Interstate 2016 Kenwood Radio- Being Replaced

[Haasman]

We have both found the standard high-end Kenwood radio in our 2016 Interstate to be overly complicated, irritating and sometimes downright dangerous to use why traveling.

The standard model is the Kenwood DNN992. After reviewing Kenwood's other offerings, I found their fall 2015 release of the DDX6702S and DDX6902S. Both support Apple's Carplay and get this: They have a knob! Yes, a knob that one can push and twist. Also buttons to push above the knob to go directly to menu etc. If you are not familiar with the Apple Carplay feature, its quite nice, the screen on the radio looks like an Apple phone and one can use the the phone navigation instead of the Garmin system.

Here is the link to the September 2015 Press release.

I plan to call Kenwood customer service prior to purchasing the DDX6902S to double-check that the connectors all match behind the radio.

As a side note: In attempting to do a software update (not map update) our radio locked up. We are given the choice, under warranty to either drive the 21/2 hours to our "local" Airstream dealer for replacement (have to leave it while the replacement unit is shipped and then installed) or send the unit to Los Angles.

Haasman

[K9CarCrate]

I am curious why the replacement of the Kenwood is not covered under warranty for you? Also, there is another thread regarding the Kenwood and the replacement of the unit. It is sad to hear that newer models still have relatively same software malfunctioning issues. Personally, I will never own another product. This component has cases me to waste many hours trying to get it re-booted, fixed, diagnosed, etc. their customer service and online support is also poor.


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[Lineolated]

I agree with you that the Kenwood is an accident waiting to happen.

However, I travel in lots of remote areas without cell service, so GPS is a must for me. Has anyone found a decent double din unit with Garmin navigation?

[K9CarCrate]

Lineolated, I'm not sure if this helps, but the Pioneer products, (and I can speak of the AVIC-8100NEX) use GPS. It is just a different product than Garmin GPS. I believe it is called, "HERE". I don't know much beyond that. With the product, you have the choice of using Appletalk/Android through your cell phone for navigation or the GPS that comes with the system. Originally I also wanted Garmin GPS, but so far I have found the GPS that comes with the unit to work great.

[SterlingGT]

This is VERY interesting! I plan on checking on it this week! I am a computer person and the Kenwoods that come with the Interstate drive me crazy! I don't need a radio to "boot up". I don't need to log into it to access Facebook. I want it to interface with my iPhone cleanly, have maps, play music, play SiriusXM. I had to get out the manual just to figure out how to tune in a local station. That is a complete fail for Usability which is why I like Apple. They spend a lot of time and money on usability for products that are intuitive.

I agree, this radio is dangerous.

I support PC's, Mac's, Phones etc... apple is the easiest by far!

[jdthor]

I hate the Kenwood in my 2016 grand tour. I also plan on replacing it with something more intuitive and useful.

[gghayes]

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one having problems with this product. I just printed out the manual and hope to figure out how to turn on the radio. LOL All I have done with it is use the navigation.
Gloria

[LB_3]

Originally Posted by SterlingGT

I support PC's, Mac's, Phones etc... apple is the easiest by far!

+1

I've wanted to put an Apple CarPlay unit in out T1N for quite some time. Unfortunately the opening in our dash only supports a single din head unit so I purchased a spare dash on fleabay for $60 in case I get adventurous enough to hack up the one in the car.

[Haasman]

I have to say, I am a bit overwhelmed by the negatives about the latest Interstate radio! We have been wondering "Is it just us"? We are a very high family, and the user-interface on the Kenwood DNN992 is awkward, nonintuitive and again dangerous.

Yes, the locked radio will be replaced by Airstream. No problems there. It was locked from failed attempts to update the software.

We will have the Airstream dealer install a Kenwood DDX6902S instead of a replacement DNN992. I will be selling this radio.

Just having knob to push n twist and buttons located on the driver's side is headed in the right direction. The added feature of Apple's Carplay will be heaven compared to what we have been enduring.

Heads up Airstream Customer Managers.

We are staying with the Kenwood to try and maintain the connections behind the radio. Not trying to reinvent the wheel.

[kfrere]

We hate it as well! The steps you have to go through just to turn on a radio station are ridiculous. Please let us know how the DDX6902S works for you.

[Haasman]

Here is a picture of the Kenwood Excelon DDX6902S



Please notice the left side of the radio, starting lower left- There is a knob for volume, and other sound controls, Telephone, AV with Carplay, menu, optical media eject button and a Power button (that also flashes when the security is on.

This manual for a closer look can be found and downloaded from http://manual.kenwood.com/files/B5A-0987-00.pdf

Haasman

[Haasman]

We are a very high family

Should be "We are a very high tech family" Funny!

[73shark]

Originally Posted by Haasman

Should be "We are a very high tech family" Funny!

Thought it was just part of the SoCal culture.

Edit: Oops, I see that Loma Mar is up north. Oh well.

[SiennaGuy]

I know I've posted my rant against my Kenwoods elsewhere online but I'll say it again. I had a Kenwood DNX7100 in my car. Its radio got to the point that it wouldn't pick up a station unless the station's antenna was less than a mile away. Like a fool, I bought another Kenwood. That one was a DNX9960. A few days after the warranty ran out, the GPS stopped working entirely. When I switched the GPS on, the entire screen of the Kenwood went black. It was supposed to work with voice commands but you had to memorize the exact wording for each command. If you didn't say the phrase exactly the way it was in the manual, it wouldn't work.

I now have a Pioneer AVIC-8000 NEX. The interface is MUCH better and is easier to use, especially while I'm on the highway. It also just plain works. The GPS is different than the Kenwood's Garmin and it has a feature that the Garmin didn't have. Instead of it saying, "Turn right at 5th St." it will say something like, "Turn right, after Macy's." Plenty of times, I'm more likely to notice a big landmark before I see the tiny street sign.

It also has Apple's CarPlay. Instead of fiddling with buttons, you have voice control. Siri has problems hearing me when the fans and the AC are on, but for the most part, it works well. Siri is much smarter than the Kenwood voice recognition system because it's actually located in the cloud. Apple's giant computers can figure out different ways of saying things. A Kenwood with its tiny computer in the dashboard couldn't. The newer Pioneer radios also support the Android equivalent of Car Play.

My Pioneer doesn't have a knob, but it has clearly labeled metal button across the bottom with symbols. Not only are the symbols lit, they're raised so that you can feel the difference between them. The "plus" button feels very different than the "minus" button. The center "Home" button has a different finish so that it's easy to recognize. With the Kenwoods, there were dozens of menus that you had to scroll and scroll through to do anything. With the Pioneer, it's usually two taps and you're done.

[SterlingGT]

Originally Posted by SiennaGuy

I know I've posted my rant against my Kenwoods elsewhere online but I'll say it again. I had a Kenwood DNX7100 in my car. Its radio got to the point that it wouldn't pick up a station unless the station's antenna was less than a mile away. Like a fool, I bought another Kenwood. That one was a DNX9960. A few days after the warranty ran out, the GPS stopped working entirely. When I switched the GPS on, the entire screen of the Kenwood went black. It was supposed to work with voice commands but you had to memorize the exact wording for each command. If you didn't say the phrase exactly the way it was in the manual, it wouldn't work.

I now have a Pioneer AVIC-8000 NEX. The interface is MUCH better and is easier to use, especially while I'm on the highway. It also just plain works. The GPS is different than the Kenwood's Garmin and it has a feature that the Garmin didn't have. Instead of it saying, "Turn right at 5th St." it will say something like, "Turn right, after Macy's." Plenty of times, I'm more likely to notice a big landmark before I see the tiny street sign.

It also has Apple's CarPlay. Instead of fiddling with buttons, you have voice control. Siri has problems hearing me when the fans and the AC are on, but for the most part, it works well. Siri is much smarter than the Kenwood voice recognition system because it's actually located in the cloud. Apple's giant computers can figure out different ways of saying things. A Kenwood with its tiny computer in the dashboard couldn't. The newer Pioneer radios also support the Android equivalent of Car Play.

My Pioneer doesn't have a knob, but it has clearly labeled metal button across the bottom with symbols. Not only are the symbols lit, they're raised so that you can feel the difference between them. The "plus" button feels very different than the "minus" button. The center "Home" button has a different finish so that it's easy to recognize. With the Kenwoods, there were dozens of menus that you had to scroll and scroll through to do anything. With the Pioneer, it's usually two taps and you're done.

I think he has a great point... and that is don't limit the scope to just one brand if it works with others. So with our particular models, mine is a 2016 Interstate EXT, we were looking to just match the plugs to reduce install issues. Figuring Apple Carplay will fix a lot of the other issues which I think it will, regardless of the manufacturer.

I have checked with Airstream. They seem unwilling to help. So I am researching other sources now.

I am very disappointed with AIRSTREAM. They put in this horrible radio. I should have known with some experience in the computer industry and audio industry, just the fact that they felt they had to put out what they thought was a simplified manual to the kenwood radio should have been a clue that they knew this was an issue. I am guessing kenwood knows what a lemon this radio is, but put so many unnecessary bells and whistles in it to make it unusable, they made a deal with AIRSTREAM trying to promote this as a high end system. Shame on you AIRSTREAM for falling for it. You should be able to figure out by now from the online issues that this doesn't work and won't work in the future. In the meantime, you leave us to figure this out for ourselves. This isn't a warranty issue. We don't want you to pay for it. Just give us what options work. We will pay to fix this USABILITY and SAFETY issue. No worries. This will be figured out and the dealers trying to sell this radio will suffer because they will have to agree to swap it out before selling future units.

[73shark]

Try calling Crutchfield and ask them for recommendations. They are straight shooters. At least they have been in my limited experience with them.

[Boxster1971]

I can't speak to the issues expressed about the Kenwood DDN992 since I have the older Kenwood DNX7190HD. Mine has some flaws, but generally works well. It is slow to recalculate a GPS Nav route, but has traffic data which has saved me from getting caught in big backups many times. I regularly use Bluetooth to pair to my iPhone or my iPad to listen to audio books while driving. I've updated the software twice and the Map data once since new. I now have over 65,000 miles without major problems with this Kenwood. I'd give mine a4 rating on 1-5 scale.

Last year I added a second rear camera just above the rear license plate for a better view of objects close to the van when backing. It is a Kenwood camera that give guide line like a lot of OEM backup cameras. Here is a screen shot.



- - Mike
2013 Lounge EXT on 2012 Sprinter

[SiennaGuy]

Originally Posted by 73shark

Try calling Crutchfield and ask them for recommendations. They are straight shooters. At least they have been in my limited experience with them.

Crutchfield is the absolute best place on or off the Internet to buy electronic things. They're not the cheapest in the short run--their price for an item may be higher than you can find elsewhere. In the long run, however, they provide outstanding customer service and free, US-based technical support for things you buy from them for the lifetime of your product. They have knowledgeable staff who will help you decide what's best for you. That can save you money and headaches.

If you want to install a car stereo yourself, they'll provide all of the connectors, adapters and widgets to connect it to your vehicle. They'll also provide you with detailed installation instructions for the particular make and model vehicle that you have. There are no dumb generic instructions like, "Remove the dashboard. Install the radio. Congratulations, you've installed the radio." They have the largest database of what will fit properly in your vehicle, so you don't waste time and money trying to get something to fit into a space that's too small. If you want someone else to install it, you can buy a voucher from them, and they'll refer you to someplace that knows what they're doing. This article from Inc. Magazine sums up the way they do business:
http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110301...utchfield.html

[SiennaGuy]

As to Airstream's choice of Kenwood, I honestly don't know who's to blame and I can even understand Airstream's choice. Since both of my Kenwoods lasted throughout the warranty period, they'd probably pass a Kenwood/Airstream reliability test. I suspect that Airstream did what I did when I chose my Kenwoods: they looked at the feature list. Kenwoods have a lot of nice features like Garmin Navigation, Bluetooth by Parrot, etc. They look great on paper. The problem isn't lack of features, it's that they have very serious usability problems and the features aren't integrated very well.

These problems are not going to show up on any spreadsheet or brochure because they involve vague things like designing for humans who, if they're using the product properly while driving a car, only have a glance and a few seconds to accomplish a task. In a showroom or at a demo, these problems don't show up. When you're in a showroom or at a demo, you're focusing your vision and attention on a car stereo. You don't notice how long it takes or what's involved making a change to a setting. IMHO, that's the environment that Kenwood designs for. Part of me isn't angry with them for doing that. That's where the products are sold.

I don't know if it's true of Kenwood designers, but it's also easy for some of the folks in high-tech to blame users if they can't use a cryptic and overly complex interface. Instead of redesigning a product after watching people fumble around with it, they staunchly defend their mixed up buttons and menus. Those few skilled people who can design clear, consistant, easy to use interfaces that incorporate lots of user feedback generally command very high salaries. Companies (besides Apple and its CarPlay team) may not want to pay that much. In any case, if the Kenwoods were designed for using while driving, they'd be much better and safer products to use at 60 mph.

[K9CarCrate]

Originally Posted by Lineolated

I agree with you that the Kenwood is an accident waiting to happen.

However, I travel in lots of remote areas without cell service, so GPS is a must for me. Has anyone found a decent double din unit with Garmin navigation?

Lineolated, We just finished a weekend camping along Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Mountains, Virginia. We were very remote from cell phone coverage (both Verizon and AT&T) cell phones were solidly "No Service." The GPS service on the Pioneer AVIC-8100NEC was flawless. We even performed searches for other amenities, waypoints, traffic incidents, searches with keywords, etc. There were no issues at all. We were dry camping with no hookups and it was especially handy having the cut off switch to shut off all power when not in use while using the coach batteries--I highly recommend installing a toggle switch regardless of what you choose for a replacement system. While up at Airstream Corporate Service Center in January 2016, the Kenwood systems have been a fiasco and embarrassment for Airstream. This was such a bad product choice and they know it. Why on earth would there be a system lockout after multiple upgrade attempts and login procedures just to turn on the radio??? Hope this information helps, the Pioneer product is superior so far.