I've had my Pioneer AVIC-Z1 for 6 months. Bought the top of the line because I wanted the best GPS unit available. What I got was a good stereo but a POS GPS. This unit will almost always plot out the incorrect route. Now I'm not saying that it won't get you to your destination, because it will. But it seldom takes you there quickly or correctly.

I went back and forth with the dealer; even exchanged the unit once figuring that it might be defective. But it still has no clue as far as navigation goes.

For instance, I have a home in North Carolina and I have driven from Pensacola FL to my home in NC many times. My Pioneer will suggest 6 different routes, and not one of them is the correct one. Map Quest will route the directions correctly but not my Pioneer. And it's not just this one case. It seldom if ever routes anything correctly.

I have gotten -0- help from Pioneer and I'm feeling that the company knows that their product is a turkey, and just doesn't want to admit it.

Anyone else experiencing this problem?

No offense, but if the 6 different routes get you from point a to point b then they were the correct route. What exactly is your issue with the routes it's suggesting. Just saying they're wrong doesn't help anything.

Yeah, but at least the "navigation" of the AVIC-Z1 is pretty good.

I've had my Pioneer AVIC-Z1 for 6 months.

Then why do you choose to whine like a baby in the AVIC-Dx forum?

Maybe the Z forum would be a better choice?

No offense, but if the 6 different routes get you from point a to point b then they were the correct route. What exactly is your issue with the routes it's suggesting. Just saying they're wrong doesn't help anything.

I've had my Pioneer AVIC-Z1 for 6 months.

 

Then why do you choose to whine like a baby in the AVIC-Dx forum?

Maybe the Z forum would be a better choice?

Have you tried changing the route calculation from fastest to shortest or shortest to fastest. Adjusting the average speeds for the different roads can help too. If the route got you from a to b it's still the right route. Might be a little longer, but it's still the right one....

I've driven the route for the last 10 years and I know it well.

Then why do you need GPS navigation for it?

Have you tried changing the route calculation from fastest to shortest or shortest to fastest. Adjusting the average speeds for the different roads can help too. If the route got you from a to b it's still the right route. Might be a little longer, but it's still the right one....

And I can't for a minute believe that it's just mine. Is there anyone on this board that can honestly tell me that they use their units on a regular basis (to go places that hundreds of miles distant) and they trust their Pioneer?

I've driven the route for the last 10 years and I know it well.

 

Then why do you need GPS navigation for it?

I use mine everyday for business. It gets most routes dead on. For the ones it doesn't, I am observant enough to go the way I want to go and let it autocorrect after I have disobeyed its guidance. Thats what it is, GUIDANCE, not autopilot. You still have to pay attention. If you wanna go a certain way, don't use it

You still have to pay attention. If you wanna go a certain way, don't use it

In the cases that I'm going somewhere I already know the correct route my Pioneer generally tries to plot a route that isn't the one that anyone (in the know) would choose to follow. My average trip is going to be between 7-10 hours long. I don't want my GPS to take me on a route that add's another hour or more to the trip. And that's what Pioneer does, almost without exception.

As I said earlier, I have several navagation units, and each of them works very well. Pioneer doesn't. I feel confident in saying that anyone who feels they are getting good results with a Pioneer simply doesn't realize that the unit is sending them miles/hours out of their way.

Thats your opinion and you're welcome to it. Just like we're entitled to ours. Mine has yet to fail me in finding the quickest or shortest routes to my destinations.

Jim, thank you! thank you! thank you! You took the words right out of my mouth. I never can get the best route out of my Z-1. I have stated in this forum before that when I want to go north the darn thing wants to take me south and miles out of my way. If I would listen to the Z-1 I would waste a lot of gas and time. One time I wanted to go to a restaurant and it took me to an empty parking lot! I to have called pioneer and complained several times but they are no help. I just hope the new upgrade will improve the navagation.

I just hope the new upgrade will improve the navagation.

But who knows... maybe Pioneer is going to sneak a software upgrade in at the same time. I'm sure that Pioneer knows of this problem, there is no way that they couldn't. My guess is that they are working on a way to fix it. (After all, I don't think that Pioneer really wants to put out a crappy product.)

It's only a matter of time before serious navigation users get fed up and force them to either fix the problem or start issuing refunds. And refunding money simply isn't in Pioneers business policy.

Mine has yet to fail me in finding the quickest or shortest routes to my destinations.

Around town, no navigation system is going to know the shortcuts that you and I might know, so we make exceptions for it wanting to take certain roads that might not be the shortest or fastest route. But when you take a navigation system out on the road and travel between several states, you will get a real feel for the unit’s capabilities, or lack thereof.

For instance, I just went outside and plotted in my next destination in both the Pioneer as well as the Garmin that I bought to replace it. The Garmin has the route plotted about 90 miles less than the Pioneer's "best of six". I ran a profile on both and I have no idea of why the Pioneer has made the choices that it made, but it's neither the shortest or fastest route. I also went to Map Quest and the route is exactly the one that the Garmin chose.

So what's up with Pioneer? And this is not an isolated case, it is the norm. I know that you love your unit and I appreciate your efforts to defend what you consider to be a "best of class" piece of equipment. So… If you want to continue feeling good about that 2 thousand dollar unit, don’t take any long distance trips that ask it to actually perform. To do so guarantees disappointed.

I typically go about six hours in every direction for my work and I am very satisfied with mine. Sorry, I just am

Hey Moderator, maybe you can move this to the Z1 forum for me. Sorry, my bad...

i dont know if this was mentioned already, but doesn't the Navigation re-route you the minute you turn off-course? That happens with my D1 whenever i turn off the current route. So, yes...often times the initial route isn't the one that I would choose, but the minute I go in the wrong direction or turn off-route then it will re-route itself and give me new directions on the different route.

I'm planning a trip to montreal with several of my friends. Mapquest told me it was going to be 420 miles. I plugged it into my N3 and it gave me 300, so I'm happy with the N3.

Having used the Pioneer Avic D1 and several portable Garmin units, I have to agree that the routes the Avic provide are not always the most optimum routes. But if the Pioneer gets you from Point A to Point B in unfamiliar territory, then it is doing its job even if it not as graceful as the portable Garmin units.

Unfortunately, when going on day trips with my wife, the Pioneer usually only gets us to within five or six blocks of our destination, while her old Garmin GPS V gets us right to the door step.

Recently, we were looking for a quilt shop out in the country. The Pioneer actually got us quite litteraly lost and when we arrived at our "destination", we were on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. We dug the GPS V out of the trunk and it brought us to the doorstep of the quilt shop. The Pioneer's destination was about 5 km's (3 miles) inaccuate, not to mention, we were not even on the right road.

I think both units should at least get you to the doorstep of your destination even if the routing intelligence is different, and right now Pioneer is seriously lacking in that aspect.

Sometimes the Pioneer does it job and gets to where we want to be, even if I may sometimes disagree with its route choice, but if I don't know where I'm going to start with, I am happy it got me there.

The main difference between Pioneer and Garmin is the mapset. Since the Pioneer sometimes works and sometimes doesn't while I have never had a problem with any of my Garmins, I suspect it is the mapset that is the weak link in the Pioneer and not necessarily the routing intelligence.

I have heard rumours and I don't know if they are true or not, but the Spring 2007 map update for Pioneer will be based on NavTech maps instead of TeleAtlas. If that is true, then many of these issues may suddenly get resolved.

Unfortunately, if it is true, it will likely cost us hundreds of dollars to move to these new mapsets, but it will still be cheaper than replacing an otherwise nice unit already installed in our vehicles.

It will not be be NavTeq, only the Pioneer portable piece uses it this year

I'm planning a trip to montreal with several of my friends. Mapquest told me it was going to be 420 miles. I plugged it into my N3 and it gave me 300, so I'm happy with the N3.