orca1946

My kids convinced me to nav. with my phone since it updates very frequently without any cost.

jimmbbo

Regarding the nav map database update, GM and Ford both rip off customers by offering "annual" updates. In late '16, I updated my '11 Mustang GT system with the "latest" database that somehow didn't include highway changes (including a significant change to I15 in Vegas) that had been in effect for THREE YEARS. Thinking "surely GM must do it better", in January I bought a replacement HMI to add nav to my C7 and purchased the latest and greatest $159 update... Imagine my surprise when the update FAILED to include the SAME highway changes that the Ford system ignored a year earlier...
I plan to update the nav map database every three or four years at the most frequent.

Before the "USE YOUR PHONE!!!" crowd spins up, I have used Apple maps, Google maps, Waze and my Garmin Nuvi. Each has its pluses and minuses, and are used as conditions warrant, but my primary nav preference is the onboard system, which is why I bought the replacement HMI.

Kent1999

Just FYI -- MOST major auto manufacturers charge for Nav map updates. In the REAL world, most things are not 'free'.

Are there a few that are free? Sure, but *most* do charge. If you do a little research, you'll find that GM's update charge is not that different from the range charged by the other automakers.

That said, map updates are 100% OPTIONAL, and if you choose not to get an update, your nav will keep working just as it always has.
As others here have stated, most people will not benefit from updating maps *every* year, but instead, every 3 would be good enough.