SnappyPappy

NAVI for some of us is a life blood. Perhaps you'd be more respectful of having an aftermarket NAVI 'if' you (a) have a car or rental car without one, some of us have more than one automobile in the family. (b) had a choice of a dash Navi or a map in your lap trying to find a street location in a strange location. (c) had ever used one of the latest high-end Navi models for say Garmin with bundles of new features Alpine is still dreaming about. Being a medical auditor who travels between three states and has to find hundreds of new locations when I travel - NAVI replaces a cumbersome street level paper maps. It is a god send to people who acutally *HAVE to use them. Some of your points are well taken, yes, NAVI software needs to be constantly updated. THAT is exactly the point of my original *RANT concering our Acura units. It cost too much to update with a disc for a few changes. I stated that incremental updates should be free or a nominal cost. Major updates with firmware changes *only could be say $150. So I purchased a new model Garmin for my Wife's BMW and found what Acura is missing. I posted all of this in my original comment which I think may have tapped a spinal nerve on this tread - lot of comments followed. I agree complaining is useless unless you actually have something constructive to say.

PS . . on the starbucks comment - I point out that the Garmin unit has updatable POIs (downloaded via Website directly into the NAVI via USB connection) and a proximity alert for when you are within 500 ft of a POI (could be any number of places COSTCO's, Wal-Mart, StarBucks, etc.) which is supercool when traveling.

The one that really gets me is the person complaining about Starbucks!!! How do you expect any software company to keep up with that, the damn places pop up overnight and are on every street corner in some cities, so why the hell do you need a navi to get to it!!!!

So dude - not complaining - just trying to open up some minds to the possibilities.

Black_05_TL_6SP

Believe me I know what it means to drive a lot. I spent a summer going to car show all over the southeast. At the time I didn't have Navi, and believe me some of these places where in BFE. I still got there using a map, while driving a truck with a 18' trailer and car on it. I understand that navi makes life a lot easier, that’s why it is there.

Believe me I know about the Navi units, I work for Circuit City as an installer. So I have installed quite a few different units and used several. Yes, the updates for most indash GPS are behind, but this is not due to Alpine, Pioneer or Honda/Acura, this is due to the company's that make the software. Try contacting Teleatlas and Navtec, as these are the companies responsible for the software updates.

Sorry, personally putting a GPS unit or even a DSR unit (Sat. Radio) in the glass of any 35000+ car is tacky looking. That’s just my personal opinion. As for driving multiple cars, I also have several, the difference is they all have indash Navi.

BTW, Circuit City is quickly becoming a part time job, I will graduate in the spring.

I am sorry if I came off the wrong way, but being in the industry, I see all types of cars, GPS units and people. There is really no way for the manufacture to make everyone happy, so they try for a happy medium. You have to remember that portable GPS units are a lot different then indash units, the portables are dedicated for one thing, but most indash units have multiple functions, and for those that think the factory Navi is bad, you should really try a Pioneer unit, or another car manufacture. There is a reason why the TL navi is ranked as the number 1 unit.

The way technology is going with Harddrives and Flashdrives, things will get better, but right now think of the amount of storage that these units require to store every single bit of address, POI and telephone information for every place in the US. Then add on top of that the ever change urban landscape. Company opens, company closes, new street added a whole row of businesses taken out. The portables are good for people like yourself that work in a certain region, this allows you to update the POI that you are interested in to the Navi. You have to remeber that the Acura one is trying to cover a much broader area. We could go back to when you need 9 different CD-ROM's to cover the US, but instead the would be DVD's at $100 a disc. For the Pioneer unit, it requires 2 DVD's, so if I go past the Mississippi River, I have to change discs, not to mention, if I want to listen to a CD, I have to take the DVD out. This takes the Navi to 20 mile view rather then 1/8th mile.

So to finish this up, if you want to see an improvement in the units, contact the software providers, and the manufactures of the equipment.

Final question, does the Acura Navi not get you to your destination??

Jehu

It is funny. I think one problem today people worry about stuff that real doesn't matter. I could see if the thing just didn't work at all. Overall it serves it basic purpose. So, what other cars have more bells and whistles. I honestly don't use it that much. I got it because I liked the way it looked and complemented the interior. When I go on a trip or need to know how to get some where, that I am not sure of, it gets me there. That to me is what counts. Also, when you look at everything inside/out and overall, the TL is still, in my opinion, the best value all around!(price, look, STD features, resale, reliability, feel, wow value, timeless look etc & etc) If the Accord or a Honda mini van has a better Navi, I really don't care. Because I would still choice my TL over again. Finally, if we really NEED all the little super upgradeable mecheesmo to enjoy and drive the cars; we might look at making the driving test harder. Some people may not need to be driving. Like someone already said, be happy with what you have. Eberything will become obsolete.

redman042

Those of you emailing customer support to tell them they should improve the navi... all I can say is "have fun"! It won't make the slightest bit of difference. They are already planning to improve the navi and I'm sure they know what to do, but they are going to do it on the normal car update cycles and not at a more rapid pace as everyone would want.

You might find life with your car more enjoyable if you stop worrying about what the navi doesn't do, and just enjoy the capabilities it does have. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the navi you have now is all you'll ever have until you trade up your TL in a few years for the next model. And why worry now about what the next model will have? Wait until it comes out and then you'll know.

As for the update disks, they update the map and POI data only. There MAY be a minor firmware update but I would not expect anything but very very minor software tweaks. They are NOT going to add new software features.

Once a car company rolls out a very successful car like the 3G TL, their only focus from that point on (other than addressing recall issues and minor tweaks each year) is to design the NEXT generation (4G). They would not be competitive if they did it any other way.

redman042

One more thing... just HOW big of a deal is the TSX navi trip computer function anyway? There sure is a lot of griping about how the TL doesn't have that, and even efforts to enable it through hacks (even though it doesn't work right on the TL because the gear ratio is different). Is it really THAT big of a deal? The TL does have a trip computer, it's just on the MFD and isn't real time with fancy little bars and graphics. How often do you guys look at your MPG anyway? Constantly while you're driving.

Honestly, if the TL did have the trip computer display on the Navi, you'd turn it on and go "Wow" and then it would get mundane in 5 minutes. It's not like a video game or somethign.

fiveohhh

The only thing I wish for would be a way to upgrade POIs without waiting a year and buying a new disk. I'd also like the option of being able to use unverified roads as part of your route. I live in a rural area and from what I can tell all the unverified roads are correct, but navi does me no good when none of the roads are verified:P

redman042

Go to the setup screen - there is a place where you can tell it to include unverified roads in your routing. It works - I used it during a recent trip to Mendocino. You will get a kick out of the extra verbal disclaimers the navi gives you when you get to those roads, but it does work.

fiveohhh

I thought I had read that somewhere, but I couldn't find it in the setup menu. What page is it supposed to be on?

ThunderCluck

You can acutally shut off the navigation voice with a few quick voice commands.

Just say "setup" to get to Setup Screen 1
Then say "Volume Off" to turn off the navigation voice.

To get back to the map, say "Display Map"

Piece of cake. I love voice activation!!

You can check out this thread for all voice activation commands:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...voice+commands

redman042

I'm not with my car right now, but I'm pretty sure it's on Page 4.

fiveohhh

IIRC my page 4 just has a version button. I'll double check tomorrow though

redman042

Weird. I'm sure it's there. Are you running the 2006 map data disk? We bought our car new just 2 months ago.

fiveohhh

Nope, mines still the original one from 03. I swear I read that it could be done in the manual, but I looked again and couldn't find it. I'll probably pick up the new disk when it's released this fall.

ball4lyfe

Were you relating to my other post? If you were, I was only asking as to find out how accurate our navi is, not complaining/whining. Lighten up.
If you weren't relating to it, well, my bad and no offense.

CobraGuy

Well, I think I can add something to this. I have an 06 TL with navi, and I just put in a new Pioneer AVIC-Z1 in my wife's Aviator. There are some pros and cons for both units.

The Voice Recognition system on the TL is so much superior to the Z1 it's not funny. The Z1 works, but the TL is much more "intuitive".

The mapping software is from different companies on both units. The TL software is a bit more detailed in the surrounding areas. It shows golf courses, water, etc which the Z1 may not. Both are outdated. But it's all we have, so we have to live with it. If you note something that should be updated, notify the mapping company...not the manufacturer.

I prefer the TL to the Z1 for programming destinations. It's not quite as clumsy. But both are still good.

The Z1 is hard drive driven. It uses an OS (version of Windows CE) that is stored on a flash chip (PROM). It's not on the hdd. This makes hacking the Z1 much more difficult...but there are people working on it to give you much more flexibility. They actually believe they will have it to give you internet access while driving down the road...but that's a ways away yet.

Being the Z1 is hdd driven, it's MUCH faster than the TL. You also can store a lot more information than the TL...including ripping cd's to the hdd. It will hold between 200 and 400 cd's with the stock drive.

The Bluetooth on the Z1 is more clunky than the TL. There are reports of some phones that will not work. Most smart phones don't. Pioneer recognizes this and expect an update soon to their Bluetooth module. However, I use a Verizon LG8300 that works perfectly. I can also store hundreds of contacts in the phone book of the Z1.

The map display on the Z1 shows a lot more information than the TL. i.e. your next turn is always displayed in the upper left hand corner. It shows which way to turn, what street, and how far. You don't have to hit a menu to see that. It's always there. Nice feature.

The single biggest advantage the Z1 has over the TL is XM NavTraffic. I CANNOT believe that Acura didn't include this on every unit they build. I understand the RL has it. It is a huge oversight not to include this. I have it on the Z1 and in my opinion, no navigation system is complete if you can't include this. I live in Phoenix and NavTraffic also includes traffic flow information. It has saved our butts a long traffic jam many times. It uses live data, it's current, and it flat works.

The Z1 is the easiest thing in the world to mod to open up all features while in motion...just as the TL is from the factory. You can even watch dvd's while driving if you care to take your life in your hands. (and someone elses's) Remember, the Z1 is hdd driven so the entire unit is self contained in the head unit...including the DVD/CD slot.

There are some other smaller differences for each unit, but that's the ones that come to mind off the top of my head. So if you're looking for an aftermarket solution, I wouldn't consider anything but the Z1. The street price is about $1500 plus the XM, IPod, and Bluetooth adapters if you want. Sirrius (sp) is available too. You can also add 5.1 Surround, TV tuner, and back up camera. So it has a lot of flexibility.