Quirk with USB audio/iPod interface on new 2012 EX-L (non-nav)

[eps105]

Hi all,

We finally picked up our 2012 Pilot EX-L this week, and I am highly pleased we waited for the 2012's. The new information screen on the non-nav EX-L's hosting the audio, rear camera, iPod/USB audio info, Bluetooth phone info, and more is really well implemented.

Playing around with all of the features, I only have one issue, and I'm baffled as to whether it is a software bug or something that I can resolve on my end.

Details: Instead of spending $75 for a used iPod to keep in the armrest, I took a spare 16GB USB memory stick and tested to see if it would work comparably to the iPod. I did this by syncing about 15 GB of music from iTunes (FYI, to do this, I used DoubleTwist to put my DRM-free iTunes on the USB stick).

According to the manual, the USB audio will play in the order it was copied onto the USB stick, and I confirmed from the time stamps looking in Windows Explorer that DoubleTwist did copy the songs in album order.

Yet, for about 2/3 of the albums playing back in the Pilot, it displays and plays the songs within the chosen album in ALPHABETICAL order. It seems random, because many albums (about 1/3) are showing correctly in album order.

I also noticed that the message "Building Library Database" never goes away on the display screen, even after an extended period of time.

BTW, For those of you that don't think this is a big problem, try listening to, for example, a Broadway soundtrack or audio book in alphabetical order!

I'm going to experiment with trying another USB stick and trying different ways to sync to the music on the USB stick. I've already tried to reset it, and I've tried using an iPod and the iPod DOES play in correct order.

If I can't get this to work, it's a shame, because the USB audio functionality is 99% the same functionality of the iPod (lets you choose by genre, album, artist, or song, except for no Playlists) without needing to buy an iPod! (MANY other cars' USB implementation only let you play by albums and/or only in the album order copied to the USB stick. )

Any ideas or similar experiences?

[BigBlu]

I'm using a 16GB SanDisk mini-cruzer usb drive and haven't had any problems. I've been able to select Artist and then a particular album. That album plays in the correct order. I have a Mac and just dragged the files I wanted out of iTunes and copied them into an artist folder on the usb drive.

Have you checked out pages 278-279 of your owners manual? Here is a link to the online manual: 2012 Honda Pilot Manual

From the manual:
"You can also select a file from any list on the USB top menu: artists, albums, songs, genres, by using the selector knob. Push the selector knob to switch the display to the USB top menu, then turn the selector knob to select a desired list. Press the selector knob to set your selection."

I hope this helps.

[eps105]

Originally Posted by BigBlu

I'm using a 16GB SanDisk mini-cruzer usb drive and haven't had any problems. I've been able to select Artist and then a particular album. That album plays in the correct order. I have a Mac and just dragged the files I wanted out of iTunes and copied them into an artist folder on the usb drive.

Have you checked out pages 278-279 of your owners manual? Here is a link to the online manual: 2012 Honda Pilot Manual

From the manual:
"You can also select a file from any list on the USB top menu: artists, albums, songs, genres, by using the selector knob. Push the selector knob to switch the display to the USB top menu, then turn the selector knob to select a desired list. Press the selector knob to set your selection."

I hope this helps.

BigBlu, Thanks for the details. Yes, that's exactly how I'm using it -- from both the Album and Artist hierarchies, most of the albums display and play in alphabetical order. Glad to hear that at least one other is using a 16GB memory stick without problems. So it must just me mine.

I haven't had a chance to try a different USB stick or a different way to copy onto it. I hope that solves the problem. I'll also reformat the USB stick and do a CHKDSK on it; maybe it's corrupted.

BigBlu, could you confirm one more thing: When you first turn the ignition on and look at the USB input on the screen, do you see "Building Database Library" above the Album/Artist/Genre selections? If so, how long does it stay on that screen? Mine NEVER goes away.

Thanks again.

[beef5stew]

I have an extra 30GB Ipod video that i don't use, so I just hooked it up Works great.

[eps105]

Originally Posted by beef5stew

I have an extra 30GB Ipod video that i don't use, so I just hooked it up Works great.

I mentioned in my original post that I tried my iPod from my other car and the iPod works fine. The issue is only with a USB stick.

After BigBlu's post, I went and tried a bunch of ways to resolve and nothing fixed it. I tried different USB stick, different sync method, and also did CHKDSK, and more.

One thing I found is that my initial report that "Building Music Database" NEVER goes away was wrong. It DOES go away -- but it takes almost 5 minutes. This can be seen by going into the "SONGS" selection and you can see a progress bar as it is building the library song by song. Here's the kicker: It rebuild the database every time you turn on the car; it is not cached on the USB stick or head unit memory.

This means that I cannot access most of my music until I have been driving for several minutes. This is a deal breaker. As a result of this realization, using a USB device is no longer viable for me -- I will be buying a used iPod and leaving it in the armrest.

If anybody can identify anything I did wrong such that the USB remains viable, please post here. Otherwise, I cannot recommend using a USB drive unless you use a very small amount of memory (2-4 GB max) and/or don't mind albums out of order.