Jim Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 I've had my Pioneer AVIC-Z1 for 6 months. Bought the top of the line because I wanted the best GPS unit available. What I got was a good stereo but a POS GPS. This unit will almost always plot out the incorrect route. Now I'm not saying that it won't get you to your destination, because it will. But it seldom takes you there quickly or correctly. I went back and forth with the dealer; even exchanged the unit once figuring that it might be defective. But it still has no clue as far as navigation goes. For instance, I have a home in North Carolina and I have driven from Pensacola FL to my home in NC many times. My Pioneer will suggest 6 different routes, and not one of them is the correct one. Map Quest will route the directions correctly but not my Pioneer. And it's not just this one case. It seldom if ever routes anything correctly. I have gotten -0- help from Pioneer and I'm feeling that the company knows that their product is a turkey, and just doesn't want to admit it. Anyone else experiencing this problem? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cntrylvr79 Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 No offense, but if the 6 different routes get you from point a to point b then they were the correct route. What exactly is your issue with the routes it's suggesting. Just saying they're wrong doesn't help anything. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rapayn1 Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 Yeah, but at least the "navigation" of the AVIC-Z1 is pretty good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
penguin31 Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 I've had my Pioneer AVIC-Z1 for 6 months. Then why do you choose to whine like a baby in the AVIC-Dx forum? Maybe the Z forum would be a better choice? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted January 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 No offense, but if the 6 different routes get you from point a to point b then they were the correct route. What exactly is your issue with the routes it's suggesting. Just saying they're wrong doesn't help anything.1) I've driven the route for the last 10 years and I know it well. The route I travel, and the one that everyone else travels, is 440 miles from start to finish. The route(s) that the Pioneer chooses are 490 miles from start to finish. 2)I have several other nav systems, one (an eclipse) I just recently sold when I sold my truck. It chose the correct route. The one in my M5 chooses the correct route. The one in my S500 chooses the correct route. And the Garmin that I purchased a few weeks ago (to replace this pos pioneer) also chooses the correct route. But having found this site I was excited that maybe I would find some others that had experianced the same issues and possibly some way to get this unit fixed. Guess I just got carried away and posted in the wrong forum. I've had my Pioneer AVIC-Z1 for 6 months. Then why do you choose to whine like a baby in the AVIC-Dx forum? Maybe the Z forum would be a better choice? Yes, your probably right. I was trying to salvage something out of my poor investment by looking for an ebrake bypass so that I could use some of the attributes that do work on the Pioneer. i.e. the DVD. And I found this site. And BTW, the 3 clicks of the lights when the Pioneer is booting DOES work, and it works well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cntrylvr79 Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 Have you tried changing the route calculation from fastest to shortest or shortest to fastest. Adjusting the average speeds for the different roads can help too. If the route got you from a to b it's still the right route. Might be a little longer, but it's still the right one.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
penguin31 Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 I've driven the route for the last 10 years and I know it well. Then why do you need GPS navigation for it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted January 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 Have you tried changing the route calculation from fastest to shortest or shortest to fastest. Adjusting the average speeds for the different roads can help too. If the route got you from a to b it's still the right route. Might be a little longer, but it's still the right one....Oh hell yes, I've tried everything. The unit doesn't even include the correct route in its choises. And it's not just this route that it screws up. This unit has been so inacurate that I won't even use the navagation system anymore and I bought a portable Garmin. The Pioneer is a good stereo, but it isn't worth a flip when it comes to accurate or depenable navagation. And I can't for a minute believe that it's just mine. Is there anyone on this board that can honestly tell me that they use their units on a regular basis (to go places that hundreds of miles distant) and they trust their Pioneer? I've driven the route for the last 10 years and I know it well. Then why do you need GPS navigation for it? Because I drive with my eyes closed... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
whtcrxghst Posted January 13, 2007 Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 I use mine everyday for business. It gets most routes dead on. For the ones it doesn't, I am observant enough to go the way I want to go and let it autocorrect after I have disobeyed its guidance. Thats what it is, GUIDANCE, not autopilot. You still have to pay attention. If you wanna go a certain way, don't use it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted January 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2007 You still have to pay attention. If you wanna go a certain way, don't use itI travel alot, and I'm not always going somewhere that I already know the route. Kind of hard to "pay attention" to alternate routes when you don't know what the route is supposed to be in the first place. In the cases that I'm going somewhere I already know the correct route my Pioneer generally tries to plot a route that isn't the one that anyone (in the know) would choose to follow. My average trip is going to be between 7-10 hours long. I don't want my GPS to take me on a route that add's another hour or more to the trip. And that's what Pioneer does, almost without exception. As I said earlier, I have several navagation units, and each of them works very well. Pioneer doesn't. I feel confident in saying that anyone who feels they are getting good results with a Pioneer simply doesn't realize that the unit is sending them miles/hours out of their way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cntrylvr79 Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Thats your opinion and you're welcome to it. Just like we're entitled to ours. Mine has yet to fail me in finding the quickest or shortest routes to my destinations. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daveva Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Jim, thank you! thank you! thank you! You took the words right out of my mouth. I never can get the best route out of my Z-1. I have stated in this forum before that when I want to go north the darn thing wants to take me south and miles out of my way. If I would listen to the Z-1 I would waste a lot of gas and time. One time I wanted to go to a restaurant and it took me to an empty parking lot! I to have called pioneer and complained several times but they are no help. I just hope the new upgrade will improve the navagation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I just hope the new upgrade will improve the navagation.It is my understanding that the upgrade only updates the maps. And I've never had any problems finding anything on the map, just had problems getting to it efficiently. But who knows... maybe Pioneer is going to sneak a software upgrade in at the same time. I'm sure that Pioneer knows of this problem, there is no way that they couldn't. My guess is that they are working on a way to fix it. (After all, I don't think that Pioneer really wants to put out a crappy product.) It's only a matter of time before serious navigation users get fed up and force them to either fix the problem or start issuing refunds. And refunding money simply isn't in Pioneers business policy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted January 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Mine has yet to fail me in finding the quickest or shortest routes to my destinations.How do you know? If you're just using it around town you have no idea of what it will, or will not do when you ask it to perform in the real world. Around town, no navigation system is going to know the shortcuts that you and I might know, so we make exceptions for it wanting to take certain roads that might not be the shortest or fastest route. But when you take a navigation system out on the road and travel between several states, you will get a real feel for the unit’s capabilities, or lack thereof. For instance, I just went outside and plotted in my next destination in both the Pioneer as well as the Garmin that I bought to replace it. The Garmin has the route plotted about 90 miles less than the Pioneer's "best of six". I ran a profile on both and I have no idea of why the Pioneer has made the choices that it made, but it's neither the shortest or fastest route. I also went to Map Quest and the route is exactly the one that the Garmin chose. So what's up with Pioneer? And this is not an isolated case, it is the norm. I know that you love your unit and I appreciate your efforts to defend what you consider to be a "best of class" piece of equipment. So… If you want to continue feeling good about that 2 thousand dollar unit, don’t take any long distance trips that ask it to actually perform. To do so guarantees disappointed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
whtcrxghst Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I typically go about six hours in every direction for my work and I am very satisfied with mine. Sorry, I just am Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.