Sat Nav Discontent

Stu,

I thought I was a member on there but I can't find my user so maybe not.

If you don't mind please can post the following over there :

Mine still told tells me to take the second exit instead of the next one on some roundabouts despite free of charge software updates and map updates.

I took video film and provides the GPS locations etc.

Audi then told me about the new system coming out and that basically the 3G system wasn't being worked on anymore and therefore the odds of my issue being resolved were remote.

Their offer, which I accepted in settlement, was £1,000.
 
I went thru Customer Services after the dealer said they couldn't do any more for me.

The actual payment was a cheque from my dealer but it was financed by Audi themselves.
 
I don't really understand, is there problem that the map updates should be free but to get a 2012 map it it's £200 plus dealer update cost?
or Is it the under lying software on the mmi that is the issue?
 
Not sure on your question TripleD but perhaps I can clarify some points.

The current 3G MMI map update is £200 plus the dealer charge of 1.5 - 2 hours to install so potentially £400. Some people, myself included, are being offered these updates FoC following complaints to Audi CS.

I have the previous map data on my car which is woefully out of date in both mapping and functionality. To be honest I don't expect great things from the new map data as it's normally produced at least 6 months prior to Audi releasing it.

The map update may bring a firmware update (These were common with RNS-E) but who knows.

Audi have now dropped the previous Navteq mapping in favour of a Google system.
 
Is this specific to HDD Nav?
I was under the impression that you just brought an updated map pack if you wanted one. Then just put the DVD in the car to update it?

I've just come from a BMW, and that's pretty much what you done. Audi's I guess are different?
 
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Yes on the 3G MMI it comes with the HD and I believe the maps are delivered on an SD card or 2 x DVD.

Once you have the Map Update Pack it has to be activated using the online system at the dealers.

TripleD said:
Is this specific to HDD Nav?
I was under the impression that you just brought an updated map pack if you wanted one. Then just put the DVD in the car to update it?

I've just come from a BMW, and that's pretty much what you done. Audi's I guess are different?
Click to expand...
 
Ahhhh! I getcha!

I can understand that outside the standard warranty that updates should be paid for, but then having to pay dealer prices just to activate it is just a con!

I'm thankful I just have the DVD based system!
 
Updates within the warranty period are not even included. My car is not a year old yet and they were after £400.
 
Mmmmm concerned here. I'm just about to buy a 12-18 month old A4, and SatNav is one of my criteria. I'm literally looking at buying one this weekend.

Are you all basically saying that the 3 MMI SatNav is a load of rubbish? Does this apply to the DVD Nav too?

Has none of this been resolved by the latest firmware updates? And there are no plans to resolve them either?
 
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I wouldn't say it was rubbish, it's a very good system it's just not quite Tom Tom.

Postcode entry is poor at only 5 digit and the maps, even though mine are only last years, are out of date.
 
audi upgrades
Only 5 digits? I thought the DVD was 5 digits and the HDD was 7 digits? Clearly not!
So, besides having a HDD to store music on (which I think you can do by plugging a HDD into the AMI), and some 3D maps, are there any other advantages over the DVD nav?

Just sold a Toureg with an RNS510 in, nice system, but again only 5 digits.
 
RNS510 has had 7 digit for some time now so you will have had old maps/firmware.

If you got a newer car with the new Google mapping then I guess it'd be 7 digit. We don't yet know what the new maps will bring to the party.
 
Thanks for sharing this Stu. Gives me some bartering power with the salesmen this weekend! We all like the fitted in Nav, and it helps with resale, but its got to flipping work!

I see you're in Hampshire, so am I. Which dealer have you been dealing with?
 
For sure, I wouldn't take a car without Nav, it just looks so bare.

I use Southampton Audi (Chandlers Ford) - Anywhere near you?
 
So with the DVD based Nav that doesn't require a dealer update would it? For Example if Simo_UK wanted the 2012 maps, I could just copy the DVD and send it over ... or copy it to SD card?

My DVD Nav is running off a 16Gb SD card, seems to 'initialise' a lot quicker from the SD as apposed to the DVD!
 
Stu - I'm near J9 M27, so that's the one I'll be using too. Good to know they won't be able to blag me!
TripleD - That's how it worked for me in VW in the past. "Acquire" the DVD and load it onto the system. No activation required.
 
TripleD said:
So with the DVD based Nav that doesn't require a dealer update would it? For Example if Simo_UK wanted the 2012 maps, I could just copy the DVD and send it over ... or copy it to SD card?
Click to expand...

That's probably not how Audi envisage it, Lol but yes I get what you mean.

I did some research today and saw some posts on a forum which suggested Audi had or were about to implement online authorisation for DVD based systems. Not sure if that was on the legacy system or Google system.
 
Found some funnies on my SatNav after my recent travelling.

The petrol station at the end of my road, that's been there since I was a wee boy isn't listed on the POI at all!

The funniest was on the A14 coming from the M6 around Kettering, the satnav wanted me to come off on the Kettering slip road to the roundabout at the top of the slip road, then go straight over the roundabout and back down onto the A14!
Obviously I didn't follow it's instructions!
 
New update today - same old errors.

Not a great experience so far and now waiting for Audi CS to come up with some answers.
 
TripleD said:
So with the DVD based Nav that doesn't require a dealer update would it? For Example if Simo_UK wanted the 2012 maps, I could just copy the DVD and send it over ... or copy it to SD card?

My DVD Nav is running off a 16Gb SD card, seems to 'initialise' a lot quicker from the SD as apposed to the DVD!
Click to expand...

Getting hold of a 2012 DVD or a copy on an SD card will update the Nav but after about 30 seconds the Nav display will come up with "Nav data blocked". You need an activation code which you will not have from the disc from another car! When you pay the £200 for an update DVD you get a PIN and an activation code which must be entered by a dealer. Do you think Audi/Navteq would allow their product to be easily ripped?

I know from bitter experience buying a 2012 DVD from eBay then spending over 2 hours with Audi techs trying to get it to work. Only good thing I got my money back from the seller.
 
Soot1e said:
Getting hold of a 2012 DVD or a copy on an SD card will update the Nav but after about 30 seconds the Nav display will come up with "Nav data blocked". You need an activation code which you will not have from the disc from another car! When you pay the £200 for an update DVD you get a PIN and an activation code which must be entered by a dealer. Do you think Audi/Navteq would allow their product to be easily ripped?

I know from bitter experience buying a 2012 DVD from eBay then spending over 2 hours with Audi techs trying to get it to work. Only good thing I got my money back from the seller.
Click to expand...

Sounds quite a similar process to what happened to me yesterday at the dealers.

Go online first and read the car then input the SVM code followed by the first code which is verified, then the second code which is again verified and then the third code which is also verified. Then load on the map data followed by a further online check to authorise the licence.
 
All that faffing about just to get some updates that don't appear to be worth while?
 
My cars booked in for the update on Tuesday next week
Service said they only need the car for about an hour!!
I've told them they better have it all day!
 
My cars booked in for the update on Tuesday next week
Service said they only need the car for about an hour!!
I've told them they better have it all day!
 
I've had the updates loaded FOC by my dealer before. They also told me it wouldn't take long but in fact took them hours!
 
VRStu said:
No 7 digit postcode on the 2012 maps :banghead:
Click to expand...

The facelift B8 will have the same spec MMI high as fitted to the A6 & A8 which has the 7 digit postcode and access to Google maps via phone prep high. DVD based will continue to have 5 digit postcode only.
 
A word of warning for anyone getting the Nav update installed. On mine it deleted the contents of my address book in my nav! Had i known this prior to taking it in i probably wouldn't have bothered since it doesn't seem to have changed anything of interest.

The other recall notice on the car was something to do with Tyre Pressure Monitoring, which I dont have either. So all in all pretty much a waste of time.
 
I didn't have an issue with lost data, everything including my previous destinations remained. The update instructions do say that data should remain untouched.
 
Soot1e said:
The facelift B8 will have the same spec MMI high as fitted to the A6 & A8 which has the 7 digit postcode and access to Google maps via phone prep high. DVD based will continue to have 5 digit postcode only.
Click to expand...

From what I can see and according to reports on A5OC the facelift has the same maps as I and Keef currently have on our pre FL cars however they have 7 digit postcode so it must be related to the firmware on the MMI and not the mapping.
 
Had an absolute blinder yesterday.


I had half hour to kill before my next meeting so thought I'd swing by Bristol Audi. No problem, MMI 3G has all of the Audi dealers in as POI's, so having selected the Bristol Audi Centre off I went. Now I have been there before, about 3 years ago, so when I got near it I recognised the area and knew where the Nav unit was taking me.


Imagine my surprise when I turned the corner expecting to see a nice prestigious Audi Centre only to see a large VW dealers instead.


I asked at the VW dealers if they could point me toward the Audi Centre and the guy laughed saying they'd not been there for ages and had moved to Cribbs Causeway. A quick check on my iPhone discovered it was in fact 16 miles away from the location that was stored as a POI in the MMI 3G mapping (The latest 2012 mapping data installed 2 weeks ago!!)


I've not got a definitive date of their move but a little bit of googling finds this article written 03 March 2011 and mentions their new showroom -


A new take on the Audi A3, pictured, will be revealed at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show which started today. With a power output of over 400PS, the fastest ever factory-produced A3 is the latest in a long line of one-off Audi design studies. For the full


So that's at least a year without updating it correctly.


These are not isolated incidents and every time I use it I find something else wrong. When was the last time you saw an ELF Petrol station?? They are on it as POI's.

I have already been told by Audi that the system can neither be removed, replaced or upgraded so in effect we have cars with an obsolete and unsupported system fitted. The map data Keef and I have is the latest 2012 incarnation and will be all there is until Q1 2013 when the 2013 disappointment is released. Then you can look forward to spending £400 to have it installed.


Do you really think it's acceptable??
 
VRStu said:
I have already been told by Audi that the system can neither be removed, replaced or upgraded so in effect we have cars with an obsolete and unsupported system fitted.
Click to expand...
That's why I took the £1k.

VRStu said:
Do you really think it's acceptable??
Click to expand...
No. We all know that things will go out of support but the timescale is too short and they never solved all the issues.

Along with years of poor postcodes I think satnav/in car technology can't be seen as a positive with Audi :(
 
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VRStu said:
It really is quite shocking that a premium brand has been able to sell such crap for so long.
Click to expand...

Hi, have ordered a new 2012 FL A4 with Tech Pack High. Do you know whether all the problems detailed above have been corrected on the new MMI? Thx.
 
From what we know the FL model has the same grossly out of date mapping (same part number) but has 7 digit postcode which is in the MMI firmware.

I think the only way out of it is to order it with Phone Prep High and Online Services.
 
Thanks. My tom tom will remain in the glove box! BTW, I agree with you, Audi get away with far too much! If their cars didn't have the looks, this wouldn't be the case!
 
kwask2or said:
Thanks. My tom tom will remain in the glove box! BTW, I agree with you, Audi get away with far too much! If their cars didn't have the looks, this wouldn't be the case!
Click to expand...

do this with mine too, my Garmin never fails - on a plus note, i complained about the sat-nav being slow (past the road etc before the nav decides to tell you to turn) and roads being missing, complained via twitter, got instant reply and a follow up call from my local dealer, Audi are going to cover the cost of update & install!
 
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