Mark@K-Town
Confused about dryer sheets
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- Oct 31, 2007
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This adapter can make a wireless connection between an iPhone and the on-board CarPlay system.
https://cplay2air.com/
https://cplay2air.com/
Poll: In Car NAV preferences
- Thread starter Midpack
- Start date
Gearhead Jim
Full time employment: Posting here.
We are not typical users- we've driven our Corvette (currently 7th Generation, 2017) all over the US and Canada. We like the factory Nav because the turn arrows and distance countdown are projected at the bottom of the windshield on the Heads Up Display. Voice directions mute the music when they sound.
Our previous generation (2009) had a much better Nav system overall, and many other UI details in the car itself were better. Apple carplay requires plugging in our phone with a cord, a PITA. A few years after a GM car goes out of production, they stop selling Nav map updates even at their exorbitant price.
Generally, I like the concept of factory Nav systems. But compared to what you can get on even a old primitive iphone, the factory systems seem to be getting worse instead of better.
Our previous generation (2009) had a much better Nav system overall, and many other UI details in the car itself were better. Apple carplay requires plugging in our phone with a cord, a PITA. A few years after a GM car goes out of production, they stop selling Nav map updates even at their exorbitant price.
Generally, I like the concept of factory Nav systems. But compared to what you can get on even a old primitive iphone, the factory systems seem to be getting worse instead of better.
donheff
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
+100 - Exactly. I don't want to enroll in a course just to operate the damn car. I never learned how to properly operate my Lexus Nav system let alone all the other junk. The adaptive cruise control is great and intuitive as is the collision avoidance and lane assist. Most of the other stuff is so buried in the manual that it is almost useless. The first time I hitched my bike rack to the back, the car slammed to a halt when I tried to back out of the garage. It took me twenty minutes to find the darn instructions for turning off the rear collision avoidance. I hadn't thought about YouTube. I will take a look and see what's out there....The new Ranger has more technology than I care for…Sync3, navigation, SiriusXM, Sirius TrafficPlus, Sirius TravelLink, Apple CarPlay, on-board Wi-Fi, lane assist, Trail Control, multiple cameras, etc. (the owner’s manual is 472 pages long!). It is essentially a rolling group of multiple computers. The technical learning curve has been really steep and most of the best information that I’ve found has been found via YouTube or Google searches. I say this as a retired Chemical Engineer that spent my working career developing software for some of the world’s largest bio-pharmaceutical plants. I can’t imagine how difficult this might be for a less technically oriented person.
aja8888
Moderator Emeritus
We have a 2021 Hyundai SUV and loaded with the electronics crap. I have some of it turned off (thank you Hyundai for making the PIA "Lane Assist" optional for use). The rest of the stuff is OK, but this is not a high end car like a Lexus and not equipped with a ton of features.
For music, I have a few USB flash drives with various recordings on them based on what we feel we want to hear. Easier than using a phone or third party.
I use my Garmin for trips. Around here, no need for NAV as I know the area.
Manufacturers should make their CEO's drive these rolling computers for a few weeks instead of just beta testing them on customers first.
For music, I have a few USB flash drives with various recordings on them based on what we feel we want to hear. Easier than using a phone or third party.
I use my Garmin for trips. Around here, no need for NAV as I know the area.
Manufacturers should make their CEO's drive these rolling computers for a few weeks instead of just beta testing them on customers first.
stephenson
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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It may have been mentioned ... Waze will not operate without cell connection, right? Whereas OEM and offline nav devices can?
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stephenson
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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I really like manual windows, manual seats, and the combination of a manual transmission with unboosted brakes and steering with carburetors - now, that was living!
Waze will try to operate without cellular data, but you lose features like automatic rerouting to avoid traffic, and my experience has been that it tends to crash after a while.
Google Maps will operate without cellular data for as long as I've ever wanted it to. I've also had it prompt me to download offline maps when creating a route through a likely dead zone, and if you travel through the same dead zone regularly, it will automatically update its offline maps when you are back on wifi.
We use the built-in NAV unit in our 2017 Ford Edge Sport. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are built-in. We have an extended maintenance contract - there are 23+ computer chips in this SUV - and maps are upgraded for free. They don't cost much from Ford anyway - less than $70 for the CD.
We used Garmin stand-alones for many years. When I finally decided to buy my "this is my last car so I'm going to get what I really want" car, I held off buying until the Sync 3 system was in production, because I heard that the Sync 2 system sucked big-time.
Spouse and I are eyeglass wearers - very myopic w/astigmatism - and peering at a little phone screen just doesn't work for us. Tried Waze but didn't care for it. In-dash Sync 3 not only clearer, bigger screen but better at certain tricky interchanges. We do a lot of urban driving and it's easier to read the street names on the NAV as opposed to the almost invisible/hidden street signs in some of the area's small cities! Rerouting is very fast.
Interestingly, compared to Mark@K-Town's experience with Sirius maps, we've had no trouble at all - but again, we're mostly driving in a well-traveled 200-mile radius from our home. We've compared Sirius' suggested traffic jam alternatives to Waze (using the Edge and the Kia Kona) and it was a wash - they were essentially identical in their re-routing suggestions.
One reason we gave up the last Garmin - the "lifetime maps" guarantee is worthless, as others have stated. Once a model goes obsolete, they stop offering free updates after a few years.
Freeway and street construction is ongoing around our region. You can't use a 15 yr old GPS, or even a 3 yr old GPS.
Voice activation on the Sync 3 is very useful feature but this is first-gen stuff; the 2020 Kia/Hyundai voice activation is faster and easier to use (I helped a friend buy the new Kia Kona). Still, the Sync 3 has some nice features to it we find useful - you can program Saved addresses; and it automatically keeps a log of the last 9 addresses you entered so you can get back to a hotel or store easily. Search feature sucks but that's what the smartphone is for [smile]. You can zoom out or in close, and it's an easy one-touch button to get back to the full Nav view.
We used Garmin stand-alones for many years. When I finally decided to buy my "this is my last car so I'm going to get what I really want" car, I held off buying until the Sync 3 system was in production, because I heard that the Sync 2 system sucked big-time.
Spouse and I are eyeglass wearers - very myopic w/astigmatism - and peering at a little phone screen just doesn't work for us. Tried Waze but didn't care for it. In-dash Sync 3 not only clearer, bigger screen but better at certain tricky interchanges. We do a lot of urban driving and it's easier to read the street names on the NAV as opposed to the almost invisible/hidden street signs in some of the area's small cities! Rerouting is very fast.
Interestingly, compared to Mark@K-Town's experience with Sirius maps, we've had no trouble at all - but again, we're mostly driving in a well-traveled 200-mile radius from our home. We've compared Sirius' suggested traffic jam alternatives to Waze (using the Edge and the Kia Kona) and it was a wash - they were essentially identical in their re-routing suggestions.
One reason we gave up the last Garmin - the "lifetime maps" guarantee is worthless, as others have stated. Once a model goes obsolete, they stop offering free updates after a few years.
Freeway and street construction is ongoing around our region. You can't use a 15 yr old GPS, or even a 3 yr old GPS.
Voice activation on the Sync 3 is very useful feature but this is first-gen stuff; the 2020 Kia/Hyundai voice activation is faster and easier to use (I helped a friend buy the new Kia Kona). Still, the Sync 3 has some nice features to it we find useful - you can program Saved addresses; and it automatically keeps a log of the last 9 addresses you entered so you can get back to a hotel or store easily. Search feature sucks but that's what the smartphone is for [smile]. You can zoom out or in close, and it's an easy one-touch button to get back to the full Nav view.
audreyh1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Hadn’t thought about a bike rack interfering with collision avoidance!
OP
OP
Midpack
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
The NAV systems in our Honda and Subaru are very intuitive, we browsed the manuals when we got the cars but we certainly didn’t feel any need to “enroll in a course.” How to operate them was pretty obvious for most functions, at least for anyone who uses a smartphone (similar UI). That said, we use Apple Maps/CarPlay for longer trips anyway. Voice commands make things even easier with Apple, Siri can understand almost anything. There’s a much more rigid voice command structure with Honda and especially Subaru, and voice recognition isn’t nearly as good as Siri, so we don’t use NAV voice much.
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Dash man
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
My BMW’s nav system has been great. Everything I need shows up on the heads up display, including the lane I need to be in. Rerouting in traffic has worked very well, but you need someone in the passenger seat to help with suggested route changes that pop up on the fly.
I had a close call on the interstate with the side anti collision feature. I was next to a semi truck on the right, a car on the left, and another semi truck behind me. The truck to my right started to veer into my lane a bit, but wasn’t changing lanes. The car slammed the brakes to avoid what the computer perceived as a imminent collision. This caused the truck behind me to slam on his brakes. My car released the brakes as soon as it detected the truck on my right correcting itself. But the truck driver behind me was not very happy. Fortunately, all ended well, but I did turn off the side anti collision and reported the incident to BMW.
I had a close call on the interstate with the side anti collision feature. I was next to a semi truck on the right, a car on the left, and another semi truck behind me. The truck to my right started to veer into my lane a bit, but wasn’t changing lanes. The car slammed the brakes to avoid what the computer perceived as a imminent collision. This caused the truck behind me to slam on his brakes. My car released the brakes as soon as it detected the truck on my right correcting itself. But the truck driver behind me was not very happy. Fortunately, all ended well, but I did turn off the side anti collision and reported the incident to BMW.
audreyh1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
To Dash_Man: Does your screen name have anything to do with a car dashboard?
zinger1457
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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One benefit I find in using the built-in navigation system is that the next turn/distance information shows up on the HUD (heads up display), very useful IMO.
Dash man
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
No, it’s a nickname from my Air Force days. If you remember Dash detergent, it was named for my uncle. It’s still sold in other countries. Anyway, my Air Force buddies started calling me Dash man when they found out.
