overkast

For those of you who have a NAV and actually use it, how much is the monthly or yearly fee for this service? I understand that you can still use the NAV for other operations, such as the climate control and stereo system...but what about the GPS factor? What service do you subsribe to get directions and maps on the NAV...and how much is the cost?

-Spencer

wishiwere

There is no recurring fee for the nav - just that initial $2000 one. The only thing that would cost you extra in the future would be if you want to buy a newer version of the dvd to get more updated maps.

Lung Fu Mo Shi

I do not have a NAV. However, there is no service fee to use it. The maps and info are stored on a DVD that is placed in a player in the trunk. The GPS is built into the car and acts like any other GPS...free.

So if you never want to update your stuff, it's free to use after your initial purchase.

Honda/Acura will be offering updates to the DVD for about $180 (based on past cars). However, unless you absolutely NEED this new info, more than likely you can hold off and purchase a new updated DVD every 3-4 years.

Also, there if you look closely at the trunk mounted DVD player, you'll see a little CompactFlash slot. As of yet, there is no known use for this, but something should be coming up. The general consensus is upgrades to the software, etc.

Anyway, bottom line is, once you've bought the car with NAV, it's yours to use with no extra fees.

darth62

That looks like a PCMIA slot to me, not CF. But, I could be wrong.

darth62

Its actually $9.95 a month. Make the check payable to DARTH62. I also accept paypal, credit cards, and verbal abuse.

kurt_bradley

Darth is funny, but to confirm your inquiry from someone that works at a dealer...there is no charge for it. You just pay the $2000 difference in MSRP. That's it. Not that anyone else up there was incorrect. I just wanted to give extra support from the direct source.

darth62

Thanks a lot, Kurt. You just cost me $9.95 a month!

darth62

BTW, one of my friends who owns a CL claimed that Honda was pretty bad about actually issuing the updates. He said he'd had the car for a few years, and that no updates were available during that period. I can't say whether that is true or not.

kurt_bradley

As for your friend's comment about the updates on the CL's nav, there was an update released at the time when the 2003 model was introduced (Spring 2002). Tell your friend to go to www.acura.com and update their information in the "Owner Link." From there, they will recieve emails to give them any information about their car and a little extra stuff here and there about news in the world of Acura. Yeah, I know, it's funny that they send you news emails too. I'd like them to just keep it simple, but some people never go looking around at what a company offers that often.

overkast

Thanks you guys for the information...great to know!

So, does the NAV pull any information or use the GPS feature at all in locating or pin-pointing your position for directions, or does it rely solely on the information provided on the DVD?

Also, I'm aware that the NAV integrates other features of the TSX into it, such as the Climate Control system and Stereo. How prone is the NAV to reliablity and dependabilty? What if the screen died on you one day...what do you do about controlling your air system or listening to the radio? It must be quite expensive to fix or have repaired. What is the anticpated duration or life of the NAV?

BTW, sorry Darth62...I wouldn't have paid you for the $9.95 a month ...nice try though.

-Spencer

darth62

The Nav system does get your location from the satellites. It is actually pretty neat. The system locates you on the map and continually updates itself as you move. So, the directions it gives are based on you current location.

You also get the time downloaded from the satellite so the clock in your car is acurate to within a few seconds.

I can't say about the reliablity, but it is a Honda product afterall. I'm sure it will hold up OK. There weren't many reliablity issues with the ealier systems in Acura vehicles.

You can control aspects of the radio and HVAC without the system btw. Most of the climate control (except fan speed) and stereo controls are redundant in the car.

Trust me, you'll love the NAV. It is sooooo useful. Once you've had it, you'll never want to do without it.

BTW, I'm willing to settle for $7.95.

overkast

Thanks Darth62!

You're such a character!! How about FREE?

siliobear

Does anyone know how current the info is? I tried looking up stuff like In 'N Out Burgers and the closest one was in Las Vegas (not that I wouldn't mind the drive).

Y2K4 TSX

In-N-Out is a weird one for some reason. You need to do a search for "IN-N" (just like that, minus the quotes) and then you should get 3 responses (if my memory serves me right). One of the 3 has the majority of the listings.

I know I was able to find all the local In-N-Out's by me by picking the "right" one.

And for those of you that have never had the *privilege* of eating an In-N-Out hamburger, you're missing out!

darth62

I've had similar issues with fast food chains, Silobear. But, I think the data for LA is actually pretty accurate.

darth62

Deal!

Feel free to post anymore questions you have. Its a big purchase, and we're all happy to share what we know.

mcourt83

> You also get the time downloaded from the satellite so
> the clock in your car is acurate to within a few seconds.

Is this true? I seem to remember setting the time in my car.

Mike

soopa

GPS is free universally. Satellites are beaming free radiation at you right now.

fdl

Exactly. I think he is a bit confused as to how GPS works.

kurt_bradley

The time is set at the dealer, and you can override it to reset it at any time. No, it isn't sent to you by a satellite. The only thing that the satellite is for is locating you in relation to the map through the use of a gyro-sensor that is in the nav unit in the trunk.

Alin10123

Actually, i actually have a friend who's an expert on navigational tools. The GPS satellites above MUST keep an accurate count of the time or else the measurements and accuracy would all be off. This all goes way back to the time of the explorer "Magellan". (I can't believe i'm giving a history lesson here). The explorers had the longitude part of navigation down with no problem. But the problem was latitude. The only way to properly measure latitude was to accurately maintain time. This was also the time period when people started to perfect time keeping instruments. So to settle the dispute on this thread, the GPS satellites WILL beam down the time to the GPS because they have to but it won't be the same time displayed for the driver and passengers to see.

Green_RENAMED

I wish Acura's NAVI system could give us these things for additional $2K:

1) construction/traffic jam/detour information
2) detection of my car location by GPS in case it is stolen

I heard from my Japanese friends that the standard Honda Navi system in Japan do these

Stevestr

If this is true then how does the car automatically know and compensate for time zone adjustments.

The shop guide seems to suggest that the time in the car is automatically changed per time zone.

When I get around to it I suppose Ill cite the reference.

The time may be initially set by the dealer when the car is delivered because whn the navi system first starts out it has to be acclimated to the area it is in. Manually setting the time would speed that up.

Upd: In the service manual the only reference that comes close is on p. 22-372 where it mentions "Display Time" - time shown on setup screen - reflects any changes due to daylight savings time or tim ajustments entered by customer. So the Navi is somehow related to this but I will search for a better reference.

darth62

Yeah, I had the same issue. the clock definitely resets itself when you cross time zones. However, it is possible that the car does not download the time, but only figures out whether it has to forward the time back or forth an hour.

pcsvic

Ok. Right now, someone run outside, disconnect the battery on your TSX, wait 30 seconds or so, reconnect the battery, jump in and tell us what time you get. :P

Hurry now because I'm sitting here in front of my screen waiting for a resolution to this issue!

Alin10123

Green,
There is such a system that detects traffic up ahead and sends a detour. It's called the "Auto-PC" and it's made by Clarion.
It is Navigation and traffic detection in one. and it will tell you on your nav screen where all the traffic is and you can select "detour" and it will take you on a route that has less traffic.

GeorgeTSX

Well there is a resturant in the database for Columbus, OH that has been closed for over 2 years. If the place has been around for a few years I bet it is in there though.

GeorgeTSX

Kurt, that is simply not true. GPS does indeed provide time along with positioning data.

On page 153 of the TSX manual, far right column under "Digital Clock"...

"...The Navigation System receives signals from the Global Positioning System (GPS), and the displayed time is updated automatically by the GPS."

Also on page 108 of the Nav manual talks about AUTO daylight savings and time zone settings.

So in other words, as far as NAV users are concerned the time is received from GPS.

Here is a webpage that talks about time and GPS...

http://www.galleon.eu.com/GPS-Time.htm

idx

It looks like the cutoff date for the DB is 09/30/2002 (setup screen page 4, SW version info), although there are some entries that are way off. eg: A hospital that was closed over 10years ago is still listed, etc.. etc..

-r