Does anyone here have any opinions on the pioneer avic f series? I was planning on putting the new Eclipse CD-5030 headunit in my car, but with 6litereater's double din bezels available, I am thinking about going with the Pioneer Avic F-700bt.

 

AH yes...the f-series. So much to be said.

I haven't yet come to the conclusion whether or not I like them. I have F700bt's in both my daily driver and my wife's car. In concept and on paper, these things are awesome. Great feature set, unlimited expandability and room for modification. The GPS function is phenomenal, the music flexibility is out of this world, and the units have probably the best bluetooth interface available. There is a forum like this place dedicated to these units and some of the guys there have developed fantastic functions for the f-series. One guy is actually building his own OS which allows the use of ANY GPS software out there. He has iGo, Garmin, and Tomtom already built in and a great menu where you can select whichever one you want on the fly.

However...the f-series is extremely unpolished in execution. There are heaps of bugs and issues with these units. Things as simple as excruciating boot times, all the way up to units that just refuse to boot up two to three months after purchase. When you start one up, it takes about 45 seconds just to get to the menu screen...another 10 seconds for the GPS to start up...then you have to click through the annoying federally-mandated warning screens to get to the maps. If you play MP3's through any of the on-board memory options (flash, SD card, or USB drive), you'll be waiting as long as two minutes for it to start playing, if you use a bluetooth device or an iPod, you'll wait even longer than that. The bluetooth function is awesome but lacks ergonomics. The volume control for phone calls is separate from the music/gps volume control...so your steering wheel controls are useless there...you have to click click click the tiny on-screen button to change phone volume. Assimilation of contacts is rudimentary...you can't edit them on the unit, and the unit will not recognize most phones' sorting methods...if you have a phone that allows you to store home/mobile/work numbers under one single "contact", you'll end up with three separate entries on the f-unit, all with the same name and no way to tell work from home from mobile...etc.

There is a "3.0" update due out in June...if it goes as far with fixes as the 2.0 update did last year, it just may get these things to the point where they are solid units. There certainly is alot going for them in terms of what they can do...and Pioneer is working diligently on fixing the bugs...and there is a massive support community much like LS1tech also working on fixes and improvements. So if you are up to that kind of ownership experience, then you'll come to love the f-series.

 

I don't have an i-pod so that is not an issue. I want the bluetooth for hands free since I have an m6, but I will not be using it that often. I primarily listen to the radio and am thinking about adding satelite and hd. I am primarily looking at the pioneer over the eclipse for sat nav and because I think that cosmeticly having the double din is a huge improvement over the single din with adapter.

 

Whats the name of that other forum and who is the person that wrote the alternative software? Will it run on an AVIC-D3?... I'd love to get Garmin GPS software on it. The Only forum like that I know of is: AVIC 411. I haven't checked out the F sections on there though.

 

It is AVIC411. And no, this software will not run on a D3. Only the F-series as far as I know.

http://avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.p...t=leetlauncher

 

Thanks for the link.

They must have updated their site recently, I didn't recognize it at first.

 

forget the 700, get the f90bt
I bought mine for 600 dollars shipped. not the suggested retail price of 1200$...

but what blackbird said was dead on. considering i don't have much 2 din experience, that boot time doesn't bother me. It does bother me how difficult it is to call someone, unless i do it with the phone first.
ohh yeah, there is a road i travel on that is new and it doesn't recognize. its annoying as hell as it keeps interrupting my music with its destination recalculations as i run into roads it knows.

 

Paid $400 shipped for both my F700's. I went in looking for the F90, and changed my mind when I saw the F700 price.

 

I installed a F700BT in my CETA about 2 months ago. I'm with one of the first guys when I say that I love it and hate it at the same time. The GPS is good -- but could be better. Its sluggish at times and the search feature isn't intuitive to find, but all in all its not bad.

The music functionality is great -- AM FM SD CD XM SIRIUS or MP3 Player. I use a Sony Walkman and sometimes it takes upwards of 2 minutes for the F700 to pick up the Walkman's connection (why? I don't know). The F700 also does not show all of my music folders that exist on the Sony....again Why? I don't know. I definitely can't wait for the 3.0 update but even if I was forced to stick with 2.0 I could deal with its tiny flaws or bugs that prevent the F700 from being an exceptional aftermarket deck.

The overall look of the F700 is why I originally bought it -- it looks like it matches the interior and I've had numerous people compliment me on how it changes the overall look and feel of the car in a modernized way. I too bought mine online for roughly $400...so if you can find that kind of deal I would definitely put my stamp of approval on buying it.

 

i was lookin at this radio online and interested in gettin it but they told me it wont fit cuz of the double din B.S. So what did ya guys do to fix that problem? I would like to know cuz it does look good. Oh Btw does the GPS work overseas like Italy?

 

I would be curious to see pictures of the F700 installed.

400 sounds very good. anyone whos got a lot of time care to PM me the Pictures or a link to a groupe of pics? I would really like to see how it works out.

Whats required to get it to work with the steering wheel controls? The power antenna works fine with it?

Anyone got any tips or tricks for it?

 

I am waiting on 6litereater's bezel to arrive before I order the pioneer, so it will be a few weeks yet. According to Sonic Electronix's website you can control the F700 with steering wheel controls with an adaptor. According to the owners manual you can program it to raise a power antenna either anytime the unit is on or only when the radio is used as the audio source. If you want to learn more , you can download the owner's manual from pioneer's website.

 

The PAC SWI-PS is the adapter you need for the steering wheel controls. It is a programmable unit, which despite being a pain in the *** to program, ends up being a really nice unit. You can reprogram your steering wheel buttons to perform whatever function you want. My wife's G6 came with a CD changer, so the steering wheel controls only have volume up/down, track/station advance, and a 1-6 button meant to change discs. Well obviously the F700 has no use for that button, so I programmed the SWI-PS to make that button function as a source select.

My biggest piece of advice is to join AVIC411.com. Browse through the hacks/mods page and find a data.zip file that offers a set of features that you like. There are several top notch programmers on that site that have added some awesome features to the unit through software mods. The site will also show you how to do the "parking brake bypass" so that you can use the settings menus and watch videos while in motion (the stock setup only allows settings menu and video access when the parking brake is engaged).

If you want pics, I can post pics of F700's in both my wife's G6 and my Grand Prix. I don't have one (yet) in my WS6, since i'm debating about upgrading to a C6Z next year. I figured you were looking for f-body pics. I know there are a handful of users here who have the f-series units in their f-bodies, i just don't know who off the top of my head.

 

Thanks for that bit of info.. Pics period would be cool Im also interested in seeing it in a F-Body. BTW is there any real cutting required to get a double din in these cars? The bezel takes a lot of that our does it not?

Where did you buy yours from? and what can I expect to pay?


Thanks again.

 

Here is how I installed a Pioneer AVIC-D3 in my 2001 Formula:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...installed.html
The Pioneer AVIC-D3 is a discontinued double-din Pioneer NAV/DVD unit. If the pics don't work, try again later. My site host isn't the most reliable.

 

Ahem...

https://ls1tech.com/forums/non-autom...l#post11526402

That's my extra one that I was going to put in the WS6. Instead i'm buying a house and a C6Z. Yeah, I know it's a bit of a leap.

EDIT (5-3-09): the unit has sold.

 

So they dont play DVDs? I was under the impression they did?

I joined AVIC411 and I got nothing. I had a crap load of questions posted in the welcome page and no one replied.

Let me know if dosent sell. I may buy it in a few weeks...

Unemployment is a bitch

 

I posted a how to guide on making a double din. its got pictures of avic f90bt, and it does play dvd's.

 

Yeah I get few to no replies there too. That's why I use it more as a resource than a forum. Just read through the existing threads. I specifically went looking for other programmers' data.zip files to see if anyone had a collection of mods that I liked, and I found a good one, so I loaded it on both the units I have installed.

The F700bt does not have a DVD drive. But it does play video, even DVD video. Thanks to the fact that Windows CE is loaded in the onboard flash, you can play a HUGE array of video formats on CD, SD card, and USB flash drive. If you really want to play DVDs on disc, you can spring for the F900bt.

 

have f700bt only things i dont like is slow load time "windows ftl" and bluetooth works when it wants too . but i am sure tha later can be fixed easily