MChance000

Perhaps you don't have the speedometer and or speed pulse installed so it doesn't know you are moving. I noticed that when I sat there and looked at the menu items they would fade in and out as if I had been engaging and disengaging the parking brake. When it faded in, my dvd would play even moving slowly but when it faded out or my speed got to over 20 mph it would turn off. The routing always blowed.

[quote name="marathonfl"]I just purchase a Z1 yesterday, installed it last night, the light switch does work when you flash the light switch at boot up before the Pioneer screen comes up. I tried it with the E brake connected the way it should be wired to the brake, I tried it grouned,. I even left it unhooked, It doesn't matter it still will play DVD while driving with Nav fuctions. : :D[/quote]

When I actually needed it it did route me incorrectly. And not because it 'learned' a bad route from me. You can't even select the proper route on I95, all the choices have at least some US1, which is totally wrong.
I returned the unit earlier today and will be using with my Magellan 700 which uses a different and more reliable nav data set and superior, in my opinion, algorithms.

[quote name="Anonymous"]Mchance, I read in the other thread where you were complaining about the avic always using US 1. The same thing happens to me, it seems to think that taking us 1 300 miles south to key west is a suitable alternative to 95 or the turnpike. Any time I head south it wants to take me to US 1 instead of 95. This morning I noticed that it didnt have the "new" bridge that connects palm beach airport to 95, and the way it wanted to take was slower than the temporary method they used for 3 or 4 years.
Now, I live a few miles east of 95, and 95 does that crazy jog to the west just south of me so in a perfect world US 1 would be faster/shorter aside from the fact you will have to stop at hundreds of traffic lights and drive at 1/2 to 1/4 the speed.

I understand what its trying to do though, and this thing does learn the routes you like to take. I guess the question is, when you actually need it, will it take you on a route thats way out of the way.[/quote]

My wife took my Porsche in today to the the Z1 uninstalled....thank goodness!! Never be a first adopter. Especially with gadgets!

I saw another rumor that someone had removed a label and discovered a switch to remove the interlocks everyone has been discussing. Sounds a little hard to believe. Plus we would all miss flicking our headlights and being lost.

Yes, here was the response:

Thank you for contacting Pioneer Electronics, Inc.
I am sorry to hear the problems you have experienced with the AVIC-Z1.
I will forward your comments to the product planning division. I am sure your comments will be looked at closely and considered for future product changes.


Thank You,

Rocky
Customer Service Representative

Which is why I finally decided to take the unit back.


[quote name="HeavenSoldier"] [quote name="MChance000"]I am returning my Z1 tomorrow. You guys can spend the rest of your lives flashing headlights if you want to.[/quote]

Hey chance did you call tech support? I spoke with others who said they're pioneer system was reliable, has to be your setup, the way the antenna is mounted or the car. God Bless[/quote]

Actually, when I just sit and watch the menu buttons they seem to periodically enable and disable by themselves, almost as if you were putting on and off the parking break. I think this is why a lot of people on here think the light switch trick is working.

I am returning my Z1 tomorrow. You guys can spend the rest of your lives flashing headlights if you want to.

Well, I have detailed the problems profusely in a number of post in this forum and others. For example, I 95 connects cocoa, fl and daytona beach. You would think that would be the fastest route. some how the z1 thinks US 1 is the best route, even though it drops to 35 mph through titusville and on and on. In Jacksonville it took me on a 20 minute trip through downtown when a proper route was just across the way and 5 minutes. I could go on and on....but why repeat what I have written before. Go to the problems/troubleshooting section and check it out.


[quote name="edrock200"] [quote name="MChance000"]Obviously I am aware a nav update won't require a hack. Just seems everyone is spending a lot of energy hacking for functionality and decisions that should be the owners. Not to mention even when the dvd is running it is second rate at best compared to other units on the market.[/quote]

So far I've heard you complain a lot about the NAV but with no specifics. Whats wrong with the NAV?[/quote]

Obviously I am aware a nav update won't require a hack. Just seems everyone is spending a lot of energy hacking for functionality and decisions that should be the owners. Not to mention even when the dvd is running it is second rate at best compared to other units on the market.

Yeah, I did note that another Porsche owner had speedo problems. But that aside as an *additional* problem and burden we bear, doesn't have anything to do with the exceptionally poor routing these NAV units provide. I mean, the reason you buy a nav unit is for nav, right? That it is a crippled crummy nav just adds to the insult.

I did contact Pioneer with all my problems and comments. Thank you for contacting Pioneer Electronics, Inc.
I am sorry to hear the problems you have experienced with the AVIC-Z1.
I will forward your comments to the product planning division. I am sure your
comments will be looked at closely and considered for future product changes.


Thank You,

Rocky
Customer Service Representative

Justs adds to my irritation, no customer service.

By the way, in addition to everything else the door rattles when you incline it while driving for good visibility.


[quote name="jdpdata"]I don't really think you need to hack the Z1 to update it. If Pioneer is nice, they'll let you download an update, burn it to CD-R, and update the Z1. They already confirm that they'll update the GraceNote CDDB this way in the future.

Hey, I notice you and another guy (both with Porsche) are having the same speedo issue. Perhaps your car is not compatible with the Z1? Hence you're having horrible routing results. Have you contact Pioneer to see if this is the case?

I know some members on BMW forum had to do major dashboard cutting just to fit the Z1.[/quote]

Has anyone discovered a hack to update the nav data, improve nav? Once you get past the pretty screen and the unavailability of options during motion you realize the the nav itself blows. I know, I tried to depend on it.

Maybe. But I would wait a while till some other pretty face became available or they got the problems worked out on this one. Why pay to debug.

No Soundadvice (Tweeter) in Orlando. Can't wait to bring it back to them, either.

yeah, the Magellan isn't perfect I own two and have had problems with both. But, they are great at simple navigation and route better than anything. The point was a comparison, I could have pointed the results with mapquest, streets and trips and tomtom which I have all used agree with Magellan but not Z1.

You might want to reread the crutchfield reviews, the third one agrees with much of what I said here.

[quote name="HeavenSoldier"]Hmmm, I'm still going to get it though, most people told me they're avic z1 navigation was dead-on accurate, check crutchfield user
reviews here [url=http://www.crutchfield.com/S-LU1FlQeQwQN/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=avic+z1&i=130AVICZ1]http://www.crutchfield.com/S-LU1FlQeQwQ ... =130AVICZ1[/url] , But I will find out for myself if something is wrong, but based on other reviews and forums, it's the best navigation so far. Like I said check with your installer because if you look over the web you'll be the only with a negative review despite the ones mad because of the bypass issue. But the z1 has a feature where if you go down a certain road instead of the route suggested it will use your route for future reference. But I'm getting the z1 especially with the lane features, 3D features etc. God Bless[/quote]

You can get a lot of things to look good in your dash for a lot less than $3000 with install. I just used the Magellan as one example of good navigation with a little money, almost anything is better at navigation than the Z1 in my opinion. It isn't that it won't get you there (eventually) it is just that instead of a 5 minute route across the street you might get a 20 minute route. Not always, but lots of the time. And it requires a lot more effort to get a route. I just think Pioneer spend their energy, creativity and money in avoiding liability by crippling the unit when moving and not being satifisied with a parking brake interlock added "I am smarter than you" self protection for themselves by inputting a car's speedometer/speed input to disable the unit. This only adds to the error possibilities. Not enough on good routing, data and useability. I didn't find any updates at Pioneer and havent gotten any reply to my inquiry regarding the Z1 defects. I expect they are think a pretty screen and gadgetery will let people not notice old data, inferior routing.

[quote name="HeavenSoldier"]Really rychone, I was hope to speak to someone from Atlanta who has one. Because I mainly wanted to drive there to try the z1 out, the accuracy issue is not good then, how about e-mail z1 and letting them know? MChance I know the megallon(however you spell it) may be good, but I just wanted something that would fit in my dash and have hi tech features, but hopefully by the time I get it, updates will be in. But rychone, in Atlanta for example in POI if you goto entertainment then maybe the Georgia Dome, will it get you there good? Because I never drove in atlanta and I'm relying on the z1 and I don't want to end of no where. Do you recommend driving in atlanta with nothing but the z1? Thanks all and God Bless.[/quote]

My speed is off from anywhere between 4 and 6 miles per hour my car says 70 but the GPS shows 64. But, not only is it different that the GPS, it is no longer accurate period. This I can't live with. You are right the unit looks good, and certainly it is better to look good than feel good. But, when it comes to my Porsche I can't live with speedometer error AND poor nav. Guess I can look cool with it installed and bring my Magellan 700 for proper speed and nav.

[quote name="rychone"]I agree with MChance000. I have this installed in my Porsche 996 for the past 3 days and the route calculation on the navigation is not very good. I live in Atlanta, GA and the map data is outdated and many streets are missing. When i enter an address it will be up to 1/2 mile off and request turns that are not neccessary. The routes it reccommends is not always the best route. It is good at getting you "close". I will have to play with the system more and see if i can fix this or set way points to give me the best route.

I also have an issue with the speedometer accuracy. The Z1 states my speed to always be 2+ mph slower than what my guage tells me. I dont know if this is affecting my car but I have no way to testing which is correct so i may take it in to the dealer.

Its also missing some basic features such as the radio does not display the information from the stations such as station name, artist, song, etc. The ipod interface is horrible considering the cost. The voice commands rarely work unless its quiet and it always wants to "zoom in" regardless of what you say.

But i do have to admit this is probably one of the best looking units on the market right now and it looks great. There are so many features that it almost out weighs the gripes i have with it. I hope that they release updates to the firmware and maps. I'm keeping mine for now.[/quote]

[quote name="HeavenSoldier"]Hmmm, I'm still going to get it though, most people told me they're avic z1 navigation was dead-on accurate, check crutchfield user
reviews here [url=http://www.crutchfield.com/S-LU1FlQeQwQN/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?search=avic+z1&i=130AVICZ1]http://www.crutchfield.com/S-LU1FlQeQwQ ... =130AVICZ1[/url] , But I will find out for myself if something is wrong, but based on other reviews and forums, it's the best navigation so far. Like I said check with your installer because if you look over the web you'll be the only with a negative review despite the ones mad because of the bypass issue. But the z1 has a feature where if you go down a certain road instead of the route suggested it will use your route for future reference. But I'm getting the z1 especially with the lane features, 3D features etc. God Bless[/quote]

Do yourself a favor. After the install, get a Magellan Roadmate 700 or similar and compare the routing. The Z1 will get you there, maybe, but add some time cause likely it won't be the best route. I would make sure I buy from a dealer you can get your money back from. Just my opinion.

Unfortunately, as I explained in my prior post it appears that all the things you mentioned don't seem to fix the problem. I have tried every permutation and there doesn't seem to be much of a difference. The installer says the road speeds only change the estimate. As I indicated, estimate skills are poor on the Z1. You can't adjust any of this on the Magellan 700 but it gives good estimates and the best route every time depending on your choice of fastest, shortest, most or least use of expressways. The Z1 doesn't seem to pay attention to any of it. In any event even if it does going to the multiple route option often doesn't yield the best option you would choose looking at a map yourself, from the 700, from mapquest or from Microsoft Streets and trips. And all the latter agree pretty much with each other but none agree with the Z1 in my experience.

My installer insists that isn't the case on the install. But, even so that doesn't explain the abysmal navigation. And if the problem were just "car nav" then all the companies units would be bad, but the 700 I used for comparison is cheaper and better. Car nav is something I have been using for years now. But never have I spent so much on anything that navigates so poorly...expect for perhaps one of my ex-girlfriends. But even they know 70 is faster than 35 and no stop lights is better than neighborhoods small roads.

The unit was professionally installed, by SoundAdvice (Tweeter) and the install was rechecked by the installer. I have not changed or modified anything. The CNET is a glowing regurg of the manufacturers specs, not a real test. My comments refer to real world navigation and I stand by them.

I had the Z1 installed over the Easter weekend and I plan to have it removed this week. I do not recommend this unit. In my opinion, Pioneer has spent the majority of its energy in protecting itself from liability rather than on useability and reliability. I have read that the green parking brake lead can be grounded to bypass the 'grey out' of multiple functions. The pioneer representative in the store I spoke with has bragged that they have built in speed sensors to prevent dvd and multiple nav functions use even with the ground bypassed. This appears to be true, but unfortunatly tying the Z1 into my electronics appears to have made my digital speedometer no long accurate. I own two Magellan 700's with with it agreed exactly prior to installation, but no longer. It does appear that now the Magellan and Z1 give the same GPS speed, and agree with each other now so the loss of accuracy is now in my Porsche. I can't prove it yet, but I feel it is due to the install. Guess I will know when I get it out. As for grounding the green wire to the parking brake, I didn't do this. None-the-less I get error messages frequently that have to be cleared by repeatedly touching ok. The messages indicate that there is an error in the parking brake wire installation. They occur both at start up, which by the way takes quite a while, and even on the road when not even using the nav. I took it back to my installer who verified correct installation, says he is going to talk with pioneer about this issue.

Routing is inferior in my opinion to the 700. I have been led multiple times by the Z1 off Interstate/Toll roads onto housing subdivisions and occasionally dead end streets when a more direct route was just to stay on the road and intersect another main route. It has even tried to get me to retrace my route when I was almost at my destination to go by some route it stubbornly stuck to...would have added over an hour to a 15 minute trip. A route from Daytona Beach to Jacksonville would have taken me on US 1, a 35-40 mph road a significant portion of the route whereas the 700 properly led me to I 95 and 70+ MPH travel. Changing the estimated road speeds or "fast" "main" etc setting doesn't seem to make a noticable difference. If you are stopped, with parking brake on and after clearing the error message you have the option to choose between several route options. It is hard to tell just looking which is the best choice as there is just a small outline routhe to look at. But, even when you choose the best of available it is a pain when you just click "fastest route" on the 700 and pretty much get the best route each time. The Z1 estimate of time en route is almost always off, but as you get closer and closer to where you are going it begins to agree with what 700 says from the outset. Seems the Z1 on this route took shortest distance regardless of speed. But this isn't consistent. Once I had to navigate in Jacksonville, the Z1 took me a roundabout trip through downtown that took 20 minutes, including 4 re-route attempts to avoid dead ends the system wasn't aware of due to bad nav data. Contrast this to the superior rounting smarts the more current 700 I had as back up showed a quicker turn for a 5 minute trip. The Z1 also, in city traffic, advised me of turns AFTER I had taken it. I also got lots of turn advise with multiple roads that just say "keep right" or right turn with no way to tell which road.

So many functions are greyed that the poor routing, out of date data can not be compensated for with routing on the road, even though I had a companion who could have handled this while I had full attentionto the road. The voice commands are spotty and freqently result in a "zoom in" instead of a "set as destination." If you are parked in a quiet car and it works much better. I also subscribed to XM and Nav traffic. I can't see any effect of having the nav traffic when I traveled to Orlando. In all conditions and for all routes in the time I have owned the Z1 the 700 was in my opinion superior, more reliable and had by far the best routing.