I recently purchased a 16gb Sandisk Cruzer USB drive to use as a music hard drive for my AVH-X8500BHS.  When i first used it the head unit prompted me to create a database for easy searching.  So i pushed the database button and I saw the little "building database" icon show up on the right side of the screen but within about 3 - 4 seconds the system would freeze and restart.  I tried it several times, always the same result, it'll crash, reboot, then prompt me to create a database...

I tried calling Pioneer Tech support, but after 30 minutes on hold all the guy could suggest was that the non mp3 files on the usb drive were messing up the head unit, and that i should try completely formatting the drive as FAT32 and reload it with only MP3 files.  I tried that, same result, still crashes.  The USB drive does work, i can listen to music and everything, but I can't create a database to make searching for music easier...  Anybody else have this issue or have any suggestions?

I am having the same issue (but with a 32GB SDHC card) and getting the same response from tech support except that I was told that both mp3 and wma files were fine.  I've looked for other file types on the card and found nothing but folders and supported music file types.  Tech support also told me that if formatting to FAT32 didn't work that I could take my unit in for repair at a facility nearby that they pointed me to (which should be covered under warranty).  I haven't found any firmware updates for this unit. If you have been able to resolve your issue please post the solution.