A road to nowhere

[Ed50]

Well not exactly but my Sat Nav's sh*te.

Now my car rolled off the line at the very end of March and apparently has the latest Garmin System in place with all the very latest updates available at time of manufacture.......

Great me thinks this has got to be a major step forward compared to previous efforts that have gone before but that was until I've started to use it.Clearly programmed by
Mark Thatcher this thing doesn't recognise junctions that have been open 2 years or so leading off the M1, which doesn't give me a lot of confidence sadly.

The Dealership have looked into it and confirm thats as good as it gets currently as there is no further updates,discs or flash they can do to it to bring it out of the dark ages so
that leaves me slightly perturbed.


Now being a seasoned AM owner I knew it was never going to be brilliant, but really with todays technology surely something can be done.So if anyone has any idea's other than
go to Halfords and buy a Tom Tom or invest in a Big Atlas I would be grateful for their enlightenment.

I really don't want to spend my time lost driving in circles on a road to nowhere or following buses

[Lunablack]

And how much was this technological marvel on the options list....

Seriously, if ever I'm lucky enough to be able to afford a brand new AM, sat nav WILL NOT be on the list

[Y100]

Lunablack said:

And how much was this technological marvel on the options list....

Seriously, if ever I'm lucky enough to be able to afford a brand new AM, sat nav WILL NOT be on the list

Garmin Sat nav is now standard I believe, well it is on the DB9.2. Disappointing that there's no update available,,,I did find myself crossing the fields (on the screen) when going along the new A16 Peterboro' to Spalding road on Sunday, thats been open the last 2 summers.

That said, I did find the graphics, the 3D option and multi choice lane junction images quite natty. On balance, quite pleased.

Ed50, if you do find an update source, perhaps you would pm me please.

[mikey k]

I've fallen out with the in built Garmin too many times and reverted to my To Tom

[Ed50]

.............I surpose I could get the Wife to be co driver more often and act as Navigator

There again do I need verbal instructions based on the where abouts of every known Shoe Shop and Hair Dressers
this side of Timbuktu.......


Mikey if your still out there did you Scotchbrite your hood liner yourself, if so with what and from where.........Thanks.

[LordBretSinclair]

Ed50 said:

........other than go to Halfords and buy a Tom Tom.............

That's exactly what I did. It's taken Lady S and me all over Europe without the slightest hiccup

[mikey k]

Ed50 said:

.............I surpose I could get the Wife to be co driver more often and act as Navigator

There again do I need verbal instructions based on the where abouts of every known Shoe Shop and Hair Dressers
this side of Timbuktu.......


Mikey if your still out there did you Scotchbrite your hood liner yourself, if so with what and from where.........Thanks.

I masked off the alcantara and rear screen then laid plastic sheet over the interior. The. Just spray it with aerosol protectant of choice.

[Bravo73]

Or, and an even easier and cheaper solution: if you've got a smartphone (which I imagine most of us do), get the Waze app. It's free and it's great. Speed cameras, traffic problems, updated routing, the lot. Highly recommended.

[Grant3]

You can update the units mapping via SD card (oem garmin gvn54) but I can't help with what the latest map date is I'm afraid, but I can't imagine the very latest download would be 2 years out of date. Worth a bit research I think.

[Ed50]

Bravo the Waze app is well worth knowing about so many thanks.



Grant, I agree. I'll continue with some research and probably get in touch with some boffin at Gaydon,no disrespect to my Dealership but I do find there response
some what hard to swallow.

Cheers Ed.

[Grant3]

Ed50 said:

Grant, I agree. I'll continue with some research and probably get in touch with some boffin at Gaydon,no disrespect to my Dealership but I do find there response
some what hard to swallow.
Cheers Ed.

I'm sure A.M. will get regular updates sorted soon. If you don't wish to wait .....I believe Garmin update their mapping 4 times a year. I would phone Garmin customer services to check compatibility with the unit and you can then either buy a new SD card, or download a big update to your puter.

[steveatesh]

Bravo73 said:

Or, and an even easier and cheaper solution: if you've got a smartphone (which I imagine most of us do), get the Waze app. It's free and it's great. Speed cameras, traffic problems, updated routing, the lot. Highly recommended.

Personally I think Manufacturers will move to a solution whereby the car has a display of some sorts fitted and the ability to use an app on a smart phone of your choice. Cheaper for the customer and allows much better updates and some choice of the various sat nav apps out there.

I read last week one sat nav manufacturer has released an aftermarket add on which is a thin film that fixes to the windscreen in front of the driver and the electronic widget takes its feed from your smart phone, and projects it onto the film as a HUD style. It was very reasonable in cost too. Convergence of technology is the way ahead!

[Ed50]

Grant3 said:

Ed50 said:

Grant, I agree. I'll continue with some research and probably get in touch with some boffin at Gaydon,no disrespect to my Dealership but I do find there response
some what hard to swallow.
Cheers Ed.

I'm sure A.M. will get regular updates sorted soon. If you don't wish to wait .....I believe Garmin update their mapping 4 times a year. I would phone Garmin customer services to check compatibility with the unit and you can then either buy a new SD card, or download a big update to your puter.

Brilliant now why didn't I think of that,I'll speak with Garmin as you suggest.

Strangely I understood from the Dealer it was an annual update and that there was no new SM card available.......

We shall see

[Grant3]

Ed50 said:

Strangely I understood from the Dealer it was an annual update and that there was no new SM card available.......
:

Yes I believe that is correct from an A.M. perspective (likely at annual service), but I was just trying to suggest an alternative if you can't get an official update and need an alternative with newer mapping now. If you purchase a new SD card you can still retain the original in case of issues, but I'm not sure if Garmin will supply one for an OEM unit.... but thought it was worth checking

[whoami]

Grant3 said:

Yes I believe that is correct from an A.M. perspective (likely at annual service), but I was just trying to suggest an alternative if you can't get an official update and need an alternative with newer mapping now. If you purchase a new SD card you can still retain the original in case of issues, but I'm not sure if Garmin will supply one for an OEM unit.... but thought it was worth checking

When I asked Garmin about this, computer says no.

[smartmove]

Yes, the Sat Nav is shockingly bad. I just use Google Navigation on my phone.

[IanV12VR]

I think I must be lucky. We have done 5k miles in our car all over Europe and the UK and the sat nav works fine. Re routes as needed and I like the graphics. Much better than the Volvo unit on previous Astons.

[bananarob]

Had an issue with mine rebooting when putting in town names but this is finally resolved. That aside its great.

[Art0ir]

Most SatNav maps can be sourced from the less palatable corners of the web. Controversial maybe, but you've paid for the bloody thing and by the sounds of it AM and Garmin have been no help.