especially for 2010 models, the map is outdated, which is probably a 2006 or 2008 database version. Since the 11 update has been released, new buyers should get a free update!

 

Absolutely! Couldn't agree more. If the car is still under warranty, & you've paid extra for the Navigation package, Acura should automatically update the map for FREE!
I've spoken to a customer service Manager, in Corporate, who basically told me, forget it.
Glad to see there are more people like me, who are complaining.
Actually, a $25 upgrade fee, would be acceptable; not $180, or $150; especially, since I've been a loyal customer since '98, & have leased 4 cars from Acura.

 

because acura doesnt manufacture the navigation system, i dont think you guys will get what you're looking for.

 

Do any car manufacturer provide free Navi map updates? I think the problem is that Acura and every other company has to buy the maps from the map providers, which are probably $$$. Either they raise the price of the car by $200-$400 to accommodate what you're asking for, or you pay if you want the updates. Either way, you're going to pay for it. Nothing is "free" nowadays.

Personally I'd prefer they do it like this, so I can choose *not* to buy the map updates, than be forced to pay more for the car to include them.

 

they are going pretty cheap right now ... 99 bux, its a perfect time to upgrade!

 

i just checked to see if the price changed that vqpower37 posted.it now says the page is unavailable for 2009-2010 tl.Where did you see 99$ vqpower37?

 

Hey OP,
PRRRAP, FART, Snort. Fart. Acura should give me a hand job. FWIW, You can't have a successful dealer without strong sales at the parts counter. It sucks, but it is reality. When you paid $200 over invoice did you think you were done paying for your car? When you got that smart phone for $100, did you think Verizon was going to provide service for you at cost?

 

If not free, it should not be $185 plus shipping.
( I know there is a sale, but still)

 

I know there's a "sale" for 3G discs, I think for the 2004-2006 models, where the DVD is $99. I think other models may be on sale, too.

Input your model and find out :

http://www.navigation.com/is-bin/INT.../Default-Start

 

I plan on doing the update, but that will be next year. I don't plan on traveling much from San Diego this year, so it will not do me much good right now..

 

Mercedes does....not sure about BMW....but i think they offer that for free as well

 

It is pricey, but Navatex makes these for many other car companies as well.. They have to put a lot of work and time into doing these. They don't sell millions of copies, so I am sure the price reflects that as well.. You have a $43K car, pay $3.25 for a gallon of gas, $90 to get your car serviced,,, I think $185 seems reasonable if you think you need it.. OH, and for now the shipping is free, so What A Deal!

 

I like how some folks think others should put in hard work to churn out a very good, detailed product (maps are not always the easiest thing to make, you know) that they should somehow automatically get for free.

 

The price of a vehicle doesn't determine the price of a navigation update. The owner of $25k Accord, that uses $2.50 regular gas and gets serviced for $35 also has to pay the same price for his/her update. If it comes down to that they are pricey to produce and they need to make or recoup their money then I can live with that. I still think they are over priced compared to updates on aftermaket units.

I do think free would be a stretch, but I think that if we were able to purchase directly from the manufacturer not Acura, the price would be better.

 

The 4G TL still has a nav disc even though its a hard drive based system? I thought the 2011 Map DVDs were for cars with DVD-based nav systems...

Edit: nevermind. It's an installation disc. Damn nearly $200 for a disc?

 

To me, these navigation updates are the same as any other part you would get for your vehicle, except these aren't necessary for normal operation of the vehicle. Like, I don't know, splash guards or something. The part requires development, QA, sales and manufacturing. This all incurs a cost. The question is whether Acura should give these away to their customers because, you know, they are luxury and people who buy luxury cars should get things for free. So yeah, let us know how that works out for you...

 

with 200, I could easily get a latest garmin...... just feels awkward to actually use garmin with tl's nav system on.....

 

I fully understand and agree with your statement. Companies and people should be paid for their hard work. However, the person buying a car with nav pays quite a price, often a couple grand. It's expected that the navigation system will work the way the customer wants it to, having locations of every place needed. If not, then it's not doing what the product advertised it would. It's like an application on a computer. There's constantly updates to it that enhance the experience, etc. If one paid a couple hundred bucks for an application on the computer, one would expect frequent updates and enhancements (Photoshop comes to mind here. And Adobe does deliver updates to their products what seems like weekly). So paying well over $100 for a company's software update to their product seems utterly immoral. It's one thing if the update brings new features, but typically, this is not the case. The only changes are added locations. The customer paid a huge lump sum for the product and should not be expected to pay again to fix flaws in the product.

And you're a fool if you think NAVTEQ (the mapping company used by dozens of other companies, including Acura/Honda) only receives profit from each disc it sells, be it preinstalled in the car or an update. Ever notice when searching for a gas station, the gas stations name and logo sometimes pop up? You think NAVTEQ graciously puts the Shell logo on their maps? Nope, sponsored. Yet another source of income for them.

My point is, no one should have to pay anything to have their nav system updated. The term "updated" is used generously, more like "fixed". The folks over the 3G forum were jumping up and down when the updated discs went on sale for the everyday low price of $99. Screw NAVTEQ.

 

I agree the pricing for updates is a complete rip-off. I would get it if it included upgrades to the sound system like faster ipod scrolling or volume leveling. The ipod has volume leveling, and it's such a pain it does not work with the car interface and the volume can change drastically from song to song. Should be like a software update available or something...

 

i would like to see it free only because there are things missing on my car thats 0nly 6 months old.And it seems other people on here have the same problem.So its been said that these maps now are from 2008 or so.Now if an update was for my car in 2 years from now then i understand paying because things change by then.Some one here said they called acura was told its important because it fixes issues with the tl navi.If thats the case its should be free or at least lower than 200 dollars

 

Screw that. I'll pay for the update and get the car for free. That's my ideal... deal.

Seriously though. Most places (D.C. excluded) aren't changing roadways that much to warrant a replacement sooner than every few years. It does seem expensive, but as someone said earlier, its beans compared to other expenses with these cars.

 

This isn't DRM'd data is it? If so, we should all pitch in and get 1, then make copies....

 

A pass code is required when applying the update. Supposedly its based off your VIN and Radio ID. But for some reason I get the feeling that its more scare tactic from NAVTEQ. I do not believe each individual disc is printed for each car/radio, rather than a matrix database of numbers that as long as one is entered correctly it would work.

But at the same time I doubt anyone who purchases the disc is willing to lend out the pass code openly (as NAVTEQ could probably find out who it was issued to and look to prosecute). It sucks they do this... But for example GM NAV... well they just issue a disc and boom its on a torrent site or forum post to download and go!

Last part is most people who get these discs and try to copy them have no clue how to bypass most generic copy protections or how to tell what type disc it actually is. For example on the GM NAV side of the house... Lot of people kept trying to use normal DVDs when in fact it required a Dual Layer DVD (DVD+R DL) which holds twice the amount. More than likely Acura's is a Dual Layer as well.

I'll probably get the update once I return from business trip next year, I'll be able to analyze the discs at that point and offer further details. Unless someone obtains it now and goes through the trial and error processes. Mainly need them to take the disc and try the code on another car just to verify any code would work...

 

I am not asking because I doubt you, but if this is the case, I am interested in possibly petitioning for a free upgrade disc from Acura. Why do you feel its based on outdated maps? Is there a concrete build # that can be linked to the 2006 or 2008 Map?

 

Does Garmin give out free maps upgrade? (Besides the one time freebie.)

 

you can check out the version # of your database. Also I noticed this because I cared about those numbers but this thing doesn't even find my friend's house built two years ago with unverified routing ON. It doesn't take a smart guy to figure out the map is quite outdated.

 

at least, when you buy a garmin, the map is quite new. as you said, you do get a one time freebie.... with 199, I can get a new garmin, it's just awkward to mount a garmin in front of that large nice display.

 

any canadian actually tried to enter ur canadian TL VIN and purchase the dvd from US Acura? it's ridiculous for Honda charging using 250 while the american pays 190 for the same disc

 

Taxes and tariffs.

 

cjTL - "And you're a fool if you think NAVTEQ (the mapping company used by dozens of other companies, including Acura/Honda) only receives profit from each disc it sells, be it preinstalled in the car or an update. Ever notice when searching for a gas station, the gas stations name and logo sometimes pop up? You think NAVTEQ graciously puts the Shell logo on their maps? Nope, sponsored. Yet another source of income for them.

My point is, no one should have to pay anything to have their nav system updated. The term "updated" is used generously, more like "fixed". The folks over the 3G forum were jumping up and down when the updated discs went on sale for the everyday low price of $99. Screw NAVT"

This.

I'd guess that Navteq makes 90% of it's income from selling advertising (listings) for the system.

In effect, We, the consumers, are being asked to pay to be able to receive the advertisements for which Navteq has charged the businesses listed.

This is sort of like your local CBS station sending you a bill based on how many commercials you've watched during the month.
(Yes, I understand the update is optional, and that I have the choice of having out of date data on my GPS if I don't go along with the outrageous price of the update).

If there was a total consumer revolt against paying for it, Navteq would probably send out discs for free - otherwise they'd lose the bulk of their income from selling the advertising (listings).

A total ripoff.
I understand why Navteq does it (greed plus a captive market) but hard to understand how you consumers bow down to it and defend it.

 

The disc is a DVD+R DL. With 6.72GB of data it has to be.

 

has anyone bought and installed the updated disc on a 09 or 10 tl?Did you noticed anything different?Is it worth it or should i hold out for a little?

 

I bought and upgraded the nav disc on my 2010 TL and the upgrade fixed several errors here in Northern Florida. Luckily I got the disc at a bit of a discount and sure it was worth the time and money.

 

How did you get a discount? Was it from the acuranavi.com site?

 

Believe it or not, I just asked for the discount and was able to document that someone had posted something about a discount in this thread. It was from the acuranavi site mentioned in the early parts of this thread.

I tried helping another member to get the same deal but it was a definite no go and he did a good job at trying. I have a 2010 TL Tech that was purchased this summer and I also made them aware that the nav data was out of date shortly after purchase. Who knows how I got the price but I think it was because my car was nearly new with outdated navigation data. IMHO, I think any further chance at a discount is dead and stinking but it never hurts to try.

Would I buy the nav disc at full price knowing what I know now? Probably yes, the upgrade corrected a lot of new construction and re-routing in the city and added a few features like one way arrows on some streets. The install was easy.

 

Perhaps in some future generation of the Tech Package, Acura will come up with a way to Internet-enable the Tech Package so that it had the audio streaming, navigation and location based features of a smartphone (e.g., say, by embedding Google Navigation and other Android Apps in-dash); in this scenario, you wouldn't pay for services directly, because they'd be provided by your wireless provider - but you would pay for them as part of your monthly cell bill, so they still wouldn't be really be free, and they'd only be available when you had a wireless connection.

But let's get real: that's not what's built into our cars right now. So for the time being, if you get the $77 annnual XM deal (or have a lifetime XM membership like I do), plus the monthly XM nav traffic subscription and the occasional nav disk update, you get most of the features of the smartphone, plus a few neat tricks a smartphone can't do, like being able to navigate in places where a GPS and/or cell phone signal is not present and being automaticaly re-routed around traffic jams in real time. I consider these cost-of-ownership expenses that work out to less than the price of an additional smart phone on my monthly cell bill, and a reasonable compromise, given the limits of the car's technology.

If you don't want to pay for map updates and you have a smartphone with navigation, then you have a choice: just buy a windshield mount for the phone and don't buy the nav updates. But please, don't get all upset with NAVTEQ because they design navigation software for a limited release, custom system such as Acura's Tech Package and then price the upgrades based on the fact only a limited number of customers within the (smaller, smart phone enabled) user base of 2009-2010 customers will choose to upgrade. They're just trying to make a living like the rest of us.

 

I am not sure what so special about udpating Maps. They dont change that much. There are people who has navigation from 2000 yr model in TL ,and it still give them right direction.

This is just a way to make more money for them... If you have 2009+ model you are good for another 4-5 yrs w/o update...

 

^
SAVE YOUR MONEY

 

Yeah, I think 4-5 years is a good interval to update. My house (built in 06) isn't on my navigation. Not much of an issue to me as I know how to get to my house from anywhere nearby, but I have to input some other random address in my town when I want my GPS to give me directions to "home". Many locations in Indianapolis aren't in my nav either, and roads have changed names, exits, etc.

 

I plan to update once every three years or so, or if I take any major trips (over 1,000 miles and/or going to be in an area I'm not familar with for an extended period of time.)

My point was, thanks to Acura's wonderful "styling exercise" with the 4th gen TL, plus the proliferation of smart phones, there aren't as many of us out there to sell map updates to, so I wouldn't expect to see the kind of steep discounts that 3rd gen TL owners are getting any time soon.