Navigation sucks!!!
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 3,639
Likes: 8
From: Jersey Strong NY/NJ
But I love to pull off on the shoulder of a busy highway and pull out my 50 page, 3 volume NAV tutorial and spend the next 30 minutes to an hour trying to find the part that applies to what I'm trying to do at that moment in my life.
Or I can use my Garmin with it's FREE lifetime map updates, and super intuitive operation, and get on with my life.
Or I can use my Garmin with it's FREE lifetime map updates, and super intuitive operation, and get on with my life.
That shouldn't be the case. I understand some of the features will be more complex then others but entering an address or POI should be 1,2,3 GO like a Garmin or tom tom etc..
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,075
Likes: 6
From: Wilmington NC
But I love to pull off on the shoulder of a busy highway and pull out my 50 page, 3 volume NAV tutorial and spend the next 30 minutes to an hour trying to find the part that applies to what I'm trying to do at that moment in my life.
Or I can use my Garmin with it's FREE lifetime map updates, and super intuitive operation, and get on with my life.
Or I can use my Garmin with it's FREE lifetime map updates, and super intuitive operation, and get on with my life.
My point exactly.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,767
Likes: 2
From: Melbourne, Arkansas
Cruise-In X Veteran
The only good part of it is when you turn it off and get the C6 emblem displayed!! 
I'm not a big fan of it either....... Wish it had the Alpine system that my 2011 Dodge Ram had in it!! Garmin Nav, USB, built in Hard Drive and really good sound!!!
Mark
I'm not a big fan of it either....... Wish it had the Alpine system that my 2011 Dodge Ram had in it!! Garmin Nav, USB, built in Hard Drive and really good sound!!!
Mark
Moderator
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 40,898
Likes: 4,350
From: Lakewood Ranch, FL
I have three different Navigation systems: The Denso in the Corvette, the Alpine in the CTS and a Garmin 1490LMT in my truck. They all work basically the same and all work better when set up properly.
Here is a wonderful tutorial on the nav system from Paul Pearson (Talon90) Using the C6 Navigation system - Parts 1 through 5
Here is a wonderful tutorial on the nav system from Paul Pearson (Talon90) Using the C6 Navigation system - Parts 1 through 5
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 41,732
Likes: 1,718
From: Springfield MO
And this is why you can't enter anything into the nav while driving because its way to dangerous to do it and GM wants to avoid law suits. You need a degree just to figure this thing out. That shouldn't be the case. I understand some of the features will be more complex then others but entering an address or POI should be 1,2,3 GO like a Garmin or tom tom etc..
That shouldn't be the case. I understand some of the features will be more complex then others but entering an address or POI should be 1,2,3 GO like a Garmin or tom tom etc..You're getting ready to do a trip and you want to program the NAV. Can you do this in your office or do you have to do it in your garage? I can program my Garmin in my office/home etc in front of the computer where I have Bing maps on to plan my trip. Then I carry it to my car, and stick it on the holder in my cup holder. If I'm on a trip and I want to change my route for the next day, I can do it in my motel room, not out in the car. And I don't have to lug around a 50 page, 5 part tutorial with me in order to work the Garmin.
BTW, I have the $1750 factory NAV and a Garmin, so I know the features and the disadvantages of both. The Garmin wins out 99% of the time.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 274
Likes: 2
From: New Boston, TX
I have found that the GM nav is far more sophisticated than any of the many Garmin's I have owned and once I learned how to use all of it's capabilities I was very pleased and really like the integration into the HUD of the nav info. That is something because there is no HUD integration available with any of the aftermarket units. That is one feature after using it for a year I just will not give up.
I had the Kenwood touchscreen with the Garmin interface in the convert I sold last summer and it worked fine but it was not nearly as integrated or sophisticated as the GM unit is.
Take the time to learn it and you will grow to really like and appreciate it.
When I gives me a route through the middle of DFW during rush hour and I take an alternate route and it never adjusts its route...only continues to attempt to redirect me 30 miles out of the way of my current route...I can't believe that it is accurate and reliable.
Maybe the sophistication is there, but it definitely isn't accurate, and therefore I can't rely on it.
None of that takes into account the whole issue of requiring me to stop to do anything. Not practical, when I am trying to deal with the issues that I spoke of earlier.
I really wish I hadn't bothered to spend the money on it.
Last edited by AV8ForFun; Apr 18, 2012 at 04:40 PM.
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Moderator
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 40,898
Likes: 4,350
From: Lakewood Ranch, FL
Maybe for some you you guys it is reliable and accurate, but every time I use it on a trial basis to take me somewhere I know already, it routes me through strange indirect routes. Sure, it gets me there, but when I am driving on an interstate, and it tells me to exit 5 or 6 exits too early and drive through the side streets to get there, I can't trust it to take me somewhere I don't already know.
When I gives me a route through the middle of DFW during rush hour and I take an alternate route and it never adjusts its route...only continues to attempt to redirect me 30 miles out of the way of my current route...I can't believe that it is accurate and reliable.
Maybe the sophistication is there, but it definitely isn't accurate, and therefore I can't rely on it.
I really wish I hadn't bothered to spend the money on it.
When I gives me a route through the middle of DFW during rush hour and I take an alternate route and it never adjusts its route...only continues to attempt to redirect me 30 miles out of the way of my current route...I can't believe that it is accurate and reliable.
Maybe the sophistication is there, but it definitely isn't accurate, and therefore I can't rely on it.
I really wish I hadn't bothered to spend the money on it.
Moderator
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 40,898
Likes: 4,350
From: Lakewood Ranch, FL
You're cruising down the Interstate at 70 MPH and you want to enter something in the NAV, can you have the person riding shotgun do this without stopping the car on the shoulder to use the factory NAV?
You're getting ready to do a trip and you want to program the NAV. Can you do this in your office or do you have to do it in your garage? I can program my Garmin in my office/home etc in front of the computer where I have Bing maps on to plan my trip. Then I carry it to my car, and stick it on the holder in my cup holder. If I'm on a trip and I want to change my route for the next day, I can do it in my motel room, not out in the car. And I don't have to lug around a 50 page, 5 part tutorial with me in order to work the Garmin.
BTW, I have the $1750 factory NAV and a Garmin, so I know the features and the disadvantages of both. The Garmin wins out 99% of the time.
You're getting ready to do a trip and you want to program the NAV. Can you do this in your office or do you have to do it in your garage? I can program my Garmin in my office/home etc in front of the computer where I have Bing maps on to plan my trip. Then I carry it to my car, and stick it on the holder in my cup holder. If I'm on a trip and I want to change my route for the next day, I can do it in my motel room, not out in the car. And I don't have to lug around a 50 page, 5 part tutorial with me in order to work the Garmin.
BTW, I have the $1750 factory NAV and a Garmin, so I know the features and the disadvantages of both. The Garmin wins out 99% of the time.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,921
Likes: 3
From: Port Saint Lucie Fl.
You're cruising down the Interstate at 70 MPH and you want to enter something in the NAV, can you have the person riding shotgun do this without stopping the car on the shoulder to use the factory NAV?
You're getting ready to do a trip and you want to program the NAV. Can you do this in your office or do you have to do it in your garage? I can program my Garmin in my office/home etc in front of the computer where I have Bing maps on to plan my trip. Then I carry it to my car, and stick it on the holder in my cup holder. If I'm on a trip and I want to change my route for the next day, I can do it in my motel room, not out in the car. And I don't have to lug around a 50 page, 5 part tutorial with me in order to work the Garmin.
BTW, I have the $1750 factory NAV and a Garmin, so I know the features and the disadvantages of both. The Garmin wins out 99% of the time.
You're getting ready to do a trip and you want to program the NAV. Can you do this in your office or do you have to do it in your garage? I can program my Garmin in my office/home etc in front of the computer where I have Bing maps on to plan my trip. Then I carry it to my car, and stick it on the holder in my cup holder. If I'm on a trip and I want to change my route for the next day, I can do it in my motel room, not out in the car. And I don't have to lug around a 50 page, 5 part tutorial with me in order to work the Garmin.
BTW, I have the $1750 factory NAV and a Garmin, so I know the features and the disadvantages of both. The Garmin wins out 99% of the time.
You can do this with factory one by sending your destnation to your car via map quest
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,861
Likes: 8
From: DC Metro
DC Area Events Coordinator
The auto manufacturers have a really hard time keeping up with the speed of consumer electronics change. The tech they build-in is already dated when introduced in a new car and feels very old just 2-3 years later. If GM keeps a car in production for 10 years the electronic options are absolutely Jurassic by the end of the model's run. 
The ability to integrate smart phone Apps into the on-board dashboard screen for GPS (and more things) seems the only real solution.
To the specific GPS issue, I have the TomTom App on my iPhone and highly recommended it. The TomTom App comes with maps so you don't need to download them as you drive through areas with spotty 3G coverage. (Download the App while you are on WiFi, its big.) It's really annoying to have a smart phone or handheld GPS bouncing around in the cup holder or seat next to you so I also use the TomTom windshield mount. The windshield mount also boosts the iPhone GPS signal and has built-in Bluetooth and speaker phone as an added plus.
Cheers,
JB
The ability to integrate smart phone Apps into the on-board dashboard screen for GPS (and more things) seems the only real solution. To the specific GPS issue, I have the TomTom App on my iPhone and highly recommended it.
The TomTom App comes with maps so you don't need to download them as you drive through areas with spotty 3G coverage. (Download the App while you are on WiFi, its big.) It's really annoying to have a smart phone or handheld GPS bouncing around in the cup holder or seat next to you so I also use the TomTom windshield mount. The windshield mount also boosts the iPhone GPS signal and has built-in Bluetooth and speaker phone as an added plus. Cheers,
JB
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 692
Likes: 61
From: Little Rock AR
I have read all the manuals more than once.
But it does not take a degree in computer science to know something is screwed when you ask it to mark your home and the POS tells you that you home is 39 houses away when there is no such address.
But it does not take a degree in computer science to know something is screwed when you ask it to mark your home and the POS tells you that you home is 39 houses away when there is no such address.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 679
Likes: 4
From: TremontonUT UT
Ain't that the truth. I got so mad at her one day I wanted to put a .45 hole in the Nav. We have some very different addresses here in Utah where most of the streets run north, south, east and west. Here is a test for some of you guys that think problems are mostly operator error. Try inputting the address 835 South 150 West in Tremonton, Utah. If you figure it out, with out a problem, please PM me. I would be most grateful for the help. Until then I will use my online Road Atlas. Later! Frank
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,191
Likes: 53
From: Tucson Arizona
http://www.kawal.net/navigation.htm
I had to do something similar to the Kenwood unit that had the Garnin interface in my last vette by running the emergency brake wire from the units harness to ground in order to allow the passenger to program destinations while rolling down the freeway.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,191
Likes: 53
From: Tucson Arizona
That is not the unit that is the map data that came from Navteq who also supplies that same map database to Garmin. I have found that the latest GM map disc release is the same as the Garmin 2012.10 NA maps in my Garmin.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,608
Likes: 13
From: New Rochelle N.Y. 2013 Grand Sport
I have found that the GM nav is far more sophisticated than any of the many Garmin's I have owned and once I learned how to use all of it's capabilities I was very pleased and really like the integration into the HUD of the nav info. That is something because there is no HUD integration available with any of the aftermarket units. That is one feature after using it for a year I just will not give up.
I had the Kenwood touchscreen with the Garmin interface in the convert I sold last summer and it worked fine but it was not nearly as integrated or sophisticated as the GM unit is.
Take the time to learn it and you will grow to really like and appreciate it.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 278
Likes: 1
But I love to pull off on the shoulder of a busy highway and pull out my 50 page, 3 volume NAV tutorial and spend the next 30 minutes to an hour trying to find the part that applies to what I'm trying to do at that moment in my life.
Or I can use my Garmin with it's FREE lifetime map updates, and super intuitive operation, and get on with my life.
Or I can use my Garmin with it's FREE lifetime map updates, and super intuitive operation, and get on with my life.
For those of you on the fence. Take 30-45 minutes in the driveway and the manual. You may just be surprised at what the unit is capable of once you learn how to use it. BTW..the split screen is pretty cool.
You can also pull up previous destinations while driving. Yes, you do have to stop to place in a new destination and we all know why. That is the case with most if not all factory stock navs.