Re: GPS system on new 2012 Hilux
Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:42 pm
Hi All,
Apologies for the “lang uitgerekte post”. There has been many posts on this forum and other forums about aftermarket radios. This is my 5c on my experience with my Stop Shop purchase and advise to other forum members when buying aftermarket Radios. Below also listed an alternative seller i have found.
Some time ago i posted that i ordered my unit from Stop Shop and was very excited about delivery. When i received it i could not wait to get it installed. Once installed and setup i noticed that the GPS interface had no functionality and first thought it was something I’m doing wrong. After logging a ticket at Stop Shop and many mails back and forth to try different fixes i decided to remove the radio and send it back to Stop Shop. This was last year September. The radio was removed by the installer and then reconnected as a test to see if removing it completely from battery power won’t sort the issue. When we switched on the ignition and went to the GPS interface it actually worked. I was over the moon and relieved. 2 Days later i was driving to a client using the GPS with IGO maps. When i stopped at the customer i wanted to exit IGO but none of the touch functionality wanted to work. I switched of the car switched it back on went back to the GPS interface and all was fine again. This happened about 3 more times after that until the GPS interface just stopped working altogether and nothing i tried after that worked. SO i got into contact with Stop Shop to start the warranty procedure. After taking the necessary pics i logged the return ticket. About an hour later i got a message back from Stop Shop that one of my pics with the warranty sticker shows that the warranty sticker has been damaged and that they would not be able to honor the Warranty due to this. They noted that they were however prepared to look at the radio on their bench and try to repair but the shipping costs would be for my account. After mailing them back and ensuring them that the unit was definitely NOT opened by me or anyone and that it could only possibly have happened at the factory. I was later mailed back from a VERY irritated author due to the tone of the mail. In this mail I was given a lesson in their T&C and was told that the offer from them to try and repair the radio was "AS A GOOD GESTURE TO ME". I have now also been given the opportunity to take new clearer pics of the Warranty Stickers for them to view. Will I be doing this, well NO. I don’t think anything I do now is going to change their minds and frankly I’m not spending any more cash on this device and will write it off as a bad investment. When I did take the pics of the Warranty Stickers it DID look suspect. But instead of the warranty sticker having a “tear” one would expect it to have when opening the lid of the radio it has a VERY fine straight hear line cut. Even using a magnifying glass you cannot even see the break in the hear line almost if the line should be there as part of making the sticker break easier in case someone tampers with it. BUT, I guess a break is a break a crack is a crack and according to Stop Shop T&C they have a leg to stand on.
So why this LONG and boring post? Is it to let everyone know their Radios are duds? Is it to slate Stop Shop telling everyone to miss them like the plague? Well, NO! Apart from ME getting an out of box failure of my unit’s GPS interface the rest of the radio worked like a charm. This is just MY experience and a heads up for any potential buyers when purchasing from Stop Shop what to expect and what to do and not to do as I will outline below.
Do’s and don’ts
1. Before purchasing ANY products from Stop Shop ensure you read ALL T&C very carefully and understand ALL/ANY additional costs. After the initial cost from the Website and payment I made I had to pay extra import costs to DHL before they delivered.
2. When receiving your package inspect and take some pics of it before opening it. My package and Box the radio was in had quite a few dings and dents and one could see it came halfway round the world. Notify Stop Shop in this case.
3. When unpacking the Radio ensure to check all cables damage and most importantly WARANTY STICKER DAMAGE. Again, take pics and notify Stop Shop if any issues.
4. Get the Radio installed by a proper/reputable installer. One of Stop Shops warranty return policy requirements with “no exceptions” is that they require “Image of the installation receipt including the invoice number and contact details of the installer (no exceptions)”. This one bothers me the most as I read on this forum and other forums of guys that has purchased Stop Shop devices and they post on these forums on how easy it was for THEM to install these Radios. The thing that gets me is that Mark Ashford from Stop Shop comments on most of these posts but neglect to inform these posters of the possible warranty implications doing the job yourself could have on the warranty. I’m almost certain T&C will be quoted if one of these units are returned for warranty claims and the owner does not have the relevant installation information as requested by Stop Shop.
5. Don’t cut or modify any of the Radio wiring or plugs. This will void the warranty. On the 2009 Facelift Fortuners the aerial plug on my unit does not match the radio socket. I found a company that sell radio components that had a converter that worked a charm.
6. Whatever you do, protect the Warranty sticker on the side. As we all know the material Warranty stickers are made of is very brittle and CAN break easily for obvious reasons. I’m still sticking to my story that my Unit was not opened and the sticker is not broken. Could it have been damaged/cracked due to excessive handling or pressing to hard against the sticker with a finger or two. I don’t know! But be careful.!!
There are probably more do’s and don’ts that can be posted but I think the listed ones above are the more important ones.
Alternative Seller:
When I received my Radio I was looking around my area(Durbanville) for installers. Durbanville being small these were non existent so I checked Gumtree to look for local radio installers. Unfortunately and Fortunately for me I found a gent around the corner from me that actually imports similar model radio’s as well as install them with camera kits, headrests etc for roughly the same price as Stop Shop sell their units from. I contacted the gent and an hour later he was at my house installing my radio for R500. I contacted him last week again to assist me with removing my radio as I had to send it away for warranty claim. He was also kind enough to lend and install me a demo unit while my device went in for warranty. So the pro’s of the alternative is as follow,
1. Personalized Services. Cape Town – mobile- installer comes to you, JHB mobile – installer comes to you and PE – semi mobile – installer has shop. In the case of JHB and PE the Radio seller ships the unit to the installer if chosen to use them.
2. Local Stock Available.
3. Warranties are swopped out locally.
4. Maps for sale for GPS.
Details,
http://www.indashdvd.co.za" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Daniel Karstens
084 522 2263
Cheers,
Mark
Apologies for the “lang uitgerekte post”. There has been many posts on this forum and other forums about aftermarket radios. This is my 5c on my experience with my Stop Shop purchase and advise to other forum members when buying aftermarket Radios. Below also listed an alternative seller i have found.
Some time ago i posted that i ordered my unit from Stop Shop and was very excited about delivery. When i received it i could not wait to get it installed. Once installed and setup i noticed that the GPS interface had no functionality and first thought it was something I’m doing wrong. After logging a ticket at Stop Shop and many mails back and forth to try different fixes i decided to remove the radio and send it back to Stop Shop. This was last year September. The radio was removed by the installer and then reconnected as a test to see if removing it completely from battery power won’t sort the issue. When we switched on the ignition and went to the GPS interface it actually worked. I was over the moon and relieved. 2 Days later i was driving to a client using the GPS with IGO maps. When i stopped at the customer i wanted to exit IGO but none of the touch functionality wanted to work. I switched of the car switched it back on went back to the GPS interface and all was fine again. This happened about 3 more times after that until the GPS interface just stopped working altogether and nothing i tried after that worked. SO i got into contact with Stop Shop to start the warranty procedure. After taking the necessary pics i logged the return ticket. About an hour later i got a message back from Stop Shop that one of my pics with the warranty sticker shows that the warranty sticker has been damaged and that they would not be able to honor the Warranty due to this. They noted that they were however prepared to look at the radio on their bench and try to repair but the shipping costs would be for my account. After mailing them back and ensuring them that the unit was definitely NOT opened by me or anyone and that it could only possibly have happened at the factory. I was later mailed back from a VERY irritated author due to the tone of the mail. In this mail I was given a lesson in their T&C and was told that the offer from them to try and repair the radio was "AS A GOOD GESTURE TO ME". I have now also been given the opportunity to take new clearer pics of the Warranty Stickers for them to view. Will I be doing this, well NO. I don’t think anything I do now is going to change their minds and frankly I’m not spending any more cash on this device and will write it off as a bad investment. When I did take the pics of the Warranty Stickers it DID look suspect. But instead of the warranty sticker having a “tear” one would expect it to have when opening the lid of the radio it has a VERY fine straight hear line cut. Even using a magnifying glass you cannot even see the break in the hear line almost if the line should be there as part of making the sticker break easier in case someone tampers with it. BUT, I guess a break is a break a crack is a crack and according to Stop Shop T&C they have a leg to stand on.
So why this LONG and boring post? Is it to let everyone know their Radios are duds? Is it to slate Stop Shop telling everyone to miss them like the plague? Well, NO! Apart from ME getting an out of box failure of my unit’s GPS interface the rest of the radio worked like a charm. This is just MY experience and a heads up for any potential buyers when purchasing from Stop Shop what to expect and what to do and not to do as I will outline below.
Do’s and don’ts
1. Before purchasing ANY products from Stop Shop ensure you read ALL T&C very carefully and understand ALL/ANY additional costs. After the initial cost from the Website and payment I made I had to pay extra import costs to DHL before they delivered.
2. When receiving your package inspect and take some pics of it before opening it. My package and Box the radio was in had quite a few dings and dents and one could see it came halfway round the world. Notify Stop Shop in this case.
3. When unpacking the Radio ensure to check all cables damage and most importantly WARANTY STICKER DAMAGE. Again, take pics and notify Stop Shop if any issues.
4. Get the Radio installed by a proper/reputable installer. One of Stop Shops warranty return policy requirements with “no exceptions” is that they require “Image of the installation receipt including the invoice number and contact details of the installer (no exceptions)”. This one bothers me the most as I read on this forum and other forums of guys that has purchased Stop Shop devices and they post on these forums on how easy it was for THEM to install these Radios. The thing that gets me is that Mark Ashford from Stop Shop comments on most of these posts but neglect to inform these posters of the possible warranty implications doing the job yourself could have on the warranty. I’m almost certain T&C will be quoted if one of these units are returned for warranty claims and the owner does not have the relevant installation information as requested by Stop Shop.
5. Don’t cut or modify any of the Radio wiring or plugs. This will void the warranty. On the 2009 Facelift Fortuners the aerial plug on my unit does not match the radio socket. I found a company that sell radio components that had a converter that worked a charm.
6. Whatever you do, protect the Warranty sticker on the side. As we all know the material Warranty stickers are made of is very brittle and CAN break easily for obvious reasons. I’m still sticking to my story that my Unit was not opened and the sticker is not broken. Could it have been damaged/cracked due to excessive handling or pressing to hard against the sticker with a finger or two. I don’t know! But be careful.!!
There are probably more do’s and don’ts that can be posted but I think the listed ones above are the more important ones.
Alternative Seller:
When I received my Radio I was looking around my area(Durbanville) for installers. Durbanville being small these were non existent so I checked Gumtree to look for local radio installers. Unfortunately and Fortunately for me I found a gent around the corner from me that actually imports similar model radio’s as well as install them with camera kits, headrests etc for roughly the same price as Stop Shop sell their units from. I contacted the gent and an hour later he was at my house installing my radio for R500. I contacted him last week again to assist me with removing my radio as I had to send it away for warranty claim. He was also kind enough to lend and install me a demo unit while my device went in for warranty. So the pro’s of the alternative is as follow,
1. Personalized Services. Cape Town – mobile- installer comes to you, JHB mobile – installer comes to you and PE – semi mobile – installer has shop. In the case of JHB and PE the Radio seller ships the unit to the installer if chosen to use them.
2. Local Stock Available.
3. Warranties are swopped out locally.
4. Maps for sale for GPS.
Details,
http://www.indashdvd.co.za" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Daniel Karstens
084 522 2263
Cheers,
Mark