Customer Reviews

Kenwood KNA G510 - Navigation system

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have the Kenwood KNA-G510 Nav. hooked up to the New 2009
Kenwood KVT-514 DVD receiver. The Nav. is surpurbe, like a Garmin should be. There are other receivers out there that offer navigation, but you can't beat Kenwood and Garmin's track record. I doint have the Bluetooth conected yet, but I understand when you are looking up a place of business(Restaurant) You can press on the phone number and it will dial the phone number of the place (very cool). I think this is a GREAT product and will add one to my other car as well.

1 word of CAUTION...KENWOOD ONLY HONORS THERE WARRANTY IF YOU BUY FROM THEIR AUTHORIZED DEALERS..(Crutchfield).

this is just like the portable garmins!! its a breeze to use and i personaly think this is the best gps in town!!

I bought this along with my KVT-512 a while back and have been using it for a couple months. I refuse to use ANY other GPS system than Garmin because it is the only one that has not failed me. The install is so simple. When I opened the box and found a bunch of loose end wires I got scared but after looking closer I saw how easy it would be. It took about 45 minutes from the the time I opened the box to the time I was testing it out. The hardest part was finding a place to put the navigation unit as I wanted it to be completely hidden away. I ran the antenna under the dash panel as close to the front of the windshield as I could so that nobody would be able to tell I had GPS. The unit is very responsive and I have no signal problems under there. The navigation screen is slightly lower resolution than that of the portable units but it is very easy to read and customizable. Start up time is great and the price of this unit is pretty good in my opinion. So just to sum it up and maybe add a few things:

Pros:
Easy to install
Seamless integration
Very responsive
Good price
Garmin is the best navigation product I have ever used

Cons:
Slightly lower resolution screen (may be my head unit)

Overall I am very very impressed with this product. I use it all the time and it rarely has any issues navigating me to my destination, only on extremely remote and brand new roads.

I was planning to upgrade my stereo in my Jeep Grand Cherokee along with installing some component speakers and ran into this nifty add-on to the Kenwood head unit I bought. I'm not great with cars so I brought it in to have professionals install this along with the headunit, the KVT-614. Since then I've tested this GPS unit many times and played around with most of the features. I have to say that this add-on GPS is on par with some of the comparable $700 Garmin standalone GPS units. It is very accurate, and if you have the WAAS turned on, it will locate your position within 5 feet. There are many common features you would find on a typical Garmin unit, such as road avoidance (tollway, highway, small roads, etc.) and Food and Hotel searches. The turn by turn instructions are dead on, by which I mean they give you a voice confirmation at just the right time for you to make your move. It works harmoniously with the KVT-614 head unit; you can switch between controlling the GPS and controlling your ipod with a press of a button and the touch screen works flawlessly with address or word input. The only gripe I have with this GPS, as well as other Garmin GPS, is that the search function usually only works for restaurants and hotels. I have two other Garmins at around the $600 range and they do the same thing. What I mean is that they can locate restaurants and hotels near you, but will not always search for other things. I've tried searching for local schools, IKEA, and several other non-food/hotel related places and the GPS just will not find it through the search function. The only way for you to get direction to these places is to first find the address of the place you want to go, and then inputing it into the GPS. Definitely update the maps if you can, but buying them from Garmin will cost an additional $99. I would highly recommend this unit if you are going for Kenwood stereos that do not have GPS built in. If you won't be using the search function all that much, then it should give you no problems. Never get lost again with this accurate hideaway GPS unit, you won't be disappointed!

Overall good device. I would advise any customer to inquire about where to get the correct usb cord for upgrading the maps on the device. Even though you can use an sd card to upgrade the maps. It can be quite annoying going back to your car and inserting the sd card seeing that the update didn't work.

I have been using this new Kenwood Nav system for months now and it works great everywhere I go.

This product is everything that it was advertised to be. My wife loves the product and finds it much easier to use than previous Kenwood versions. I am a Garmin fan and love the ability to upgrade the maps with software upgrades as opposed to the DVD versions. I would highly recommend this product.

I got this for my 07 Sport Trac. As soon as I got the car I dumped the standard stereo for a Kenwood 6019 but didn't get the Nav part until recently. Now I have it I can't believe I waited so long, I bet we save the price of the Nav in Fuel because now my girlfriend isn't getting lost any more!!!!!

Pros: Garmin maps, invisible after installation with the antenna under the dash near the windshield (works fine through plastic), easy to install (though it comes with extra-long miles of cables and wires to trim or zip-tie), price is now well under $200 for refurbished units (mine was $139 w/ shipping in Aug 2010) compared with original retail price of $999(!), regular (so far) software updates to fix, refine, or add functions, takes updates via SD card or mini-USB port which can be connected to laptop, has a 6+ inch touchscreen when connected to my Kenwood DDX514, and can connect to XM and Sirius add-on devices.

Cons: Unit first released in 2006(!), lacks features of Nuvi line such as displaying local speed limits or changing the red arrow icon to anything else such as other vehicles or custom icons available on the Garmin website, the instructions go on and on about mounting the antenna on your roof or trunk (not necessary!) with no mention of trying it first under your dash (antenna is very small), if you suggest features for future updates Garmin will direct you to Kenwood, and Kenwood will direct you to Garmin (for the record, software as well as map updates are hosted on Garmin's website). Unlike the Nuvi line, this unit has to be in a parked car to use some of the features unless you choose to bypass that safety and liability feature by grounding the parking wire at your own risk. Depending on your vehicle, it may be difficult to access the SD card slot or mini USB port to add maps or software updates.

Final thoughts: My Garmin Nuvi 255w ($250 in May 2009) had more features, but had to be pulled on and off the windshield or dash unless you wanted to risk leaving it out, and can now be purchased for around $85 (Sept 2010). The Kenwood KNA-G510 ($139 refurbished in Aug 2010), is a true hideaway unit, uses Garmin maps, but lacks key Garmin features, including some Garmin voices, all vehicle icons, and ability to display local speed limits. If you want a portable unit with more features, go for the other Garmin devices. If you prefer the hidden unit with the bigger screen, and don't mind waiting for features that may never be added, go for the KNA-G510. Based on sheer value, unless you can install the Kenwood nav unit yourself, the portable Garmin units are cheaper thanks to dropping prices and the number of choices available. If you already have a Kenwood DVD player/head unit, it probably only works with one or two nav units. If you have or buy a KNA-G510, please urge both Kenwood and Garmin to keep supporting this unit and add more features in the future!

This is an awesome nav unit, with all the quality and expectation that comes with the Garmin name. For even more praise, please see the other reviews (above). =)

However, if using it with the Kenwood KVT-719DVD head unit, please know that you cannot access the navigation screen via the main menu "NAV" button; you must use the "V" button to cycle over to the navigation screen.

This can be VERY frustrating as I have yet to find this tidbit anywhere in official Kenwood literature. Thankfully, I found a thread from an installation forum where someone else had the same difficulty (I actually almost returned the unit thinking it was unresponsive!).

If you've had the same problem, I hope this helps!