I just got an F900BT as a replacement after my Jensen was broken during a break in. Jensen gets a bad rap, but the features were amazing and the Ipod interface was second to none when I bought it. It has performed flawlessly, and the build quality was very good.

When my insurance co. allocated funds for replacement, I went for the P900 for the vox control of Ipod functions. I've been reading about all the bugs in this board and others and am reconsidering installing the unit. I haven't taken it out of the box still have time to send it back to the replacement service.

Interestingly, Jensen has been dragging their butts on the VM9022HDN. They announced it at CES this winter and they keep delaying the release. After this Pioneer debacle, Jensen's decision to wait to ensure a solid product now seems sage.

The huge number of annoying bugs noted in this message board call the F-series hardware platform into question. Some of these, like the unacceptable boot-up time, make me wonder if they could even be fixed with a firmware revision.

I called Pioneer to inquire the status. I was polite, but the woman I spoke with was defensive and evasive. Not a bit apologetic. I'm guessing their feet are tired from tap dancing. Taking a little responsibility would go a long way though.

So my question is: do you folks believe the update will covert the F-series into the product Pioneer promises, or should I send this puppy back?

You appear to be apprehensive of installing your unit.I also have my concerns.There are alot of issues to be corrected and I have my doubts they all will be repaired but I have been wrong before.I would send it back and wait to see what developes.You can always buy another one.

I ordered my F700BT from Crutchfield on 6/16, and it still sits in the box for these same reasons. If I don't see any improvement by the users on this forum by 7/16, back to Crutchfield it goes.

I wish I had waited to install mine. If I were you, I'd leave it in the box for as long as you can, and return it before the deadline. Then just order another one if/when they release an update.

The unit is not worth having in the car. Not one piece of it works entirely correctly. There's at least one issue with every part of it (mine, at least), and some of them are very significant. Hell, I can't even turn it off and use it as a clock, because it doesn't keep time!

Dave

Thanks for the honest appraisal Dave...and everyone else. Sorry to ask others to be guinea pigs. I'm sure it's annoying to be looking at at $600-$1100 worth of gear that's constantly reminding you it's a lemon.

At least in the box I don't have to listen to it

"I-detect-driver-is-dis-a-pointed-comma"

I'm still holding out hope.

More comments welcome...

"I-detect-driver-is-dis-a-pointed-comma"

LOL! That should be the title of this section. Well done!

Actually, based on my experience, it would read, "I detect driver is disacommaed."

The more I use the unit, the more I fear the update won't even fix half of the stuff that's wrong with it. I mean the list of serious bugs is unbelievably long. Some of them are a bit more obscure or random, but just as serious. I'm pretty much banking on those not getting fixed. It'd be nice to have a reliable clock, sub-minute bootup, responsive menus, reliable ipod connection, non-retarded routing, and be able to disable the damn beeping. If those things were fixed, I think it would be worth installing and dealing with the remainder of the bugs. Until then, I remain jealous that yours is still in the box and I can no longer return mine.

Dave

Id send it back and get a Z1/2/3 or a D3. Im sure any of those units are better than any unit made by Jensen. Me personally would never buy any Jensen product or the following products:

-Boss

-Pyle (pyle of sh*t)

-Jensen

-Panasonic

Id send it back and get a Z1/2/3 or a D3.

Agreed. Except for the screen and iPod controls (when they work), the Z series is superior to the F series in just about every way. I have less experience with the D3, but I know the iPod controls are as good as the F series (and they consistently work). The D3 is fast, too.

Dave

I have personally owned a D3, Z2 and Z3(60gig upgrade), a Kenwood DNX8120, and now the F900bt and I can honestly say that I miss my Z3 (sold on ebay for 1000) It was slow, but it was refreshing to have everything working to maximum capacity. The D3 has a great deal of perks, especially the blutooth clarity. The Kenwood was the fastest interface I've experienced but I didnt like the fact that I didnt have the 3D mapping features. Out of them all, I really miss my Z3. I pray that the firmware update allows pioneer to deliver on the high volume of promises of the f series.

ok so i wokr at bestbuy and i installed a 900bt in this guys subaru sti 08 and he had problems with it the typical problems everyone is talking about and what he did is crutchfield, where he bought it from told him they were on recall and that if he sent it back to them they would send him a kenwood double din and all the other accessories that he bought for the pioneer for his kenwood and they got it to him in 2 days. they said they are handeling all the recalls for people that bought it from them so you dont need to send it to the manufacturer. this is just to let you guys know

This is my oppinion. The unit really didn't bug me much until i found that it wasn't supposed to have all these little bugs. My BT works find after finding a good mic location, i found out about turning the the echo cancelation off today and it's even better. That is a big thing for me because i have to be on the phone. So with that basically "solved" for now, it doesn't bug me.

The boot time is long (and supposedly won't be fixed), i personally can deal with that. Usually, if i need to enter in an address, by the time i'm ready to, i only need to sit for 10 sec most.

I don't use an ipod, so i don't have issues with that obviously.

Once it's going, pretty much everything functions like it should. The BT was the only issue i had and, as said, it's perfectly usuable now.

My only real problem is when i get into the car on my phone, it drops my call instead of transfering to BT. This is only a minor problem to me.

My opinion, i don't find it to be as bad as people make it out to be. It has little things that should be fixed, i'm not worried. The only reason i would not install, or would have waited in retrospect is if you will actually have to send it back. That's BS if you don't have to. One thing with the flash memory was i was hoping to be able to update it as updates come out. I was hoping you could choose what update you wanted and just load it up like alot of other electronics. I am glad i didn't sell my old HU right away because i depend on BT and i can't just get rid of it for a week. That would be the only thing that would prevent me, unless you are actually looking at other alternatives (which may be the way to go anyway, i personally like the unit as i said).