Gee have you checked where the factory stereo is made? Check the pic
Donguan Clarion Orient Electronics Co. Ltd. China
iPhones are made in China. There is a difference between electronics and computers designed and engineered in the U.S or Japan and set to be manufactured in China under the quality control of say Pioneer or Sony or Apple, compared to some unknown, copycat Chinese manufacturer. Clarion, which you mention for the Ex stereo system, is a Japanese electronics company with a major manufacturing plant in China under their quality control. I trust known Japanese companies like Clarion when it comes to electronics.
Maybe Chinese companies will get there some day on electronics quality, but they are not there yet by a long shot. Yeah, I'd consider a Chinese $60 Android tablet knockoff as a spare and just to surf the net on Wifi, but it would not be my primary tablet for business using the Microsoft Office suite and storing important files, and for something as important and as integrated on the Ex as the MFT, SYNC and climate control - no way I touch a Chinese knock-off.
Same reason I did not get a Chinese knock-off head unit for my Saab even though it does not have SYNC or climate control integrated. I got a Pioneer AVH-P4200DVD and it does everything and more than the MFT does for touch screen/music/videos/nav/Bluetooth/USB/SD, etc. but it does not have voice commands like with SYNC, though I can use voice commands over Android and Bluetooth. I would have upgraded to a newer sports sedan by now due it having an aging head unit that only took CD's with no Bluetooth, but that 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero has every other modern feature you can get like ESP, self-leveling and corning bi-xenons, rain sensing wipers, rear heated seat, you name it - plus it is as fast as a comparable year Porsche 911 turbo 30-70 and handles great with the sport/Aero suspension so Pioneer allowed me to keep that car. A Chinese knock-off would not have cut it from what I read about reliability issues. Was never a consideration - and that was not as complex as integrating SYNC and climate control.
Same reason I won't pay $220 for a Chinese knock-off of a Saab direct ignition cassette for my Saab. On the Saab forums they have over a 75% fail rate within 6 months for those who have bought them and you are left stranded with a dead car. The OEM for $350 works and lasts for years.
Now, for the basic coolant bypass valve which is a plastic part, I've had a cheap Chinese knock-off in there for a few years with no prob.
No way I go Chinese make, design and build for something as complex as the MFT/SYNC/climate control.
If Pioneer or Alpine built that unit on their specs and quality control in China AND people on this forum had installed it and given it good reviews, that would be another story.
And instead of costing $569 like the Chinese knock-off, it would cost at least $1,400 (and probably a lot more) and there is a reason for that. Quality of engineering and parts and overall quality control.
Also note Pioneer, Alpine and others have not come out with there own MFT version. I have read they don't want to touch it because they don't feel they can provide the quality and compatibility they would seek given the challenges of the integrated SYNC and climate control.
