Grin sorry but one of the newer models had a dvd playback problem from the ones I installed. I am sorry to say that I would not recommend any pioneer head unit.

Do you remember the model number? What was the problem? How was it fixed?

All the problems you have to take it to a licensed pioneer repair place and than they ship it to pioneer. Most of the people just sent them back to places like crutchfield and went with another brand. I do not remember the models as there are to many to remember.

Also PM sent

And to counter, I have done almost always Pioneer double din or Alpine single din units and never had any issues. Friend has the top of the line Pioneer double din currently in his Si with zero problems, not sure which model is top currently as they just did the refresh but the one that just came out that is the full screen unit.

Edit: All electronics are going to have issues with X% of people, I have seen people go through 5 different of a certain product(s), mouse, keyboard, hard drive, laptop, etc. and then another 20 people have the same unit with zero issues.

Thanks Dreamer. I really hope that everyone who had/has problems with the Avic series to let me know! I like the features the newest head unit has and the last thing I want to do is to buy something that is unreliable! Bigaudiofanat had some serious problems with Pioneer. I think he is the only one in this Forum who has had so many problems! I was told I have 60 days before my Z lands, so I have some time to be inquisitive without being intrusive.

In my opinion, if you hear anything bad about a product, especially a $1000 unit your going to be putting in your beautiful Z, you should not research it more or take a second look, and maybe decide to give it a shot. $1000 and your Z are a lot to gamble with. Stick with what has said to work time and time again. Kenwood seems to be the best and most reliable head unit you can buy right now, at a good price, with no one at all complaining about them. Maybe pioneer will produce better products in the future, but for now, do your Z a favor, buy a respectable good quality product. The 370z is no saturn sky or honda civic Si, spare no expense...

...just my .02 :)

P.S. go to amazon and buy your headunit off there. I've been looking at headunits too and am thinking of going with the Kenwood DNX6140, BestBuy.com sells it for $950, but at amazon.com you can get it for $698, plus they give you good deals on ipod cables and backup cameras and PAC converter for steering wheel controls at good discounted combo prices.

or you can go with the newer Kenwood DNX7140, bestbuy.com $1,599.99....amazon.com $1,059.99!!! (Note these are all brand new in the box systems, and amazon.com being the largest corp on the internet, you know you wont be scamed at these prices!)

Hope this helps! :)

^^ every manufacturer is going to have products that end up having errors or hardware issues. it happens. having said that, i've put 4 pioneer double din's in, one being mine, one avic-z2 in my friend's nismo 350, and they have been flawless in performance and sound. now i haven't kept up with the newer models of pioneer but they've been getting good reviews and look nice.

long story short, i recommend pioneer, as i stated earlier. if you find another brand on sale that's got what you are looking for and you feel comfortable with the brand name, go for it instead (kenwood, alpine, etc)

I've been doing this since the XM trial ran out in my Z.

Pandora works great, and from the Droid sounds better than XM did.

Thanks Reaper. I’ve read a lot of good things about Kenwood and Pioneer. I did look at the Alpine head units but having to dock a navigation modular unit is really old school. The features I want really point towards the new Avic line. Having Pandora is a must. I have a lifetime membership to Sirius but I have been listening to Pandora lately and think it’s really an innovation that’s worth the extra money. By the time something better comes along, I’ll most likely be driving a different sports car with a head unit with the newest technology. Having SD and USB is a major plus that I explained earlier in my post. Another feature that only the new Avic has that is really ingenious is the iTunes plug-in software that will analyze my entire music library and create specialized playlists based on various musical attributes such as feeling (bright, energetic, gloomy, relaxing calm), rhythm pattern, Beats Per Minute, year of the song and/or date added to the device. This feature is something that will keep my girlfriend happy if you know what I mean! You always have to keep them happy, you will receive double rewards!! I definitely agree with you about Amazon. I shop with them all the time. My only experience with Pioneer is the home theater AV receivers and I had no reliability problems so maybe the problems that were mentioned earlier are just an isolated case!

I totally agree with you! Today’s technology allows us to upgrade to the newest software. I recently bought a new Sony HDTV (KDL-40W5100 from Amazon) for my bedroom and the software in the TV is upgradeable. Even new HDTV’s are upgradeable to fix any bugs! It’s reassuring to hear that you had absolutely no issues with your Avic head unit. At this point, my options are pointing towards the new Pioneer Avic series because of the features I want but I’m not ruling out Kenwood just yet! I really appreciate everyone’s input.

Just something I thought of, does anyone know if any systems have speed variable volume? (You know, the faster and more rpms you push, you music gets progressively louder. I had this in an older car, and it comes standard in the new 2010 oem navi.) Would be nice feature to have also.

Reaper, that would be a great idea! Adaptive audio for aftermarket head units! I know the Infiniti G convertible has it and it would be a great idea for the Z, especially the Z Roadster!!

I just want to mention that this is a feature of iTunes and your iPod not the head unit. You can use Genius playlists on any head unit you buy that supports the ipod and it's playlists. I use Genius playlists on my Kenwood 9140.

I would contacting a sponsor of the forum. Often times you will get a better price than even Amazon AND you will get support. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: If you buy a Kenwood buy from an authorized reseller or you will not have warranty support. I believe this goes for pioneer as well, but I am not sure.

Thanks sig. I’m using the Genius mixes right now and love it! The new Avic takes this idea a little further by having an animated 3D sphere interface. My playlist can be accessed from a section of the sphere which can be rotated up, down, left and right with a slight touch of the screen. I think it will be a quicker and easier method of selecting my generated playlists. I saw it on you tube and it looks fantastic!

I did want to add one comment about Amazon. When you buy something from Amazon that is sold by Amazon, you never have any problems with returns for whatever reason. No hassles or restocking fees. They will even send you a free return shipping label. I love that kind of reassurance when buying anything!

yes it goes for pioneer as well. i buy most of my stuff from www.sonicelectronix.com but www.woofersetc.com has good stuff too and www.crutchfield.com is the old workhorse of car audio. i've had good buying experiences with all of those, crutchfield especially have excellent customer service but they are practically retail prices that you could get at a "big box store", they include instructions and everything needed to hook it up (dash kit and wiring harness adapters) tho which is nice.