Dealer Installed Aftermarket Nav Problems

[krich]

Hoping someone here has some words of wisdom.

I recently bought a 2006 Suburban. Up front its got the AM/FM/XM/6CD Radio. In the back is the Factory Installed DVD mounted on the ceiling with Rear Audio controls on the back of the front seat center console.

Through the dealer, I also bought an aftermarket Pioneer (AVIC-D1) Nav Unit to be installed afterwards. Well, I've got my Suburban at the dealer now and they started to install the unit and are only now telling me the following:

1) They'll have to remove the existing radio to install the Nav, which also functions as a radio, xm, cd (no changer). Okay, I'm good with that. I'm okay with trading the 6-disc changer for the Nav unit.
2) Replacing the radio will cause the Rear Audio controls to not work anymore and will isolate the DVD player so that it can only be listened to with the wireless headphones. Whoa! :22yikes: What?!? That means no DVD sound on the main speakers and wired headphones just won't work anymore. DVD sound on the main speakers is a must since the kid to adult ratio in our Suburban is frequently unfavorable, if you know what I mean.
3) Now they are offering to find a different aftermarket Nav-only system through one of their sources that can be installed in the empty space beneath the climate controls on the front dashboard, keeping the factory radio intact. I'll find out tomorrow what their source has cooked up for me (I bet its the CarToys guys down the street).

This all sounds just a bit strange to me. First, shouldn't these guys be more familiar with what will and won't work in their own vehicles? Second, I'm not terribly impressed with how even the DVD integrates into the whole system anyway (it feels aftermarket)... Frustration is setting in. I guess I expected more both from the Dealer and from Chevy. If you've ever seen how well Chrysler has their Nav and DVD set up in the Pacifica, for example, you'll know what I mean. Not that I'm a bigChrysler fan, but, hey, they honestly did do an excellent job with it (that's what we traded in for this Suburban).

So, I welcome any comments on my situation. I also have the following questions that I can't seem to find any information on.

A) What is this rear audio control thing really? It seems to me, based solely on my observation of how it works, that it would just be a second radio unit with the DVD plugged into an aux input and a preamp output plugged into, say, the dvd input on the main radio. Googled it and came up with zippo. Dealer says its a "insert auto manufacturer's proprietary terms here" networked system with "more p-terms" linkage causing the secret sauce to leak out of the rear audio unit...

B) What could they possibly come up with for #3? I'm pretty ignorant of the latest and greatest in automotive media systems, but just for fun, I tried to look at all the various In-Dash Nav/GPS systems out there. I have been challenged to find very many "Nav Only" systems that are "In-Dash" mounted. I found a very nice system called the Alpine NVE-N872A which is roughly what I paid for the Pioneer Nav, but I can't find a suitable touchscreen that is both supported by the N872A and has an in-dash mounting option.

Thanks,

Ken.

[hotfiremedic72]

they do sell an aftermarket plug iin wiring harness to divert audio to the rear controls, that pioner avic is crap, you should have checked into the alpine, the pioneer uses disc to display maps, no real memory, check into the alpine or kenwood brand. i have a p5700dvd pioneer.

[krich]

that pioner avic is crap

Lol, well it seemed to be better than the GM factory unit. The dealer's parts manager even said as much. Plus it was really my only option if I wanted the dealer to do it.

I have, however, done quite a bit more research and have found that, as you say, the Alpines are really good. In fact, I am considering the NVE-N872A with the TME-M770S touchscreen for that empty slot below the climate controls. That's about $500 more in equipment and $500 more in installation than I had originally budgeted, but after all this heartache the last thing I need is a crappy Nav unit.

they do sell an aftermarket plug iin wiring harness to divert audio to the rear controls

Can you elaborate on this?

Regards,

Ken.