Somebody PM'd me to ask how I felt about my JVC unit after having lived with it now for awhile and I figured, although this was not my thread, I'd update it anyway.

Sooo... the unit is still awesome! I've learned my way around certain deficiencies and corrected others.

The steering wheel swi-pac unit now works flawlessly and is absolutely customizable. You can progam the steering wheel buttons as YOU desire, they are not preset once the unit is installed. The setup can be tricky and time consuming if done correctly (wasnt done correctly by shop initially b/c they were rushing) so I wound up with a radio that changed sources every time i blew the horn (SOOO ANNOYING LIVING IN NYC!!!). I took my time one day and reprogrammed it after changing my steering wheel and it works great now.

I've also since learned that if you keep the display on navigation, a phone call can be made via bluetooth and you can still enter and change destination information and use full features of navigation. You can also set up multiple phones for pairing of the bluetooth. If only one phone is configured, when the owner of that phone leaves the bluetooth connectivity option in the cell phone on, as soon as you step into the car,
the bluetooth connects without you having to do a thing.

I have the in-dash DVD/CD/MP3/DIVX player as well as the 6 disc DVD/CD/MP3 changer in the trunk that integrates and works well on road trips. Just load up before leaving and you have at least 9 hrs of viewing pleasure. Mine is wired that the navigation and movies can be played with the vehicle in motion.

I think my favorite function of all is my 32GB removable sandisk memory card that I prchased separately. I dont have an ipod nor do I really have the need for one. This eliminates the need to buy one as well as the need for the space to keep one in the X. Just load up on your computer and pop it in.

The system is configurable for use with any backup camera. I forget the brand name (EOS I think) of mine but I know its excellent quality in the day and just ok at night (it was infrared LEDs to illuminate the darkness). The switch from whatever screen you're on to backup camera can take about 2 secs which on paper is nothing but in practice can seem like an eternity.

There are many customizable features that make this radio a standout. Not to mention the large easily viewable touchscreen with minimal sleek buttons gives this unit a very clean and factory look.

Finally with the overall cost of this unit (less than $1500 including install) its great to know that when you park in long term parking at the airport or in some unscrupulous neighborhood in the heart of NYC, you can take the entire face of the radio off and not worry about theft. Granted its like walking around with a 7" flatscreen tv in your pocket, but at least you'll still have it. One of the only drawbacks to this unit is the fact that you cant take it on vacation with you and use it in your rented car or any other vehicle for that matter. I dont know of any unit that has so many comprehensive features and offers a removeable faceplate as well. So yes, two years later, it still comes highly recommended.

__________________
In living life, the balance of responsible effort and dependence upon divine enablement must be maintained vigilantly.

2001 X5 3.0 manual with factory widebody kit

Oh I forgot to add that at times the bluetooth is flawless and the person on the other end of the phone has no clue they're on a speakerphone thru the car system and you can be sitting still or driving 80 mph.

Then at other times, you can hear the person perfectly fine but they hear alot of static. I do know that my car's radio reception was always susceptible to "engine rpm whine" from even when I had the old BMW system in. But i cant trace the phenomenon to any particular set of circumstances (speed, weather, etc)
and could be an anamoly to my vehicle alone.

__________________
In living life, the balance of responsible effort and dependence upon divine enablement must be maintained vigilantly.

2001 X5 3.0 manual with factory widebody kit

Thank you Ldiggs for the very thorough write up on the JVC 7000. It's posts and follow ups like yours that make these forums so helpful.
Glad to hear you are still enjoying the unit and that you got the steering wheel buttons worked out.
Once again thanks for your time, it's really appreciated.

Definitely welcome! How many decisions did I make or money I save by these threads?? Its only fair that we all give back.

__________________
In living life, the balance of responsible effort and dependence upon divine enablement must be maintained vigilantly.

2001 X5 3.0 manual with factory widebody kit

Hey Ldiggs910
I too have the same design bezel as u with leather finish. I went with the Alpine IWA-502EV instead.

I have a few question regarding the SWI-PAC steering wheel control. What did the workshop actually do to fix the problem? I too have this problem where the source will change when i use my horn.

2nd, do u have any problem seeing the screen when the sun light hits the screen. I cant see sh!t every time when the sun hits the screen. I ended up sliding a thin cardboard paper between the bezel and air con outlet to use a sun shade Looks very funny if u ask me.

3rd, do u have any problems with noise when using bluetooth? My wife said she cant really hear me half the time when im on the bluetooth with her. Maybe the alpine mic is not as good as ur mic.

Cheers

The shop never fixed it. I wound up reprogramming it myself and got it working. Its VERY time consuming.

Sunlight is a pain in the neck but I manage. As far as the bluetooth, there are times when it works perfectly. The person Im speaking to has no idea they're even on a bluetooth speakerphone.

Then there are other times when I can hear the other person just fine but they get a feedback whenever they talk. This condition cannot be attributed to any particular phenomenon (weather, speed, area)

__________________
In living life, the balance of responsible effort and dependence upon divine enablement must be maintained vigilantly.

2001 X5 3.0 manual with factory widebody kit

Oh meant to include this link:

Pac-audio.com Technical Notes and Support Page | iPod Integration for your car and More by Pac-Audio - Connecting you to the future

__________________
In living life, the balance of responsible effort and dependence upon divine enablement must be maintained vigilantly.

2001 X5 3.0 manual with factory widebody kit

The programming is not that big of a deal.
2 mins beginning to end.
I like the ability of choosing what function
my buttons activate.
Pac-audio.com Steering Wheel Interface | iPod Integration for your car and More by Pac-Audio - Connecting you to the future

Sorry what I SHOULD have said was, MINE was very time consuming. I think maybe they made a batch of units that were slightly defective. Maybe VSX and mine were among them. The shop absolutely could not get it to stop changing sources when the horn was blown. I brought it back many times and they literally spent hours on it.

I too spent hours on trying to reconfigure it only to find out that when programming, one of those flashes you're supposed to count only after waiting a few seconds (I forget the programming sequences and exactly what I did it was so long ago). It was something about turning the key on and waiting for the flashing to stop 2 secs before attempting programming.

Anyway Mike, at any rate, VSX and I definitely have different units and we dont know what you have so what might've been easy for you, may be a little trickier in our application.

__________________
In living life, the balance of responsible effort and dependence upon divine enablement must be maintained vigilantly.

2001 X5 3.0 manual with factory widebody kit