Pioneer AVIC-D3 In-Dash GPS Navigation System with DVD Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Just finished installing the D3 in my '06 Scion tC this weekend. In addition to the head unit I also installed the Bluetooth adapter/iPod cable/PAC steering wheel control interface and XM tuner. At this point I am still unsure if I am going to install the reverse cam. This is my third Pioneer head unit, but first Navigation unit.

The unit looks very nice installed with the included mounting hardware, much better than in the photos, I might add. The screen is very bright, and the touch interface works very well. The XM interface is very nice, especially when the Nav disk is in loaded, as it will then display station and category logos along with the standard XM track/artist info.
Here are some of the pros and cons I have come up with in the two days I have had to fool around with it:
Pros:
-XM or Sirius, it stinks to have to make a decision on a head unit based on your sat. radio prefs (Eclipse comes to mind here)
-Superb XM interface
-Solid iPod interface with cool iPod scroll wheel on-screen image (although no search function)
-So far the Nav has worked very well
-Vehicle diagnostics are fun, although not for any practical purposes
-Pioneers parametric EQ has always been great, it is even better with the enhanced visualization of the large color LCD
-Great internal sub-woofer controls including high pass filters, as well as low pass output and sub level controls
-Customization options are nice as you can match your cars instrumentation color
-DVD quality is very good
-Phone call quality is very good from the feedback I have gotten from callers (mounted the mic on the right side of my visor with the included clip)
-Night mode: when you flip on your headlights you can choose how dim you want the screen to get, and the navigation screen has a night mode which uses darker colors for the map, and is much easier on the eyes
Cons:
-No ability to have different EQ settings for each source as far as I can tell (source custom EQ)-this is a major disappointment, i.e. XM output is usually very flat compared to CD/MP3 sources, requiring a lot of messing around with the EQ to get it sounding right. Having to change EQ depending on source is a major pain
-No automatic sound levelizer (adjusts volume level depending on road noise)-even my stock Scion/Pioneer head unit had this
-No remote ($15 dollar option at [...], come on Pioneer, I know it's an inexpensive unit, but still)
-Some background noise at times, but I have concluded that it does not affect sound quality, as much of it only occurs when no music is playing (i.e. caused by the button tones or nav guidance)
- Having to use two little satellite antennas is silly- I don't understand why they couldn't have designed the XM tuner to be able to accept the sat. signal from the Nav antenna, i.e. pull the sat. signal through the IP bus
-I have still not been able to load my phone book into the unit and I tried both my cingular sonyericsson and my nextel blackberry-have checked forums and others are having similar issues, I'm guessing there will be a fix out soon as this is a brand new Bluetooth module
-No HD radio support
Overall I am very satisfied with the sound quality, interface, ease of use, and ability to customize the unit. I just wish it had the source custom EQ and the $170.00 Bluetooth module would load my address book.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Pioneer AVIC-D3 In-Dash GPS Navigation System with DVD Player

Click here for more information about Pioneer AVIC-D3 In-Dash GPS Navigation System with DVD Player