Hi everyone,

I'm a new user to the X920 BT Nav system. This post is for anyone shopping this unit that are just looking for pre-purchase guidance . Let me preface this by saying I scoured all the boards PRIOR to making my purchase of the X920 BT

First impressions:

The I Install was easy and the system looks great installed. The basic functions for phone, iPod, radio are adequet at best. pairing the system to the iphone4 was easy Stereo sound good with plenty of power.

Pioneer clearly missed the mark in their attempt at user interface. If you think you are going to plug your phone in and have easy access to your pod or phone with all the benefits of voice recognition and blue tooth you are wrong... Continue reading

Let's start with the easy stuff:

Radio options:

Setting up presets for your favorite station is a pain.... You will need to read the manual before attempting. It's easy to get lost so read that damn manual, Once driving, to avoid having to look at the touch screen for direction use to left/right buttons on the unit bezel.

Be sure to set up short cuts on your home screen for FM,AM,IPOD, etc to aid navigation of the mode you wish listen to.

Phone options:

One you have connected your smart phone to this unit you will probably want to use VR and phone stuff. Not so fast... Again you will be forced to navigate thru a couple screens before you are ready.... But that's what voice recognition is for right?.....NOT. The VR on this unit is really bad... Windows up...stereo down...you will first start by speaking in a normal tone, then work you way to yelling at the until you just give up. There is no fix... It's not a bug....search for threads on this and you will find that you must press maps OK button at just the right time or no go...again another screen to manage when all you wanted to do is make a call.

For me... I hate bluethooth devices in my ear, but they work better and for a lot less than you will spend on this unit.

Since I use my phone for media such as movies and songs I'll group all that here:

First of all Pandora works perfectly. Now for music and video playlists. Once again several levels deep into interface for either one. So changing sources on the fly, WILL TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD.... There are short cuts which may be applied and at best makes getting there tolerable. Wait that's what VR is for right? .....NOT. Once again half the reason many of spend 650.00+ on this unit is for that convienece.... You will again wind up yelling your commands to no avail.

Eco mode is a joke and nothing but fluff so I won't even go there.

Navigation:

Please understand on this one that I only have iPhone Experience. So this is my first experience with navi-stuff.....I use the mapquest app and maps on iPhone.

The navigation interface is clumbsy and time consuming. YOU WILL NEED THE MANUAL FOR THIS...IN THE CAR UNTIL YOU GET USED TO IT. Again several layers deep and not somthing you can do on the fly. But there is the VR option.... NOT.... Same as before is not much use.... Be prepared to spend several minutes before leaving for your destination. It's far faster and easier to use the iPhone navigation on a sticky cup on the windshield.

The good news is that if your PARKED( I did the hack which works great) the videos from iPod / phone works well. The DVD works well. The SD card works well.

Here's the bottom line..... If your used to the apple interface OR are thinking this is an easy plug and play option for your driving, hands free NEEDS this is not the unit for you. You will spend hours tweaking on it. If your into that great!

For me, I just want to press a button... Make a call... Drive down the road and listen to some music.

Because of the substantial investment mine will stay in the car....

Oh yeah.... At least the unit will charge your iPhone

I await the onslaught

Nava

Hi everyone,

...

I await the onslaught

 

Nava

No onslaught here.

I just got mine installed yesterday in an '08 Jetta with two headrest display units. I feel that your post is very accurate. I can't speak for you, but I am disappointed. Prior to buying it, I surfed it up, called around, and they all said that this was the best for the cash, unless I wanted to get the Z.

The reason I mentioned the headrest display units, is - Podcasts from the iPhone do not stream to the rear display units. When I inquired about it (after the install), the fellas' said "Yeah, only DVD in the head unit display to the rear. The Z can though." Well, that was a huge bummer, I don't have a Z.

Yeah, just because Pioneer mis represented this unit I'm sending it back.

I'm not a rich guy but am willing to pay way more than this unit is worth for a well designed, well tested and proven system. It's a damn shame. I hate being taken.

I did however just get the VR to work.... Only after hours of research and testing. Who has the time?

I can Plug an iPod into a 200.00 head unit and buy a friking jawbone.

I do want to thank all the contributors of this board....without you guys I'd be lost for weeks not hours

.

Nava

Yeah, just because Pioneer mis represented this unit I'm sending it back.

 

I'm not a rich guy but am willing to pay way more than this unit is worth for a well designed, well tested and proven system. It's a damn shame. I hate being taken.

 

I did however just get the VR to work.... Only after hours of research and testing. Who has the time?

 

I can Plug an iPod into a 200.00 head unit and buy a friking jawbone.

 

I do want to thank all the contributors of this board....without you guys I'd be lost for weeks not hours

.

 

Nava

I have to say I can't disagree more with your post. I got my 920 installed yesterday and it works as advertised for me. The voice recognition has been flawless. I will admit it can be a bit slow but it's been totally functional for me. Playlists, artists, albums, genres, and the call features have been impressive. I only had an issue with the VR when my windows were down. Also look in the settings menu and make sure you have music set to mute when using VR so it doesn't interfere. Although that really didn't cause an issue for me. If I were you I'd check the mic placement. Mine is to the right of my visor near the rear view mirror. Oh yeah, and maybe the VR cataloging is interfering with your use of the VR. When the VR catalog for your ipod is updating it disables the use of VR. After the VR catalog finishes for your iPod go to the settings and turn off the VR catalog function. And when you add songs to your iPod you can let it catalog again but turn it off when you are done. It seems like the VR catalog process wants to occur each time you connect your iPod, even if you haven't added any music. Annoying but fixable.

After about an hour of playing with it I felt totally comfortable with the entire unit and all it's functions. All without reading the manual. I think the iPod interface is awesome and works great. My only gripe is I wish there was a way to see all the songs from the album in which the song is playing. Link to album works but I wish I could see all the tracks easier from the play screen but it's not a big deal.

I read your post initially before mine was installed and you had me all worried. I'm so glad that your experience is isolated.

His experience is far from isolated. Although it is nice to see you aren't having issues, many others do. The problem is that different people have different degrees of success with these units, regardless of what they do to troubleshoot the issues. I also had very little issues. However many others have had a different story.

His experience is far from isolated. Although it is nice to see you aren't having issues, many others do. The problem is that different people have different degrees of success with these units, regardless of what they do to troubleshoot the issues. I also had very little issues. However many others have had a different story.

I think it depends more on the competence level.

No, it doesn't.

No, it doesn't.

Your opinion vs mine.

Not sure why there is so much negative press on this unit. I have had mine for about a month and I love it. I had it professionally installed (could have done it myself, electrical engineer) and it has worked flawlessly for me. GPS is awesome; antenna placement is key. iPhone/iPod/Pandora interface is great!

GPS is awesome; antenna placement is key.

Where did you place the antenna? Thanks

I have had mine for about 6 months or so and I have no issues with the unit or the UI.