2004 Acura TL navigation error
 

Brother-in-law has a 2004 Acura TL with nav, purchased new. He also has the original nav disk that came with the car.

A few days ago, the system starting acting up. When it boots up, it says "please wait downloading software" ... once done, it goes to a different screen, "please do not shut off engine" with a progress bar .... sometimes it comes up with a keypad asking for a security code, sometimes it won't. Despite typing it in, the system won't always take the security code.

Once it does take, it will show the boot up screen, then it will goto the conditions where the OK dialogue box should be, but occasionally, there is no OK dialogue box. Other times, it will display the screen properly and after hitting OK, the system will work as intended.

Called the dealer, they suggested pulling the negative battery cable for about 10 minutes, did that, no difference. I thought about having him eject/reinsert the disk, but decided to come here first.

I did a search on the forum and saw where a new unit was something like $3400 ... ouch, can't afford that. Before paying that kind of $$$$, he said might cut out a picture from the atlas and paste it over the screen, but I thought I would check here first.

Appreciate any trouble-shooting help from the forum ... thanks.

The navigation dvd drive is loosing power causing it to reset. It shouldn't be redownloading software every time it's started. Your should first try checking the connectors at the back of the dvd drive and see if they are seated in firmly. If they are, the drive is defective, and for around 200 dollars Alpine, the manufacturer, will fix anything and everything wrong with the drive and send it back to you.

Thank you very much! $200 seems much more reasonable .... again, thanks!

I have read several threads about the DVD Nav's constantly rebooting.

Is the cause most likely a needed repair of the DVD drive itself?

How often does the front console need to be replaced?

Also- how often would this be caused by a "bad" dvd? (Even if there are no visible scratches on it).

If it's a bad DVD, the navi system will tell you that you have a disc error. You've got a hardware problem.

Tim Smith Acura in Ft. Walton Beach, FL charged me $450 to swap out the drive with a refurb. I see that was way too high. I wouldn't recommend that dealership to anyone, but they are the only one in the area, unfortunately.

At least you shouldn't have to worry about swapping out the head unit.

Based on what I have been reading here, it seems like it's the DVD drive.

I just posted this in Prob & Fixes:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-problems-fixes-114/navigation-problem-keeps-rebooting-any-electronics-expert-help-appreciated-798004/

I had this problem while back and sent it to apline with doubts turn around time was about a month but totally worth it cus not only navi issue was fixed but this problem i had with center speaker on the dash was fixed too! Btw i did try that cheap disc cleaner method but didnt work for me :(

Alpine said it'll take 5-7 days. I really hope it does not take a month...

Wow, My 2005 just started acting up yesterday morning. Took forever to boot up then it was fine.

Now today it didn't boot up at all but I got the " Green progress bar" and it also displayed, "don't turn the engine off":annoyed: Off to Alpine

Thx for the info

Not to hijack thread but my '04 Nav. is having some problems lately also. I was wondering if you guys could tell me what could possibly be wrong and if it needs to be sent off to Alpine.

1. It will randomly just reboot to the Acura home screen and just sit there. Most of the time it wont let me hit "OK" because its frozen. It will reset a few times more then usually come back on in 5-10 mins. No tellin' when its going to happen though!


2. Today I got in and my nav was SUPER dark. I could barely see the screen so I went to setup and put it on "DAY" and it was still extremely dark. I mean like I could barely make out what was on the screen. About 2-3 minutes later it became its normal brightness but it seems to be dim at first and then gets brighter....not as bad as what just happened today though!




- Also, if you guys hit your button next to the speedo gauge to make lights brighter when its sunny outside...does it take awhile for your nav. screen to kick in that you just hit max brightness? Mine takes like 5-8 seconds. Just wondering

See Greengeko's post #10 above. I did exactly as he did last spring. No problems since! With shipping both ways, it took a little over 3 weeks. Good Luck.

Sorry Post #4.

I just called Alpine in reference to the same issue and they said it is $358 to get it fixed!! I mentioned that it was $158 online. The guy said that must have been a couple years ago and some old posts because its $358 now.

Anyone else getting different numbers?!

$358 is the right number. There are a few threads that discuss the rising price. Not a bad time to do a "tablet integration"

So the price on fixing a navigation went from $158 to $358, that's a $200 increase is it worth it? My navigation is saying please check disk I bought a new disk & same issue, sometimes it goes through but no ok button comes up, so I can't pull up the navigation screen, is Alpine my only option?

Yep -- I just verified it. I called Alpine OEM repair and they said three factors led to the price increase: 1) the 2011 tsunami wiping out a ton of production infrastructure in Japan; 2) flooding doing the same in Thailand sometime later; and 3) they had not raised their price for repairs in 13 years. So, like others have said, the flat rate is now $358. With a price like that, might as well get custom sound and nav equipment -- OEM fitment be damned.

Actually I wish I had done more research on this forum before I sent mine in. Seems the common problem is a dirty eye in the unit. There is a guy on here that cleaned it with a q tip and solved his problem. Search for that and try it before you send the unit off. If I find the thread I'll post it in here.

the problem i have with mine is it likes to reboot a few times in the morning. any where from turns on instantly, to takes 20 reboots then works like nothing ever happend.

other issues include: super laggy for the first few minutes, and random "disk reading error" when driving at random points.

another thing to mention is i have a burned dvd disk. if itw as the disk i feel like it would not ever work but 1) it works on the car (sometimes flawlessly), and 2, it works on my friends car and he has never had a problem with the burned disk (i burned it for him).


any advice? im thinking im going to start by cleaning the eye. i have a hunch that is the problem. ill get back if anyone is intrested.

^sounds like the dvd drive is going.

thats what i was thinking, im going to take it apart and see if i can reseaon it at all. if not, can i use any dvd drive? or are there navi/acura specific drives?

took it apart, cleaned it up, no change. this was just hoping the lens was skipping and restarting, but it doesnt seem to be the case.

would the next step be to replace that drive?

Dealership who'll charge you couple hundred bucks to send it to alpine to have it refurbished. You can also consider replacing the navi with a tablet. Lot of DIY work though.

I've had my 2004 TL for seven years now. I put in a custom system while keeping the head unit cause I didn't want to disrupt the built-in voice controls and nav system. I've had the "brain" in the trunk repaired three times and it's on the fritz again. Now that the repair is at $358 I'm going to take the plunge and just replace the head unit, proper fit be damned. I never got the sound I wanted out of the system anyway, and the nav graphics are outdated now. Any suggestions on what to do with the nav screen?

^junk it.

retrofit a 7 inch tablet into its place.
the Nexus 7 fits perfectly.

the Nexus 7 will replace the factory screen and nav because tablets have GPS and storage space for movies, music, and pictures.

My Navi System in 2004 MDX just started acting up. I've had to reboot a couple times already. Something I noticed that has not been mentioned in this post is the voice command for directions is all static. I'm thinking the driver is going out too!