Z2 Bypass, maybe there is something we can do...

[fireblade69]

Let me put it to you this way:

 

6 weeks ago I attended Pioneer Tech training on new products at my local distributor. They had 40 sales/installers there, our Regional Pioneer Product Specialist, the Pioneer Western Zone Technical Specialist, and the Regional Pioneer sales rep.

 

They were showing the entire new Pioneer lineup, but then focused on NAV. The big thing for them was the new D3, a low price point, DVD capable, and Ipod ready. We touched briefly on Z2 and updated mapping features, but that was about it.

 

After the presentation, we got into some conversations, and came to find out, that most of these guys had new Z2 prototypes in their company vehicles, and even THEY were working with Pioneer Tech in California to get the bypasses working again. These guys are routinely given new units and new software updates, and were telling me they have Pioneer Tech pull their hard drives and copy songs over, etc.

 

BUT, none of them were able to pull over data from Z1 hard drives onto Z2 platforms. They had to completely rebuild their libraries again. All of this lockout stuff is done in Japan when the units are made, and even the American Tech Support guys don't have the info yet. I think they try and figure it out in their labs just like we all do.

 

So, just to let you know there are insiders trying to get this done as well, and the word will eventually get out to all of you, when they can figure it out.

 

There will NEVER be any legal way that Pioneer will do this for us. The cost of losing 100 sales is negligible compared to ONE lawsuit for someone getting in an accident while watching video in America. Pioneer also makes factory units for Ford/Lincoln now, so they are buiilding to even tighter restrictions for being within the law.

 

Blame your own litigous friends and neighbors for it. If your buddy runs over your 10-year old little sister riding her bike, and maims her, because he's watching Spiderman whilst driving down the road, how would you feel? You'd probably want to sue for money to make her life easier, but you can't go get your buddy for cash, can't get GM for building his Cavalier, can't go after Best Buy for installing it, but you can go after Pioneer for making the DVD watching possible in the first place. That's how our society now works, that's how lawyers get paid.

[CrazyCowPie]

Well said

[dwhitley0381]

folks the issue is that playing DVD's in the front is not legal in most states. That is why they lock it down. If you look at the Ford Navs they are made by pioneer but have no DVD and all functions work. So that is why Pioneer will not allow a bypass for the unit. So why not at least allow the nav functions to work, I think its because they are tied in together some how.

[fireblade69]

Not exactly true, they make SOME of the Ford/Lincoln models, some are still made by Eclipse, some are still made by Visteon.

 

However ALL navs have a lockout where you cannot enter in a destination or address while driving. Vehicle must be parked and parking brake on in order to do those functions. So basically they use the same lockdown as the aftermarket DVD units.

 

Unless it has one of the new voice activated units like the AVIC Z2. Ford has the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator so far as the only ones in their line with voice activation, with which you can verbally input addresses and phone numbers while driving, not taking your eyes of the road.

[weberjam]

Well said

Yes, very well put... almost a month after the issue was dropped

[dwhitley0381]

I have a 07 expedition and it has the Nav and I can enter adress while driving.... no lock out... However I have a 06 F150 that has the Z1 and I still like it better.... only thing is the update expedition has my street address on it Z1 does not...

[CrazyCowPie]

Here's my 2 cents...

 

Like all things, there will be some way of circumvent the "protection". Game consoles, either cracked or going to be cracket. Same with Z2. There is someone out there who is good w/ tools and soon there will be one plug in device (just like the flasher for Z1) that will let us enjoy Video on the go. Just wait.

[coocho]

Here's my 2 cents...

 

Like all things, there will be some way of circumvent the "protection". Game consoles, either cracked or going to be cracket. Same with Z2. There is someone out there who is good w/ tools and soon there will be one plug in device (just like the flasher for Z1) that will let us enjoy Video on the go. Just wait.

 

Ehh, hacking game consoles have far better rewards than hacking a Z2. You save yourself probably over 1k$ getting burnt games, where as you only get to watch a DVD/enter addresses with the Z2. Plus, game consoles are by far more ubiquitous.

 

On a side note, that T guy seems to have mysterious disappeared after yet another huge blunder.

[03Aviator]

There will NEVER be any legal way that Pioneer will do this for us.

 

It is NOT against the law anywhere in the U.S. to have navigation controls active while driving!! There is no legal issue for Pioneer!

 

DVD is different. And I have no problem with them locking that out of the head unit while in motion. But the loss of navigation while in motion is ridiculous. There are a lot of manufacturers that allow that straight from the factory. Why not Pioneer??

[djmixmac]

Word, Alot of OEM Navi's allow address searches while in motion, I.E. Acura.....

 

 

DVD movies is another issue. I wouldnt mind if they made the Z2 allow for addresses searches but blocked DVD movies, I hardly use the DVD player.

[Itsme]

Acura, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini... all allow use of the navi functions while in motion.

I think Pioneer is shooting itself in the foot by blocking this.

DVD is of course another matter entirely and should be blocked while driving.

[fireblade69]

I was referring to the DVD movie watching in that statement.

[gus738]

i think a disclamer would work however no updated software would be require, so that they (pioneer) dont invest money in updated software.

i think navi it self is distraction enough to cause a crash, but along some of those lines we could put a disclamer that pioneer should not in any way held responsible for an accident due to tampering with their " z2" to enable video/motion and any such lockout and customer is/should be responsible enough to use proper judgement , if customers disagree to these terms they MUST return product, if product has not been returned customer is automatically held responsible and terms have been cleardly spoken for. now just think pioneer putting this on their website as a disclamer to protect their investment And just do a print out of user agreement and include in their next batch of sales....

 

i think putting someting like this all over the net generating millions of customers world wide plus local city signitures and what not would generate enough for pioneer to consider this.....

[T]

 

On a side note, that T guy seems to have mysterious disappeared after yet another huge blunder.

 

 

What was my "huge blunder"?

[ThisIsZac]

Kind of an old post, but I just logged back in to this site after a 1+ year absence. I installed my Z1 in my 2006 King Ranch Expedition in August 2006. In fact, it's been so long since I logged in, I forgot my old username/password, and even the email address I used to register with in the first place. I used to use ThisIsZachary, but I've shortened it to my nickname and use ThisIsZac.

 

This has been beaten to death, but Pioneer's legal department won't budge, regardless of how many letters are written. The risk vs. utility analysis they sit down and consider when writing these disclaimers overwhelmingly justifies keeping disclaimers in.

 

Also, I'm not sure of the size of Pioneer (or PioneerUSA, or its subsidiaries), but I'm pretty certain that even if the subsidiary of Pioneer that makes Navi components lost 50,000 customers over something as silly as the fact that the lost customers didn't want to see a legal disclaimer, the other branches of Pioneer (including CD players, plasma TVs, etc.) would absorb the loss, and Pioneer wouldn't feel much of a scratch on their bottom line.

 

You'd also have to think about the fact that your emails, after the first few days, would be acknowledged by Pioneer, and would become not only the nuisance that you are hoping it would become, but would most likely be forwarded to your ISP as unwanted spam after a few days of sending the same thing over and over. At least, if I were on Pioneer's customer service/legal team, and I kept receiving the same carbon copy (or one that wasn't the same, but that kept conveying the same message over and over and over and over), I would from a campaign of emailers, I would acknowledge them, and then ask them to stop. Anything else would be shuffled on to ISPs.

 

If you don't like the product, or the legal disclaimers, don't buy it. If you've bought it, sell it. There's a great navigation system that's been around a few years that doesn't include an annoying pop-up screen when you use it: Rand McNally's Road Atlas.