I signed up for XM traffic on my 2006 RL and I don't get any traffic information. XM suggests bringing the car to the dealer, which seems silly since the XM radio works fine. Does XM require a certain version of the nav DVD to work? I think I have 4.63.

 

Where do you live?

Traffic info isn't available in all locations.

Under the icon options, is traffic enabled?

 

no special version required
after checking traffic icons enables, next thing to check is to look at the zoom level. If Navi does not show the range at the bottom where traffic flow is active, then you are not getting the traffic signal through XM

 

I live in the Seattle area, which should have traffic support according to their map. I see that the traffic option is available from the nav screen (i.e. it appears to have been activated, there is the traffic range indicator for zoom) but there is no data to go with it. Is there something special to do during the activation stage? I left the car on outside for about an hour but nothing changed.

 

yes - I think Seattle has flow info
Strange, there were times when traffic info was interrupted for me and the zoom range always went away at the same time. Traffic should appear within 5 minutes of startup
perhaps a Dealer trip is necessary

 

Make sure the car is started and in XM range for at least a couple of minutes. It takes about 1 minute for mine to show up. Make sure you are at a 1/2 or scale minimum so you can see traffic. I forget the range, maybe it is a 1/2 miles to about 20 miles. Anyway, once you are in the Traffic map scale, use the Voice Command, "Display Traffic"

You could also do that through the menus with the knob, but it is a lot cooler with the voice command.

Traffic is an icon, just as gas stations, hotels, ATMS, etc. and they can be turned off and on at command.

 

I've followed those steps, but still no actual traffic info. I think I'll just cancel since I'm sure the dealer will just blame XM.

 

I am sure they will ask you to reset the XM radio first.

Requires them to send a reset and for you to be in the car for about 15 mins to ensure that it happens.

Sometimes that fixes it.

 

They already tried that, and it didn't work. Oh well... I'm not sure the traffic was really worth the price anyways.

 

Chase it down, Fergy. I took on NavTraffic as a lark, since I got it free for a "sample period". It turns out to be very useful!

I typically drive with the Nav display set at "1/2", so I can see ahead on the road, "but with detail" and I can see indications of upcoming traffic snarls before I hit the slowing traffic. I pull back one notch on the resolution, take a look at how big the mess is and make route adjustments before my fellow drivers have even hit the slowdown.

I pay for the service, now.

If your Nav works, your XM works, you're not zoomed in too tight and you've personally done the radio reset (you don't need a dealer for that!) and told the car to "display traffic", the darn thing should work fine. By fine, I mean FINE!!

 

TOM,Tom gps or other brand for 150.00 and get traffic for a smaller fee than xm traffic. XM should be ashame to charge so much for traffic in this age of cell phones and gps with traffic.. i turned off my XM due to cost.

 

tom tom live services are $9.95 a month
plus, you have to buy the tom tom receiver - now you have 2 gps in one car
XM traffic is integrated directly into RL's Nav. Seems to me a reasonable price to pay
Cell-based traffic services require data service from wireless carrier, so the "free" traffic is on top of your $30 to $50/month data plan

 

I had to have XM reset the signal twice before the "red lines" (OK, sometimes green) along the LA freeways showed up. Don't give up. It's worth the price of admission.

 

sucks in some areas. and Tom,tom are only one of many gps units that have better prices and Traffic than XM. so do your home work.

 

not trying to be argumentative; do you use a Tom Tom?

 

Hahaha!! Well done! I like the Nav Traffic a lot in LA. It helps me decide whether to roll 405 or 210/15 to San Diego.

 

Ballinger - I use the traffic at the 2mi scale. Shows further ahead and gives me more options

 

And I believe each time you reset, you also have to turn the traffic icons on, or you will not get traffic displaying, even if you are getting the info.

 

Good luck with traffic info.

I spent ~8 hours in two cars (2006 Acura RL and 2009 Nissan GT-R) with the morons at XM. Either it was a down transmitter (which will cause a "no flow" situation, but will indicate construction/incidents) or some other issue each time.

I recently gave up and cancelled XM on my three cars after they somehow "terminated" 10 months of pre-paid service.

F..k XM.

 

a tom.tom. No but if you look at the many treads of problems with XM traffic you would see a pattern of problems with XM traffic. i am a owner of a 05 Rl (25miles at birth) have now 131,000miles on this wonderful machine. but my Xm traffic never showed (real time) traffic incidents. i went back to the dealer many times but it was not the car but XM issues. If XM employee are reading this please let XM know about the issues people are expressing. it is worth it if it works!

 

Just picked up an 05 RL a week ago and love it.

I have the trail 90 day XM with Nav and I can see the traffic when I scroll out, is there anyway to have it auto re-route to the quickest path or show me different paths and calculated time with traffic? I have version 4.64 i think, not sure if this version can do it, if not does the newest DVD version allow for it.
TIA

 

The calculated time for your route takes into account the traffic flow data.
It does not automatically reroute, but you can slect specific roads/highways to avoid once you see a traffic problem.

 

It turns out I use the "1 mile" scale, rather than 1/2. It just says 1/2 when I toggle it back and forth... to get more detail. I use 2mile on longer highways.

 

A couple points of to clarify. When you plot a route with the NAVI you can select from various route alternatives, ie. highways, no highway, fastest, no tolls etc. You select which route you prefer when you engage the plotted route (OK). You can see the options by selecting the VIEW ROUTES once the NAVI has finished "CALCULATING ROUTES".

Second, you can plots roads to avoid in the NAVI menus, but you manually decide and plot this.

Starting in 2009 MY the NAVI can now dynamically re-route based on NavTraffic alerts. Prior years (as is your RL) you would get the info, but YOU had to plot an alternate route, or plot an area to avoid. With 2009+ RLs it can automatically plot the alternate routes when NavTraffic alerts will impact a plotted route you have currently engaged.

This additional functionality is not simply part of the DVD upgrades (I wish it was, as I wish NavWeather could be installed simply by DVD software), but alas it does require new hardware, namely the NAVI DVD drive, a $3000 component.

So in order to get that software and functionality, you have to buy a new RL or at minimum pay to change out the NAVI drive unit.

 

That's what I was trying to say.

 

Thanks TampaRL that was the info I was looking for. So only the 3rd Gen can re-route auto. I guess I'll be keeping my droid with google Nav for reference.