More than 30 years after its release, people are still trying to play the 1991 video game “Doom” on anything, and for good reason. Not only is it an iconic game with a soundtrack that absolutely rips, it doesn’t demand much storage or memory, so it’s not a particularly taxing game to run. People have got it to work on everything from an Arduino Nano Matter board to a Pioneer CDJ-3000, but what about cars? Well, I have some good news for you if you drive a gently-used Honda.
Specifically, we’re looking at 2016 to 2021 Civics including the Type R, 2017 to 2022 CR-Vs, 2016 to 2017 Accords, 2016 to 2017 Pilots, and 2016 to 2018 Ridgelines. The infotainment systems in these vehicles aren’t particularly powerful, featuring effectively 12-year-old Tegra 3 chipsets, but that’s enough to get the job done. What’s really important here is that it’s an Android-based system running Android 4.2, which means it can absolutely be rooted to boot third-party apps.
In fact, Reddit user Starks managed to get “Doom” running on their Honda CR-V a full six years ago, and uploaded proof of gameplay to the itrunsdoom subreddit. Although it looks a little bit janky, it also looks a little bit glorious, and it makes you wonder exactly what toolset was used to get “Doom” going on a Honda.
My car
byu/Starks initrunsdoom
Well, it starts with Honda Hack, a nifty little toolset that’ll let you root these infotainment systems and let you install basically whatever Android apps you see fit. The necessary Pro version has a price tag of $25, it’s accessible through the infotainment system’s browser app, and only needs a USB thumb drive and a Wi-Fi connection to work its magic.
Once the Honda Hack APK is installed to the head unit, you’ll be able to install pretty much whatever Android applications you see fit from a USB stick, and it’s not that hard to find a litany of apps proclaiming to be “Doom”. Are they legit? Well, the source code of “Doom” was freely released under the GNU General Public Licence in 1999, and thanks to GPL being the first general use copyleft licence, porting “Doom” over to new platforms for personal enjoyment is all good.
Of course, the game itself is only one part of the legality equation. The end user licence agreement for the infotainment system is pretty clear that Honda does not want you to modify any of its software or firmware, but if the long history of hacking is anything to go by, plenty of people are willing to assume associated risks. It’s also worth noting that cellular communication to Honda’s telematics services on these models has been discontinued due to the 3G phase-out in America, but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee no data will be sent over Wi-Fi.
Do everything right, and the end result should be a touch-controlled version of “Doom” playable on your Honda in a slightly janky but functional way. At the minimum, it’s a fun novelty for passing the time while you’re waiting for that one friend who’s perpetually half an hour late.
Photo credits: Reddit/Starks, Honda, Honda Hack
Top graphic images: Honda; id Software; ink spot/stock.adobe.com
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the 1991 video game “Doom”
Doom came out in December 1993.
2016-2018 Ridgelines? There were no 2016 Ridgelines but the primary infotainment system was the effectively the same from 2017 to 2023. Curious what the correct take on this is…
The Doom thing is cool and all, but it mostly made me curious about rooting infotainment systems. Is this a widespread thing? Have any Autopian writers tried it?
I don’t know, but hackers will try to root anything given half a chance and enough caffeine, so I imagine it’s relatively widespread.
The Doom fandom is pretty wholesome, they just want to make anything run Doom. Someone got Doom to run on a pregnancy test and it will also run on a jailbroken John Deere tractor. I’m sure Doom will port to other cars, it’s a fortunate coincidence that Honda was using Android which made it more convenient
I thought Doom was mandatory on Hondas and Acuras with a V6 and an automatic.
And speaking of Acura… is there a version of Honda Hack branded as AcHac for them?
https://youtu.be/xHZFtv8t7us?si=nhnP6gqNOjcI1TAN
I doubt we’ll be seeing Wolfenstein 3D playing on a Mercedes anytime soon.
But I kinda expect Duke Nukem on Dodge/Ram products though.
“Your face, your ass, what’s the difference?”
This has the makings of “what hacked video game series onto the infotainment system best embodies the car company?”
Car Mechanic Simulator would pair nicely with Alfa or Land Rover.
Redneck Rampage might be more appropriate
RR would be better on a Found On Road Dead. Jank software running on jank hardware.
Holiday season is upon us. Gotta love German conglomerates’ shindigs and their blank corporate timelines between 1931-1945.
Maybe a censored German version?
I had a 17 Civic Si and the moment I found out it was running Android I had it unlocked and rooted within a few days. It was neat to mess around with. The biggest problem is the Android 4.2 is so old, most apps these days either aren’t compatible or run so slowly its unusable. All I really wanted was a better music player, and I had to dig around some pretty sketchy websites to find an apk of a player that would work and didn’t look like hot garbage.
From that video it looks like Doom runs reasonably well, but of course, it has the benefit of predating Jelly Bean by a couple decades so it’s not very resource intensive.
I already have Doom on my phone, so having to sit in a Honda to play it sounds like a massive inconvenience.
They wanted to do it with Wolfenstein, but certain politicians threatened to block it for promoting violence against some potentially very nice people if you just got to know them better.
take your star!
Dammit, should have checked for a Wolfenstein comment first. Yours is way better.
“while you’re waiting for that one friend who’s perpetually half an hour late.”
Why do I get the feeling he’s talking about David Tracy?
I thought it was Lou or Mick.
He had to stop and charge the i3
Dammit I have a 2019 Pilot. So close!
’19 Ridgeline here, damn!
I ran Doom on my 2019 RTL-E with a similar mod, the larger infotainment was the same 2017-2019, I think they added a knob to it 2020-2022 (or was thru 2023)? Not sure if it’s at all better/changed? Ridgeline was not made in 2016.
I thought about trying this on my 2024 Ridgeline Black Edition but not sure how that would all work, newer system. It’s way faster, tho lost subwoofer level control, boo…. It also cannot connect to the add-in oem CD player, I miss that weirdly.
My wife has a 2019 CRV EX-L and her immediate answer to this mod was as expected – No.