Honda Forum

[redvers]

So after much deliberation before choosing an FR-V, and then a considerable amount of looking for the right car & deal, followed by an obscene amount of time waiting for the car to come in to the dealers, I finally took delivery of my new FR-V this morning at around 8.20am. Or rather, my girlfriend did...

And therein lies the problem. I think she's in love with my new motor. I'd arranged with Impulse Cars to get the parking sensors and audio stuff fitted today, and she agreed to drive it down there for me. All of the texts I have had from her have been about how much she likes the car, and the stereo I've picked, etc etc, along with several "so jealous" ones too.

And yet in approx. 6 hours she hasn't sent me a single picture, despite my constant requests!! :-/

She's already said she wants the car tomorrow, too, so that she can have a proper drive in it rather than sitting around for three hours while I.C. fit the ICE system! I haven't seen my car since buying it, and already I feel that it's lost to me!

I'll post pics when possible, if I'm allowed near it when I get home tonight....

[Jok]

I have the perfect solution - buy mine for her and you'll have one each - his 'n' hers FR-V's !!

She'll have privacy glass, ipod connectivity, parking sensors etc just like you, and could make you jealous with her full leather interior with heated seats

[gchild]

nice one. you should have got in there first and said the dash mounted handbrake would cause her too many issues! 1 year later and my mrs still hasnt driven mine

[redvers]

The car was delivered to her house with the express intention for her to drive it to get the stuff fitted to it... Telling her not to drive it wasn't an option lol!!

[mateen73]

many congragulation for FRV, waiting to see pictures of new audio fitted in FRV.
Enjoy the FRV drive.

Good Luck

[redvers]

Well my iPhone died last week which meant I lost the pics I took and I haven't been able to get on to the forums as easily...

However now back up and running and (Green Day concert aside ) I am hoping to have some more pics taken and uploaded to a hosting site over the weekend of the parking sensors and new stereo as fitted by Impulse Cars.

I've definitely been enjoying my new drive (a little too much on the motorways ) and have had the full complement of six up just on one trip so far - all fitted in with plenty of room and the kids ended up asleep in the back, so no complaints from them!

Car wise I think the only niggle I have had so far is when my 3yr old son drops stuff on the floor and expects me to pick it up for him while I'm driving... in my Astra I could sort of reach some stuff and grab it for him, but the middle seat rules that out completely. I'm worried about putting him up front as I'm sure that once I do, he will want to sit there EVERY car journey!

As to the stuff fitted by Impulse Car... the reverse sensors work well and the little screen blends in with the interior roof lining. You really would think it was factory fit. It's the Steelmate 400I, similar to the one Halfords sell except the screen is better (I'll make sure I take a pic). The screen doesn't have the distance LCD digit, but all that appears to do is replicate the bars to the side anyway. At £250, it's £35 more expensive than Halford's for a slightly cheaper unit (based on prices from steelmate webpage) and you do need to get your car to them, whereas Halfords will send someone out to you. Whether or not the Halfords person knows what they are doing is another matter though - reviews and comments online suggested that they are very hit and miss.

On the audio side, my first impression was to wonder why they'd fitted the stereo above the storage pocket rather than below it. However they had fed the iPhone lead through this, which allows me to leave the iphone in the pocket (it doesn't fit fully in, unfortunately) and will be better placed once I finally get a proper mount for the phone. However I *think* that the phone does the "accessory connected" thing the whole time it's plugged in, so unless I rehack and disable that, I'm not sure if that is worth it... Having the cable sticking through means that I can't really use the storage pocket for putting CDs in (my original idea) but tbh I don't think that will be an issue. Otherwise the mounting of the single-din unit in the double-din fascia is excellent!

The microphone for the bluetooth handsfree had been placed next to the mirror, so doesn't get in the way of the sun visors. The wires are hidden out of view too - am guessing they've gone along the dash and up one of the A pillars. The stereo works quite well for making/receiving calls and is quite clear, and apparently my voice comes across quite clearly too, so no issues there!

All of the buttons on the stereo can be reached as well even though it's higher than I thought it would be and thus would put some things out of reach... having never actually used my FRV before I had this done I hadn't realised that the clock is part of the original stereo unit. As such, with the new unit I don't have a clock in the car at all! I will have to look at getting a small one and sticking it to the dash, but its not that big a deal - especially if i can mount my iphone! Anyone know if any other functionality is lost that I might not have been aware of?

Finally, the steering wheel controls do work, but sometimes need to be pushed a few times before the thing wakes up and recognises that I am pushing buttons. Once it has woken up it seems fine! I need to have a google to see if this is "normal" for the adaptors; I don't know as I have never used one before. It may be that the unit is faulty or there's a loose wire, so if I can't find anything I'll drop Impulse a line and see what they say!

Overall, I was charged £400 for the head unit fitting & all parts, which I think was very good value for money. The parking sensors are a little pricey compared to Halfords, but if you're paying the extra to ensure that you don't get a numpty messing up your bumper and wiring, it's worth it!

As I said earlier, pics when I've got them uploaded to a suitable hosting site

[gchild]

great write up, looking forward to the pics...

[redvers]

Giving this a go from phone, no idea if these will work! Had steering remote interface swapped out yesterday so hoping it will work better!!

Parking sensors :




Reversing screen :




Head unit :






Wired mic :

[marky]

Looking good redvers.

[redvers]

Ta! While I couldn't afford to get an all singing all dancing double din satnav unit at this time, I think getting the fascia done was the right move as I can swap out the head unit myself at a later date... am sure it'll look even better with the full kit & caboodle in place