Car Stereos: GPS navigation installation kit, garmin gps, pioneer unit

Question
Getting a 2002 Jeep Liberty Limited but i want a Pioneer AVIC-X920BT GPS navigation installed in the dash board is this possible because i do like the features on this GPS and i play my ipod a lot i'm tired of playing it through a Ipod stand that doesn't stay upright. Really need a GPS unit in my jeeep because i get lost a lot when i don't know the area too well.

Answer
Hi Tracey,

Unfortunately, you wouldn't be able to install the AVIC-X920BT into a 2002 Liberty without a lot of custom work.  The Pioneer unit is a double-DIN head unit, meaning that it's approximately 4" high and 7" wide.  The factory radio in your Liberty is smaller.  There's no mounting kit available to fit a double-DIN unit into a vehicle like yours.

Your best bet, if you're looking for an in-dash navigation system, is a single-DIN unit with a flip-out screen.  Unfortunately, these tend to be somewhat more expensive than a comparable double-DIN unit, and you may need to buy a navigation add-on piece separately from the in-dash unit.

An example of this would be Kenwood's P-NAV514 or the newer P-NAV516.  This is a single-DIN unit with a 7" flip-out screen, packaged with a Garmin GPS navigation unit.  (While the navigation unit is a separate part, it connects to the rear of the Kenwood in-dash unit, and would display the navigation map on the flip-out screen).  This also allows a USB iPod connection on the rear of the unit, so you could keep the iPod in your glove box and display and select songs on the 7" screen as well.

Hope this helps!

Brian