superkrups20056

If so, is there some sort of hack that can negate this annoying feature? On my 2008 MDX, the navigation system can be used at any point.

db22

No.

NBP04TL4ME

No - I do not believe any of the navigation systems in the Acura line up need the vehicle to be stopped. Now I say this without having been in many of the newer gen / models.

We owned a Lexus and the vehicle needed to be stopped, but I also found a hack on one of the Lexus boards.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

the new 2013 RDX and ILX models have the lock out. i heard the newer model acura's will have the same annoying feature of navi lockout while car is in motion. something about the govt and distracted driving...

not sure if anyone has come up with a hack for it though since the '13's have been out for only a few to 6 mos at this point. i'm sure with time someone will come up with one.

kimdx

When comparing the 2012 vs 2013 when I was shopping one of the things I saw mentioned several times was the navigation system. Supposedly it's locked down when driving in the 2013.

ninjamyst

this is one of the main reason why we went with the 2012 MDX instead of Lexus RX or Cadillac SRX....

Rocket_man

The new gen navigation systems are 'locked down' while the vehicle is in motion. This is also true of the Accord navigation as well as the ILX, RDX, and I'm sure the new MDX, TLX, RLX etc. But there are still some voice commands that are active, but I don't know which ones. Lexus has been doing this for several years and there are a number of hacks to get around it, but some of them are pretty invasive and expensive. I hope someone comes up with one for Honda navs soon. I read on another forum that somene with a new CR-V tried to disconnect the speed signal going in the back of the unit but that did nothing. If Honda has written this in software it may not be hackable with the same type of hacks out there for Lexus and Infiniti.

docboy

Not cool, renders the nav useless IMHO. What's the point of paying for a built in nav then?

ls973800

It depends on the way the system is set up. On a previous Traverse we owned, the easiest and cheapest way to defeat the locked out navigation while in motion was to install a switch on the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) wire. I did so within the first month of owning it, and had no problems at all for the two years we owned it.

The switch was less than $5.00 at Radio Shack and installed in under 15 minutes. When the switch was off, the nav unit remained fully locked while in motion. Flipping the switch stopped the VSS from being read by the nav unit and it thought it was standing still in park.

You could then input addresses, searches, etc into the unit while driving. For the first few minutes, the nav unit would not update and show the current position while moving. However, within a few minutes, the GPS or some other device corrected the nav and current position would resume, even with the VSS signal being blocked.

I don't know what would happen if you left the switch in the on position all the time or after a restart of the vehicle. I would input what I wanted while the switch was on, and then flip the switch back to off to allow the signal to once again return to the nav and lock out the unit while moving.

This work around with the VSS only allowed the nav to be used while driving. Our factory nav unit was also a DVD player, but no movies could be shown on the front screen while driving even with the switch on.

Perhaps the person who tried disconnecting the wire on the Honda was trying to see if that system was similar to the GM's. I don't know if they installed a switch, or just disconnected the wire.

Rocket_man

As far as i can remember they did not install a switch. It was just an experiment to see if it worked. Which unfortunately it did not.

melty8888

I was worried about the new MDX having a locked navi, but I can confirm that this is false. I just purchased a 2013 MDX Advanced package. The navigation system is unlocked, I can search for POIs, enter new destination addresses, and pan/zoom the map screen while driving. Before buying, I also test-drove a 2013 MDX Tech and it was also unlocked, I drove it around the parking lot and had the salesman enter a new POI. So unless this particular batch of 2013's is somehow different in my area (california), all of them should be unlocked. Of course, based on what has shown up in the 2013 RDX and ILX, it seems likely that the all-new 2014 MDX will have a locked navi.

Rocket_man

The assumption, maybe wrong, was that the OP was asking about the 'new' model MDX for 2014. You are right that the current navs do allow for update while in motion not jsut for the MDX but TL and TSX. The next gen nav in the 2014 MDX will very likely follow the trend of other new Honda navs in new gen cars like the '13 RDX, '13 ILX, and '13 Accord, CR-V. They all incorporate the lockout.

'04 Acura MDX

Seems to me there should be a way to override this "safety" feature on all GPS systems IF there is a passenger in the car who would be operating the system. If the passenger airbag switch can activate based on an occupied seat, the GPS should also work this way. I can understand the distraction though, but but we also have a Prius and it's so annoying that we can't use the GPS unless the car is stopped, except for the "previous destinations"

NBP04TL4ME

I don't think you are going to get any arguments from anyone on Azine.........

bboyencore

no lockout out on my 2012 advance/entertainment MDX.