Phone Update on Hands Free Quality problem

[DUNCAN]

Originally Posted by jl02

Many thanks for the replies. I have printed off the service bulletin from Rhod's posting. Will take it to the dealer next week.

Ian

how did you go on with the dealer ?

[jl02]

I phoned the dealer the following week and straight away they said that, yes, Honda have got a fix for that and I could take the car in the next day. When I arrived they still seemed a little uncertain until I showed them the print-off of the Honda bulletin from Rhodgreen's post. Half an hour later and the job was done and it seems to have cured the problem.

Ian

[rhodgreen]

Glad to have been of help!
Shame Honda can't do the same for the rest us!!

[Kremmen]

When I arrived they still seemed a little uncertain until I showed them the print-off of the Honda bulletin from Rhodgreen's post

That seems to be the whole story with lots of posts in the Irritations forum. Dealers are not being kept up to date, or they are choosing not to be kept up to date?

Maybe a list of problems fixed and by which dealer, then your dealer might be embarrassed enough to have to find out from another dealer what to do.

[DUNCAN]

Had the mod done on mine.the voice command is still no good thats HFT and all voice commands.????????????? any help

[Daren]

Had mine "Fixed" at the dealership the other day and I have to say its 200% better and now fairly usable. People say they can now hear me even going 70mph+.

I'm happy with it....

[dondon]

My EX is a month old and unmodified. What I have just discovered is that speaking normally makes a HUGE difference.

Being a careful kind of guy, I spoke v e r y c l e a r l y into the mic and it didn't work very well. I have found that just speaking normally makes it work much better.

I will still get the mod done when I book it in for all the usual warranty stuff.

[famousfieldy]

Originally Posted by Daren

Had mine "Fixed" at the dealership the other day and I have to say its 200% better and now fairly usable. People say they can now hear me even going 70mph+.

I'm happy with it....

I just can't believe there are SO MANY people exceeding the speed limit these days.......sigh

[TTDegs]

Originally Posted by famousfieldy

I just can't believe there are SO MANY people exceeding the speed limit these days.......sigh

for note - in the Civic (generally), an indicated 70mph = actual 64mph (ish)

[AubreyS]

The Civic was in last week for the recall jobs (rear shocks, filler cap and a few things that I mentioned. (also poor radio reception, to which I was told "Yes this is an issue that we have no fix for yet" One of which was the ongoing HFT problem. The 'bit of foam' mod was done some months ago which made little or no difference.

This time they said that they were going to replace the 'control unit'. I have had the car back a few day's now and still cannot detect any difference. It still makes many mistakes.

One of the reasons I bought the EX was for the HFT and of course the other great things that this model has, but as many of us have found out, the HFT is not fit for purpose if it does not perform effectively.

So Honda, what can you come up with to keep us unhappy people.... happy?

[AubreyS]

Originally Posted by famousfieldy

I just can't believe there are SO MANY people exceeding the speed limit these days.......sigh

Who, me? No, but I overtook someone the other day that was speeding!

[Kremmen]

The 'bit of foam' mod was done some months ago which made little or no difference.

I found the same but I sorted that.

The thin black EPS they fit still doesn't fill the gap between mic and grill which may be causing the problem.

Get some pliable 5 - 10mm foam and cut out a rectangle to the shape of the Honda bulletin fix. Then ignore the bulletin when it says cut 2 small slots but cut one big slot to cover the same area.

In my case it has fixed the problem and apparently I am clear as day no matter what speed I am doing.

Also - there have been some posts about voice levels. Avoid the temptation to shout or raise your voice as the system seems to compensate for this and reduces the mic sensitivity.

[Charles_Harding]

Originally Posted by AubreyS

Who, me? No, but I overtook someone the other day, that was speeding!

Just noticed, you missed the comma out!

"To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer!"

Charles H.

[AubreyS]

Originally Posted by Charles_Harding

Just noticed, you missed the comma out!

"To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer!"

Charles H.

Thanks teacher.

[apemonkeyman]

So has anybody compared results of the foam fix with the electrical tape DIY fix?

I think the foam fix was an improvement on no fix, but having lived with it for a couple of months I'm still not happy enough with the HFT.

Is the electrical tape fix better?

Also, when setting the mic level does talking at a constant level actually train the mic level, or does it just subliminally train us to talk louder & clearer?

[Charles_Harding]

Millie is not to bad.

The HFT works most of the time.

Yesterday tho' a peculiar thing happened.

I asked Millie to 'Call Home'.

She replied 'Do you wish to call home?'.

'Yes'.

I heard the ringing tone through the space ship's speakers, and then I heard a tiny voice from my pocket, it was Lady H, in my pocket!

The HFT had done the dailing but obviously through some quirk in the equipment, it gave up before completion of the task.

I then had to stop, turn off the engine and then talk to the lovely Lady H using the bit of the 'hands free' that Millie didn't understand.

"I always try to leave a message before the Beep!"

Charles H.

[apemonkeyman]

I tested by phoning home (just like ET only taller) & leaving a message talking at normal volume whilst driving at 30mph. The test message was muffled & kept dropping out. If I hadn't left the message I wouldn't have known what I'd said!

If I raise my voice to sounding almost angry then I can make out messages but still sounds very muffled. Shouldn't be shouting should I... Voice control works almost flawlessly, apart from the 1st occasion on every journey when I make an outgoing call... "Call Home" often gets a numerical or foreign language respose! Retrying then works fine.

[Kremmen]

I found that the solution does echo previous posts that you need to ensure that the mic can only 'listen' through the grill.

To do that it needs totally shielding from the top closure with a rectangular piece of foam with a suitable rectangular cutout.

I also found by trial and error and an answering machine that the louder you shout at the mic the more muffled it becomes. It seems to try to compensate.

It is hard to do (like some people on mobiles) but you need to restrain from shouting at it and even from directing your mouth in it's direction.

[Charles_Harding]

Originally Posted by apemonkeyman

Shouldn't be shouting should I...

If you shout, then the electonics take over and miss-understand what you might have said.

Just talk normally.

I said just talk normally!

"I'm offended by political jokes. Too often they get elected!"

Charles H.

[rhodgreen]

Originally Posted by Charles_Harding

Millie is not to bad.

The HFT works most of the time.

Yesterday tho' a peculiar thing happened.

I asked Millie to 'Call Home'.

She replied 'Do you wish to call home?'.

'Yes'.

I heard the ringing tone through the space ship's speakers, and then I heard a tiny voice from my pocket, it was Lady H, in my pocket!

The HFT had done the dailing but obviously through some quirk in the equipment, it gave up before completion of the task.

I then had to stop, turn off the engine and then talk to the lovely Lady H using the bit of the 'hands free' that Millie didn't understand.

"I always try to leave a message before the Beep!"

Charles H.

Sounds like your using a Sony Ericsson phone? I've used a variety of mobiles with the HFT and SE seem to do this every now and again - my phone then reboots when I hang up when this occurs. (i.e for once I'm saying the fault doesn't lie with Honda!!).