Hi All-

I was wondering if anyone in here has installed a Pioneer Avic-Z1 and if so what they thought of it.

Thanks

I had one in my Ford Supercrew that I sold to get the SRT. I loved it. The other advantage to me was that it was the only unit that worked in Alaska.

The pixel count is not as high as some DVD only units, but the movie playback always looked fine to me. The only disadvantage is the screen is 6.5 inches vs. 7 inches on most DVD only units.

errrr, The AVIC-Z1 has a 7" screen and I believe the pixel count is as or higher than most DVD units.

I am torn between the Z1 and factory head unit. I won't be getting mine until the 2009 model year though so I have some time to see what works out.

I read that the acic z1 is discontiued and will be replaced with an avic z2 which will be out in April, I will be getting it when it comes out.

The only problem I heard of on the Z1 was that the ipod control was rather slow. Hopefully they have fixed that with the Z2??

I'm sold on the unit itself, it's jsut the installation that I'm worried about. Besides the fact that it would take some modification for the unit to fit (I don't have the factory NAV; 1 1/2 din vs. 2 din), I'm a little worried that the integration of the bluetooth and iPod won't be seamless. Any thoughts?

I have it in my superduty, it rocks, so many features it's mind boggling, makes me sick to use the abomination they call nav in the srt, with that ridiculous joy knob.

This is funny, we had a discussion about this at work today. I was comparing this unit next to some of the Eclipse navigation systems on Crutchfield.

It's interesting that Crutchfield says this unit will not fit in the WK w/stock nav. I'm guessing that's because it requires a trim piece that they don't sell? I can't think of any other reason since there's certainly plenty of space where the stock unit is.

A quick froogle and eBay search turns up a whole mess of these Pioneers, all in the mid $1400 range, which sounds like a steal until you realize they're all refurbished. Every last one of them. I called a few stores to see what they mean by "refurbished" and they gave me the typical speal saying that they're 'factory reconditioned'. Doesn't sound too good to me that so many of them had to be fixed.

I've also read that they're incredibly safety conscious, in that the parking brake has to be set for direction input and that some of the processing speed is fairly sluggish when calculating maps. There are workarounds to the stationary input requirement, just like with our stock units. I was unable to confirm whether or not the unit would work with existing Sirius, UConnect/Bluetooth, or the backup camera.

I haven't heard much on the AVIC-Z2 and I didn't see anything at CES in Vegas. I think the Z1 debuted at CES 2006.

I completely agree that the stock navigation system is useless. I pretty much just keep it on the sirius/CD screen all the time. The MyGIG unit for 2008+ is supposed to be better but it's (1) incompatible with pre-'08 WKs and (2) 'only' offers a 6.5 screen, and for the price you can just get the 7 inch aftermarket and fill in more real estate with LCD and not buttons.

We'll have to look into the Z2 to see what the specs are. Integrated bluetooth would be a nice plus if that's something we lose by replacing the stock unit.

-Matt

Matt,

You are probably correct about the assumption about Crutchfield. If you go to the Pioneer webpage, they have a pic of the Z1 in a 300C I believe. The 300 has the same HU we do so I have no doubt it will fit. You can order the Nav trim ring for the WK and it is fairly cheap, like $100.

As for the park brake thing, that has been already solved. Depending when the unit was made, you had to do different stuff. The first versions made you had to flash the lights 3 times during startup to be able to use the nav in motion. A guy sells a simple box that simulates that so you don't have to flash your lights.
The newer models just need a simple wire loop made in the harness. All the info is found here.
http://www.sminntech.com/z1flash.html

A few months ago when I was looking at this unit a lot, there were a few places that had it for around $1600. I see now that OnlineCarStereo.com has the refurbished units now. Sonic still has the new unit listed but is out of stock. Strange.
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_6831.html

I am pretty sure that you need the pioneer Sirius unit but I believe you can reuse the factory antenna. The factory backup camera, I have no idea if you can get it to work. The Z1 used a standard RCA connection for the video and the factory one is a three prong one.

You can also retain your steering wheel controls with this little guy. Way cool!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/PAC-SWI-PS-Pioneer-Steering-Wheel-Remote-AVIC-N2-N3-D2_W0QQitemZ200086364852QQihZ010QQcategoryZ60208QQ cmdZViewItem

So the question is, order a jeep with the crappy Nav and add a sub and amps, or... get the cheap factory stereo and get a sweet Nav unit that will sound better. I am still leaning toward going aftermarket :)

I have the Avic-Z1 in my other vehicle ( Scion Xb). The Z1 is about the best nav dvd unit on the market. Far superior to the head unit in the Jeep. I have the Bluetooth, and ipod acessories, they both work excellent. We rigged the dvd to play while you drive.

The touch screen nav is usable when driving, the built in hard drive is unreal, records any cd inserted. (does not record mp3's)

I bought the Z1 for $1650. Worth every cent.

You have the ability to have xm or sirius, or both.

If anyone is looking to get one, I can say a great buy and super easy to use.