Hi guys

I have an 04 TL, just bought it used. The guy I bought it from stated the Nav worked for him until a month or so ago...he says it may or may not have been due to the battery being dc-ed.

After that, the navigation screen is blank. When you start the car, nothing comes up, no acura logo or any of that good stuff. If you turn on your lights, everything dims as it should, INCLUDING the backlight. I have no function of any of the buttons around the navi and thus, I also cannot change my clock! . Also, the normal features such as being able to view the BAND and STATIONS are not showing up at the top clock area.

My question is, is this something that I should take a gamble with and have Alpine look at the back DVD unit that is in the trunk? As in, ship out the DVD unit in the back to Alpine for 150-160 dollars? From what I've read it seems like this is a popular option as opposed to going to the dealer (where they'll charge a 100 just to look at it or whatever)

Or am I possibly looking at a worst case scenario being that the navigation unit is completely shot down the drain? Unfortunately, the car definitely isn't under warranty any longer.

Thanks guys...hopefully i can get this solved...very sad right now that I cannot even change my clock at the time being...

 

I doubt the nav system is completely shot. Send it to Alpine, I did in June. Took about 20 days (which really pissed me off, and their customer support is AWFUL). But it was worth the money to have my nav working again. Do it. The nav units in TLs seem to be failing more and more.

 

I appreciate your response. Could you briefly if possible outline your symptoms as to what prompted you to send in your unit?

Also, did you call Alpine before you sent it off? Or did you just straight send it and leave some sort of memo regarding the situation.

Thanks once more

 

20 days!!!

 

Hey not a problem. I like to hear myself talk anyway.

My nav would do an endless reboot 50% of the time I started the car. It'd do this for 10-15 minutes then would maybe work, or maybe go to a screen prompting the navi pin, or maybe go to just a black screen. Also my voice control and bluetooth stopped working as a result. I drove around dealing with that crap for a few months and finally got sick of it and decided to have it repaired. I called Alpine ahead of time just to make sure I was shipping it to the right address, but no appointment is necessary if that's what you're wondering. I'd just go ahead and call and ask any questions you may have, it can't hurt. (Although dealing with their snotty customer service reps isn't too pleasurable). I'm very confident Alpine will be able to resolve the issue you're having. It's most certainly not a problem with the screen if it still is able to light up, etc. That leaves the navi unit in the trunk.

 

I was originally told it'd take 10-14 days, which still is an awful long time for a repair that likely takes an hour or two.

 

10-14 days!!!

 

Thanks once more...i'm starting to feel a bit more confident that it's not the navigation up front but rather the back trunk unit....I think once monday comes around i will give them a call and see how i can get this out asap. Probably will choose expedited shipping if possible both ways

all i know is, right now, i cannot afford to have the actual main navigation fixed...from reading around, it seems acura doesn't really seem to address issues with the nav if they don't suggest the alpine route--rather, they seem to just say "you need a new one, fork over 3000+"

the disc in the back trunk unit looks good though, but i will not place too much emphasis on that as a variable.

btw, to take out the unit, i need to peel back the trunk lining carpet only on the right side, and i imagine after that it is a matter of some simple connectors/bolts/screws?

 

Yeah, ask Acura and you'll be out a couple of grand either way. They'll just replace whatever part with a new one, rather than repair it. If the disc were bad, a message would likely pop up on the screen to the tune of "Disc read error" or similar.

And correct- just peel back the carpeting and the unit is held in by 4 phillips screws and three connections behind it. Also, be sure to remove your navigation disc before doing all of this, and don't send it in with the unit for repair. They don't need it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZIlbrfRhaE

 

Just FYI, I had a 6 day turnaround time for my navi unit from Alpine. I think it's because I only about 20 miles from Alpine...