Get this:
Have had a F900BT for a year and a half > recently bought the 3.0 update from Crutchfield > installation went smoothly > about 5 days later, I started getting bugs mentioned here:
http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=27903
I emailed Pioneer to see if they knew about the bugs and were planning on releasing a fix. In return I got the standard insulting email completely ignoring the details I described, and saying I could return it for $200. I bought the update from a legit vendor a couple weeks ago and followed the directions. I wasn't asking for a refund...just wanted to know if they were looking at releasing a fix. Pioneer should back their product, right?
I called Pioneer and politely described the situation...here's were it gets good:
The tech first claimed he hadn't heard about any bugs.
I said, "So you are saying you haven't heard of any bugs in the new update?"
He paused as someone does before knowingly spouting a lie on record..."Well, some people are having problems if they did a parking brake bypass."
ME: "You mean dropping the ipod, black screens, and booting into the Destination Menu RANDOMLY are because of a bypass?"
HIM: "Yes"
ME: "Even though there have been no hardware changes in 1 1/2 years since the installation, yet this only started happening in the last week following the (purchased) firmware upgrade?"
HIM: "Yes, sometimes it takes a while for the bypass to start affecting the unit."
He's either a moron, or he's a robot spouting the company script from a screen, or he thinks I'm a moron and has no compunction about baldfaced lying. In any of those three scenarios, Pioneer's customer service is abysmal.
Lesson learned: Anyone thinking that PAYING FOR the F Series update will ensure the company will back their product is mistaken.