The Kenwood Z919 Fix

[MP3_4ME]

Listen,


I am tired of everyone complaining about not having the superior z828 headunit. Here is your fix. Bite mazda in the ass.... Heres how, have someone who knows what thre are doing do one of two things

1. Blow the outputs on the head unit. Covered under warranty. Too bad 919 is not available, you get a 828

2. Blow the faceplate. Covered under warranty. Faceplate too expensive to fix, replace head unit. same as above.

Having said that, be careful as it cannot look as if the unit was tampered with. Consult a stereo shop if you know someone. The dealer will most likely replace it without sending it to kenwood first.

Also, to everyone who thinks this will not work, I have a Z828 in my dash that says otherwise.

Finally, this is not legal and the only reason it was done was to teach mazda a lesson. If this causes me trouble(from this board) I will deny everything.

Just trying to help all the z919 people

Later

 

[INiTiAL33]

lol just say it then DENY it!

 

[trobbins]

You are a perfect representation of everything that is wrong with this country. Its people like you that make our insurance rates go up and discourage companies to try new things because of the repercussions that may occur.

Would your solution work?? Probably... Should you do it??? I would hope not.

Get real people, you knew what you got when you bought it. Live with it!!!


Tim

 

[mp301guy]

i like that idea think i might try it. hee thanks for the info.

 

[Gro Harlem]

This whole argument of "why i should get a free z828 headunit free" sickens me. I just looked at one post where one of you went so far to go to the BBB about it and now this crap about how to "short out your head unit".

You knew what kind of head unit you were getting when you bought the car, so why the hell does Mazda "owe" you a z828 upgrade? I mean sure, you could try to sign a petition and see what happens, but going to the BBB over it is ridiculous and arrogant.

As for deliberately shorting out your head unit so you can get a new one, i completely agree with trobbins. that is just unethical and dishonest.

 

[katsmp3]

test

 

[katsmp3]

test

 

[enry]

kats stop trying to increase your post count by posting garbage please.

 

[jsesq]

Gro Harlem is right. When I first got my car and saw that I had the z828 I was disappointed. I'd seen a review of the MP3 in SportCompactCar and they had a special review of the z919 sound system. I (wrongly) assumed that the 828 was a lesser unit than the 919 because most companies use higher product numbers to denote better products.
I asked the dealer and they told me that the 828 was the only stereo as far as they knew and that I was stuck with it. I accepted the car as it was and when I did that I was stuck with it. The dealer offered to sell that particular car for a particular price and it was up to me to decide to accept the car that way or not. Once I did, the deal was completed and I was no longer able to negotiate any further.
Of course, Mazda has provided a warranty for the car and that would cover defects, but purposely blowing the head unit obviously is not a defect. If your 919 is skipping, etc., Mazda should fix that for you. If they can't, they should replace it and if the 919 is no longer available, I guess the 828 would be an appropriate replacement.
When my floor mat started coming unglued and I took it to the dealer for replacement, the new mat eliminated the heel pad altogether. The old floor mat was no longer available and it was replaced with the upgraded (I hope) unit. The same should be true of the 919 and 828.
The only literature I remember about the car said that it would have an upgraded Kenwood stereo capable of playing mp3 files. As far as I know the z919 fits that description.
While the z828 may be a superior unit to the z919, I'm sure that Mazda could make a strong argument that they never promised any particular model number and that as Kenwood ended production of the 919 they substituted the closest product: the 828.
Anyway, fraud is never the answer. At least not the legal one. And remember, if Mazda challenges your claim, you may end up with no system at all.
Just food for thought - sorry for the length!

 

[enry]

You have to remember that even though something can be DONE, it doesn't necessarily make it a good idea.
You can put a gokart engine on a bike so that you don't need to spend money on bus fare, but it doesn't make it intelligent to do so. Similarly, if you REALLY want a z828, I'd say e-bay the z919 and pay the difference, after all u paid 24K for a car and can't cough up the diff from z919 to z828? Of course it's easy for me to talk, I have a z828. But honestly I seldom take off the faceplate or use id3.

 

[kingvitamin]

I hate my z919 too, but I've already begun the process of selling that head unit, taking that money (plus about another 2 or 3 hundred) and getting an Alpine CDA-7878. Not that the Kenwood is a POS, I just have to have a volume KNOB, and thats the only in-dash-MP3 unit I know of that has one, not to mention I've always had good luck with Alpine. You could do the same, and sell the 919 towards a 828. Just a thought.

FYI -- Reason I hate the z919 is the little knob on it that changes the song. That thing pisses me off to no end.

 

[hixtrix]

The ID3 tags would be nice... but the 919 has all of the features that I wanted when I bought the car. Anyone that doesn't like the small buttons should really take a good look at the remote. The buttons on the unit annoy me as well- so I pretty much memorized the remote- and it really helps. I know a remote seems stupid when you are w/in arms reach, but if that is what annoys you I suggest giving it a try...(MOINH)

 

[MP3_4ME]

Everyone must have miss understood me. I didn't do anything of the sort. Someone must have logged in for me and posted that. Lol. Seriously, this was just info for what it was worth. I knew exactly what head unit was in the car when I bought it, I'd just rather have the 828. Also going so far as saying that I'm what is wrong with this country........................ come on. I'm not a bad person, it doesn't make anyones insurance rates go up, it doesn't hurt anyone. It wasn't ethical, but I am hardly going to mope around feeling awful about myself either. If nothing else, It sends a small message to ANYONE who produces a car, especially something like a limited edition mp3, that if you aren't going to have enough of something to make it through 1500 cars, then don't put it in any of them. It all comes down to money. Kenwood sold these year old overstock to mazda at probably a good price. Mazda knew they weren't going to be able to put them in all the cars. They sure didn't go out of their way to let people know this either. For christs sake its only 1500 cars!

Finally, I agree with all above posts except the insurance thing, I'm still trying to figure that one out. This is just info to be used by whoever wants to use it.


P.S. The z828 is far superior to the z919. Anyone who knows about car audio knows this, it isn't just a fancy display and id3 tags! The 919 is worth about 200 bucks in todays market vs. the 828 which is a deal at 600.

Later guys

 

[trobbins]

FYI, Insurance companies are basically leagalized gambling. They play the odds that something will not happen. For the majority of their clients, the money that is paid for the insurance premium is never used. And then they pay out to the claims that come in. They are a business too, if they are paying more for claims then they are receiving from premiums then the rates must go up. This is the same situation with auto warranties. Mazda plays the odds that nothing will go wrong with your car. And for the most part things don't go wrong.

So here is where you come in MP3_4ME, by faking a problem with the stereo you skew the numbers that Mazda bets on. Meaning that the claims out weigh the Premium (You pay this when you buy the car.) And of course one person taking advantage of this will not mess up the numbers, but if many people do this then things get serious.

And the relation to insurance companies is that many people try these tricks with insurance companies and make the honest person's premium go up.

Now please notice I said "People Like You" not "You"

Its fraud, whether its warranty fraud, or insurance fraud.

Please don't think that this is a legitimate answer to solve your radio problem. And your latest message seems you know what I am talking about.

I also understand your frustration, I am in the same boat as you (MP3 with the z919) but please don't abuse the system, use it for what it is meant for.

No Hard Feelings.
Tim

 

[MP3_4ME]

Hey trobbins,

I know exactly what you are talking about. I feel that under any other circumstances we would see eye to eye. But still, Mazda KNEW they weren't going put the 919 in all the cars. There simply weren't enough of them available. Having said that Mazda is getting what they deserve. I would feel very different if there was an equipment change on a high production car and thousands of cars had different equipment. It seems to me that only a few hundred came with the 919. Maybe mazda just didn't see the difference. Still if mazda can't equip 1500 "special" cars the same way then someone needs to open their eyes.

It isn't ethical or legal but someone has to see where I am coming from on this.

Calling it fraud makes me feel so dirty. (even though I know well and good that is what it is). I like to look at it as a free lesson to mazda, or anyone else. I can assure you I have never felt this way about anything else. s***, I feel bad when I speed down the highway. Still no sleep lost though.

No hard feelings


See ya later guys