For the first time in canada, acura is making a navigation system to us..

I am impressed with the capabilities of the system, as i've sat in the car and played with the navi for the 20 mins i could.. BUT, the first thing i noticed, was the lack of focus, and sharpness in the display of the screen. To me, it is most noticeable in map mode, when the car is tracking your position -- the street names look too out of focus.

I'm taken aback, that Acura could make everything else in the car near perfect, and for the price, makes it one of the hottest cars in Canada for what it offers, but the navi screen takes it down a notch. I can't understand how others can say something along the lines of "its not that bad" -- you are paying a BIG CHUNK of money, or at least I am.... since it was the FIRST thing I noticed in the car, it will be on my mind almost everytime i look at it/use it.

During the time I was in the car, i frantically searched for a 'sharpness' or focus button in the menus but could not find one. Is there one that anyone knows of? I know the brightness is adjustable, but is that it?

Its just not acceptable for a 44K (cdn) (52K with tax) car to have such a blemish.. and since it is going to be used almost everytime you use the car (whether for Navi, or controlling the stereo) it is not something like an out of place switch, or portrudng door lock that I could be more forgiving about.

Looks like I will be now opting for just the base model.

 

As far as I know, there ISN'T a feature to adjust the Navi's focus or resolution. I agree with you that it is blurry, especially in the map mode. But before making your decision to go with the base model, think carefully because personally I think the base-model has ugly display, you know with the screen split into 2 parts. I think this will make the car look less-value. The TL-Dynamic is a different story, because although it doesn't have Navi, the trade-off is you're getting 6-speed transmission.

Honestly, I'd consider the fully loaded Accord-V6 if I didn't want the TL-Navi. Or maybe the TSX(?) but I think this one is kinda overpriced for a 4-cylinder car.

 

I sure couldn't care less about resolution of the navi. What I care about is driving to the States and finding restaurants, banks, gas stations, points of interest etc. No system is perfect but the reason I didn' buy a TL until the 2004 model is because it didn't have a navi system. I would never get a manual transmission again due to the cost of replacing burned out clutches, what a nightmare expense.

 

I have not seen the navi active. Resolution looks good in pictures. I will have to check it out in person - I pivk mine up tomorrow!!!

I agree with lamster - the non-nav dash does not look as good. Not worth $2K if you do not need/want NAV, but I could not resist the toys!!!

 

I don't think the original poster doubted the usefulness of having a Navigation system. The point being made here is that it is blurry and somewhat difficult to see. Although it's the first time the TL comes out with Navi in Canada, the US had it with the last generation. I saw the Navi in the last US-TL and it looked much clearer. It's not like this is the first time Acura produces Navigation for TL, you know? They stretched the screen size without properly adjusting the display resolution.

 

I agree about the climate/stereo display on the non-NAV system, it looks like they did that design last minute. I did also test drive a non-NAV version and to my delight, it looked pretty good, altho I think maybe they could put some aluminum trim around that area.

One plus i like for the navi system, is the relocation of the passenger and driver climate display to the clock area, it looks more functional than in the non-nav (this is similar to the TSX climate display), where the clock is in the top center of the dash, filled in by plastic on each side..

Also, this will be driven by my parents as well, so 6spd is out of the question..

I've seen the accord, but in canada, we dont' get side curtain airbags (important to have), xenons (not too important), tiptronic (i am a younger guy) and one quirk i have about the accord is the gear selector finds it home in D3, not D, which is odd. Every automatic car i've driven, has had the gear selector to stop at D, and i tend to rest my hand on the gear selector, so I wouldn't want to find out what would happen if I went from D to D3 at 120 Km/h ...

and plus, the looks of the TL smash the accord (i don't know what they were doing) , even tho they are pretty much the EXACT SAME dimensions (headroom is within a few mm, fuel capacity is the same, wheelbase,) and the accord surprisingly has about 40L more of cargo and 8L more of passenger volume..

The tsx i've seen, however, i can't fathom the idea of moving from my current v6 to a 4 banger, plus i'm a larger guy, so i could use the extra room provided by the TL over the TSX.

Maybe I will test it out in the next few days.

 

Agree completely. The non-Navi looks like it has too much empty space and they didn't quite know what to do with it

The Accord has been known as the traditional family sedan, so its styling will always remain conversative and boring.

One thing about driving an V6/V8 vehicle is you become used to it driving style and performance. It's almost impossible to go back to a 4-cylinder vehicle.

 

I am wondering if the resolution of the NAV-screen is something
that Acura dealers can adjust? I won't pretend to know the inner-
most workings of NAV, but I am hoping that Acura will come up with an UPDATE (software or otherwise) that can fix this resolution issue. I have seen the NAV in person, and it does seem
to be just slightly out of focus. Not enough to stop me from buying
the 6mt A-SPEC with NAV when it finally hits the showrooms. I will
be selling/trading in my 02 Maxima that is half the car that the new TL is IMHO. I will keep my heavily modded Turbo Supra for those days when I feel the need for speed.
I think the TL is a perfect blend of luxury/features/performance
for the price. Can't wait for the A-SPEC!!!!!

 

Resolution of the nav screen is determined typically by hardware when dealing with LCDs. All LCD screens have a "native" resolution that they are designed to operate under I believe in the case of the honda/acura nav it is 640 x 280 or something close to that. It is set at that resolution because many palm top PCs running on winCE use that resolution. Probably the reason is looks somewhat fuzzy is that square would not be the ideal shape for that screen for sharpness of text.

Just my guesses at the issue. I do agree that it is not as sharp as I would like but the system is still leaps and bounds better then any other I have seen on the market.

 

I am not sure whether navi in Canada is the same as in the States, but I thought mine can show navi me in both US and Canada. Agree that it can be better looking in terms of the line, texture and stuffs, but function wise, it really working the way it should be and better than others. Friend of mine, owning a BMW 540i, said that this navi is really a lot better than his, at least the response time after you hit/click the choice is alot faster than his in the 540i. Also, once his navi have asked us to make a u-turn when we were travelling at 70mils/hr on the freeway. I tricked ours (on this TL), and it recalculated the route immediately after we passed the exit, now that's a real navi. should do.

 

I'm not questioning the functionality, I've read great reviews on the Honda/Acura system --

What I am not gleaming about is the presentation of this data to the driver -- through a, what i think and a lot of others have commented on, could be a higher resolution/more clearer screen.

 

I think the Navi resolution is fine, and the big screen is very nice. I was generally happy with the Navi that was in my 01CL-S, but the Navi in the 04TL is a big improvement.

-r

 

Has anyone contacted Acura Co. about this issue? and I don't mean Acura dealers, because dealers would tell you that the NAV screen is 'perfect'! I think if Acura Co. hears from so many concerned customers or 'potential customers', they would fix the problem asap.

 

My navi looks fine. The resolution doesn't bother me at all. Not sure what the deal is? Maybe there was a bad navi screen in the demo car? ????

 

What I meant was the resolution could be a trade off for the faster response and functionality. Higher quality of the screen may cause longer time for the screen rendering and also longer in response time.

 

Can someone take a digital photo of this 'blurry' NAVI screen? I want to see how bad this is for myself!

Maybe some have worse screens than others? The screen shots from the Acura brochure do not display any blurriness.

Jon

 

my navi resolution seems fine... the only thing is sometimes the navi picks a weird route to take (for instance tonight the navi told us to not take the most direct route but to take a longer route) why does the navi sometimes do this?

 

Could there be any more conflicting views on this? It's almost like there is a DEFECT in certain people's Nav screens/systems.

OR... some people are just much more forgiving than others.

OR... some people didn't remove the protective film that ships with the NAVI (kidding... I don't know if there is one or not, but that WOULD explain the divergent opinions!)

So....

Please...

Someone who likes their 04 Navi: Post a digital photo
Someone who is disappointed: Post a digital photo

Let's all learn from this excersize. Maybe we'll find out that there's a defect and that it's fixable!

Or, maybe we'll find out that some people are too picky.

Or, maybe we'll find out that some aren't picky enough.

POST THE PICS!

Jon

 

will do... tomroo or this weekend will take pics... tonight, WAY too much hw

 

I'm happy with the Navi.

I shot a digital image (Canon G2, 2272x1704) of the Navi screen in day mode at 1/8 mi. scale. Attempts to rescale the image led to image artifacts.

This is a 600x500 pixel section from the original image.



Here is the original image that has been scaled by 50%, and saved with 75% jpeg quality:



Let the debate go on!

-r

EDIT: Ignore the circular artifact on the right, it isn't really there.

 

Looks damn good to me! Can't wait to pick mine up tomorrow!

 

One more comment, when you look at the image, don't get too close. Unless you generally drive with your nose on the Navi screen.

-r

 

OK well i test drove another one here tonight, this one from Acura in Markham, same deal.. It is readable from far, however I feel it could be much clearer,

Again I'm not knocking the functionality, or how fast it can pick a route, but the clarity of the screen.

For now tho, I'm going to wait to see what comes of this issue and hold off on the TL

 

Have you ever expressed your impression on the Navi's resolution with the folks in the dealers? If so, what was their response?

 

On one test drive the salesman drove while I fooled around with the controls. It was a sunny day and I had no problem with the navi. Maybe I am just less discriminating than everyone else. I was more concerned that the car didn't have auto-on/off headlights like my old Pontiac has.

 

Nice pic!!!

Note this photo is a close-up, you would normally be looking at your navi about 2ft away. The best rated NAVs are Acura & Lexus. I have seen the screen on 2001 GS430 and it didn't impress me. The screen definately didn't look CRISP. I think you are using the best a standard production has to offer.

 

At least the new TL turns off the headlights temporarily for you if you forget to do so and leave the car. Then it turns them back on the next time you open the door. But really, it should've come with the auto-headlights feature.

 

Acure_Driver,

This looks absolutely fine! Now... the key question... for the folks who are very unhappy with their NAVI display... is THIS what they are seeing??

Or, do they have defective displays?!?!

Thanks to Acura_Driver posting pics, we're beyond speculation and into the analysis and conclusion stage of this investigation!

Jon

 

When I got in the car. Coming out of a 01-CL-S with NAV, I thought the screen was blurry as well. Guess what 20 minutes? NOT. I've been driving it since Monday now, and it looks a little better everyday, and now I barely notice the "fuzziness"

 

Not sure why, but I've noticed it too. However, if you drive your normal (in your case, the "direct") route, the navi automatically reconstructs a route based on where you are. Really neat feature.

 

Did you know there's a new heature in which you can have the Navi calulate ALL 5 possibilites in the first run. Then toggle through the suggestions and pick the one you feel is best. Maybe that's what you're doing buy accident. Is having it calculate all possibilities, and then selecting the first one it displays. Which could be minimize freeways. {Just Speculating of course} I have not had it calulate a "different" route to the same address unless I choose a different "method"

 

like a computer, can;t u simply hack in and change the resolution settings the unit sends out. Screen plays DVDs crystal clear so the TSXers say. Y not just adjust settings, do it on computers all the time