I do so love my Hybrid, but...

Scrolling the map in the NAV System can be quite frustrating. Sometimes the map cursor goes scooting across the screen with just a nudge of the interface dial, sending the map flying in the opposite direction, and making it virtually impossible to move the map just enough to look at a street that is off the screen, let alone to actually select a point on the map to which to navigate.

It may be that this behavior mostly occurs when the car is moving (though I'm pretty sure I have seen it when the car was stopped and I'm pretty sure I have seen significant variation in the amount of accelerated movement caused by a nudge on the dial).

Here are two videos, both shot at the same zoom level. In each I have just nudged the interface dial a few times, without holding it.

The first, labeled "Fine Movement", is the way my '06 RL worked all the time (car moving or not), and the way my RLX Hybrid sometimes works. The map moves a fraction of an inch with each nudge of the dial, and it moves the same physical amount at all zoom levels. It is precise enough to locate a particular point on the map.


In the second, "Accelerated Movement", the map moves as much as a screenful or more with each nudge of the dial, making it virtually impossible to move the cursor to a particular point on the map.


If this is in fact a behavior that is intentional while the car is moving (which I am not yet convinced of), then I do not understand its purpose, other than to frustrate the user. Some navigation functions are, as we know, limited when the car is moving. But what sense would it make to send the map scrolling a screenful or so, instead of a fraction of an inch, with each touch of the interface dial just because the car is moving? Why not just prevent the map from scrolling at all when the car is moving if the intent is to limit your ability to navigate while driving? Does this odd scrolling behavior serve a purpose when the car is moving?

Or perhaps it's a bug, and it happens to occur more often when the car is moving than when stopped. Very frustrating, and it obviously makes the digital map less useful if you can't control its screen movement. And pretty much useless if you want to find an alternate route while driving.

Feature or bug? And, if feature, for what purpose?

 

^^^
I can't seem to prevent the system from posting my videos twice. Must be a bug that hopefully someone can explain to me. Sorry about that.

 

^^^
Well, I managed to fix the duplication of the second video before my editing time ran out, but I am not sure how I did it.

 

I have this EXACT same issue in my 2013 Honda Accord's navigation. It's a huge step backwards. Our '13 MDX is the last year of that generation and does not have these issues. So I blame the new navigation system software which i find to be obnoxious...

In the past, I found the Acura systems to be user friendly if not always at the forefront of technology. Now they're neither.

 

there was another thread on this and I thought it was just due to a zoom scale, but I experienced the problem as well. Intermittently it goes into the accelerated pan as you describe and it is impossible to land on a specific target. Then it will work normally. I have not figured out a pattern of when it works and when it does not.

 

My system does the same thing, more or less.

I am supposing that maybe we are intended to be able to zoom across vast distances if we hold the scroll in one direction, but it doesn't work right because the processor over utilization prevents our being able to fine tune it and keep track of the moment at which the progressive scroll accelerates.

 

when mine gets into the accelerated scroll, it is instantaneous. I try to just bump it and it scrolls halfway across the screen. Impossible to control

 

I agree, George. But you may be giving the designers of the NAV system too much credit. I see no evidence of any sort of decent progressive acceleration of the map cursor even when the car is not moving. The system is certainly way under-powered, but experienced software engineers know how to compensate for that with good code. At the least, had they recognized the problem, they could have covered it with keeping the map immobile when decent scrolling is not possible.

 

I blame all of the NAV issues to date to absolutely horrible QA on the NAV system. That's even if they have anyone in QA assigned to the NAV system.

There are bugs in the system that you can find spending no more than 10-15min in the car.

 

While I agree the QA is terrible, there are so many different options and combinations the problem is the whole system has too much complexity and it is bound to have issues. That also means it is hard to find all of the issues. If it worked smoothly few Acura owners are ever going to understand how to use it, even if you read the entire 500+ page owners manual (like some of the loyal ACURAZINE members). We don't need six ways to do the same thing, only one institutive way.

Unfortunately, I doubt there will be much hope for most of us who already have the RLX since there are likely too many issues, both hardware and software already baked into our cars. I think Acura needs to scrap the whole system and begin again. We however seem destined to have to tolerate the current system.

 

Sigh. Google Maps it is, then. I have an iPhone holder in my RLX. I make good use of it as I sometimes use my iPhone 6+ for traffic and directions on the fly. A true shame. We really need a software upgrade here.

 

I reported another major issue in the Navtraffic thread

Waiting for fix

 

Been trying to replicate the flying cursor with no success. I'm sure it will happen eventually.

Been also driving with the map on. So far, the incidents do change day to day so far as I can tell. Will keep watching for issues.

 

Bob - Are you saying that while the car is moving, you can scroll the map and always maintain control of where it lands? Because the map always goes flying for me when the car is moving. If you can't replicate it, that would make it a bug and not a feature.

 

pretty sure it is a bug as it is intermittent in my car
cannot correlate the accelerated movement with car underway
Also have not been able to replicate steps ti get it to happen

 

Correct. I'll keep trying to elicit the behavior, though.