I'm in LA and on my nav system the 10 freeway from the 405 to the 110 is blank. the rest of the traffic data shows up fine.. The unit was showing the info untill about a month ago.. I took it to the dealer and they said that that info wasn't showing up on another nav unit ( that was a help.. )

Any ideas
RL 2006

 

I see questions/comments like this a lot and I just don't get them. Does anyone believe that Acura or XM have sensor arrays built into the highways? When data's missing 99% of the time it's because you state higway DOT isn't providing the data to the multitude of downstream private businesses who just repackage it.

It's because real time traffic companies rely on local departments of transportation that XM/Acura have little control over which markets have available traffic info -- if they did do you think that Minnesota would have gotten it before Texas?

When I see an outage on my system it's always the state doing road construction and "unplugging" the feeds for a stretch of road.

 

Well i'm getting the traffic data on my computer, cell phone and pda. So the data is there and it's current... So i don't think that the lack of data is the problem..just a problem with Acura..

 

Yea, I am still on my trial period until Aug 1. So far I'm not impressed. The information is often out of date. Also, there are a couple locations where there's been an accident reported for a month now -- continuously. Obviously that's not right. Plus, Orlando doesn't have any flow data yet. I'm probably going to cancel that portion of the service unless they give me a substantial discount of this $3.99 number

 

Our traffic reporting in Tampa is pretty efficient. As a result the NavTraffic really shines on my RL.

But the number of areas where traffic reporting is as efficient is slim, making this feature not so universally appealing. I can understand many RL owners not wanting to pay for this service.

But as mentioned above, data not reachiing the RL is not necessarily a fault with the RL or AcuraLink. The data is sourced to AcuraLink from XM's NavTraffic. It could be that NavTraffic is not getting the data upstream, or it recieves it and XM is not appropriately transmitting to our RLs via AcuraLink. Just because it shows up online or another GPS provider, does not necessarily mean the data makes the same pathway to our RLs. Different providers, equiptment and pathways from the source data.

Now trying to prove where in the stream the disconnect is, is a job for someone internal to the architecture of these systems. Being they are partners, and not one entity, I have no idea who that could be. I do know, likley no consumer will be able to trace the disconnect and prove who is producing the gap in service and should take responibility for it.

Assuming your RL's equiptment is not in failure, my 1st contact would be to XM. They may or may not have service interruption information they are willing to share. Unlike cell companies which often report system issues and coverage impacts, I doubt XM, and specifically NavTraffic are that mature in operations and customer service to offer that information.

Bottom line, it is a yahoo feature for marketing. But since my location actually demonstrates very good capability of this feature, I for one can say it is beneficial to me. I already renewed my XM subsciption and NavTraffic ahead of my trial year expiration. I would not expect all RL owners to agree based on thier experience in thier markets.

 

On the other hwys in LA the traffic info is right on the money!!!

but, it figures that the hyw we travel the most is NG..

But i will call XM to see it they have any info

 

Why does my navigation system not display all of the traffic data as shown available on the market coverage maps?

To display the XM NavTraffic service, a navigation system requires a map database from NAVTEQ or TeleAtlas/GDT. Specific coding relating to the display of the traffic data is contained in the map database and is updated with the release of new map database updates. Therefore, if your map database is out of date, you may not be able to see all of the available traffic data available as part of the XM NavTraffic service. Contact your car dealer for information on map database upgrades or for aftermarket systems, contact NAVTEQ or TeleAtlas/GDT directly.

I've seen a update DVD for the nav system on the acura websight so i'll check it out and get back to the post....

 

I have noticed the same lack of traffic information for I 10 between the 405 and downtown L A even though all of the other L A freeways show up fine.

Does anyone know who to check with to see what the 'data' problem is and when it is expected to be fixed?

This portion of the L A freeways has been without real time traffic for several months. Since I only drive that route sporatically, I have not tried to follow up but am happy to if someone can point me the correct direction.

 

I got the latest NAV dvd update to see if that solves the problem...And it didn't, so back to xm for more info...

 

A lot of this traffic data is supplied by way of traffic cameras. Wonder if the traffic cams are down on that stretch of highway? If so, the people who upload it to XM might be unable to report on that particular stretch of road.

And as for other traffic info sources (computer, PDA, etc.) - unless they use XMTraffic, it's irrelevant that they still show traffic info.

.
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When I drove the car from the dealer the trafic flow data was working fine but ever since I had XM cancel the service on my TL and add the RL to my account I 'm not able to see any of the traffic flow data. I can view incidents but not traffic speeds which I could see a week ago before the account change. I have called XM at least 20 times. Their answer to everything is to refresh the signal which hasn't solved anything. I have even tried disconecting my battery and having them refresh the signal with no luck. Could it be that maybe only the traffic flow part of the NAVTEQ network is down in my area?

 

I am experiencing the same thing, and I am in the Seattle area. My traffic speeds stopped working last Friday or Thursday I think. It's still not working, and I can still see incidents. I believe the speed sensors are down in the Puget Sound area, but that is just a guess.

 

I think that you are all fogetting the real uses for NavTraffic: 1- a high profit item for XM and the other parties involved, 2 - it makes the screen substantially more pretty with all of those different colors.
Your RL will long since be retired by the time this system is of any use whatsoever.

 

I realize I am the sole defender of NavTraffic here. I realize that it is exclusive to my market area. I agree, in most areas where NavTraffic is not well integrated it is likely not worth the fee.

But I find it very useful, valuable and more than pretty colors.

If it does not work for you, don't pay for it. But no need to bash those of us who DO have good use of it. Such generalizations and derrogatory comments do no good except to inflate your self image.

What is no use to you whatsoever may not be devalued by others.

 

I agree with both you. DB22 is correct. The product is marginally useful for most cities and totally useless for some cities. At this point it falls mostly into the gee wiz category, especially since this info can be delivered to your cell phone, blackberry, etc. for free, and, the nav system can't use the data to calculate alternate routes for you (like other systems can).

However, I think TampaRL is also very correct. It seems to be very functional in the Tampa area. Probably also useful in other cities. The concept is great. Just depends how well it is implemented. You can't make a blanket statement about this feature. Everyone should try it out during the trial period and see how well it works in your area. This seems to vary greatly from city to city.

For me (here in Orlando); It's pretty useless. I wouldn't even pay $1/month for it.

 

It doesn't work for me except to make the screen pretty so I do pay for it.
My self image was not in question or discussed, nor was my comment a generalization or derrogatory. I live in LA, where cars seem to be of abundance as are the freeways, and the NavTraffic is as good as useless. This is not the only forum that has slayed the usefullness of NavTraffic. If it works in Tampa then they have mastered one city but the system in LA, which has the most cars, is a good as the pretty screen.
If you think that my opinion is directed at you personally then that will be twice that you are mistaken.

 

NAV traffic can be useful in Southern California. I drove from San Diego to Las Vegas (and back), and NAV Traffic alerted me to an accident on the drive home.

Unfortunately, there was no alternate route available so I was stuck (for about an hour). Had there been one, I'd have taken it and been grateful for knowing. It even showed the accident had been cleared though traffic remained stalled (so it stayed pretty current).

Rob144

 

I can hardly believe it but I now have traffic flow data again. No thanks to XM or my dealership. On another message board I found information on how to access the diagnostic screen and that led me to a solution. This is what worked for me:

1.) Press the CANCEL, MAP/GUIDE and MENU buttons simultaneously.

2.) This will display the diagnostic menu on your nav screen

3.) Select XM/HIP, select XM (HIP) ECU, select Data Reset and confirm yes.

After I completed this I was able to see all the traffic flow data again. I think this resets your AcuraLink connection. I got a new thank you message like when I first purchased the car two weeks ago. I'm not sure if something got screwed up when I tried to setup AcuraLink with my Bluetooth Phone and perform the test connection to the Acura Server or if it was just out of sync from when XM switched my subscription over from the other car. Why couldn’t someone at XM or the Acura service department tell me to try this? I went out to my car at lunch and it took all of 5 minutes. I hope this works for some of the rest of you.

 

Did resetting erase all of your XM channel presets?

 

No, I think the only thing it reset was the AcuraLink. My XM worked immediately and all of my station presets were there. My Handsfree Link/Bluetooth setings were still in tact as well. I think it reset my AcuraLink messages but that is no big deal. The traffic flow data for Seattle showed up immediately. Is yours still not working? I saw a posting that said the traffic flow data in the Seattle area was out so I was half wondering if maybe this was a coincidence and it came back up around the same time I performed the reset.

 

The traffic flow data finally appeared yesterday. I didn't do anything though. I think they were trying to fix the traffic flow sensors because I notice that there are more data on 405 as some of the regions were missing in the past.

 

There may be some truth to the nav DVD being the issue (at least in some cases). Here in the Philadelphia area, flow info for Route 202 Northbound disappeared with my '05 RL (but oddly only when blue/green - yellow and red flows did still appear). I've been driving a loaner '07 MDX for the past few weeks with the latest DVD, and it always showed traffic flow for both directions of the highway.

 

Well out of the blue the traffic on I10 between the 405 and the 15 is back!!! just showed up one day ...