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Cellular forums Home > Archive > GPS > July 2007 > GPS units that can't be updated - what about the units built in to cars?
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GPS units that can't be updated - what about the units built in to cars?
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| Andrew Hamilton 2007-07-09, 3:33 pm |
| In a recent posting someone pointed out that his GPS unit had old maps
and that he couldn't locate certain destinations that were newly
constructed. Another comment was that a three year old GPS should no
longer be used.
Now if that is true,what happens with all the GPS units installed in
new cars these days? Are they getting updated? Or will the owners of
four or six year old cars be forced to do a replacement, which I have
to think would be very pricey for a factory-installed unit.
Have the auto manufacturers dealt with this issue? Is this covered in
any ways under the "bumper to bumper" warranties?
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| Harold Burton 2007-07-09, 3:33 pm |
| In article < jfv49316tdguu481lp2u
sge4s3c5tvftqv@4ax.com>,
Andrew Hamilton < Ahamilton90900@yahoo
.com> wrote:
> In a recent posting someone pointed out that his GPS unit had old maps
> and that he couldn't locate certain destinations that were newly
> constructed. Another comment was that a three year old GPS should no
> longer be used.
>
> Now if that is true,what happens with all the GPS units installed in
> new cars these days? Are they getting updated? Or will the owners of
> four or six year old cars be forced to do a replacement, which I have
> to think would be very pricey for a factory-installed unit.
>
> Have the auto manufacturers dealt with this issue? Is this covered in
> any ways under the "bumper to bumper" warranties?
Don't know about other cars, but the Honda Odyssey has its information
on a CD in a unit under one of the front seats. When newer versions CDs
are available they cost about $170.
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| Larry G 2007-07-09, 10:33 pm |
| On Jul 9, 3:59 pm, Harold Burton <hal.i.bur...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> In article < jfv49316tdguu481lp2u
sge4s3c5tvf...@4ax.com>,
> Andrew Hamilton <Ahamilton90...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Don't know about other cars, but the Honda Odyssey has its information
> on a CD in a unit under one of the front seats. When newer versions CDs
> are available they cost about $170.
the folks who buy cars with nav units .. just speculating here..
probably are the kind of folks that want the dealer to do whatever is
"necessary" when the car is serviced.
knowing the auto dealers like I do.. I would think they would be more
than happy to do an update for say... $170 plus a flat rate of $100
for the one hour they'd bill for the 5 minute update... :-)
so .. how'd you like to be the guy at the auto dealer who does Nav
updates for $50 an hour?
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| On Jul 9, 11:31 am, Andrew Hamilton <Ahamilton90...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> In a recent posting someone pointed out that his GPS unit had old maps
> and that he couldn't locate certain destinations that were newly
> constructed. Another comment was that a three year old GPS should no
> longer be used.
Seems like a rather silly comment since almost all mapping GPS units,
whether handheld, dashboard/windshield mount, or vehicle installed,
can be updated with new maps. It's also very application dependent.
If you're using the GPS to see where you are relative to mountain
peaks and streams then it's rather likely that they're still in about
the same place that they were three years ago.
>
> Now if that is true,what happens with all the GPS units installed in
> new cars these days? Are they getting updated? Or will the owners of
> four or six year old cars be forced to do a replacement, which I have
> to think would be very pricey for a factory-installed unit.
Handhelds and portable units are usually updated by getting a CD or
DVD that you put in your PC and then load the new maps from there into
the GPS. Units semi-permanently mounted in vehicles usually accept
new map CD/DVDs directly. AFAIK, car dealers all charge for the new
maps rather than covering them under any warranty service.
| |
| Hugh Jass 2007-07-11, 10:33 am |
| Some auto units rely on DVD's for their maps. Therefore they would only need
to get new DVD's.
"Andrew Hamilton" < Ahamilton90900@yahoo
.com> wrote in message
news:jfv49316tdguu48
1lp2usge4s3c5tvftqv@
4ax.com...
> In a recent posting someone pointed out that his GPS unit had old maps
> and that he couldn't locate certain destinations that were newly
> constructed. Another comment was that a three year old GPS should no
> longer be used.
>
> Now if that is true,what happens with all the GPS units installed in
> new cars these days? Are they getting updated? Or will the owners of
> four or six year old cars be forced to do a replacement, which I have
> to think would be very pricey for a factory-installed unit.
>
> Have the auto manufacturers dealt with this issue? Is this covered in
> any ways under the "bumper to bumper" warranties?
>
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
| |
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| Peter, I'll admit to being completely clueless when it comes to updating my
Magellan RoadMate 500 using anything other than the updates sold by
Magellan. Now that Magellan has told me that they're no longer supporting
the 500 and that there are no more updates available can you tell me how to
get newer maps into it? Thanks.
Gary
"peter" <prathman@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1184136833.038230.129150@m37g2000prh.googlegroups.com...
> On Jul 9, 11:31 am, Andrew Hamilton <Ahamilton90...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Seems like a rather silly comment since almost all mapping GPS units,
> whether handheld, dashboard/windshield mount, or vehicle installed,
> can be updated with new maps. It's also very application dependent.
> If you're using the GPS to see where you are relative to mountain
> peaks and streams then it's rather likely that they're still in about
> the same place that they were three years ago.
>
> Handhelds and portable units are usually updated by getting a CD or
> DVD that you put in your PC and then load the new maps from there into
> the GPS. Units semi-permanently mounted in vehicles usually accept
> new map CD/DVDs directly. AFAIK, car dealers all charge for the new
> maps rather than covering them under any warranty service.
>
| |
| Andrew Hamilton 2007-07-13, 12:33 pm |
| On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:45:07 -0400, Jack Erbes <jacker@midmaine.com>
wrote:
To the person who wrote that my comments were "silly," how do you
respond to Jack's detailed description of how he can't locate updates
for a certain Magellan product?
>
>I try some of the other links to support for other obsolete products and
>get the same error for every one. So I'm at a dead end street here.
>These are the kind of issues and problems that make me glad I'm no
>longer using a Magellan.
>
>It pisses me off but I decide to see if I'm screwed up or they are. So
>I go back to the support page again:
>
(deleted)
>Don't take any of this as a personal flame, I'm venting on Magellan
>here. But you have to be stubborn and persistent to figure some this
>out and make it work. This newsgroup is a good start for getting help,
>alt.satellite.gps.magellan is another group that is more specific to
>your needs and you may get better help there.
>
>Jack
Jack and everyone else. How about other manufacturers, such as
TomTom? How good are they about providing new maps for products that
are say 3-4 years old.
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| Larry G 2007-07-13, 3:33 pm |
| On Jul 13, 12:30 pm, Andrew Hamilton <Ahamilton90...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:45:07 -0400, Jack Erbes <jac...@midmaine.com>
> wrote:
>
> To the person who wrote that my comments were "silly," how do you
> respond to Jack's detailed description of how he can't locate updates
> for a certain Magellan product?
>
>
>
>
>
> (deleted)
>
>
>
> Jack and everyone else. How about other manufacturers, such as
> TomTom? How good are they about providing new maps for products that
> are say 3-4 years old.
FYI - http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2006/07/...>
which_one.php
| |
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| Jack, Thank you very much for the reply and for such a detailed response.
I've already got the latest update that Magellan had available. I think
that I paid $99.00 for it awhile ago but IMHO the maps were a bit out of
date then and they are greatly out of date now. I wouldn't mind paying
Magellan, or anyone else for that matter, to keep the unit up-to-date. I
just get the impression from Magellan that there's no way to update it.
That seems like such a waste and if you know of any third-party software
that will update it I'd love to know how to do it. I'm trying to research
it but I'm having a tough time understanding much of it. Thanks, again!
--
Gary
Visit Lucy & Gary and do the jigsaw puzzle at
www.under-1-roof.com/PuzzlePage.html
"Jack Erbes" <jacker@midmaine.com> wrote in message
news:4696689a$0$1496
2$4c368faf@roadrunne
r.com...
> Gary wrote:
>
> Being a GPS user can be tough. And Magellan and Garmin are not wasting
> much time or money on making it easier. I shifted from Magellan to Garmin
> last year but still follow Magellan topics. You never know when you'll
> change back again.
>
> If I go to the Magellan web site and flounder around on their slow loading
> pages (apparently now on one of the slowest servers in India) I eventually
> find the support page for obsolete products:
>
> http://www.magellangps.com/support/obsoleteProducts.asp
>
> And choose the RoadMate 500, it takes me to a linked page
>
> http://www.magellangps.com/support/....asp?prodid=956
>
> but I get the following error:
>
> "The system cannot find the file specified."
>
> I try some of the other links to support for other obsolete products and
> get the same error for every one. So I'm at a dead end street here. These
> are the kind of issues and problems that make me glad I'm no longer using
> a Magellan.
>
> It pisses me off but I decide to see if I'm screwed up or they are. So I
> go back to the support page again:
>
> http://www.magellangps.com/support/
>
> I ignore the legacy products link and choose the RoadMate series and
> RoadMate 500 from the Product Support & Updates > My Magellan is > Select
> a Model select boxes and click on the Submit button.
>
> That takes me to a support page for the RoadMate 500. Hooray! But I
> can't post a link to is because it is an "active server page" (has a .asp
> suffix) and it does not have a visible URL. This does nothing to further
> my esteem for things Magellan. Why the hell would they want to make it
> this hard to share info about their products?
>
> But, anyway, if you go to the Magellan pages and ape my actions, you can
> get to a page that will maybe help you start figuring this out.
>
> On the RoadMate 500 page I found a Updates/Upgrades section that had some
> FAQ that should help you. It looks like the normal process for upgrading
> the maps on those involves (or did at one time at least) require some
> registration and unlocking or authorization interactions with Magellan.
> And I suppose at least some of that is going to involve your having to pay
> for or buy an upgrade.
>
> No seller of automotive GPS receivers gives away free updates for mapping
> data. They will (or may, and should) give away free updates for the
> software in the GPS receiver that uses the data because those updates go
> to fixing design and software errors that keep the product working right
> or the way they said it would. Every generation of Magellan (and Garmin)
> hardware goes to obsolescence with unfixed issues and unresolved errors.
> That is called "poor product support" and is one of the things that drove
> me from Magellan to Garmin.
>
> Don't take any of this as a personal flame, I'm venting on Magellan here.
> But you have to be stubborn and persistent to figure some this out and
> make it work. This newsgroup is a good start for getting help,
> alt.satellite.gps.magellan is another group that is more specific to your
> needs and you may get better help there.
>
> Jack
| |
|
| On Jul 13, 9:30 am, Andrew Hamilton <Ahamilton90...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:45:07 -0400, Jack Erbes <jac...@midmaine.com>
> wrote:
>
> To the person who wrote that my comments were "silly," how do you
> respond to Jack's detailed description of how he can't locate updates
> for a certain Magellan product?
I would see nothing wrong with a comment that a particular model or
even possibly one manufacturer's GPS line is becoming prematurely
outdated because of lack of map updates.
What I found silly was a general statement that GPS units shouldn't be
used once they're three years old - that depends on application (my
hiking maps are very old and still work fine since the mountains
haven't moved much), geographic area (in some places there aren't
enough changes to warrant paying for new maps every 3 years, and
manufacturer's support (my 8 year old Garmin GPS is still working fine
and can be loaded with recently updated maps - North American updates
were just announced).
Magellan in particular has had some customer support issues that I
suspect were exacerbated by uncertainty regarding their ties to
Thales. Hope they can start turning things around. But even in their
product line, other models continue to see at least some support with
new maps. I know people who use older Magellan Meridian models that
have gotten rather recent maps.
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