OK I just broke down and bought one of these kits. It was from one of the vendors on Ebay listed earlier in the thread...they have a cable and can update it, but he's not sure what version they have, etc (he did say they just came off a 3-week stop ship so he suspects they have the latest...whatever that means). Is 1.3 considered shipping firmware, or is that really more of a beta, only available to a select few? I'm trying to decide if I should have them wait to send me the kit or what...

Thanks,
jds

 

The only publicly released firmware I know of is the 1.1 which is generally OK except for a few problems.

The 1.3 is the currently testing firmware.

 

Any new news on the firmware front? Some big monster truck rammed me a couple of days ago, so I'm still a good 2 weeks from even attempting to install the dash kit.

 

Are these kits close to flawless yet besides the firmware issue? Particularly the piano black finish. I want to buy one soon, but don't want to get it and the finish looks like crap.

 

it dont mater me me, im covering it with carbon

 

i finally did it, i orded METRA 95-7510HG and a AVIC-D3 Pioneer, they will update it before ship, i hope it all fits right because ill be pissed lol

 

The finish does not look like crap. (Except to the finish *****) lol

The firmware is very close, a couple of us are testing a candidate that should fix all issues previously reported.

 

I've gotten a little lost following this tread, so please forgive the questions that I know have been answered through these 24 pages.

What exactly is wrong with the firmware? What problems are arising? I noticed that the clock is off and that the display sometimes goes apeshit. Is this correct? How intrusive are the problems and how easy will they be fixed once the programming bugs are corrected?

I don't care about the radio and CD track info on the stock read-out. All I want is the temp, clock and AC info.

Should I wait to buy or is the kit working well enough right now?


sorry for the repeat questions. i just don't have time to read the whole thread from start to finish and I keep getting lost among the chatter. Thanks guys

 

the truth i think its peaple installing it and not doing it right, or it could be there car, i see guys who have it and it workd perfect, its really a 50/50 shot, maybe its the bose amp, i really dont care about the display, i just want a good radio installed, i think you should just order one and try it your self, if anything, keep the box easy to get to so you can update it

 

well, i'll be completely bypassing all of the car's stock stereo anyway. I'll have no use for the bose system once I get my headunit in the car

 

You are going to run new fronts and rears? Good luck with that as it is a hefty DIY project.

 

its not a hefty project, you can still run the oem wires lol

 

And find some magical jumpers to bypass the bose amp. I don't even know...where is the bose amp for the door speakers?

 

take the junk out lol

 

does anyone has trouble installing an aftermarket amp w/o the bose system? i'm not getting any sounds for my front components.

 

no rears, only a sub and a custom 3 way front set. I'll have the mids and tweets in the kick panels and the midbass in the doors. I'll run new wires from the trunk to the doors/kicks for the new drivers so I don't have to alter the stock system at all. It will be fully reversible and kick the everloving **** out of the stock system.

A MT allows for more room down below for stereo endeavors.

 

WTF does that have to do with the stereo?

 

erm, I think he was saying that it gives you more space to put stuff and run wires. The AT takes up that extra space so it's harder to run wires and stuff to modify the stock system.

But that's just me speculating....

 

In the door itself.

 

It is not a 50/50 shot, all early units are in fact affected. The most serious problem is complete loss of A/C indicator. Meaning you will not be able to see If A/C is on or not, the position of vents, status of defrost, etc.

Besides the above, the display does go crazy once in a while and flickers randomly while under normal operation. During the freeze mentioned above, the Amb. Temp. indicator also freezes.

Again, a final update is nearing completion. Updating the box requires a special Metra cable. Most installers have the cable, so you can update it there or send it to Metra, or buy your own cable once the update is finalized. Or finally, you can wait until the update hits the assembly line and buy a pre-updated unit. No idea on when all of this will happen, but the firmware itself is very close.

 

So how would you compare the finish to OEM?

 

Or you unplug the Bose amp input harness and run magical RCAs to an aftermarket amp.... like you would on any car.

And aside from making 9" to 6 1/2" adapters for the front doors, I found the install to be no more difficult than on any other car. But maybe because I do this professionally?

Side note: Did a radio, 4 door speakers, amp and sub in an Expedition yesterday in 48 minutes 48 seconds on a stop watch. From bone stock, zero prestaging, and includes pulling the car in and out of the shop. That's what happens when you have 3 installers on one car.

 

It doesn't. I have a MT and got my thoughts cluttered in the rush. I meant AT allows a little more stereo room since you don't have the clutch invading the kick panels.

looks like I better wait a bit for the kit. Thanks for summary guys

 

There's a saying that goes like "Hasty work is seldom good"
(j/k)

 

haha Does the word quick always have to be associated with hasty? Kinda hard to screw this stuff up IMO. All four door panels come off, obviously without breaking anything, stock speakers come out, solder on speaker connections observing polarity, new speakers screw right in. Radio trim pops right off, two 9/32 screw holding it in, use a dash kit and speed harness, solder the remote wire, cage mount and connect. Use existing grommet in firewall to run power wire through, through the running boards to the rear. Mount amp with 4 screws and connect. With 3 people that have been doing this for years, it's a cake walk. Although we were timing, we really didn't even rush. We guessed an hour and 15 minutes. Even we over estimated.

Again, it's almost hard to screw up. LOL