My solution to my MFT/Sync/Nav/Sirius woes

[md13ffhguy]

My Nexus 7 tablet fits pretty well, with some foam wedged behind to hold it firmly in place. Using Tasker app on my Android phone to automatically start a WiFi hotspot for the tablet when the phone connects to the car's BT. Google voice commands allow for easy control. Google navigation and traffic are 100x better and 100% cheaper.

[md13ffhguy]

I may attempt a slight modification to the console to get the tablet in a more upright position.

[machoman1337]

Traffic has been getting much worse in Vancouver lately, so I took a similar route in order to use Waze on my daily commute and route through side streets. The MFT nav is useless for getting me around traffic.

 

I like your solution (especially the big screen) but I personally find that positioning too low for my liking (and safety). I bought an adjustable phone mount that clips to my A/C vent and it holds my Nexus 5 nicely, and can expand or contract to accommodate phablets or older iPhones. Since my phone isn't too big, it doesn't really obstruct my rear view camera feed and I still have the side mirrors and reverse sensing system as backup.

 

My old 2008 Fusion had a nav screen that was almost as low as your Nexus 7 and I absolutely hated it to the point that I stuck my Garmin GPS to the windshield most of the time.

 

Android Auto is the perfect solution that should have come 5 years ago. On new Hondas, you can get a nice big touch LCD without paying for in-car nav and it just mirrors Google Maps off a paired phone. The new QNX system for MY2017 Fusions is beautiful and you can type in addresses starting from the house number and get them predicted right away like on a smartphone, but like all built-in navs it suffers from the issue of map updates.

 

I still use the built-in nav for long road trips at off peak hours - the integration especially the small screen to the right of the speedometer is nice to have.

[md13ffhguy]

Yes, it is a little too low, but my options are limited. Ideally, I'd like to swap the two screens. Some time I'm going to disassemble the center console column to see if there might be another feasible solution.

Otherwise, it's working great. The screen comes on as soon as I turn the key and it connects to WiFi immediately after my phone connects to the Sync Bluetooth. It's very responsive to voice commands. The screen stays on in navigation mode and times out shortly after arriving at my destination.

[machoman1337]

Sadly with the MFT system being so tightly integrated with audio and climate (the physical controls for climate don't cover some features), I think replacing the stock screen is not a good idea :(

 

Try seeing if this works: http://www.coastaletech.com/mytouch.htm - then you can connect your tablet to the A/V inputs in the centre console and use the LockPick override to display the video feed when in motion. You would still use the tablet for input, but you'd also have it in your line of sight. Just a theory though - the LockPick's real purpose is for allowing destination entry while driving, but the fact that it supports extra video inputs looks promising.

 

 

[md13ffhguy]

I have no intention of doing away with the stock screen - just wondering if it would be possible to relocate it. Probably not practical...

 

Not going the Lockpick route (that's how I first started thinking about this), and I'm not really interested in spending that kind of money. Right now, I'm just using an old tablet that I wasn't really otherwise using.