Hi everyone,

I spent over an hour searching threads for information on the USB interface for my ‘09 Fit Sport without navigation. The consensus (and, thanks, everyone for your input) is that the system displays only folders that contain files, and ignores folders in which these folders are embedded. As well, the system displays folders in the order in which they were written to the disk (although the handy program DriveSort, available on the web, enables you to organize FAT-32-partitioned disks in the order your want in this regard, typically alphabetically, but really whatever you want).

With this in mind, I’ve placed one folder for each album in the root directory, adding composer’s name to the front of the folder name in the case of classical music, so that all the Beethoven albums, for example, are grouped together. This works tolerably well, although with over 400 albums it takes a long time to scroll to the albums lower in the alphabet, something that’s dangerously distracting while driving. Has anyone figured out a way around this problem? I have to say, I’m disappointed that the system doesn’t let you scroll up from the end of the alphabet by turning the knob counterclockwise.

Also, I tried formatting my USB NTSF in the hope that it would somehow make the interface work better, but it them came up ‘unsupported’. And yet at least one person without navigation seems to have gotten the system to recognize an NTSF-formatted USB. Can others confirm that they did or did not get the system to recognize NTSF format? And, if you did get it to work with NTSF, is there an advantage in terms of the operation of the interface or display? Finally, if yours does recognize the NTSF partition, do you have any thoughts on why I wasn't able to get the system to recognize mine (it's a 64GB Transcend Jetflash)?

Thanks for any advice you can provide. I really want to get this to work smoothly, as I spent years with an iPod plugged into the dash in my previous car, and got very tired of it. One of the main reasons I bought the Fit was because of the USB interface.

 

I haven't seen anything to remedy the issue you describe, and NTFS won't work.

 

Ditto...I've got the navi and it works the same way. I went thru all my album folders and added artist to the folder name so the folder list is at least alphabetized by artist.

 

I wouldn't bother with trying to use a flash drive formatted in NTFS. FAT32 is the way to go for flash drives, especially if the drive will only be used for media content. FAT32 is recognized by more types of operating systems and the file movement rates (time copy to, time copy from, data transfer rate) are negligable as far as file systems go. I have a 2GB Data Traveler serving up my music, soon to be replaced by a 16GB version.

 

Thanks everyone for the swift and informative replies. I'm sorry that there doesn't appear to be an easy workaround for this problem. I've drafted a letter which I'm thinking of mailing to Honda tomorrow; it's appended below. Comments or suggestions for changes would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,
Scott

Honda Automobile Customer Service
Mail Stop 500-2N-7A
1919 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90501-2746

February 23, 2009

To whom it may concern:

Last week I took delivery of 2009 Honda Fit Sport with Manual Transmission, VIN# XXXXXXXXXXXXXX. On the whole I am happy with the car. However, with regard to one feature, I am very disappointed and, indeed, concerned.

The promotional literature for the car features prominently the sound system’s capacity to connect to a USB device and play mp3 files from it. For me, when I was shopping for a new car, this was a very desirable feature, as listening carefully to a wide range of music in my vehicle is very important to me. I thus made a point of checking during my test drive that my USB device did indeed connect to the sound system.

While the music did indeed play, what did not become apparent until I purchased the car is that the interface by means of which individual recordings are selected is inadequate.

The owner’s manual states that the system has the capacity to recognize up to 700 folders. As each folder typically contains one album, this means that the system can recognize up to 700 albums. This is quite adequate for my purposes. I have so far added about 400 folders to my USB drive, and ordered them alphabetically. The problem is that, in order to find a particular album, the user must scroll through the list of folders, always beginning at ‘A’ and working toward the end of the alphabet, an arrangement that is wholly impractical, especially when seeking an album the title of which begins with a letter near the end of the alphabet.

This problem might have been made more manageable by designing the system so that a rapid turn of the selector knob would result in a rapid downward scroll, or by allowing the user to rotate the knob counterclockwise and thereby begin at the end of the alphabet and work upwards. However, neither of these simple features have been incorporated into the system. The result is that it quite literally takes over three minutes to scroll though the 400 folders I currently have on my system, and would take five or six minutes to scroll through the maximum capacity of 700 folders.

This is simply not a practical arrangement. As a result, I have for now reverted to the system I used in my old car, which involves connecting my iPod-type player to the sound system via the auxiliary jack. This is a huge disappointment for me, as one of the two main reasons (the other being the car’s excellent cargo-carrying capacity) I purchased this model was so that I would no longer have to deal with a connecter wire and the need to coddle a relatively fragile hard-disk-based player.

Additionally, I have to wonder about the safely of Honda’s current system. The radio has push buttons which enable the user to select a station with a minimum of distraction, and the CD player is likewise well designed. But the USB interface requires a driver to continuously glance down at the display as he or she scrolls for several minutes, simply in order to find and play an album.

I wonder whether there is a way to resolve these problems. As mentioned above, there are two simple design changes which would make the system much more practical. With some electronic devices, the firmware can be updated—is this a possibility with the Honda Fit sound system? Failing this, I strongly suggest that Honda either recall and replace the stock sound system with a more functional one or, at the very least, stop advertising the car as one with 700-folder and 65,535-file USB capabilities.

Thank you for taking to time read about this problem, and for your consideration.

Sincerely yours,

XXXXXXX XXXXXXX

 

Looks perfect, send it off! Let us know the outcome and good luck!

 

I think this tells me that while the USB interface is cool and unique, it really isn't worth it for me. The distractions while driving are already bad enough. I don't need to be scrolling through 700 folders on my stereo to find that 1 album. I think I will just stick with the AUX jack and the navigation options on my MP3 player.

 

It seems that the iPod interface works much better on the Navi equipped cars.

 

have you thought about splitting up your music onto several usb sticks instead of one big one?

 

This is probably the best solution for huge libraries of music.

NTFS will not work with pretty much every flash media player interface I've seen. For me, sub folders are viewable, although they get listed with the rest of the root folders just the same (you'll have to name the subfolders accordingly). For me, the system seems to work well enough, although I am limiting myself to 1, 4 and 8 at most GB flash. The technology is still relatively new and obviously not perfect.

 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, which I'll keep in mind. I did send the letter to Honda, but via regular mail, and so I probably won't hear back from them for a week or two.

 

letter to honda about what? that you can't scroll through your thousands of songs quick enough ?

i'm just happy about having a usb port in the first place. i dont know which other cars offers this from factory.

 

I strongly recommend (like in the earlier post from caliban10010) that you use FAT32 instead of NTFS. NTFS is not recommended for flash devices. Enough transferring into the drive and you'll kill it faster than a FAT32. That said, most people never write more than 50GB into a flash drive over the time that they own it.