Factory Touch Screen Unit Constantly Rebooting - 2009 GT

[wabenson]

Hey guys -

Hello, new here. I'm at a turning point with my Vibe as it has a few issues that will require some investment, and I've just taken a new job with a longer commute. I know from my past experience (drove an '03 Matrix for 7 years) that the "value" a dealer would assign to it is much less than the life it's got left. I bought it used with 59k miles just over 3 years ago. So I've decided I want to get it back up to speed and continue enjoying it. I'm posting in a few areas about the various issues I have and will appreciate your advice! Be forewarned that I am extremely un-savvy about cars and mechanically inept in general.

For the purpose of this board - I still have the factory touchscreen unit (Pioneer I believe), and almost as soon as I drove it off the lot it stopped functioning consistently. It seems to be in a loop when trying to boot up. I've noticed it seems to start up more often when the weather is nice (not hot), so I put up with it until it gets hot again, then get annoyed and vow to fix it just in time for the weather to get nice again.

Anyway I assume that the issue is electronic, and if I take it to a shop it might be an easy fix. I was just wondering if any of you have experienced anything similar, and maybe if it's even a relatively simple DIY. I'd love the opportunity to take on some small jobs and get more comfortable working on it.

Thanks in advance! Aaron

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe Aaron! FYI, the headunit you've described is not the factory one.

[wabenson]

Interesting. I had kept searching last night for the exact unit and couldn't find it mentioned with the Vibe, so I wondered about that. Thank you!

[MacGyver]

Pioneer head units are pretty robust. I just put one in my 09 Base and it's awesome. Do you know which model number you have? Depending on the age and features, it might be worth keeping if it can be made to work as intended.

I would check the wiring connections at the back. Most likely, there are two harnesses spliced together, one going from the factory plugs and another from the Pioneer. If the connections between the two harnesses were done poorly by a monkey with something like electrical tape or wire nuts, then that could be the cause of your issue. At a minimum bütt-joints should be used, but better than that are soldered connections covered in heat shrink tape, which will withstand all the bumps and vibrations a vehicle can dish out over years.

The other thing that can be happening is that an Onstar interface box was used and it is starting to die, which I have read is not uncommon. If you don't have or want Onstar, you can bypass that box because the Vibe doesn't need it. Just move the red wire on the harness as described here: viewtopic.php?t=37163

Since you have the factory amp in the GT, it might be worthwhile to have a reputable shop look at the install in your vehicle and clean it up so it works properly.

There are a number of guides here as to how to open the dash and remove the radio, which is pretty easy. But if you're not comfortable with doing that, then get a pro.

Also input your location in your profile; you never know, there might be another genvibe member close by who can lend you a hand with fixing stuff or acquiring parts!

[wabenson]

Thanks McGyver -

I have an F90BT Unit. Doing some digging online, I found a lot of similar problems. I had always assumed wiring but it looks like these issues came up after a firmware upgrade. I'll have to go through a series of firmware-based troubleshoots and restore to factory defaults. I found a set of instructions online and some download links but from what I read it'll be pretty time consuming to get it going again. I'll give it a shot soon (I hope!) and report in.

I'm definitely going to look into bypass options too. Navigation is pretty worthless nowadays!

[MacGyver]

If you decide to replace the radio, make sure to rebuild the harness from scratch, as Pioneer uses the same connector on many of their products, but changes the wiring pins from time to time. On my install, I didn't have the original harness, and the harness I did use had the mute and parking brake wires were mixed up!