Does anyone know whether Acura is going to provide an upgrade to 04TL NAV to enable smart traffic routing ala 05RL.

 

The 2004 TL Nav system is not upgradeable to real-time XM traffic info and "there is no information at this time" as to whether this totally BITCHIN technology will be forthcoming on the 2005 TL.

As you know, the upgraded nav system will be standard on the 2005 RL. However, it requires a "premium" XM subscription at a cost that has not yet been disclosed.

Definitely complicates my purchase decision, as I would hate to pay close to sticker for a Nav system that is essentially obsolete--and I can't wait till fall for RL as my current Saab lease expires in July.

Actually considering going with non-Nav TL for a few hundred over invoice and putting up with hideous LA traffic and Thomas guide! :banghead:

 

where did you hear tha the nav system is not upgradable? was this from acura or a dealer? dealers usually know jack sh#t. i think it would be possible because its all software if an upgrade was introduced then the cars can get the software uploaded to it. since XM is offering this as a premium service wouldn't it be smart to upgrade cars with nav so they can be potential subscribers? being realistic i think acura won't offer any upgrade simply because they will probably not make alot of $$$ off this upgrade.

 

All info is per a phone call I placed this week to Acura Customer Service, (800) 382-2238. Give 'em a call, it would be interesting to see if the answer is consistent.

 

Lets hope so. For only a few $ more a month it is well worth it
Gotta be way

 

Ha, I did call to ACS, too, last week. But they told me they don't know... this means "possible". IMO, each representative would tell you the new story if you're asking something they really cannot make sure.

Calling Alpine? They may not be able to tell you anything at this time, either.

As some other ppl have discussed this topic in other threads, we do believe there is the chance that 04TL could have this real time traffic system via XM.

The update DVD/software/firmware could help. Do you remember there is a open slot in NAVI's DVD drive? I guess Acura/Alpine would come out the solution of upgrade for us.

:facelick:

 

the software is actually embedded in the dvd rom drive and can be updated. its just an .exe and a update can probably be flashed to it. the dvd disk just holds map data not the software itself.

 

True
the old TSX cd doesn't show the spit screen for forks in the road, go right to map upon system start........ and some other features
when they upgrade to the newer DVD it now will do these items
Let's hope we can get this soon with somethign as simple as a software update, y not, CTS is getting it
also premium xm service better be reasonable!

 

If memory serves correctly, isn't there an open PC Card slot in the DVD drives? Could be the key to an upgrade down the road. If there is an additional XM charge for the feature, it would make sense that the TL's is forward-compatible as the money is made on the subscription and not the hardware as we all know...

 

They might also hold off on providing the new system on '05 TLs and older '04 TLs until '06, in order to give a marketing advantage to people wanting to trade up to the RL. Having something that is exclusive to the flagship product for a year isn't a bad marketing strategy, even if it is frustrating to those of us who have already bought.

 

Very possible.

Perhaps, the future upgrade for 04TL would quickly emerge from the bad sale of 05RL. This would make Acura/Alpine/XM get better profit... :diablotin

 

Sorry to dash cold water in everyone's face here, but I really don't expect the '04TL to ever support this feature.

It's a gut feel ... I don't have any facts that I can base it on right now.

However, to support this feature, an OS upgrade and previously undisclosed hardware would need to already exist. From what I've seen in the past, performing an OS upgrade of this magnitide to an existing customer base is always risky, and rarely done unless really required to fix something broken, not just to add a cool feature to something that has already been sold.

I'd be very happy if I was proven wrong, though.

 

GotJazz, I really hope you're wrong at this issue... I like the real-time traffic update Navi.... a lot...

 

In thinking about it, talk about a first-generation product likely to have bugs and incomplete information......I really don't know that I'm going to trust the folks at XM Radio to have unbelievably accurate traffic information *that* much that I'm actually going to drive (as an example) 11 miles out of my way on a local road just because the navi tells me to.

In NYC, they've got helicopters and cellphone users and 10 different stations all covering the place.....no disrespect to XM intended, but who the heck are they to bring all of this together? Alpine and XM suddenly are the eyes/ears/database of US traffic when their proficiencies to date are strictly related to music? I don't get it.

Just seems to me that if the RL is to be the first in the US with this type of integration (it is, after all, one of the worst selling luxury cars in the US) that we should let it be quite the guinnea pig for quite some time.

 

What new hardware would be needed for this feature? XM radio is digitized music channels. All they would need to do is put digital data on several of their unused channels and feed that data to the navi system over the datalink that must already be there (feeding the program information to the Navi already). I poked on the Internet and didn't find a definitive answer to what data network they are using for on-board telematics. It might be MOST. The bandwidth needed should not be much, compared to what they already move around the interior with the voice and audio system.

I don't know how much of the navi software is loaded from the DVD in the trunk on power up, and how much is flashed into the navi computer memory. The CRC test on the navi computer takes several seconds, so it may be quite a bit. But, you could distribute a flash updater on the updated DVD which runs on first load.

I think the biggest issue is the NRE to retro fit it, and whether the cost of doing it can be charged to the customer in the DVD update, or if Honda gets a cut of the monthly service fee to XM for the traffic feed. If it is a money maker for them, they will do it. If the economics don't work, they won't.

But I don't think it is a hardware issue.

 

Here in the Twin Cities, all of the freeways are instrumented with in-pavement sensors for traffic movement. I can log into a web site and see real time information on the average traffic speeds all across the metro area.

All XM has to do is cut a deal to get access to this data feed from the local metro traffic control center. They should be happy to do that if it means people will be avoiding the congested areas in the city.

I wouldn't expect XM to have data on accidents/problems on side streets that aren't electronically instrumented.

 

There's no precedent. Acura's never upgraded any of their Nav systems since they were first introduced. The first TL Nav was hard drive based and they continued to update the data for use with the system rather than provide a DVD upgrade path to get everyone on the same platform.