This has been brought up before by a few of us, whereby the color scheme used for displaying traffic information in the RLX Navigation system is very difficult to see. In particular, the "green" used to show areas where there is no traffic.

In case anyone was doubting or wondering if this really is an issue, I've documented some photo's showing the difference between the 2015 TLX Navigation software and the 2014 RLX Navigation software showing the exact same geographic area and traffic information across both cars to show the major difference between the two software versions, specifically with the "green" used to show no traffic areas:


2014 RLX Navigation (Blue Background)



2015 TLX Navigation (Blue Background)




-----

2014 RLX Navigation (Beige Background)



2015 TLX Navigation (Beige Background)




I don't think there is much more to say about this other than: Acura needs to fix this and it shouldn't have to wait for an MMC. This should be a simple software update whereby someone obviously didn't choose the right pixel color to be used to display the "green" traffic information, despite the fact that the "green" used in the traffic legend for the RLX is using the same "green" as the TLX!!! So it's obvious that the system supports the specific pixel color.

 

Besides the software differences, does the TLX screen have better resolution, etc.. What I am asking is there both a hardware as well as software difference?

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you, holographique. This seems more a software problem than a hardware problem.

Malibu Flyer, I am sure there are mild differences in hardware. The only way to know for sure is to have someone who has had both nav/radio head units apart to tell us.

 

No discernable difference at all in the resolution of the top screen. However the lower touchscreen on the TLX does have a slightly better resolution. Also note that the TLX uses the newer capacitive touchscreen (similar to whats used on mobile phones) versus the resistive touchscreen on the RLX. The difference being hard glass versus flexible glass. Capacitive touchscreens are also much more responsive to the touch.

I am 100% certain this is a software issue. If you go to the traffic legend on the RLX, you'll see that the green color shown in the legend is the same high visibility flourescent green used on the TLX navigation. So this is pure proof that its a software code issue/bug in the color scheme used in the actual map view.

 

its worse when you have a route
virtually impossible to see traffic on your route which is the most important

 

^ yup.

 

Hey All,
Why don't I see a traffic icon on any of the screens? Mine stays on constantly..
Just thought I'd ask.....

 

you don't see it in any of my screenshots because the view is in the manual navigation scroll view. I moved the directional wheel slightly, hence why you see the crosshairs icon on the screen.

 

wife just got a new BMW (i3)
hate to say this, but Navi with traffic is way better
traffic is clearly legible plus they use a different color for the road color, they use a different color for highways and freeways versus surface streets.
I find this confusing in the RLX. At some zoom scales, it looks like a mess

 

here's a comparison at same 1 mile zoom scale



didn't realize not all traffic had filled in yet for both sides of the roads in the i3, but you can see the difference

 

no comment. the comparison shots speaks for themselves.

Hire some real programmers Acura >:[

 

I think they first have to work the bug out of the system, to me the data is not reliable. I was sitting in traffic this morning on US 75 and my navigation map showed green. The color illumination won't matter if the data does not reflect real, or even close, time information. All I can say is that I am glad I am not paying for it and won't pick it up after the 3 years unless something changes with the service.

 

I have the same issues with RLX traffic + it is often not available where I live.. I don't use it. I check traffic on Google maps now before heading out.

Got a warning on the nav yesterday - something about losing power and having to restart.

 

in the RL, traffic was sent thru XM Satellite. Updates were sent every 8 minutes or so. However, source info could be older as XM pulls info from variety of sources. I saw many times where traffic info was 30 minutes out of date.
In RLX they switched to cellular data delivery, but it is still provided through XM. Believe XM purchased a cellular data company. Not sure how periodic the data is updated to the car in this new delivery
There are only a few aggregators of the traffic info from the various traffic sources. XM seems to be one of the worst. Not sure why Acura kept them instead os switching to alternate provider

 

I have had this on and off since I got the car. Happens once or twice in a row, then not again for several weeks. It doesn't appear to be a complete reboot because it only takes ten seconds or so to get back up. Happens only when starting the car. In any case, when I mentioned it to my dealer, they called the Acura Techline and were told to replace the NAV unit, which they did. Hasn't stopped the problem, which seems to be software.

 

I agree, and hiring good programmers combined with a solid QA process is what prevents these types of bugs from making it into release versions in the first place.

 

that whole Navi system is designed and built by someone else, not acura.
That said, Acura should have not accepted it. It is less functional than RL version.
less readable, less total range of traffic info, and not any better in response time

I'm comparing to my 2005 RL - 10 yrs later!

 

That's problem #1. Unless you have a solid team in place to provide laser tight guidance, direction, and a solid QA process working with the outside 3rd party developer to validate the quality of the resulting product, you're going to end up with a poor quality product.

I'm not saying you can't get get great results partnering with external vendors, but you better have a solid process in place to make sure that external vendor is delivering to the quality of the brand and expectations of your customers, and the market.

That's problem #2....

 

^ I think we are in agreement