from a 2003 MDX for example it will work just fine on a 2005 Acura TL, and vice versa (I've actually done this so I know it works). The DVD's are not coded for the vehicle (MDX, RL, TL, Accord, Odyssey, etc.)... just the NAV family.

Now the Ridgeline may be different, but I've swapped DVD's between many different Acura and Honda NAV systems.

OK, let's work toward solving this problem. I don't yet have a Ridgeline to examin the navigation system, but from everything I've been told it's the EXACT same Alpine unit that is used in the 2005 Acura MDX and Acura RL.

The Alpine system uses a SH-4 processor running Microsoft Windows CE as the OS. Anyone that's hacked a Sega Dreamcast will be very familiar with this setup as they are nearly the same.

The navigation program is written in Visual C++.

Things we've been able to do to the nav system to date? Change the display picture (couple of examples below) and some have been able to remove the "nag" screen upon startup.

If the code for the trip computer is in there we'll find a way to activate it with or without Honda's help!

A couple of examples of what others have replaced the standard opening screen with:

http://www.mtmsteel.com/Back.bmp


http://www.linuxkiddies.com/bysin/Honda-Back.jpg

http://www.lehigh.edu/~dmc4/Back9.bmp

and my favorite (edited):

http://jtow.net/hawhat.jpg

some have been able to remove the "nag" screen upon startup.

I'm very interested in this hack. Why do we have to see that screen everytime we start the truck for as long as we own it. It's silly.

I don't understand what you're saying. There are three different NAV families supplied to Honda/Acura. The DVD's are interchangable between families. You can tell which family you have by the color of the actual DVD. There are white, orange, and black DVD's. If you have an orange DVD from a 2003 MDX for example it will work just fine on a 2005 Acura TL, and vice versa (I've actually done this so I know it works). The DVD's are not coded for the vehicle (MDX, RL, TL, Accord, Odyssey, etc.)... just the NAV family.
Now the Ridgeline may be different, but I've swapped DVD's between many different Acura and Honda NAV systems.

I have not tried anything myself but the following is what I was told when I asked to someone high up at Honda about putting in the MDX DVD to activate the trip computer.

There are families of the head unit but as I understand each one is slightly different and will ping back a different model code to the DVD. The DVDs may have different labels but still contain multiple code sets of firmware for a particular model. So then a MDX DVD may have firmware code on it for the MDX, Ridgeline, RL... but it pings the head unit to see what it's talking to and uploads the appropriate code for the head unit. I was also told the MDX has an inferior head unit compared to the Ridgeline. That's all I know I at the moment. The truth is out there somewhere...

I'm all for trying a hack, right now my 1 year is having a break down like I've never seen before and the wife is gone, gotta run.

Now this sounds like an interesting project. Hacking the source code to enable our right to a trip computer.

More info continues to come in. The DVD is not model specific and contains no information that is specific to each model. The DVD is by family.

The DVD method will not activate the trip computer on the Ridgeline. It is possible to enable the trip computer, but not via the DVD. It would have to be a firmware upgrade uploaded via the PC Card slot on the navigation unit.

What we're looking at doing is attempting to download the firmware from a navigation unit of the same family and comparing it to the Ridgeline (if I ever get one that is). We should be able to disassemble the firmware, make the change and then upload it via the PC Card slot.

The Ridgeline navigation unit has full access to the F-can bus and has all the fuel information available to it.

The following is my OPINION of the situation. Honda will not be taking any action to activate the trip computer, but some of the fine guys at Alpine are willing to give a few tips off the record.

Now that I know a certain person is following this forum I'll just make a public comment in response to his position. No, the trip computer may not be EXACTLY accurate in computing the distance to empty, but how you could believe that setting the trip odometer and using 400 miles as the benchmark is better, or more accurate than having a trip computer is beyond my comprehension (and just plain wrong too). Do you think that people interested in their MPG will not calculate it anyway? Many people such as myself don't care what their MPG is, don't care to set the trip odometer, and just want to know if I've got enough gas to make it where I'm going or not. It really is that simple. Why go to such lengths to HIDE this information? It just doesn't make sense.

How could Honda convince themselves that to remove the trip computer information would make more customers HAPPY? Using that logic you should eliminate those electric seats, delay wipers, tilt steering wheel and a bunch of other things and your customers would be ecstatic. Hmmmm, those features actually cost Honda money to include, but the trip computer costs NOTHING and Honda actually paid to have it removed!

I would love a solution to get around that nag screen. That is the MOST annoying thing about this vehicle. Of course, I want the trip computer too...

No, the trip computer may not be EXACTLY accurate in computing the distance to empty, but how you could believe that setting the trip odometer and using 400 miles as the benchmark is better, or more accurate than having a trip computer is beyond my comprehension (and just plain wrong too). Do you think that people interested in their MPG will not calculate it anyway? Many people such as myself don't care what their MPG is, don't care to set the trip odometer, and just want to know if I've got enough gas to make it where I'm going or not. It really is that simple. Why go to such lengths to HIDE this information? It just doesn't make sense.
How could Honda convince themselves that to remove the trip computer information would make more customers HAPPY? Using that logic you should eliminate those electric seats, delay wipers, tilt steering wheel and a bunch of other things and your customers would be ecstatic. Hmmmm, those features actually cost Honda money to include, but the trip computer costs NOTHING and Honda actually paid to have it removed!

csimo, you da man. Couldn't have said it better, I don't care what my mpg is, it is what it is, I didn't buy the truck for it's mpg. I mostly want the distance to empty feature. I'm more than willing to help out anyway I can. I can buy a PC Card and download what ever is needed and send it to you. I just need to know what to do. PM me if I can help.

...So then a MDX DVD may have firmware code on it for the MDX, Ridgeline, RL... but it pings the head unit to see what it's talking to and uploads the appropriate code for the head unit...I would think instead that it's the navi unit that is looking for a specific identity/code on the DVD ("if you're a Ridgeline DVD then I will accept you") i.e. if it is the correct DVD it will load the information. IOW it's the head unit that's in control, not the DVD. If I'm right, then it should be possible, if one has access to both types of DVD, to compare the two DVDs and determine where they are different, make a copy and tweak the "ID" on the DVD, then write the DVD back-out again for loading into the Ridgeline.

I don't have a navi unit but do enuf noodling re: Video dvds to believe that anything is copy-able, changeable, and re-writable back again.

Edit: Ok I admit I haven't read this thread that closely, not having a navi unit myself, and if it's the case instead that there is One DVD that has every different vehicle's firmware on it, well my "compare" idea doesn't work. The head unit may simply look for the Ridge firmware on the DVD. Maybe this makes it even easier--just change the filename(s) of the MDX fw to the Ridge?

I would be interested in paying a fair price for a DVD wuth the trip computer enabled if anyone is inclined to have a little side business.

Here is a question though...what happens if you by an updated DVD in the future for the GPS??

thanks

You can remove the DVD from the navigation unit and read it on your computers standard DVD ROM drive. Nothing encrypted, nothing special.

The DVD is a multi-layer DVD. You CAN copy it, but to my knowledge nobody has been successful in getting the navigation unit to read the copy.

Feel free to pull the DVD and look at it. I'm messing around with an orange version 3.30f right now. Here's what's on it:

Volume in drive D is H0411A0411VOL16
Volume Serial Number is BB6A-7691
Directory of D:\
02/17/2003 04:41 AM 112,426 80000000.BMP
08/29/2003 11:35 AM 2,832 A0000_00.MNG
05/26/2002 02:11 PM 294,108,888 ADD.BIN
09/02/2003 02:48 AM 13,593,591 BN2HH110.BIN
09/02/2003 02:45 AM 13,671,927 BN2HH120.BIN
09/02/2003 01:41 AM 13,642,015 BN2HH12C.BIN
02/20/2003 05:56 AM 79,235 BN2HHMLD.BIN
09/02/2003 02:34 AM 13,584,083 BN2HN12B.BIN
09/17/2003 10:25 PM 13,624,431 BN2HN18B.BIN
05/07/2003 02:50 PM 2,823,794 FRNCH2F.VC_
06/16/2003 09:50 AM 22,644,904 FR_ETB2F.VC_
08/26/2003 01:52 AM 1,441,052,908 OAR_5001.STR
08/25/2003 02:48 PM 1,304,414,240 OAR_5002.POI
08/30/2003 03:22 AM 317,076 OAR_5003.MLT
09/18/2003 01:44 AM 132 PRG_INFO.MNG
08/29/2003 12:23 PM 3,035,046,649 U0001_02.BAS
08/29/2003 12:10 PM 124,950,937 U0130_02.ROA
08/29/2003 12:10 PM 1,268,408 U2001_02.CIT
08/29/2003 12:10 PM 5,123,876 U2002_02.SIG
01/21/2003 01:11 PM 2,446,208 US_ENG2F.VC_
02/05/2003 06:57 AM 2,430,336 US_ENG2M.VC_
06/01/2003 03:38 PM 31,568,050 US_ETB2F.VC_
06/01/2003 03:40 PM 30,349,826 US_ETB2M.VC_
09/01/1998 08:50 PM 10,240 zzz10.bin
09/01/1998 08:50 PM 102,400 zzz100.bin
25 File(s) 6,366,969,412 bytes
0 Dir(s) 0 bytes free

interesting....means absolutelly nothing to me, but very interesting...

I would be interested in paying a fair price for a DVD wuth the trip computer enabled if anyone is inclined to have a little side business.

Here is a question though...what happens if you by an updated DVD in the future for the GPS??

thanks

That's exactly what we're working toward. There will be some development costs that we will try and recover, but if we're successful it won't cost very much.

Once the firmware is updated via the PC Card the newer DVD shouldn't have anything to do with it. There is no firmware update via the DVD... only program updates.

If I get a Ridgeline (looking more likely every day since this is the issue holding me back) I WILL find a way to enable the trip computer if it can be done.

great!! thanks

I would love a solution to get around that nag screen. That is the MOST annoying thing about this vehicle. Of course, I want the trip computer too...I would agree. Bypass the "nag screen" and as a bonus if we could have the trip computer enabled...great.

Isn't it sad that Honda feels that they need to hide the trip computer functions from their customers. I do not know of any other manufacturer that has taken this approach. I am certain that I am not the only one that is very disappointed in Honda about this issue. It is also sad that new owners of their most expensive models feel strongly enough about this issue that we resort to hacking to restore a feature that Honda intentionally removed. As to the nag screen, why not allow the owners to disable it at their own risk or at least limiting the nag screen to appearing once every 30 days? I will leave mine enabled so that I remember not to follow it too closely and drive off a cliff. Gimme a break!

I would much rather have Honda step up and provide the update but you can count me in for the modification if Honda fails to help. I think that this issue will bite them when more reviews and customer feedback start appearing in print.

like i mnetioned before, I posted my issues on Consumer Reports...start posting the problems everywhere you can

I agree with ultra-HOG.... but if Honda does not come through... count me in for a hacked DVD. I WANT MY TRIP COMPUTER!

I'm in if there's a hack fix. i almost bought a MDX because of this feature alone. I do kinda understand Honda's explanation in the previous post.

They have to understand that people that paid the big $$ for Navi should have had trip computer.....IMO

Isn't it correct that we are also missing out on the climate controls and temperature readings that should be on the nav screen? All of this is pictured on the 2nd to last page of the quick start guide. The picture in the quickstart guide shows all of these options along with "trip computer". It sure would be nice to adjust "climate controls" on the Nav screen instead, especially at night when you can barely see the "modes" on the little tiny screen.

I want it all back, give me the the fix/hack and I'll give you $100.00!

GIVE IT BACK HONDA! I THINK IT WAS "MEATLOAF" WHO SAID, "IIIIIII WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!" :D

Honda, grant me Serenity to accept the things you need to change, Courage to convince you to change them and the Wisdom to to know why you ever disabled it in the first place! :p

What we need here to resolve this problem is a 16 year old with an extra 15 minutes at study hall to resolve this computer problem, I'm sure he/she is out there!!!!

Gonzo

hmmm...I'm a h4c|<3r.......but I d0n't h4ve n4vi or a R1dG3L!n3 f0r that matt3r.... :D kbye

...The DVD is a multi-layer DVD. You CAN copy it, but to my knowledge nobody has been successful in getting the navigation unit to read the copy...
I would guess that the DVD burner simply has to bitset the writeable DVD+R DL disc as "DVD-ROM" type. Not all burners do this out-of-the-box, though my Pioneer DVR-109/AO9 does.

Isn't it correct that we are also missing out on the climate controls and temperature readings that should be on the nav screen?
Is this true--this is not a joke? If this is the case, I would think the trip computer would be the least of all y'all's complaints! I remember reading about the voice-activated climate stuff in my manual and thinking "this makes me wonder if the navi isn't worth the $2K after all"!!!!

I really wanted the navi myself, but as it is we spent $10K more on a vehicle than we'd originally intended! :rolleyes:

Is this true--this is not a joke? If this is the case, I would think the trip computer would be the least of all y'all's complaints! I remember reading about the voice-activated climate stuff in my manual and thinking "this makes me wonder if the navi isn't worth the $2K after all"!!!!
I really wanted the navi myself, but as it is we spent $10K more on a vehicle than we'd originally intended! :rolleyes:

Perhaps the HVAC options would also be enabled too as other Navi models have that. However I don't think it adds anything new just another way to control the climate control instead of using it's dials & buttons.

...I don't think it adds anything new...Maybe not, but it sounded very cool to me!!! :cool:

And another thing that must be in the manual somewhere (or I wouldn't know about it).

Isn't it sad that Honda feels that they need to hide the trip computer functions from their customers. I do not know of any other manufacturer that has taken this approach. I am certain that I am not the only one that is very disappointed in Honda about this issue. It is also sad that new owners of their most expensive models feel strongly enough about this issue that we resort to hacking to restore a feature that Honda intentionally removed. As to the nag screen, why not allow the owners to disable it at their own risk or at least limiting the nag screen to appearing once every 30 days? I will leave mine enabled so that I remember not to follow it too closely and drive off a cliff. Gimme a break!

I would much rather have Honda step up and provide the update but you can count me in for the modification if Honda fails to help. I think that this issue will bite them when more reviews and customer feedback start appearing in print.


Actually:
Did you ever wonder why you seem to be able to get the "first half" (according to the gas gauge) of the tank to get more mpg than the 2nd half? It's because the gauges are designed that way. Back in the 80's GM decided that they would make an "honest" gas gauge in their Caddy. The year they changed the gauge, there were increased complaints of poor mpg for the EXACT same model car which had no changes made other than the gas gauge. See a lot of people don't calculate these things. They look at the gauge and go "hmm how come I am only getting xxx miles for half a tank when such and such can get xxx+yyy"? Guess what GM did? Change the guage back.

Gas gauges do lie folks.

Gas gauges do lie folks.
Maybe so, but it seems that Honda's gas gauge (in general) is much more uniform from full to empty than any other vehicle I've owned (Ford/Chevy). I haven't had my RL long enough to determine the accuracy of the gauge.

It sure would be nice to adjust "climate controls" on the Nav screen instead, especially at night when you can barely see the "modes" on the little tiny screen.

Do you mean you can actually see those little icons in the day? I think they're ridiculously small. I can barely make them out as the passenger. I don't want a driver trying to sort through them. It's a good thing that defrost is controlled by a very large button.

I will pick up my RTL-Navi in a few days. I have the manuals and have read through them. Do I understand from reading this thread that the Climate Control functions as shown in the Navigation System manual and in the Quick Start guide are not available at all? I thought that I had read somewhere on ROC that the voice commands had been disabled. Do I now see that all climate control has been removed? If I have to put my reading glasses on to adjust the standard controls, I will be very pix#ed off! These features are supposed to be functional on the vehicle that I paid for. Please tell me that I am confused.

By having navi, you can still do climate controls via voice. However, you will not have the "touch screen climate controls" (and navi trip computer) that is shown in one of the small pictures in the quick start guide manual. This picture is on the 2nd to last page. It is pretty crappy that it is not activated. Many of us want the trip computer and the climate would have been nice also when changing speeds and modes.

I would like to see all the goodies like everyone else, however I did see a thread of saying 2K was to much for this unit.
I had an aftermarket Navi in my old truck & the Honda puts it to shame.. As a navi alone, it is much more user friendly, has more bells & whistles than my last one... My last one did have DVD, TV, XM, and 2000 watts, but I also paid $7900.00 installed.
Ok I dont watch TV at home, so I do not miss it in the truck. DVD was nice, but cell phones are deemed unsafe, muchless than watching a Metallica video crusin down the road. The RL stereo is no where near what I had.. but all in all it sounds great! The stereo shop I deal with aggreed, by far its one of the best factory systems!
I love this Truck! Trip meter or not:) :)

This is going to take some time, but we've got some very talented people working on navi hacks for the Ridgeline. Just need more people out there that actually own one!

I suspect we'll be able to re-activate the A/C functions as well as the trip computer.

We can already change the opening picture, and eliminate the nag screen. We can make it boot into native Windows CE and do other functions than just nav, but this is not a long term goal.

The nav system has full access to the F-Can bus. The Ridgeline info is fairly well integrated on the bus so we can pick up a lot of info.

Does everyone here know how to access the diagnostic menu? If you want to play around in it feel free... just be careful of what you change!

Hold down the Menu, Map/Guide, and Cancel buttons simultaneously for about five seconds. You will then enter the diagnostic mode. You can calibrate for tire size, get raw GPS data, and a bunch of other info there. You can see that the system didn't find the expected rearview camera as well.

Hold down the Menu, Map/Guide, and Cancel buttons simultaneously for about five seconds. You will then enter the diagnostic mode. You can calibrate for tire size, get raw GPS data, and a bunch of other info there. You can see that the system didn't find the expected rearview camera as well.


Ya, that's good stuff. I liked running thru all the diag tests, makes me feel good when everything test ok coming up with the "green ok's". Thanks for all your work on this csimo.

Thank you CSIMO! It sounds like our hope to allow the Honda Nav system to work the way that it is supposed to and what we paid for is in your hands. I still think that it is very sad and disappointing that Honda is withholding these very useful features from us and causing customers to resort to hacking in order to restore these functions that the system is fully capable of performing. I am trading a 2000 Chevy Blazer LT on the Ridgeline. The Blazer has a trip computer that I use regularly to display the instant MPG. When I see low numbers I back off of the right foot and watch them climb. Seems to me that doing so will increase the average MPG - which is a good thing! If you are going to restore that feature, can you go one step further and make the displayed instant MPG show up in red if it is below the average MPG? That may be a little much to ask, just a thought... Thanks for your help. Please don't be shy about asking me / us to help cover your costs. Then again, maybe Honda will pay you to fix what they broke!

I just got my Ridge with Navi and one of the first things I did was pull the DVD to look it over. I happen have access to a 2005 RL as well and pulled the DVD for it as well. I'm reasonably tech savy, one of the folks who doesn't have much trouble implementing a hack but not good enough to come up with my own.

In any case the DVD map data was identical on both DVD's but the Ridge version of the DVD was 4.13C and the RL was 4.13b. Looking over the files for likely suspects the files that were different were the SJCA_.bin, SHJA_.bin and S3VW_.bin files. The Ridge had files that were differents sizes and dated Jan 2005 and the RL files are dated Dec 2004.

When you pull the map data off the DVD the remaining files fit fine on a standard CD so if one of the true tech types would like PM me and I'll be happy to send you a CD with the data from RL and a CD with the Ridgeline files.

It also looks like there is an UPDATE_APL.exe file the must be complied for CE that I am guessing is used to flash the ROMs in the nav system like you would update the BIOS on a PC. Does anyone have access to the Acura tech manual about how to update the RL nav system and what the PC Card slot is used for?

Also did I miss read or have already figured out how to change the splash screen and the nag screen? Can you share how to do this yet?

I've started a new thread on this subject as a first step in actually making this happen. Hope to keep the new thread on topic and working toward the actual hack. We can continue to discuss things here, but hopefully the actual details toward making the hack work will be in the new thread.

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1003

Thanks!

This is going to take some time, but we've got some very talented people working on navi hacks for the Ridgeline. . .

get raw GPS data,

This is exciting news and great information. I'll do what I can to contribute information, but I'm not as techie as you by a long shot. Please tell me how to eject the DVD so I can tell you what label and version it is. All I know is it's under the passenger's seat, but I haven't looked for it yet. Also, I'm a Mac person, so I don't know if it would do any good to try burning the DVD on my computer. This DVD is a Microsoft product, right?

It's my first GPS unit and I was wondering if it would give you a reading of where you are so you could look at a map to navigate the rural areas and back roads.

I'll be watching your other thread for updates.

To eject the DVD just look at the front of the unit. Pretty straightforward... hit the eject button on most models.

Hope you can help!

Why would you need climate controls on the screen when its all controlled by voice commands? Mine works wonderful. Your not worried if your dealer or honda find out you hacked your disc they will void all warranty? This was discussed on another forum and the consensus was to just let it go.

what about using a pc card to transfer the info from an 05 tsx (ivan) to my ridge (ivan). csi your thoughs would be appreciated

what about using a pc card to transfer the info from an 05 tsx (ivan) to my ridge (ivan). csi your thoughs would be appreciated

No, the TSX has a different generation of navigaion hardware than the Ridgeline.

The navigation unit can apparently write to the PC Card slot, but there doesn't appear to be a loader driver so you can't load from the PC Card slot.

I believe we have the issue solved if we can find a burned DVD format that the navigation system can read. Will keep you updated!