NAVTOOL in 2G MDX (2011 MDX with Pictures)

Ok, good to know. I kind of suspected the steering wheel track button because of the AUX.

Question: can you turn on the Sirius/XM on your car's stereo and listen to it while turning on the Apple Car play at the same time for navigation, for example?

AcuraAddicted said:

Question: can you turn on the Sirius/XM on your car's stereo and listen to it while turning on the Apple Car play at the same time for navigation, for example?

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Yes but you can only listen to one source at a time, so if you are listening to XM, you will not be able to hear navigation prompts from Car Play.

teknocrat said:

Yes but you can only listen to one source at a time, so if you are listening to XM, you will not be able to hear navigation prompts from Car Play.

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Perfect, thanks! I don't use navigation prompts, only alerts. Thankfully, I can output those to the smartphone spearker using Waze settings.

AcuraAddicted said:

tecknocrat
Sorry for hijacking your thread again, but since I have not finalized my installation, I haven't created mine yet.

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Feel free to use this thread, will act as a common thread for Navtool in 2G MDX

My comments inline

[QUOTE="AcuraAddicted]
My updates so far on the 2008 MDX Tech: unit connected to the navigation drive under the driver's seat using the splitter provided in the package.

Cons:

1) To my disappointment and despite the unit is claimed to be plug-and-play, it is not, in fact, the case. There were still two wires to be connected: red to accessory and black to ground. Like really? A $700 box which is not completely plug-and-play? The least they could do is provide extra wiring, because the wires there are now are like 25 cm long, there's no way you can get to ACC and ground with that.

TK - Strange in mine it was just a matter of connecting those red and balck wires with another set of black and red but yes the documentation had not mention of this

2) Audio output from the unit is female RCA based, meaning in order to connect it to my Tech with Entertainment, I would need two male to male RCA adapters, which are, of course, not provided in the package (ugh, again not something I expected for seven hundred bucks). Will have to dig up those somewhere in any of the wire boxes I have. Or order online. This is fixable.

TK yeah same I bought it before doing the installation as it was clear from package and video

3) The image is a bit fuzzy, although it's not the unit's fault, of course, but the outdated MDX's screen. Still the text is legible and the image is decent.

TK - True its not crisp like newer systems

4) The operation using factory knob is not exactly as snappy as in some newer cars I've had experience with CarPlay with. I also don't think it's the unit's fault, as the infotainment for the 2008 model is outdated and, of course, adds a bit of lag to the input that the unit has to process.

TK - Hmm I dont find any lag

5) Some of the things operate weirdly. E.g. cancel button acts normally when in an app (it just jumps back to the screen from where you can choose other apps), but it doesn't function as a go back one screen button within apps themselves - I have to use the knob to operate within the app. I guess it's just a matter of getting used to. Another example is when navigating in Waze or Maps and using panning, the knob controls are reversed: you press down to go up and you press left to go right, etc.

TK - True, while I dont face the issues you mentioned, I do think both carplay and Android Auto are designed primarily for touch screen based units and dont provide the best experience with a dial. Zooming in map is quite cumbersome e.g.

6) Rear camera does not turn on in reverse when CarPlay is on. I have to exit the carplay and go back to the factory interface to get the camera back on. I sincerely hope this is a matter of settings in the unit. Otherwise I have to press and hold Cancel every time I'm in CarPlay screen and need to reverse? May I remind this is a $700 unit?

TK - Did you program it before installing? You have to select that your car has factory camera. It works fine in mine as it switches to reverse camera when in Reverse gear


Pros:
WAZE

It is amazing when output to MDX's screen!
[/QUOTE]

tecknocrat said:

TK - Strange in mine it was just a matter of connecting those red and balck wires with another set of black and red but yes the documentation had not mention of this

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Interesting! Do you mean connecting the wires from the same wire loom that is connected to the unit?

tecknocrat said:

TK - Hmm I dont find any lag

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It is very minor for me, nothing "criminal". I'm guessing because the 2010+ has newer system (and screen), it's faster in terms of the input.

tecknocrat said:

TK - True, while I dont face the issues you mentioned, I do think both carplay and Android Auto are designed primarily for touch screen based units and dont provide the best experience with a dial. Zooming in map is quite cumbersome e.g.

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That makes sense.

tecknocrat said:

TK - Did you program it before installing? You have to select that your car has factory camera. It works fine in mine as it switches to reverse camera when in Reverse gear

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Yeah, I did. I chose the "Factory equipped rear view camera" option. I am now being told by support that I have to connect the orange wire to reverse. Ugh...

AcuraAddicted said:

Interesting! Do you mean connecting the wires from the same wire loom that is connected to the unit?

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Yes, I was actually wondering why do they need that big wiring loom when everything is same(It was 1 to 1 loom unlike others which were 1 to 2) then saw the 2 tiny wires and then the another pair on Navtool, all i had to do was connect them to get power.

AcuraAddicted said:

Yeah, I did. I chose the "Factory equipped rear view camera" option. I am now being told by support that I have to connect the orange wire to reverse. Ugh...

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Strange no such thing on mine. I guess the underseat DVD unit makes the wiring different.

teknocrat said:

Yes, I was actually wondering why do they need that big wiring loom when everything is same(It was 1 to 1 loom unlike others which were 1 to 2) then saw the 2 tiny wires and then the another pair on Navtool, all i had to do was connect them to get power.

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Wait, are you saying you have some additional separate wires going from the unit itself? I don't. Just a bunch of wires sticking out of the wire loom.

teknocrat said:

Strange no such thing on mine. I guess the underseat DVD unit makes the wiring different.

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Looks like it!

The complete absense of the manual is really horrible. Basically piecing together various info.

AcuraAddicted said:

Wait, are you saying you have some additional separate wires going from the unit itself? I don't. Just a bunch of wires sticking out of the wire loom.

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Just 2 wires, one pair in the loom from the unit that plugs into Navtool and one pair which sticks out from the bus type wire loom which just adds between stock connector and headunit.

AcuraAddicted said:

The complete absense of the manual is really horrible. Basically piecing together various info.

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True but for the 2.5G their YouTube video is pretty good, in absence of that, it would have been almost impossible for a non DIYer like me.

So overtime, having the the cable move over the center console to the aux port under arm rest cubby is getting a little annoying. Can someone help me on how I can get this wire connected from behind the audio to the Aux port without it being visible ?

tecknocrat said:

Sharing my Navtool installation experience like I did on Acurazine

So I ordered my Navtool last Saturday online, asked for coupon code and was provided a 10% discount. Received it on Friday. Started installation on Sunday

Programmed the unit, opened up the car panels, took out radio, connected all the harnesses and then I got stuck twice

• First block - radio pin, as we need to remove and connect the power harness it prompts for a pin when you put the ignition on, should have kept it handy before disconnecting so please dont forget this step, luckily I remembered i have the full manual kit, ran back in and found the card with radio pin phew
• Second block - The radio switches on but the big dial controller is not working, I cant go past the first warning screen where we need to select 'Ok'. Turns out the two loose wires of red & black cables on the two harnesses need to be connected. This is not mentioned in the YouTube Video and got to know over the customer support chat.

So before I start with pictures, some details which the installation video doesn't tell and how did I route my cables

• As mentioned above red and black wires need to be connected for it to work.
• I had bought an HDMI and USB extension cable which can be put in the auxiliary/cigarette lighter socket ( Amazon). I couldn't remove the center panel so routed it to the Glove Box and routed the USB cable back from center console bottom section(more on that below)
• I bought Aux cable Amazon Canada) routed it through the bottom section of the radio unit, its a black trim piece which I didn't add back. The pictures should help explain, its kind of an eyesore to see that cable out there all the time but its an acceptable compromise at this time.
• Microphone - I tried mounting it on top but the cable is too thin to stay under the trim, so put it above steering wheel to the left side, works perfectly. Google assistant works flawlessly and so does Siri.
• Calling function is a bit weird, you need to use speaker phone for it to work with Android Auto, have not tried calling with CarPlay.
• The USB cable charges the phone while its connected.

Willl Share the pics in next post, let me know if anyone has any questions

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I also have a 2011 MDX and just installed my Navtool interface. I'm having trouble connecting my phone. The screen comes up when I hold down cancel but the AA and carplay option is greyed out. Any help would be appreciated.

SteveScharf said:

I also have a 2011 MDX and just installed my Navtool interface. I'm having trouble connecting my phone. The screen comes up when I hold down cancel but the AA and carplay option is greyed out. Any help would be appreciated.

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How are you connecting your phone? Is it an OEM cable or third party? I am asking as I have heard this to be a common problem for AA/CP that if the cable is not genuine it might not detect the device. Basically the option will only be active if the system detects a phone.

Also which device are you trying with?

teknocrat said:

How are you connecting your phone? Is it an OEM cable or third party? I am asking as I have heard this to be a common problem for AA/CP that if the cable is not genuine it might not detect the device. Basically the option will only be active if the system detects a phone.

Also which device are you trying with?

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I'm trying to connect my phone and I'm using the usb cable that came with my phone. The only thing I haven't connected is the RCA to aux jack, is that necessary? I'll include a picture of what my screen looks like.

I’m tying to understand why there is not simply an aftermarket touch screen that would simply have an input to receive the factory input and a toggle switch to move over to carplay. It could connect to the aux, XM inputs of the factory and everything should work without the car recognizing a different screen.
Again, simply a touch screen that has built in CarPlay and an input for the factory display

SteveScharf said:

View attachment 115968

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I'm in the same situation. I think it depends what version you ordered from Navtool. If interested, here is my install pics from a few days ago on Azine:



I ordered the Navtool with HDMI mirroring. I don't have Apple, so I did not think I needed the Carplay option. I've emailed Navtool to confirm this.

My thought is that since I went with the $329 version, the Carplay and Android auto is not activated. I just ordered a USB-C to HDMI cable to verify if I can screen mirror my Android phone to the display via the HDMI input. If that works, I'll be happy!

AcuraAddicted said:

Not yet, I'm planning to do this on Saturday, but I'm also doing Oil, ATF (plus replacing the short cooling hose and clamps) and transfer case change and filming it, so it might take a good chunk of the day (time is usually trippled or quardrupled when filming). I'll make sure to answer your question if I do.

My understanding is that it should work with factory controls. If they don't, I'll be returning the unit, as it would be not worth the $500 bucks I paid.

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please share the links to your DIY videos. Thx.

hungsternyc said:

please share the links to your DIY videos. Thx.

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I will. Planned for 2022 currently, as it's not even filmed yet. So far the ones that have been filmed since Spring 2020 are planned for release mid 2021.

AcuraAddicted said:

I will. Planned for 2022 currently, as it's not even filmed yet. So far the ones that have been filmed since Spring 2020 are planned for release mid 2021.

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Understood. My 2010 has only about 80K on it and is running so well, but I'm a little itchy to see the new 2022 MDX Type S...maybe if I did a few upgrades (CarPlay, hitch install), it would calm my desire to look into the new model...lol

looking at your mods would help too! ; )