Hi All

This is my first post here and I have a concern about Pioneer's Repair Service. On Jan 4, I delivered my avic-n1 to the service center in CA. I received it back on Jan 25. Upon opening the box, I found that it appeared to have been dropped and was broken. The box it returned in had no visible damage. Has anyone else sent there avic-n1 in for the flex cable repair and received it back broken. *I generated a case with Pioneer on Jan 26, but no call back as of this post. If you have experienced this problem, did Pioneer fix or replace the product.

Thanks

well, pioneer would be better to get with on it, other then others experience. My guess is pioneer will likely make good since its their responsibility to get it back to you in a working condition after repairing it.

Thanks Tillithz,

I hope so, I'm really missing XM while on the road.

I'm having a problem w/ my N1 too. After receiving my N1 back from Pioneer for the flex cable upgrade and reinstalling it on my 4runner, I can't use my nav unit now. Everytime I try I putting on the nav disc, it keeps on stating on the screen that it is a disc error or something like that and it is not the right disk. Has anyone else got this problem? I just noticed it this Saturday after getting my car back from the audio shop I go to. Also, the guys at the shop told me that they can't bypass the N1 anymore where I won't be able to watch while driving anymore. That's no biggie to me, but my real gripe is that my passenger might not be able to change the destinations on the nav unit while I'm driving and that means that I'll have to pull over and park the vehicle and change my destination instead of being able to do it while driving.

Did they put a newer version of navigation software in it for you? If they did, the old bypass is different and your unit will need some modification

Did they put a newer version of navigation software in it for you? If they did, the old bypass is different and your unit will need some modification

I don't know. All I sent out was the head unit. I thought the brain unit was left in the vehicle, but then again, I'm not very familiar w/ the workings of nav units or any type of audio equipment in general. I'm gonna try to contact Pioneer today and find out what they did and see if they did upgrade my N1 to the newer version, and if that's the case see if they can at least give me a new nav dvd since I didn't ask for it to be upgraded (yeah, I know, fat chance of that ever happening).

Do you know by chance on how to bypass this or is there a thread on here on how to bypass it?

Yes there are several thread with the bypass information for an upgraded n1. Search and ye shall find.

I just recently called this morning and they did the same thing w/ me by generating a report and the service rep said that someone will call me w/in 3-5 business days to talk w/ me about trying to get my N1 fixed. I want them to pay for it since I think that they upgraded the system w/out my knowledge or they broke something while fixing the flex cable problem. The service rep said that it was gonna cost me around $200 and that's not including the shipping I have to pay for. The service rep who was a lady was being a bitch and kept on insisting that Pioneer didn't have anything to do w/ the nav part and I kept telling her that everything was working fine before the flex cable went out on me. Damn, Pioneer's service center sucks.

I received my unit last week. Installed it and the colors are off. It alternates from blue, to red to green. the thing has a mind of its own. I think the flex cable is still messed up. Calling them today to straighten this out.

I just recently received a letter from Pioneer concerning the report they filed on my Avic N1.

Here it is:

Dear Mr. BLANK:

Thank you for contacting us about your Pioneer product. We are sorry to hear of the problem that you have encountered.

Your request has been carefully reviewed, and we do understand your point of view. Within the terms of our Limited Warranty, Pioneer will pay for Navigation repairs required due to a manufacturing defect during a period of one year from the product's documented date of purchase. It is our intention to be fair to all of our customers while honoring the terms of this warranty.

The serial number on your AVICN1 indicates that it was manufactured in 5/2004. Without proof of purchase verifying that this product is currently covered under our Limited Warranty, we must regretfully deny your request for assistance with the cost of repairs that may now be needed on the unit.

While Pioneer is unable to assist you in this matter, we do value your continued business. If you have any questions, please contact me at (800) xxx-xxxx Monday through Friday between the hours of 6:00 AM and 4:30 PM PST.

Sincerely,

xxxxxxxx

Customer Service Representative

Damn Pioneer. Everything was working fine before the flex cable went out, now I can't even use my nav unit anymore. I'm pretty sure that they upgraded my unit, but I have no proof. And I sure as hell don't want to buy a new nav dvd and if I try to download the new dvd, I don't know if it's the 60 series or the new 70 one. But you bet I'll be calling in at 6 Monday morning to bitch about it to this guy. Damn I hate Pioneer's service. Their no help. My audio installer was right. Their not very helpful at all.

The 70 disks are not out yet. Probably worth your time to download the 60 disk and try it out

do you know a good place to download the 60 disk? and also, will i need a dual layer dvd? thanks for your help.

You will need a dual layer disc and a dual layer capable burner. As for where to d/l the 60 series discs I can't help there.

I took my N1 into Pioneer on Friday and the lady there said 1 week for sure, then the dude on the phone today said that nothing will happen before 2 weeks... I'm afraid to call again and have the next person extend that to 3 weeks... I honestly wish they would just give me the ribbon cable, and I could have my AVIC back in working order within the hours...

I took my N1 into Pioneer on Friday and the lady there said 1 week for sure, then the dude on the phone today said that nothing will happen before 2 weeks... I'm afraid to call again and have the next person extend that to 3 weeks... I honestly wish they would just give me the ribbon cable, and I could have my AVIC back in working order within the hours...

Just be careful though, when I turned in my N1 to Pioneer to fix the flex cable and when I received it again w/in two weeks and after getting it reinstalled, I noticed that I couldn't play the old 40 disk nav dvd. Also, my audio installer couldn't bypass the N1 anymore where I could either play a movie or change addresses on the navigation w/out parking the car first. I finally talked to my installer again to see if he remembers me sending out the brain along w/ the head unit and he confirmed that I did send it out. Also, I was able to borrow the current 60 nav disk and I tried it on my N1 and guess what, it freakin' works. So they did update my N1 w/out notifying me, and when I talked to the people at Pioneer voicing my concern w/ the N1 not being able to read my old disk and stating to them that they may have updated the unit, the lady told me that they didn't touch it and the only thing they touched was the unit itself to fix the flex cable. So now, I'm going to have to call Pioneer again tomorrow and talk to them again concerning my findings.

Hope this helps. Also, where did you send it to? To the one in Long Beach or the one that handles it in the East Coast, which I heard was in Ohio I think.

I'm in Canada, so I took it to the one in Markham, which is just north of Toronto. Its only like an hour drive from where I am, so I didn't take the risk shipping it. I've heard about the software upgrade, which I think is pretty silly. I only gave them the HU, and no wires either. They don't need anything else to fix the Flex and i'm not giving them anything else. Besides, its Pioneer, if they're gonna turn it on, they probably already have everything they need. I didn't send in the brain, but if they do upgrade it to 60, I have the 60dvds already, and I've upgraded/downgraded a couple times thus far, so hopefully i will just downgrade back to 40 and be on my way. I DID accidentally forget my 40 East disc in the DVD drive, so hopefully if they will test it or something, they won't need to upgrade anything. I hope they don't steal my disc, lol.

OK, some update. I was able to borrow a 60 nav disk from a friend of mine to verify that they did upgrade my N1, and sure enough, the 60 disk worked. I called Pioneer customer service the next day, and told them what happened. The customer service rep said that she's going to put a note on my case number of what I told her and that someone will be contacting me w/in a few days. I asked her if they were just going to mail me another letter and she told me that someone will most likely call w/in a few days to talk to me in person because of the note that she stuck in my case. So we'll see.

Okay,

another update. I got mine back from the centre in Markham and it was upgraded. I didn't bring my 60 disc to try it out, I only had my 40 disc in the car, so I downgraded the software and everything, as normal. It worked, and was bypassed and my passenger enjoyed a movie the whole way home.

Next day, i turned it on, and i got a grey screen saying "please insert appropriate disc"!!!!! I downgraded it again, and it worked, but i was annoyyed because I kept losing my presets. I figured maybe it was a fluke.

Yesterday, I had to go on a trip to the U.S. and I was counting on my AVIC to not only guide us, but to provide some in-flight entertainment for my girlfriend. We drove for about 5 hours, then arrived in our destination city. Everything was working and we played lots of music and were able to watch two DVDs in the process, while navigating. Great.

We parked the car for about 4 or 5 hours maybe? Attended a function, and then returned to the car. "Please insert appropriate disc". I was on the verge of completely flipping out and snapping the screen off my N1. This was in the middle of the night, in probably my LEAST favorite Urban Area. One of the worst places to be stuck at 2AM when you're a Canadian in a Mercedes. I popped in my 60 disc to see if that would work, and it didn't, but it did upgrade to the 60 software, and then restarted. I downgraded it AGAIN to the 40 disc, and then plotted a route, popped in some austin powers, and went home.

I was seriously PISSED about this experience, and I just don't understand it. Something was done to my unit while it was in the repair centre, that's making it give this error, and I would like to figure out what's causing this, or how they did it, and how I can correct it. I never had this problem even once before getting my new flex cable.

Any ideas?

Regards,

YK

I havent got to hook mine back up yet, so I am not sure about what version they put on there or if it even works correctly, but Pioneer did steal my disks from me, then say they had no recolection of having them. Then wanted me to spend $300 for new ones. They are shady out there (ohio facility).

hey slyk, i hope everything works out for you. I just sent out my unit to Markham faecility today. jeez all these horror stories are trippin me out. i hope i get mine back in working order

That blows - I know when I called about mine before I sent it out they were pretty good about it. I had an old Pioneer 7300 that they kept so long they had to send me a new unit. they had ita month beofre they even touched it.

What I didn't like is you can never get ahold of the technician that works on your unit to ask any questions. Pioneer may make a good unit but their service sucks.

I had the same issue with my AVI N1 as you guys about 4 months ago - I sent my unit up to them for a ribbon wire change and it came back with the upgrade done AND scratches on the screen - which they later denied.

I called some guy out in Cali and he was going to do the upgrade for me but I was a bit skeptical sending it to an address that included an apartment number.

I found Rich thru ebay and figured atleast I would have recourse if he didnt fix it - I could get my money back thru paypal. I know I am plugging this guy again but I am doing this cuase I hate to see Pioneer profit from purposly fradualant work. He also warranties your unit for a year after the service. Try this guy he blows Pioneer out of the water. you get an email when your unit shows up on their step - and when its fixed you geta tracking number emailed to you so you can instantainiously track it.

Well back tosearch for a 1/2 din DVD player to hook up to my unit and a sub box for my 03 HD truck.

Rich

SAME DAY AUTO AUDIO REPAIR SERVICES INC.

1228 SOUTH MILITARY HWY SUITE F

CHESAPEAKE, VA, 23320

[email protected]

(757) 277-1080

Good luck to you Slyk. I've had nothing but headaches trying to deal w/ the uncooperative service reps at Pioneer. Like I said in another post, after talking to a CSR from Pioneer, all she told me was that I had to send it in to Pioneer (Long Beach branch), and their technicians can take a look at it for $200 since it's not covered under warranty anymore. I was pissed since they clearly did some modifications or upgrades w/ my unit w/out my written consent. I think Pioneer is just doing this so that the people w/ the old N1s and N2s will have to buy their upgrade dvds for $250. I love their units but their customer service sucks goat balls.

I one up that sucks balls ....

Those bastards, eh...

Well so far, its stayed downgraded for the past couple days. If it happens again, I will probably shit a brick, and call over to Markham until I get my problem solved. If they try any of this bullshit, I'm going to try to persist... If it comes down to it though, I'm not sure what I might do. Maybe just upgrade the software to 60 and mount a 2nd screen above my current one and hook that up to my rear output. I've kinda wanted to do that anyway. I think i'd be the only SLK with a screen for each occupant lol.

have you guys tried downgrading your software manually?

We'll see, and thanks for your input and wishes guys.

Regards,

slyk

The guy did my bypass for $100, cheaper than a new screen. But it sounds like you may have other issues. Are you running bootleg disks? I know I got a set of corupt 60 disks when i first tried my upgrade and got the same message - ended up my gps chip was fried. I hope thats not teh case for you. that cost me $157.... I was pissed but I guess I learned my lesson, I paid $60 for a set of messed up disks that I had to buy again for $25 from the guy who did my upgrade. Cost more in the long run to do the cheaper (more expensive) way.