Head unit dead, now what?

L

livelyjay

Member
:
2014 Focus ST
My head unit is dead. I got my car back from the collision shop and the head unit gets stuck in the halfway down position, but not like it did before when the ribbon cable broke (this is my second unit and I am no longer under warranty). There is something wrong with the D-Mask mechanics, where one side wanted to rotate and move while the other side wanted to stay down. I manually helped it rotate and move, but that only worked twice and now it is stuck in the masked position and won't budge at all. I like the D-Mask because I have yet to have the car get broken into, which has happened to me 3 times before because I forget to remove the face plate.

So my question is this, is the D-Mask on all Kenwood units this problematic, or is it just the MSP units? I would like to replace my stock unit with something like the KDC-X689, but it is a refurb. If the D-Mask part is just going to break again, I'm going to get some cheap JVC, Pioneer, etc from Best Buy or online and just get into the habit of hiding the face plate.

Let me know what you think. And if you think I can salvage my head unit also let me know your suggestions or guesses as to why it's not working.
 
Mine did the same thing once.. I pulled the faceplate off and it rotated itself around.. I then put it back on.. It hasnt done it again, yet...
 
Buy a new headunit. Kenwoods were never my favorite... Too damn complicated. I hate that each button does like 100 different functions. Take the pocket out underneath the radio and put a double DIN LCD touch screen or TV. That would be hot maaaan! That damn deer's vengence is a beotch! lol.
Whole situation sucks bro. I feel for you. Keep your chin up and it all work out. (werd)
 
I'm not fretting over it, believe me. My car still drives like it did before the deer collision, and that's all I really care about. The brakes took a beating having to sit for 7 weeks, but hopefully after driving some the corrosion will grind off.

I don't mind the complicatedness of the Kenwood units, I just want to know if the D-Mask function is doomed to fail no matter which model it is. The other DIN pocket is destined for monitoring gauges, plus double din units are pretty pricey most of the time and pretty flashy. If I figure out another way to mount my gauges I might consider it though, since if I stay away from D-Mask I pretty much can get anything and get into the habit or removing the faceplate.
 
Eh, the Alpine's that are worthwhile are too expensive. My friend said I could buy back the JVC I sold him for $50 since he's never going to install it. I might just go that route since it has 3 pre-amp outputs, the wire harness is the same as the stock Kenwood, and it has a front Aux input.
 
Another thing to consider is my commute to work is 17-20 minutes each way. The only long trips I go on these days is treks to Seneca, Buffalo, and Syracuse for autocrosses, which are hour trips at most. So it's not like I'm in the car that much and really need a good stereo.
 
The Kenwood unit I put in the first post is HD radio ready, which is pretty enticing, but I don't know why. Must be the whole addicted to more gadgets and doohickeys thing.
 
i bought a sony explod.. im not a sony fan but i gotta admit, that usb port is the s***

and the unit is black with red buttons.. goes very well with the rest of the car.

g_00033476.jpg


im never gonna get anything else.
 
fr0st said:
i bought a sony explod.. im not a sony fan but i gotta admit, that usb port is the s***

and the unit is black with red buttons.. goes very well with the rest of the car.

g_00033476.jpg


im never gonna get anything else.
Click to expand...

I like Sony head units. All the JVC's I've had have been doggy doo dooo! Really... I understand the car rides are short, but its like.... You have a nice car, match a decent head unit with it. It would be like taking the wheels off your car to put on spinner hubcaps. You only drive short distances, hardly anyone would see them....... Give the car some respect and give it a good unit. My opinion only. Do what makes you happy, its your car. Everyone's got opinions around here so you'll get all our crap. Word!
 
I had some bad experience with older Sony Xplod head units. First one got stolen, replaced it with the exact same unit. First it got shaky when playing CDs. Sometimes I would have to punch the unit to get it to play. Then the pre-amps died. At that point I swore off Sony head units.

The JVC units I have had in the past have performed just fine.

Having a good sound system has nothing to do with respecting the car and your comparison of wheels versus spinner hub caps just makes you look like a retard.
 
yeah but the the USB plug is so cool .. no more CD's.. put some mp3 on a memory stick and plug it in. :)
 
i fix stock MSP head units and will go to NY state next week to pick some stuff up so if you want to have it fixed, we can make arrangements. you ship the HU to my freight forwarder, i fix it and ship it back a day or 2 later
 
Metal MP5 said:
i fix stock MSP head units and will go to NY state next week to pick some stuff up so if you want to have it fixed, we can make arrangements. you ship the HU to my freight forwarder, i fix it and ship it back a day or 2 later
Click to expand...
Where in NY? How much are we looking at for cost? This isn't the usual ribbon cable thing either, this is with the D-Mask mechanism. Let me know.
 
fr0st said:
yeah but the the USB plug is so cool .. no more CD's.. put some mp3 on a memory stick and plug it in. :)
Click to expand...
That is pretty cool, but Sony isn't the only manufacturer that has this option, at least I don't think they are the only one. I have an MP3 player though, so having an Aux jack or Kenwood style CD changer control is the most useful for me.
 
oh sorry, read too quickly. i just saw dead unit msp and have 1 or 2 ribbons left so i thought i would offer help
 
I'm starting to second guess Kenwood in general. At onlinestereoshop.com they have a lot of reconditioned Kenwood units, while many of the other main stream brand names don't. This tells me one of two things, Kenwood makes crappy head units and has a lot of warranties to honor, or other manufacturers have the same problems but never honor their warranties. I'm not sure which way to lean. I've only had experience with Sony, JVC, and the stock MSP units. The only unit I didn't have problems with is the JVC.

What does everyone think?

fr0st, try to sell me on the Sony unit other than the USB port is awesome and it looks nice in the car (by the way, got a pic of it installed?).
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

duffbuster243
Guide Run your Mazdaspeed Protege on a Speeduino
Replies
11
Views
2K
duffbuster243
duffbuster243
H
  • Article
FREE 2014 CX-5 Factory head unit (just pay shipping)
Replies
0
Views
493
Huhwha57
H
I
2009~2013 Mazda6 Nav Unit replacement question
Replies
1
Views
532
theblooms
theblooms

Latest posts

Back