Thanks for the info on the internal hard drive.

No word from Pioneer support yet, but I'm not holding my breath either.

3 unsuccessful boots this weekend.

This sucks.

JT

I don't think that HDD gets shut down... But I think that it starts to mis-read and throws a lot of reading errors. As a result, OS can't finish boot-up process and freezes at the point where it was left.

The what's the point of having internal temp monitored? I don't think they'd add the expense of an internal thermometer if the system didn't use it for some function.

You have a point there.

Here's the temperature spec of the hard drive in the system:

Operating 3.2o - 158oF (-16o to 70oC)

Non-Operating -40o - 176oF (-40o to 80oC)

Shipping -40o - 176oF (-40o to 80oC)

I highly doubt that any of our systems reached those temperatures... those are almost temperatures of boiling water

If I recall this correctly, when I was in the debug (diagnostics) window doing a read check, system said that temperature of HDD was 32 degrees or so.

On the other note... if they will shut down HDD due to a sensor reading, that means that HDD will not start immediately after reset (since sensor is still reading high value). Am I correct? I honestly don't know... I'm just thinking out loud.

What I noticed with the debug window, if my system freezes on boot, I get a read error (during read test). If my system boots up properly, I go through the entire read test w/out any errors. If you are correct on the shutdown thing, maybe HDD gets turned off during the read test...

P.S. if this doesn't make any sense, let me know and I'll re-write this in the morning... I'm completely exhausted right now and I'm just typing up what I'm thinking

i got my z1 back from pioneer today. i have not yet install. this is what they wrote in the service comment: NTF, RESET UNIT. i called pioneer to find out what does it mean. he said my z1 is no-trouble-found (NTF), only a reset is done. all my mp3s are gone. they tried to duplicate the problem and didn't find any.

 

he also mentioned to connect my z1 to a regulated power supply and try a different ground source.

 

well, i'll let you guys know when i get it installed soon.

finally i got my z1 installed. it's about 90 degrees today and some how my z1 is working. so far no freeze at startup. it's hard to say that temperature has to do with it.

pioneer said they found nothing and resetted my z1. all my information and mp3s are intact.

could this be true? i think pioneer knew what the problem is but not disclosing the information to the public.

late last night i was driving home and my z1 started to skip when playing mp3. when i got home, i turn off the engine and turn back on, my z1 froze. it freezes today as i drove to work. i can't do anything at all.

i'm sending it back again for repair. i hope this time they'll find a problem.

Was this heat related again?

if so, when you send it back please ask them to toast the unit for a few hours in a closed card under the sun. That's the way that I used to reproduce my freezes when they were happening.

Good luck to you.

dimaj

Hi everyone, new to the forum. I am having the same problem, bought a new avic z1 about three months ago, worked fine for a couple weeks and then started to freeze at the pioneer logo. The problem got progressivley worst over the next three weeks, going from a once a week problem to a daily problem. I live in Florida so the car gets very hot in the summer. It's gotten to the point where i can only get the unit to work on the first start in the morning. Sent it to Pioneer twice in the last six weeks and both times NTF, reset system. The customer support could care less about my problem. I just received the unit back today so i will let you know if it's any better. Not too optomistic after reading all your posts.

I too just started experiencing this problem about 3 days ago. I've had this unit for over a year now (purchased in May 2006) and this has never occurred before, even after sitting in a black car with a black leather dash and seats in 95 degree heat. dimaj, I've been having the same problems you were having with playback just stopping and skipping to the next song. I actually experienced this before the system started freezing on the splash screen. The thing that bothers me the most is that I've been seeing the system freeze on boot when the vehicle is not hot at all -- I'm talking 60 degrees ambient temperature after sitting in the garage overnight. This leads me to believe that there could possibly be some physical damage to the HDD or thermal sensor that exhibits itself more frequently when the temperature is high.

Also, Sirshopolot makes a good point about the ACC coming from an ignition switched relay. I'm sure the BIOS waits a specified amount of time before it starts the hard drive, but (depending on the vehicle) if you frequently caused the HDD to power cycle by switching the ignition from accessory to ON, I could see it getting screwed up. Just my two cents.

Im one up...my unit has been down all day...

Iv reset it, removed all power..cooled it...no avail

Its stuck on the "starting pioneer in car navigation" screen.....wonder when it will start?

I love the unit when it works...unfortulately thats not very often for me

Was this heat related again?

if so, when you send it back please ask them to toast the unit for a few hours in a closed card under the sun. That's the way that I used to reproduce my freezes when they were happening.

 

Good luck to you.

 

dimaj

i'm not sure it's heat related. of course pioneer didn't find any problem in their first repair. that's what they claimed. to me it's BS.

well, i took my z1 back to them. this time they'll replace it since it's intermittent problem. i'm not sure the exchange is a new or refurbish. i hope it'll work for good.

for all you guys experiencing the same problem, i recommend you send it back to pioneer if you still have the mfr warranty. some of the guys posted on the forum, it's a work around procedure, but when the problem comes back, it's very frustrating.

I've had my z1 back in my car for 3 days now. No problems so far. It was almost 100 outside over the weekend and the car was parked in direct sunlight several times. Pioneer claimed NTF but did delete all my songs in the library so i'm curious if they really found no trouble why clear the hard drive?

I'm also starting to think this isn't just a heat problem, when mine started acting up on a daily basis there were several times where i just pulled it out of the garage in the morning, drove the car for 10-15 minutes, restarted the car and it would freeze up on the pioneer screen. No way the radio could heat up that much in such a short time, especially with the air running.

I've had my z1 back in my car for 3 days now. No problems so far. It was almost 100 outside over the weekend and the car was parked in direct sunlight several times. Pioneer claimed NTF but did delete all my songs in the library so i'm curious if they really found no trouble why clear the hard drive?

 

I'm also starting to think this isn't just a heat problem, when mine started acting up on a daily basis there were several times where i just pulled it out of the garage in the morning, drove the car for 10-15 minutes, restarted the car and it would freeze up on the pioneer screen. No way the radio could heat up that much in such a short time, especially with the air running.

mine was NTF too. they reset my z1 but my mp3s are still there. it didn't last a whole day and my z1 freezes at startup. now they're going to exchange another one for me since this is my second visit. i won't get it til end of the week. will keep you guys post.

i hope yours don't act up intermittent. good luck.

IPSI

How long did pioneer hold your avic hostage? I just sent mine in...they say 5 days.

usually 5-7 business days.

if pioneer says NTF (no trouble found) and reset it, most likely your z1 will have the same problem. which happens to mine. send it back to them.

I'm complelely feed up with this unit. My z1 was sent off for repair twice now to pioneer. First time, NTF only reset was done. I was skeptical about this actually being done because when I got the unit back all my cd's were still in the library. Installed unit (cool 70 degree night in garage) and unit hangs up on pioneer screen immediately. I once again I was unable to do anything with unit all buttons except volume were locked out. Sent unit back to pioneer again with detailed description of problem. They say the replaced hard drive. Installed newly replaced hard drive z1 in this weekend. Only to find that my ducati circuit bypass no longer worked. Tried ground pin bypass and it worked. New unit and bypass worked for about one day then started freezing up again.

I've found that if I keep the most recent Gracenote Update CD (started having problems after this update) in the unit before I turn off my car, it will start up fine everytime with no freezing occurring and unit still being bypassed. I just make sure I either eject the disc or immediately switch to another source other than the CD drive to prevent the update from actually taking place. After each successful boot with the Update cd installed I would remove it and try to start without the disc in the drive and it would freeze up EVERYTIME. Open for any explanations?

Either way, unit will be uninstalled once again and sent off to pioneer with a DVD copy of the video I plan to take to visually describe the problem that everyone seems to be having since they don't seem to understand verbal or written explanations.

Could it be the bypass that is causing all this headache?

Is there anyone out there having these problems with an unbypassed z1?

I'm complelely feed up with this unit. My z1 was sent off for repair twice now to pioneer. First time, NTF only reset was done. I was skeptical about this actually being done because when I got the unit back all my cd's were still in the library. Installed unit (cool 70 degree night in garage) and unit hangs up on pioneer screen immediately. I once again I was unable to do anything with unit all buttons except volume were locked out. Sent unit back to pioneer again with detailed description of problem. They say the replaced hard drive. Installed newly replaced hard drive z1 in this weekend. Only to find that my ducati circuit bypass no longer worked. Tried ground pin bypass and it worked. New unit and bypass worked for about one day then started freezing up again.

 

I've found that if I keep the most recent Gracenote Update CD (started having problems after this update) in the unit before I turn off my car, it will start up fine everytime with no freezing occurring and unit still being bypassed. I just make sure I either eject the disc or immediately switch to another source other than the CD drive to prevent the update from actually taking place. After each successful boot with the Update cd installed I would remove it and try to start without the disc in the drive and it would freeze up EVERYTIME. Open for any explanations?

 

Either way, unit will be uninstalled once again and sent off to pioneer with a DVD copy of the video I plan to take to visually describe the problem that everyone seems to be having since they don't seem to understand verbal or written explanations.

 

Could it be the bypass that is causing all this headache?

Is there anyone out there having these problems with an unbypassed z1?

install your z1 without a bypass to find out if the problem continues to be the same.

It's probably worth noting that mine (June 06 unit) only started to freeze up after the gracenote update and mine is bypassed. That being said, mine doesn't freeze up that much (only once in several weeks). One would think that if the gracenote update or the bypass had anything to do with it we would all be experiencing the problem always and not intermittently. I always thought it was a temp issue with the HD, however, because you're having the same problem with a new HD I'd think there is a power issue. Your CD fix is perplexing and it lends itself to pointing at a ROM issue.

I saw the post with the operational temps listed, but has anyone found code that uses the temp sensor output? The unit must use temp info to make a decision on HD start up. It would stand to reason that if the threshold is set to, lets say 120F, it would almost never start up mid-day in Houston. Also, a tweaky sensor would cause the freeze up. Dunno, just thinking there is a firmware issue here because the temp would be read there rather than on the HD.

I did some test today. For the last couple of days I left my car out in 90 degree heat.

System starts up like a charm.

I have a dec 06 unit with gracenote database update.

So those who are having the freeze startup issue. How long did you guys leave it out in the hot sun on consecutive days before the issue occured.

Because I cannot seem to recreate this issue.

Could it be the bypass that is causing all this headache?

Is there anyone out there having these problems with an unbypassed z1?

I have a April 07 Z2 and it did it...up until it completely died and now is at the pioneer repair facility in Ohio

I just had this same problem for the first time today. I live in florida and have had my z1 for about a year now with no problems. I was in and out of my truck 7 or 8 times today in the heat (93 degree ambient) and didn't have a problem until the last time. My truck is black so it gets hot inside but like I said, a year with no problems. About a week or so ago it actually reached 101 and didn't have a problem then. My unit isn't bypassed and I dont have any updates at all. When it happened today I stopped and turned off truck/waited and restarted...same problem. When I got home I turned it off/waited started...did manual bypass (light switch), worked fine. I'm not sure what the problem is but it isnt the bypass, updates and I don't think it is heat since mine has been subjected to much higher without problems. Haven't recorded any burned discs either only store bought ones. I also read someone thinks it might be a timing issue on whether you wait for it to boot and then start vehicle or start vehilce right away, I don't think thats it either because I have done both many times in the year I've had it without freeze up. Kicker...I think I just went over the one year warranty period. Anyone else have any OTHER ideas on what might be the problem?

I just had this same problem for the first time today. I live in florida and have had my z1 for about a year now with no problems. I was in and out of my truck 7 or 8 times today in the heat (93 degree ambient) and didn't have a problem until the last time. My truck is black so it gets hot inside but like I said, a year with no problems. About a week or so ago it actually reached 101 and didn't have a problem then. My unit isn't bypassed and I dont have any updates at all. When it happened today I stopped and turned off truck/waited and restarted...same problem. When I got home I turned it off/waited started...did manual bypass (light switch), worked fine. I'm not sure what the problem is but it isnt the bypass, updates and I don't think it is heat since mine has been subjected to much higher without problems. Haven't recorded any burned discs either only store bought ones. I also read someone thinks it might be a timing issue on whether you wait for it to boot and then start vehicle or start vehilce right away, I don't think thats it either because I have done both many times in the year I've had it without freeze up. Kicker...I think I just went over the one year warranty period. Anyone else have any OTHER ideas on what might be the problem?

No Idea why it does this...pioneer will tell you to grab your ankles, write a check for $200.00 (the flat fee to repair a Z) and send it in..

I ho[e mine returns working ...unlike others on this board

Just to throw this out there, I have a Z2 and have the same problem. although I have a theory and wont be able to test it until later this month(my truck got rear ended and is in the shop). my theory is that i put some CD's in that were scratched and the unit wrote the tracks on the hard drive with the skips included. Im thinking that messed up some sectors on the hard drive and keeps it from fully booting. So to test im going to do a reset later and wipe it clean and then not record any CD's for awhile and see if it tests ok without anything on the drive. Or has somebody tried this?

I had a HDD theory too about disc usage and etc. But I think someone on this thread wiped their whole Z1/Z2 clean with a level 4 reset, and with nothing on their HDD still had the problem.

Maybe they can chime in.

I've had the unit for about 4 months and I'm getting concerned of hearing other people's unit freezing up. I wonder if I'm gonna join the club here soon?

I will chime in...

I don't think that CD's can get ripped with scratches. Those CDs have digital data on them and scratch means - can't read a number. What it should do is have a retry count and if after X retries that particular bit didn't get ripped, it will tell you that CD cannot be recorded.

In my case, I don't know why, it was skipping some of the songs. I have noticed that those songs were being skipped consistently with high volumes (volume setting set to 20+)

After I decided to bite the bullet and reset my system (i lost all my data: telephone book, addresses, waypoints, music...) system froze up again within few days (or maybe even on that day).

Also, I found out that if system is not booting up, if you do a HDD read test, it will fail at some address.

After systems cools down and boots up, the same HDD read test passes without any problems.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

dimaj

Wonder if pioneer got a hold of a lot of crap drives or if its software?