I have been a die-hard pioneer navigation supporter since I got my first AVIC-N1 unit many years ago. Since then I have owned several different units including a N1 N3, Z1, and the most recent is a F500BT.

With each of these units I had hardware issues within the first year of ownership. Each unit went back for repair and was returned in working order. I just shipped the Z1 back to pioneer for the second time (not under warranty this time) when the touchscreen quit working and again it came back in working order. It is currently installed in my wifes Honda Civic.

I purchased an Avic 500bt to go in my late model Durango about a year ago. Since then I have had nothing but problems with this unit. Within several months I had to replace the battery which cost 50.00 from pioneer and another few months after that the new batter also went bad. The unit would constantly reboot and lockup. The volume control on the front of the unit would only work once in a while the bluetooth operation was terrible. The last straw was when it locked up and simply refused to boot back up. I did all the usual troubleshooting including removal of the battery, reset button, put it on the charger overnight etc. This unit should never had made it to production as it is very failure prone.

Why would they design a unit that will be used every day to rely on the battery in order to function? For instance, 90% of most peoples daily driving are short trips which will quickly wear out the battery in a unit like this, especially a battery that is memory effect prone.

Don't get me wrong, these units are awesome and feature rich but the reliability, build quality and design is subpar. I have decided to move away from Pioneer Navi units and try something new. This past weekend I installed a new Dual xdvdn9131 in my Durango. So far it is not quite as nice as the pioneer units feature-wise but the interface is clean and simple and build quality seems more solid. I guess only time will tell.

so you basically downgraded...don't expect better quality from dual. it's made by the same people that make jensen. it's basically audiovox. built and marketed by audiovox and sold in masses by walmart. it's like buying a kia and comparing it to your last bmw. the quality does not compare in sound quality, functionality, options, control, cleanliness, or picture. the lettering will wear off on the buttons and that's only if it doesn't break or the buttons fall off first. good luck with it though!

Robbie,

I can't dissagree with anything you said except the sound quality is actually as good if not better than the z1 in my wifes car.

The interface is slow and clunky, the ipod cable plugs into the front which sucks, and the gps voice sounds unrefined and even annoying when getting street names wrong.

I will say however the buttons seem strong and solid, the volume dial is very responsive and tight, the video quality is as good as the z2 and the f500.

The best part is it just works. For the last few months I would get in my truck and pray that the 500bt was gong to work and 1/2 of the time it didn't. With that worry gone, I am a happy camper. I will try the next gen of pioneer when finances are better but for now cheap replacement is what I got...

...And I'm done with Pioneer now as well. I can't say I've had many of their products, but a Pioneer DVD player I bought a few years ago suffered from a failure of a digital audio output (I think the fiber optic, but not the RF), and now TWO failed F500's. Similar failure symptoms for the F500; brickified.

While Dual may not have the features, it has one feature mine doesn't: it powers up and operates.

I'm thinking of going to Kenwood... Going with In-dash nav now like I probably should have before.