Z130BT general comments, issues and review

[dynamo]

We purchased a GM vehicle in August, 2011.

It came with the upgraded Harmon Kardon audio (excellent for our tastes) along with Onstar and bluetooth but no Nav.

Our dealer recommended the Pioneer Z130BT to get the Nav we wanted.

Using the factory installed harmon Kardon speakers

We have the latest firmware installed, confirmed by checking the service screen.

 

Likes:

• Hi def tuner, excellent sound in urban areas
  
• Sirius satellite radio, excellent
  
• iPod connect, excellent
  
• usb connect, excellent
  
• SD card slot, excellent
  
• CD/DVD playback, excellent
  
• Nav, screen, route recalculation excellent
  

Dislikes:

• Onstar volume way too loud, even at lowest volume setting of PAC module. Aftermarket installer says Pioneer is working on issue
  
• PAC module replaced 2x now faulty again. Turn signal, lane departure warning, memory seat and mirror setting confimation and other audible chimes have failed again. Waiting for another PAC module
  
• Voice recognition sometimes works great, sometimes doesn't. I have read in other threads on this forum that it is bluetooth timing related or something to that effect. Should be a simple software fix
  
• English computer voice sounds terrible compared to GM's. There is another english option to select "Stephanie" or something like that, but I haven't noticed a difference
  
• It seems In cold weather (-5*C, for example), sometimes the unit doesn't boot properly forcing a restart of the car.
  

Overall opinion:

 

Fantastic, feature rich unit. A few minor glitches but nothing some software/firmware tweaking can't fix, I hope.

 

My personal rating (having had 3 factory GM nav units with upgraded sound and other Pioneer, Clarion and Alpine systems over the years to compare against): 9 out of 10

 

We are not looking for ear-bleed type sound, just quality sound, lots of punch with loads of bells and whistles.

The Z130BT fits the bill for us.

 

Anyone else experiencing the issues I noted above, please chime in.

Thanks, dynamo.