Has anyone ever used the unit before?(PIONEER AVIC D3) Does it fit or needs some modifications. Is it user friendly??? Or should I stay with my oem non nav unit? Does it work well with the onstar?

 

These units work great. I have installed many of these things. Get thr right dash kit for your car and it will look great without modification. Your Onstar\chimes\signals\factory back-up sensorswill work as good as the interface module you put in. And steering wheel controls can be interfaced by using another module that takes the signals from the steering wheel and ends them to the nav unit.

 

yes it does work good. however you will need to modify behind the dash to create some extra space since the oem radio is a little shallower.

 

I asked the same from Crutchfield www.crutchfield.com Here is their answer.

Hi, Thanks for the email and for shopping with us here at Crutchfield. Unfortunately, the D3 will not fit due to the depth of the stereo. Based on the information from my vehicle research department, there is not enough room in the dash of your Tahoe to accommodate the 6.876 inches needed for the D3. I wish I had better news. Of course with the Z2, you will get so much more, including hard drive navigation that doesn't require the use of the map disc, text to speech technology that announces the street names and even an additional 10gb of storage for your music. Take a look at it again on our website here: http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/P...p?i=130AVICZ2X I hope this helps.

 

The D3 will fit fine, but you will have to trim away some plastic in order for it to fit. Also, if you do it yourself, it can be a pain to get all the wires, etc, crammed back into the openning so that the unit sits flush. I've had mine for almost a year and I love it. Best iPod interface by far, and the unit is easily hacked to allow for full operation while driving...otherwise you will have to pull over and stop if you need to input an address on the go.

 

joephilpott thanks for clearing this. The plastic trim that had to be trimmed are not functional. Correct? Also does all the options work? i.e OnStar, Steering Wheel Buttons, XM, Indicator Sound, Chimes, etc.

 

You will lose the factory XM....there is no way to integrate it with an aftermarket system. Pioneer does make an XM reciever that will just plug in the back of the D3. You still need to run the Antenna for it though. I usually use the factory antenna if the vehicle is already equiped. Much cleaner look.
The steering wheel controls will require a module by itself. There are 2 types, a hirdwired one that plugs into the back of the radio(This is the best option), and an infared version that acts like the remote for the unit. You must mount an eyes somewhere in the vehicle so it can transmit the signals to the radio.
The Onstar,Chimes,turn signal, and factory back-up sensors should all work fine as long as you use the proper interface module.

 

what interface do you use to keep the steering wheel controls? How do you go about to remove the factory radio?

 

A bunch of companies sell interfaces to keep the OnStar, chimes, etc...I think I used PAC brand products for my install. I reused the factory XM antenna. Removing the factory radio is easy, just a few short screws and its out...the hard part is removing the trim around the radio. The clips work very well to hold it on and if you are not carefull you will break the trim. If I had to do it over again, I would have paid someone to install it. I got a really good deal from Crutchfield when they first came out. There isn't a lot of room to work around the floor of the Tahoe and if you are a bigger person you will have a tough time hooking up the VSS wire to the radio! And if an audio store does the install, they break something, its on their dime not yours : )

 

thanks for the info!!!!!!!!! But I would like a model # of the interface and website that you used for yours that way i know it will work.!!!!!!!! thanks