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Kia Rondo Install- Photos- Mini Review-- issues


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I asked some questions in this forum, I did not see responses to my questions, so I went ahead installed my Pioneer AVIC-U310BT.

 

But I installed it little differently than whodat90 who another member installed F series on his Kia Rondo. I installed the antenna on the dash itself, but under the center speaker plastic cover( I do not have center speaker).

 

I did some tests before finalizing that location. I installed it temporary on roof, tried it, put plastic cover over it( the center speaker cover) and tried it. There is no difference in signal strength. Then I tried on dash with and without plastic speaker cover. Overall there is very minute difference between installing on roof vs installing on dash under the speaker cover, which is hidden, no need to run long cable etc.

 

But the problem with installing there is, there is hole in the center for speaker. I could not stick that metal antenna base sticker in proper place, so I made a small metal(steel, no aluminium) bridge over that. This way I do not need to make any holes to bring antenna out.

 

Since this is metal, no need for that sticker they provided to stick antenna on.

 

I was able to bundle up all the wire without touching any other wires and just kept the required length.

 

I got remaining Kit from Crutchfield, the Wiring harness, and Metra Double Din Dash kit. Initially thought of crimping the connections, but I saw several websites recommending soldering for good long term connections. I also saw the advantage of not having all the butt connector hanging behind radio(potential for noises). So, I soldered and taped individual wires, then bundled each set, then bundled all of those with zip ties.

 

For proper grounding I also used the grounding connector provided by KIA for the factory radio. This way body ground and actual radio circuit ground levelled or matched. Also, I grounding the parking brake connector so that I can use keypad, and enter the destination without pulling the handbrake. I have not seen any issues with this approach yet.

 

I was able to route USB, MIC, Aux cable independently so that other power cables do not cause any interference. All are tied to body with zip ties so they do not hang and make noise, and also can not be pulled from behind the radio accidentally.

 

I still have not decided on where to put the MIC. Based on initial testing, for me and my wifes seating position, under the rear mirror seems to be best option. Still have not routed it there, not sure how to mount it there.

 

USB and AUX cables, I ran under the Glove box with a intent to run those to center console when I get some time.

 

Overall I would say install went well without a hitch, thanks for all the detailed instructions and photos provided on several threads.

 

But, that does not mean I like the Unit itself. Audio is fine(still need to get used to operation), but navigation seems lagging behind few seconds behind actual position, so you may miss a turn before it showed( no GPS signal issue). Also, sometime, the directions shown on the screen and voice are not matching!!? My $60 Omnitech(staples) GPS has better routing, quicker response, better layout than this.

 

Any another issue, contrary to what is mentioned on Crutchfield about SD card playback, you can not play music from SD card. You can only download POIs, voices, or upload route information.

 

And for POIs, there is no category for restaurants!!? Do you believe they have cemetery, but not food!? May be people who buy this unit are looking for easiest way for cremation.

 

And another main issue, Bluetooth. The pairing, dialing everything is fine, but MIC is the worst. I have to talk into the MIC directly very loudly to hear anything on other side. I was able to call my office Audex telephone system which gives several option to record voice and playback, erase, re-record etc. It also identifies if the other person is talking or not. Unless I shout into the MIC, nothing is being recorded. There are no options to adjust the MIC gain anywhere. Listening is fine. I have Prius with in-built Bluetooth and that is 100 times better. Anyways, I went ahead and tried couple other Handsets with the assumption it did not like my phone, but it is the same story.

 

One main reason I bought this is for bluetooth. It is really disappointing. I would not give up yet.

 

Another issue, You can not use dialpad once you are talking!!? What the hell they are thinking? Many customer service calls, many voicemail systems need us to enter keys to proceed(like checking my home phone voice mail). They claim it is designed by Parrot.. so much for that.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I would have picked Kenwood 5120 which is on sale for $499+ Bluetooth kit($100). It is only $100 more, but it defintely worth it.

 

BTW, I have been combing the forums, it seem Bluetooth issue may be because of supplied Microphone. Many suggested Parrot one, or Garmin Microphone. I got Garmin from Frys, I will install tomorrow and provide an update.

 

 

Here are some photos.

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Ok, I went ahead and installed the Garmin Microphone. Though length cable is shorter than Pioneer supplied, it is just enough for my car(barely) to be able to mount it under my rearview mirror.

 

But, this is best improvement you can do to Bluetooth on this unit. It is improved to substantial and now it is usable. This is Garmin Microphone from frys http://www.frys.com/product/4865730 is definitely worth, and I would say don't even bother to install Pioneer supplied one. I had to remove everything again to replace this.

 

Now, Navigation, it felt better on a longer route, but it is still confused if you are driving in small communities with several close roads.

 

I was able to make custom color for backlit to closely match my cars interior lighting.

 

Anyways, that's all for now, I will update once I made any improvement, ofcourse it is still a puzzle for me how Pioneer included Cemetery in POIs, but not food, or fuel.

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Thanks for the install photos/review and tip on the microphone. I installed the stock mic as well and am kicking myself now. I am about to order the Garmin mic you suggested; fortunately it looks like a fairly cheap fix.

 

Yes, I think Garmin Mic fixed the Microphone problem(Much, much better now), but still it is not as clear as my other car, not because of Mic, but because of static. It seems some phones are better and other are not.

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I have been playing with Microphone since yesterday as I have been observing some boomy echo on the other side. I observed when I keep my hand behind Microphone, there is no boomy-ness. I think voice is bouncing of wind shield and feeding into Microphone from behind and this is causing the issue.

 

It seems Under rearview mirror may not be the correct position for Kia Rondo. I applied some velcro over the two holes on the sides of Microphone and it seems it improved, but it is best when I keep my palm behind the Microphone.

 

I felt current position is ideal, so that both driver and passenger can talk if needed, but I will play with different positions and provide an update.

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Ok, I think I did a mistake in install and did not connect the Antenna Power lead assuming antenna is not amplified. I checked FM stations as usual, and I was getting all channels I usually hear.

 

But today I checked AM, and not getting any AM channels, where as my other car is getting lot of AM channels. After little research on Kiatechinfo site, I realized Rondo has amplified antenna. Arghh... Now I need to open the dash again. Though it would not take too much time, it is still a pain.

 

Anyways, finally I connected remote amp power lead from Radio to Antenna power lead on Rondo harness, and that fixed the antenna issue, now I get all stations fine.

 

I also changed the Microphone position to above rearview mirror(Center). This reduced the boomy echo somewhat. Only way to get rid off it completely is by putting palm behind MIC while talking.. :)

 

That is it for now, will see later if I can do any improvements for Mic.

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You might want to try again with playing music directly from an SD card (Try a different card). Mine works fine using and SD card for music. I've used 2GB, 4GB and 8GB SDHC cards, and all have worked. (Elsewhere on this forum users have reported successfully using cards as large as 32gb.)

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You might want to try again with playing music directly from an SD card (Try a different card). Mine works fine using and SD card for music. I've used 2GB, 4GB and 8GB SDHC cards, and all have worked. (Elsewhere on this forum users have reported successfully using cards as large as 32gb.)

 

But how do I select SD card as source on AVIC-U310BT, there is no option in 310BT. Only option for SD are Eject SD, Data Import/export options.

 

Thanks

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  • 2 weeks later...

BTW, I confirmed with Pioneer and Crutchfield about SD card playback. This unit does not support SD card playback, that is because unit is crippled by Pioneer.

 

Since it uses WinCE 5.0, someday we will hack it and get SD play back. I have some plans, but feeling it little risky to play with OS at this time.

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