Summit 4x4

I'm totally disappointed – Our story starts in September 2023 and we are still battling now in February 2024. In good faith and after asking all the relevant questions, we decided to purchase the top-of-the-range unit with fast shipping for which we paid extra. On receipt of the unit, my husband who is an auto electrician with 25 years of experience fitted it. It seemed… Read more

good but when getting to the Canbus settings, the pictures in the book showing us which make/model to choose were not actually on the screen. After numerous back-and-forth messages, we finally got it set and the setting is not for our make or model which is red-light number 1. We also learnt at this point already that your messages will only be answered a few times and thereafter you get ignored. Sometimes for days. To cut this short, we had numerous issues of non-connection etc. and an update file was sent and we performed the update. That borked the entire thing and it was worse and so after supplying a photo of the version number of the software, a new unit was finally sent out on its way to us. By this time, we had already had enough - we only purchased this item to mitigate having to use maps on a cable and we felt that perhaps we should have just been happy with what we had originally. Finally, the new unit arrived and the edging was broken and the screws were missing. It was intimated that we had done that in the tone of the message that we had with Summit 4x4 but they promptly sent us another edging piece. Last weekend, we again took the factory unit out and installed the new unit. It's a bit better and has only not connected a couple of times HOWEVER, this is a huge issue - the glare on this unit renders it unusable - reversing out of my garage and having to turn on the driveway now sees me hanging out the window due to glare. In town, coming out of parking with oncoming traffic is terrible, again due to glare. It's an unacceptable level of glare and Summit 4x4 is telling me that there is something wrong with my vehicle - to use their words "We're also very confused about that which is why we believe it's an issue with your vehicle. Tint will significantly reduce glare." WHAT????? So here we are, about $1200 poorer with a sub-standard head unit in the ute. I have requested an invoice because it just dawned on me that because Summit 4x4 doesn't seem to have either an email address or a telephone number, I had forgotten that I'd never received one. I feel that a refund is due to us and I'm going to ask for one - not certain whether they will do this but I am disgruntled by this entire fiasco and my husband is not happy taking these units in and out and needs to be finalized.

And so, my honest opinion of the goods at Summit 4x4 is mixed - we had a terrible experience but this doesn't mean someone else will too. The lack of a telephone number/email address is a real red flag and you don't realise this until you need it. Doing all of your business on Facebook Messenger is not very professional and we also believe that the units are not held in stock in Australia because the fast post option still takes too long - it takes 4 days before the tracking number works.

I wouldn't recommend buying from them due to our experience - they are REFUSING to refund us and let us return the unit even though they state that the glare we have with the unit is our fault (or the fault of our vehicle's tint).

* Don't use aggressive language and don't post personal details. No, I didn't do that * Write a minimum of 10 words (597/10) * How easy was it to navigate the store and find what you wanted? JOKE - NO store. * How satisfied were you with the range & quality of products available? NOT HAPPY * If you bought any parts that required installation and were installed for you, how did you find the service? N/A * If you had to install any parts by yourself, did you find it easy? Was adequate support provided if you needed it? NOT REALLY, a bit of a cowboy attitude.

I DON'T believe that all the good reviews are written by real people - those like mine that are longer and more explanatory sure are.

Good unit, APPALLING business! – As raised by other customers, this business operates in a very shady way. The way they portray the business on Facebook and the website is that the units are their own and stock is based in Australia with 'live' stock levels shown on the web store. This is along with the statement that the unit was a direct fit, fully plug-and-play with all… Read more

required adapters provided.

It is for these reasons and to support an Aussie business that I ordered from them.

For the record, I’m a fully licensed electrician and an auto/marine electrician. It would be fair to say I’m experienced in installing electronics.

I wish I had realised earlier that this business has no street address, has unmonitored/unanswered email addresses, no phone number and only communicates via Facebook Messenger.

Their Terms and Conditions of sale, warranty, etc are clear breaches of the Australian Consumer Laws.

Here is the timeline of this disgusting experience:

17/01/2023: Ordered and paid $1167.23 for the new 8GB RAM octo core model for my 2015 Isuzu D-Max LS-T.

19/01/2023: Received an email from [Name Removed] on 19/01/2023, claiming staff issue causing shipping delays and that a free express shipping would be applied and a free reversing camera and OBD2 scanner would be included as compensation.

25/01/2023: Still no shipping notification, so I emailed and sent a Facebook message asking for an update.

26/01/2023: Received a Facebook message saying it would be sent next Monday due to today being a public holiday (Australia Day) and that I should receive it within 5 days. Australia Day was a Thursday too, so why Monday and not Friday?

31/01/2023: Still no tracking info. Chased up on Facebook again.

01/02/2023: No response on Facebook, so I emailed again.

02/02/2023: Got a Facebook reply around midday saying they were checking with the warehouse to find out what the delay is and would get back to me.

Chased again at the end of the day as I hadn’t heard back.

03/02/2023: Still no response, so I messaged again.

04/02/2023: Received a response with a DHL tracking number.

This is where it all started to become apparent and I started doing a deep dive into Summit 4x4.

With the DHL tracking, I could see the unit was being shipped from Hong Kong. Digging on the address it was coming from, I have worked out the unit is being dropped shipped directly from the manufacturer – Mekede.

They used the Australia Day public holiday as an excuse for not sending the unit sooner – funny…Hong Kong don’t observer the Australia Day holiday.

Thankfully, Mekede are actually a well-respected Android head unit manufacturer.

You can actually buy the units, with the make/model specific adapter cables and surround directly from Mekede’s AliExpress store most days for under $410 AUD with express shipping. It’s actually on sale today (06/03/2023) for $386.31AUD + $47.56AUD express shipping.

It also revealed that the reversing camera and OBD2 scanner are included free with all orders – they weren’t thrown in for free as compensation as claimed by Summit 4x4 – just more of their lies and was a sign of things to come.

Summit 4x4 is an Australian registered Pty Ltd and are registered for GST. The ABN is 95 652 518 815.

Some Google-Fu reveals individuals (although I suspect it is one person operating under multiple aliases) involved are [Name Removed] (can be seen selling the units through LDV FB groups), [Name Removed] and [Name Removed].

Closely watching their FB page, anyone who posts a comment about emails or messenger queries no being responded to; has their posts deleted.

I have since communicated with a number of customers experiencing the same treatment.

08/02/2023: The unit finally arrives. I immediately start the install, only to find out the require adapter cable for the main harness is incorrect.

I immediately message via FB along with photos. They did actually reply quickly saying it looked like the wrong cable had been shipped and that a ‘technician’ must have packed the wrong cable.

They had also directly shipped an adapter cable from somewhere in Australia for the factory reverse camera.

I asked for details on terminating this as it was not a ‘plug-in’ adapter.

They said they would check with their ‘logistics team’ on the adapters and get back to me later in the afternoon.

I received no further info.

I conducted my own research and found that for the supplied adapter cable was for standard Isuzu ISO, but the LS-T D-Max has a factory Clarion satnav head unit and has a different plug. Further research revealed an Aerpro AP9163 Clarion to Isuzu ISO adapter cable was required.

09/02/2023: Received a message asking for a photo of the sockets on the adapters in the kit and the plug in the vehicles harness. I re-sent the photo I had already provided.

I further advised that an Aerpro AP9163 adapter cable would resolved the issue.

They said they were going to check what adapters they had in their stock and would get back to me.

I reiterated the Aerpro AP9163 adapter cable is what was required.

No response.

11/02/2023: Still no response, so I chased up on FB Messenger again.

14/02/2023: Still no response, so I chase yet again.

They finally respond saying they are going to purchase the Aerpro adapter and directly ship it to me. I asked again for details on terminating the reverse camera adapter – again, no response.

15/02/2023: Still no response on terminating the reverse camera adapter. I chase again. I was about to just order the required adapter cable myself.

17/02/2023: It was Friday and I still had no response on terminating the reverse camera adapter and no tracking details on the Aerpro adapter for the main loom. I chase again.

Received a response saying they hadn’t received tracking info from the business they had purchased it from yet.

18/02/2023: 7:30am on Saturday morning I receive a call from Frankie’s Auto Electric in VIC saying they had received an order late the previous afternoon for an Aerpro adapter cable and wanted to confirm the shipping address.

This confirms multiple lies about ordering the adapter – they didn’t do it till I had chased them multiple times.

23/02/2023: I still didn’t have a tax invoice for the order and still had no details on terminating the reverse camera adapter. I chased again via email and messenger.

25/02/2023: Still no response and no main harness adapter. Chased again via messenger.

They responded late in the day telling me to seek professional advice on terminating the cabling and to look at the info on their website.

I had already looked and the general install details were vague and did not have specific details for the reverse camera adapter.

I managed to work it out myself anyway by going to Mekede’s AliExpress store and reading their more detailed info.

The info on Summit 4x4’s website has since been updated with the required details for terminating the reverse camera adapter. They further updated it to say the kits come with ‘most’ of the required adapters and that some vehicle may require the customer to source their own adapters. Kind of throws the whole ‘plug-and-play out-of-the-box’ marketing out the window.

27/05/2023: Still no tax invoice. Chased again.

28/02/2023: Invoice received. This is important – they sent and Invoice, not a Tax invoice. The invoice does not contain the work ‘Tax’ in the header and does not have the business’ ABN. It also states 10% GST has been charged.

Make you wonder if they're actually paying the GST to the government?

A business registered for GST MUST provide a TAX INVOICE, MUST state the amount of GST charged and the invoice MUST have the business ABN.

So, the unit itself is actually quite good and very responsive. Fitment was quick and easy once I had the correct adapter for the main harness.

There are a few quirks that I quickly became used to and I’m very happy with it. Every make and model of head unit has its own interface quirks.

It took over 3 weeks to receive it and I adamantly believe I only got it that quickly due to repeatedly chasing them.

From time of order to having a working unit was just shy of 6 weeks.

They lure buyers with a 1.5% discount to not use a payment service as this makes getting a refund or doing a charge back much harder.

Bottom line, if you order from Summit 4x4, you will be paying around $800 for the privilege them simply placing a box drop order on your behalf. As an added bonus, you get to be ignored, suffer significant delays, receive no real technical support and cop appalling customer service.

Shonks like these simply shouldn't be supported or tolerated.

Do yourself a favour and just order directly from Mekede’s AliExpress store. You’ll get the unit faster, save around $800 and will receive significantly better customer service and support.

I mean seriously, for $600, you could buy one with the surround and adapters and buy one unit on its own to keep as a spare and still be nearly $600 in front.

Don't waste your time or money on buying a summit4x4 head unit – This company doesn't have a phone number, or working email address. they only communicate on Facebook Messenger. you can not talk to anyone. I purchased a head unit for my Dads 2017 BT-50 for $1050. the pictures and description match his car exactly. it looks like the best option available on the internet and at a great price. ordered 1st Sept… Read more

2022. Head unit arrived in a box from Hong Kong on 14th Sept 2022. no instructions or wiring diagrams. The fascia was scratched in multiple locations. i reported it and they said install it for now and they would send a new one. they never did. the wiring harness in the box didn't suit the car. i believe it was from the previous model BT-50 made 5 or so years earlier, pins are totally different. They said they had a shipment of wiring harnesses on their way and they would send to me when it arrives. the TPMS (tire pressure monitoring) arrived separately - shipped from WA. I chased up the harness and damaged fascia a few times. told they are in the post. new harness arrived on 14th November (2.5 months after i had placed my order), but it didn't work. the head unit doesn't turn on. I have installed about 30 car radios and work in the IT/electrical industry, so I know what I am doing. The plug and play harness doesn't work and after much frustration they said send it back and they will test it and issue a refund. sending it back to WA was going to be expensive so i asked them to cover the cost. they said

"Hl, Please return to Summit 4x4 Hold for collection Duncraig shopping centre SHOP 7 50 MARRI ROAD DUNCRAIG WA 6023 Please send via standard service and send us the receipt. When confirmed to be faulty, we’ll also refund the cost of freight to you"

that made me wary, i looked up the address and found it's the post office. i called the post office and they told me yes a man comes in occasionally and collects items. So i clarified with summit4x4 that the combination of the head unit and wiring harness is what I'm claiming is faulty. they replied with " If you view our t’s and c’s, they clearly state that a professional installer must be used. The product listing also says that our units do not suit all males and models/variants, yours is possibly a different model." and sent me a pic of a note at the bottom of the item description saying "We recommend consulting a professional installer."

anyhow i sent it back at a cost of $50 to me and sent them the tracking details. no reply. it arrived which i told them it has. no reply. i followed up asking when they are going to pick it up. no reply. the faulty item has been sitting at the post office for 3 weeks. no response from summit. So I used another messenger account (my Dads) and contacted them asking about purchasing a new head unit. instant replies and very helpful guaranteeing compatibility with his car, and discussed stock availability, warranty etc. so i confirmed they are still in business but aren't interested in dealing with any returns.

i really wish it worked. the product looks so good. you've been warned - save yourself the frustration and headaches. your receipt comes from nick@summit4x4.com.au and the facebook site says Nick but they claim he left a long time ago. the domain name is registered to Nick Van Der Wel. the person who replies on facebook messenger denies being Nick but never mentions their name or anyone elses. i see a positive review here on product review from Nick .... coincidence?

anyhow to date - no refund. no communcation. my bank is investigating.

*** update. After posting on this site I was contacted on messenger a few days later by “the owner” and they apologised and refunded me in full. They tested the head unit and said it was working but didn’t have a way of testing the wiring harness which is what I believe was faulty.

Overall very happy. But shipping took longer than expected – The headunit is great and runs as expected. Well priced too My only complaint is that the shipping took just under 2 weeks. I did order over Christmas, but express post should only take 3 days maximum