??

 

In the past, it has tended to have been the Fall, like late October, early November.

 

And the OTHER question is when's the next sale? <g>

Tom

 

^
Around then, maybe a bit before.

 

I think I read somewhere all we have to do is change the disc and it should load up and work fine is this true?

 

Generally this is true. It kind of depends on what you are upgrading from and to. In the old days, upgrading from 4.1x and 4.3x to 4.6x and above was problematic. With 4.7x things got a lot better. In the past, depending on what you might have had, Alpine sent you a free flash upgrade so your hardware could deal with the new software. I have not heard of there being any issues with the latest v 4.8x.

 

I would assume I have the original nav version because I know I never changed and would like to update, I just don't want to run into extra headaches over a minor upgrade like so

 

How much do they run for when on sale?

 

i think around 125 or 150 thats just a guess though

 

What is your current version?

4.6x was as close to a major upgrade as you are going to get, although many had to wait until 4.7x to get the flash upgrades to the hardware. Anything since 4.6x has mostly been map and Zagat updates, which are detailed on the website. Current version is 4.81

If you like the male voice, you will lose it in 4.6x and above.

 

The site that sells the new discs recommends you wait until Oct. And I quote, "Important Notice: The New 2011 DVD Map Update will be available by the end of September. You may want to consider placing your order then so you will have the most up-to-date map for your vehicle."

http://www.navigation.com/is-bin/INT...gationMenu=YES

They are also quoting $185

 

but if i upgrade from my original 05 acura RL map which is most likely an 04 map to the next newest map which is next months release will i have any problems or do i just pop the disk in and it should work fine ? cause i have a lot of unfinished land on my map right now thanks!

 

Look at 4.81 release info on the acura navi website. It comprises two discs, one to update the hardware flash memory, and one for the navi itself. So your 04 to 2011 update should be fine, and you will get the benefits of previous feature updates from DST (if not already done by the dealer) to enhanced display info as described in the liner notes for previous versions 4.6x and below.

Of course you could always call their customer service and ask detailed questions...

Let us know what you find out.

 

Yes Chas is correct.

I bought my '05 RL last year with the original 4.13A nav disc. I bought the 4.81 disc and it came with two discs. One for upgrading the firmware of my nav system and the other is the normal map disc that stays in the dvd unit in the trunk.

First you turn car on and keep it on. You insert the firmware update disc (which updates your daylight savings time, removes male voice, updates other little things and fixes bugs), and immediatley the nav screen displays something like "updating" with a percentage bar. This takes the longest to run. It took a good 30 minutes to update. When finished the nav will display that the update was successfully completed and to remove the disc from the dvd unit. You then insert the 4.81 map disc. Again the nav display will come on saying "updating map database". This takes 5 - 10 minutes. Once finished your regular map of your location will show up and you will notice that you have more POIs showing up and more roads.

I also did notice that my nav system moved a bit faster. It did not lag as much and it calculated routes much faster than before.

 

I agree. This is an unstated benefit. I believed it to be quite a bit faster with 4.6x upgrade, which you will get with a new upgrade. It also fixes some annoying issues, such as I had with the I-66 which is car only, no trucks, and entirely HOV only for certain time periods of the work day, in reversing directions.

 

so when i buy the next upgrade it will come two disc one to upgrade and a new map disc?

 

When you say turn the car on , do you mean engine running?
I'm guessing if it takes 30-40 minutes to update, that might drain the battery without the engine running.

 

I did the 4.81 upgrade on my 05 as well.
Did not have engine running, but I do not think it took 30 minutes. Seems like about 15.
The other thing that changed is that NavTraffic displays faster when you first start up. Previously, the traffic flow appeared all at once after about 5 minutes. Now, it starts appearing on a per segment basis. That is, flow appears on certain roads fairly quickly, then map gradually fills in the remaining flow areas. Probably still takes about 5 minutes to fully complete, but at least some areas are filled in prior to that.
In terms of performance, the Search function on mine sometimes gets "hung up" when I select List as in List Restaurants with keyword near city vicinity. It can take a couple minutes to sort itself out and display the list.

 

ok...who in New York wants to go in for a group buy.

From what I gathered copying my own disk, I am able to let someone else use a copy as long as the original is used for the first time install.

Maintenance is then done by a copy...drive as long as you like.

This is true for the 4.7x version.

 

Sorry to jump in this topic but a friend of mine gave me the disc 4.81 couple months ago but he never gave me the firmware disc which I didn't know I needed one. Does someone in metropolitan dc area has one that I can get a copy and pay for your trouble. I work in Bethesda, MD area.

 

If your friend does not have a firmware upgrade disk, it may not be his "fault".

Older posts seemed to indicate that Alpine sent you the firmware upgrade disk depending on what system you were upgrading from. For example, you got the upgrade disk if you were coming from an older system, say 4.1x to 4.5x. If you already had a newer disk, then your firmware has already been updated, and you would not need the extra disk. These details are asked for when you order new disks.

 

Okay, but how can you tell if my firmware has been updated. Don't have car with me but I can check when I get home.

 

Good question. I can see if I can find a firmware version number on mine, which uses 4.71, but in general, you can tell if your firmware has been updated based on the version you are running now. So if you have 4.3x which came in a 2006, it is a good bet that 4.81 will not work.

IIRC, the 4.81 disk will try to load and fail, and you will have no Navi until you reload the last original (not a copy of) disk that worked. I don't remember if there was a menu sequence or not, but I am sure you can search this site and find out the answers

 

Zelaya,

What year is your RL and what Navi disc version do you currently have loaded in the trunk?

If you have an '05 and still running the original 4.13 disc, then you MUST perform a firmware upgrade in order to use 4.81.

I am not quite sure about any newer disc versions though.

 

we have the 4.31C in our 2006 RL. It is white and the site indicates the new DVD will replace any white DVD. Is a group buy out there on this or is $185 the price? Anyone know?

 

No their is no group buy that I am aware of. However, every year from March to June, the disc's get discounted to $149. Other than that, I would look on ebay to try to find it cheaper.

 

does Acura CPO update the navigation map?

 

No, updates are the responsibility of the owner. The best bet is to get the dealer to give you an update when you buy the CPO car.