After 5 years of ignoring I finally bought the update disk for our 2012. I had figured this would be a 10 or 15 minute thing but the instructions state 2 hours and that the engine should be running during that time--really?!?!?

We never drive anywhere that takes more than maybe 45 minutes and I can't see having the car running in the garage during the update. If battery drain is the concern I can just keep my CTEK charger hooked up during the update without the car running.

What have others here done?

 

I've done several updates through the years. It really does take about 2 hours. And while the engine does need to be running during the installation, the good part is that you can stop and start the car as normal. As soon as you restart the car, the download will pick up where it left off. I have a 30 minute one way commute to work, so my updates typically took the better part of 2 full days.

 

Thanks--after doing a bit of more searching on the Forum about this issue I did discover the thing about being able to do the update in "chunks" over several shorter drives. I suppose the update does nothing more than add some streets or places and does nothing to address the hinky behavior with things such as linking my S6 phone and streaming Pandora or the dropouts when using my S6 on calls via handsfree?

 

Took me 2 hours and 35 min in my 2011...

 

As I was searching the forum about how to update my 2012 TL I was amazed to learn update times can exceed 2 hours. Im like seriously blown away by this. how on earth did such an inferior system for updating even get approved by Acura during Research and development. 2 hours? And the car has to be on?! ANNNNNND its like more than 100 bux for the update disc? Im disgusted by this. Nonetheless I need it as my navigation gives me OUTRAGEOUS directions with 2 hour travel times and google maps can guide m to the same direction in 10 minutes. Acura should be ashamed. Like seriously embarrassed.

 

Seriously the system is really a 2005 ish tech. It is a pata interface. It really almost 20 year old. It probably be considerably shorter if you could skip Mexico and Canada updates. All in All, It works fine in my area for traffic routes and I actually like it better than the Lexus system.

 

Actually I can sort of relate with mrphillipanderson since I cannot recall the last time I used the NAV in the car. Ever since the advent of smartphones with great apps like googlemaps or Waze, there is really almost no reason to use the car NAV except that it is much easier to look at the larger map on the car's screen versus a smartphone. I envision that in the next several years auto makers will provide some kind of recess on the dash that works sort of like a docking station for large phones/small tablets to both stream music and provide NAV (unless this is already in existence)..

 

The Acura Navigation is the worst. But with that said, there are two very good reasons to have it. First, in many jurisdictions, mine included, having a phone in your hand will get you a ticket. Even if it's already navigating and only prompting you with audible directions, if it's in hand, it's a ticket.

Second, if you travel anywhere without signal (think mountains) Google Maps/Waze won't help you unless you've already downloaded the maps for a particular area.

But Acura Nav really is the worst. And if you're in Canada, the discs will cost closer to $250.

 

I just purchased a 2010. I was looking at prices today for an update just out of curious, as I don't know when or if it has ever been updated. I don't actually use the Nav for directions, but for the map only. I've found it super convenient to have Waze direct me while utilizing the on screen Nav map. Kind of a best of both worlds situation. How often are the Nav updates put out?

 

We are about 75% through the update (each of our drives over the last several days have only been maybe 10 to 20 minutes each) but I am curious as to whether there are any other improvements provided by the update other than just new maps? For example, the coordination with my Galaxy S6 has been hinky at times. During a call there are occasional beeps that cause momentary dropouts but I understand this was a Galaxy issue and not a HandsFreeLink issue. Also my older Galaxy S3 used to work great with Pandora and the song info would show up on the Nav screen--not so with the S6. I have just upgraded to an S8 so it could be that these issues were addressed but I was still wondering if the Acura Nav updates include any side benefits--guess I will find out in another day or so.

 

Discs are update yearly at a cost of approx. $150 to start with and going down to approx. $100 after a few months have past.

 

I bought the 2017 Nav update a couple months ago. I haven't done the update yet. Until this thread I assumed the update had to be done all at once with the engine running continuously. Glad to see it can be done in chunks.
Can you use the radio or XM while the update is taking place?

 

^^^^ The Instructions say the HDD won't be usable during the update process, and the Navi won't be usable for the first 40 minutes or so. Apparently the radio and XM ARE available during the update.

The instructions mention a "password" provided on the invoice. I guess that means the "activation code" because nothing on my invoice is referred to as a password.

 

I just bought 05 RL the navigation screen does not come on when first start but after driving fee few miles it states that it's downloading software then says check disc. I just purchased updated versions to no success though. Could my navigation or DVD box be bad?

 

Update is done and, to answer my own questions, nothing really seems to have changed except for the maps being updated. My wife and I had also upgraded our Galaxy S6 phones to S8 and I was able to do the handsfreelink without much difficulty. UNFORTUNATELY, while Pandora streaming works fine, there is still no info shown as to what song or artist you are listening to. I still find it odd that this showed up when we had the "old" S3 so I guess it must be some Samsung issue.

 

Ya the map updates do not ever seem to update the roads in the midwest rural areas. However I still update ever 2 years.

 

How much does it cost?

 

^^^^ https://acuranavi.navigation.com/pro...US/AcuraNA/USD

$149. If you wait until Feb or March next year the price will drop to $99.

 

Oops, that link is for the 2018 update for 07-08 TLs. Looks like the new purple 2018 DVD isn't available yet, or the website says 2017 when it should say 2018. I bought my 2017 update in June for $99, so it shouldn't now be selling for $149.

Here's the link for the 2012 - 2014 4G:
The Official Acura Map Update Site | Acura | 2017 Purple DVD Map Update v3.50.10.F0 | HERE

 

Over the past two years over periodically called The Official Acura navi people (number on the contact us page of their website)
and the price changes Dramatically with each check in. Sometimes 99.99 sometime 149.00...and apparently you cant buy used ones on ebay, they said they wont work
And you cant share between cars (so they say). 149 dollars Is incredibly expensive for an update that uses archaic technology to do that update.
Maybe Im just cheap? But does this seem steep to others? And ridiculous that it takes some more than a day to get it completely updated?

 

I don't think it's that ridiculous. I would never pay the $149 and only buy it every other year when they're having the $99 sale. So it equates to about $50/year by only updating every other year. I'm in the car a lot so the 2 hour installation passes pretty quickly. Not a big deal for me.

 

It's refreshing to see such a positive outlook on this, but I have to disagree. Firstly, $99 every 2 years does not equate to $50/year, it just averages to $50/year. It's not like upgrading every 10 years means it's only $10/year.

But in any event, I think the problem many have is that it's costly in light of the relative quality of the product. In short, Acura Nav is the worst. Google Maps, a product that is free to anyone with a phone (so, everyone between the ages of 7 and 75) blows Acura Nav out of the water (when there's signal...God help you if there's not). Even my old Garmin is far superior. The only thing Acura Nav has going for it is being built-in.

Of course, maybe I'm just jaded by the fact that the update costs 2.5 times as much if you're in Canada.

 

Actually for me, it does equal ~ $50/year. For me it also averages ~ $50/year. I buy the upgrade every other year for $99 so you can choose which word you prefer. They're the same to me. Honestly, I can't even believe that someone would make that an issue but whatever floats your boat man.

I love the fact that the navigation is built in. It has a much larger screen than my phone which I greatly appreciate. I don't have to worry about mounting my phone or running down the battery while it's in use. To be honest with you, I use my navigation screen for glancing at the map of the area and finding alternative routes more so than programming it to give me guided directions. It's handy when traffic is heavy in an area that I'm not totally familiar with. Is it perfect? Absolutely not but for what it is and for what I need it to be, it satisfies 95% of the time. If I need more, I can whip out my phone and open up Google Maps. Have only had to do that once in the last year though. Maybe if I traveled more extensively, I would need a better tool but for my purposes, an updated Acura Nav works fine.

 

I don't believe I made "an issue", but if it seemed that way, it's because what you wrote was untrue, or at the very least, inaccurate. You are not updating for $50 per year; you are updating periodically at an average cost or $50/year. You're making it sound lower cost than it is (though you gave the background for your "math", so credit there).

Around this time of year, I see ads on TV telling me that I can feed a child in Africa for only a dollar a day. That seems like a good deal. But if I found out it's actually $15/day, and they only feed them twice a month, that's different.

I'm not trying to tell you that you're wrong (except on the math part). And in fact, I've been meaning to confirm if the US discs are still the same as the Canadian version, in which case I may buy, ship to a US address, and ultimately update my 2009. Although I'd happily update for $11/year, I will grudgingly update after 9 years for an $11 average. At $11 year, I'd have always had "fresh" maps. At $99 over 9 years (assuming I can pay the US amount, otherwise it's much more than that), I get fresh maps one year, and 8 years of "breadcrumbs".

 

Sure am glad you didn't make it an issue. I would have hated to seen your reply if you had. Bottom line is: Buy it if makes fiscal sense to you and skip it if it doesn't. Good day.

 

The '18 navigation update is disc is now officially available. $149 plus about $4 shipping. They should be marking it down to $99 in a month or two.

 

but there is a minor quirk I have found both with the original NAV DVD as well as the one we recently updated. I notice that there are sometimes small "artifacts" that show up at times. They look like tiny dots without information--they are white and can appear individually or sometimes in a line. They stand out more at the night display since they are white on a black background. The dots are always at the same relative street locations and are there at all zoom levels. Does anyone else have these or know what I am talking about? If need be I can snap a photo and post when I think of it.

 

Are you talking about the "breadcrumbs"? Those should only appear when you're travelling on streets that the system doesn't recognize. If the breadcrumbs are appearing on mapped streets, that's a problem; one that I don't know how to fix, short of reinstalling the disc..

 

I don't think they are breadcrumbs. It is true that they are sometimes in a line but in many cases there will be an arbitrary dot or two at certain locations. Maybe I will take a photo and post it. I was not aware of the breadcrumb feature and will look for the setting, but these had struck me more as "dropouts". They are not that much of a big deal but just slightly annoying.

 

I have the same issue with my '17 update. They are breadcrumbs, even though I have that feature turned off. They also are not on valid streets sometimes. Some on my map show up cutting through neighbor's yards and through wooded areas. I ignore mine. They show up much brighter at night than in the day. I figured it was a flaw in the disc.

 

I agree--they strike me more as some sort of flaw in the data since a dot or two can end up anywhere. The only constant is that every artifact remains at the same location and never seem to change.

 

The upgrade times remind me off good old days when I had tape deck with Atari 65XE and Commodore 64.

 

If you update the map, will it update the UI for XM radio? I have an 2009 TL. I am thinking about doing it for 2018.

 

I wasn't even aware of the breadcrumbs thing nor the setting regarding "offroad tracking". So I searched around and finally found that setting, which was on, and turned to off. The white dots seemed to go away except that this morning on the drive to work found white dots showing up again.

 

No.

 

I don't know this for certain, but I assume turning off tracking simply means you won't leave new breadcrumbs. In order for the system to work, the breadcrumbs have to be "written" to the maps, almost like an update...otherwise they wouldn't appear next time you got in the car. I expect that turning the function off doesn't delete what's there, only refrains from adding new.

 

For anyone interested, the '18 navigation update disc is now on sale for $99, apparently through August.

 

Ya I am debating about it. However, the update last time took like 2hr and 33mins on the fast update. If you start the fast update and have to stop (though it says you can continued)....it does however the remaining is done in slow mode which makes a remaining hour last 4 hours.

 

I updated mine last year, over 3 or 4 start/stop cycles. Total update time was about 2.5 hrs. All parts of the update were in fast mode.

 

Same here. I actually had 7 or 8 start/stop cycles. Total update time was about 2 hours 10 minutes.