[larryr]

Got the second letter for the 2019 Navi update - I did the 2016 one on my 2013 and not one road that was new for 2 years in my neck of the woods was on it. I just kept driving thru fields and lakes that the navi said I was in.

So I stopped using the built in navi - my smart phone has (for free) up to date maps stored on a 128gb microSDHC that gets updated weekly. And unlike you letter - it does voice directions via bluetooth and I can touch the screen and say "hey google - directions to nearest gas station" and I get them without needing the network ( ok the google part does ) but I can type that in myself or have a passenger do it while driving - something that the built-in navi does not allow.

If the price were reasonable ( no more than $20 ) I might go for it - it comes on a USB drive that in quantities cost less than $4.00. It it did not come standard on my Turing, I would not have paid one cent for it. I was on my 2013 EX-L Navi - I did not want it but it was the last 2013 the dealer had and the price was right vs a 2014.

Are your need for profits that desperate? Walmart sell a navi with lifetime maps for under $99 and they update 4 times a year.

End Rant

 

[Carbuff2]

Built-in Navi is outrageous. Especially when LIFETIME map updates can be bought in a stand-alone sat-nav for a few dollars.

If a car (or head-unit) has WiFi capability, there is even less reason to charge a customer to update it EACH TIME.

 

[racoon]

There are more things involved in the cost than the thumb drive.
Updates to the software require programmers to change the software and test it.
Honda buys the map updates from another company, so they aren't free.

My current Garmin GPS has "free lifetime updates". So as long as the GPS keeps functioning I can plug it into my computer, and the Garmin update software installed on my computer will compare the software and map versions on my Garmin device, and download and install the appropriate updates.

And even Garmin doesn't make their own maps. They license them from someone else.

 

[larryr]

For $2000 for the Navi - they should have lifetime maps. It should not cost more than $5 per machine for the map license per update - there are plenty of public domain maps that are updated faster than the ones Honda gets.

With over 200,000 units with navi's at $5 per unit that is $1,000,000. Someone is making too much money on these updates.

Uncle Sam makes a nice free map at the USGS. The roads are updated about every 5 years - wonder if that is where Honda gets their updates.

 

[racoon]

https://hondanavi.navigation.com/cms/page.WhatsNew/en_US/HondaNA/USD

 

[RockyMtnCRV]

When I have to purchase an update for my navigation I will do so gladly.

I hasten to point out that if the price was $20.00 for an update there would be folks ranting about the $20.00...

 

[Old Salt]

I have a 2017 CRV. Honda provides free map updates for five years.

 

[williamsji]

I have a 2017 CRV. Honda provides free map updates for five years.

Yep.. and to add.... by 2022.. I doubt that most of us will even be using built in NAV in an old vehicle, since people are becoming more and more tethered and dependent on their smart phones. As CarPlay and Android Auto mature... we will probably see built in NAV no longer offered on most vehicles by then either. I certainly did not buy my Touring for the NAV.... it just came with it standard.

On my 2017, I have yet to do a map update.. and I just recently ran across the first instance of a street not found (a brand new housing community). Still not enough for me to pull the trigger on the free updates... as I simply used my smartphone and CarPlay to solve the immediate one time challenge. Where I actually live and where I do most of my driving... there are literally no new streets/roads being added anywhere near where I drive. Since I do keep my Hondas for 10 years on average, I will pull up a map update before the end of the 5 free years updates and that will hold me over until I get my next car.

 

[williamsji]

When I have to purchase an update for my navigation I will do so gladly.

I hasten to point out that if the price was $20.00 for an update there would be folks ranting about the $20.00...

True for sure.

I bet even if it was free.. some people would complain that Honda does not come to their home and bluetooth/wifi connect and install it for them while they are asleep and their car is locked inside their garage.

 

[williamsji]

For $2000 for the Navi - they should have lifetime maps.

An equally valid argument could be made that the $2000 price for Nav in your vehicle is absurdly high as well, considering the proliferation of map phone apps, not to mention the average plug in GPS unit now days is just a few hundred dollars at most.

Built in NAV though is on it's way out of new vehicles in my view... only the exact timing remains to be known.

 

[racoon]

Since there are other differences between the Navi and Non-Navi versions the prices difference is not just the Navigation system.

 

[VIVADUDE]

10 year old, $85 Tom Tom with lifetime updates serves me well........

 

[Eastchester]

Got the second letter for the 2019 Navi update - I did the 2016 one on my 2013 and not one road that was new for 2 years in my neck of the woods was on it. I just kept driving thru fields and lakes that the navi said I was in.

So I stopped using the built in navi - my smart phone has (for free) up to date maps stored on a 128gb microSDHC that gets updated weekly. And unlike you letter - it does voice directions via bluetooth and I can touch the screen and say "hey google - directions to nearest gas station" and I get them without needing the network ( ok the google part does ) but I can type that in myself or have a passenger do it while driving - something that the built-in navi does not allow.

If the price were reasonable ( no more than $20 ) I might go for it - it comes on a USB drive that in quantities cost less than $4.00. It it did not come standard on my Turing, I would not have paid one cent for it. I was on my 2013 EX-L Navi - I did not want it but it was the last 2013 the dealer had and the price was right vs a 2014.

Are your need for profits that desperate? Walmart sell a navi with lifetime maps for under $99 and they update 4 times a year.

End Rant

 

[Eastchester]

I'm on my 5th CRV (a 2010 EX-L Navi) & bought the Navi update 2 years ago. You folks mention a USB - mine came on a CD. Is there any difference? It still cost me $99 & like the rest of you, the letter arrived for the new update which I won't be buying (I work too hard to spend $99 on something I can get for free).

 

[williamsji]

Interestingly.. Honda just sent me an email congratulating me on my 2 year anniversary of owning my current CRV... and right at the bottom of the email was a reminder to update my nav system if I had not done so.. with a link to the support page to actually do it.

Free updates for 5 years.. and I will probably not actually do it until sometime in the 5th year. Nice of them to remind me though.

 

[rnettles]

Got the second letter for the 2019 Navi update - I did the 2016 one on my 2013 and not one road that was new for 2 years in my neck of the woods was on it. I just kept driving thru fields and lakes that the navi said I was in.

So I stopped using the built in navi - my smart phone has (for free) up to date maps stored on a 128gb microSDHC that gets updated weekly. And unlike you letter - it does voice directions via bluetooth and I can touch the screen and say "hey google - directions to nearest gas station" and I get them without needing the network ( ok the google part does ) but I can type that in myself or have a passenger do it while driving - something that the built-in navi does not allow.

If the price were reasonable ( no more than $20 ) I might go for it - it comes on a USB drive that in quantities cost less than $4.00. It it did not come standard on my Turing, I would not have paid one cent for it. I was on my 2013 EX-L Navi - I did not want it but it was the last 2013 the dealer had and the price was right vs a 2014.

Are your need for profits that desperate? Walmart sell a navi with lifetime maps for under $99 and they update 4 times a year.

End Rant

I update maps myself for free using a 16 gig thumb drive and garmin express. Vehicle is a 2018 CRV touring. Takes a few hours but not difficult. Dealer gave me the instruction sheet called: "Honda Navigation Updates"

 

[OpenRoad]

My 1998 CR-V didn't come with navi, but it's never been a real concern. When I first moved here 20 years ago, I looked at the paper map (Free from AAA) and drove to my destination.

Last time I can say that I really needed a map application was when I visited the NY/NJ area for the first time in 10 years and needed some help navigating the complex array of roads in the area. (Also - it was nighttime, which didn't help.) Since I was renting a car, I used the Google Maps application on my cell phone and it guided me (almost) flawlessly from NJ to NYC by my preferred route.

The only problem I encountered was when Google Maps detected a traffic jam on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel and persisted in asking me to detour through Staten Island and Brooklyn and then back to Manhattan. I kept refusing, but Google kept suggesting the detour every 15 minutes which was annoying/distracting while I was driving.

Mostly, I use my cell phone to find cheap gas and maybe a restaurant while traveling. Actual "navigation" is almost never a concern in my life. Certainly not worth the $2000+ since I rarely travel more than 100 miles from home.

 

[CRV&PilotFamily]

Got the second letter for the 2019 Navi update - I did the 2016 one on my 2013 and not one road that was new for 2 years in my neck of the woods was on it. I just kept driving thru fields and lakes that the navi said I was in.

So I stopped using the built in navi - my smart phone has (for free) up to date maps stored on a 128gb microSDHC that gets updated weekly. And unlike you letter - it does voice directions via bluetooth and I can touch the screen and say "hey google - directions to nearest gas station" and I get them without needing the network ( ok the google part does ) but I can type that in myself or have a passenger do it while driving - something that the built-in navi does not allow.

If the price were reasonable ( no more than $20 ) I might go for it - it comes on a USB drive that in quantities cost less than $4.00. It it did not come standard on my Turing, I would not have paid one cent for it. I was on my 2013 EX-L Navi - I did not want it but it was the last 2013 the dealer had and the price was right vs a 2014.

Are your need for profits that desperate? Walmart sell a navi with lifetime maps for under $99 and they update 4 times a year.

End Rant

This is why I have no use for OEM navigation systems. My 2012 Pilot EX and my wife's 2018 CR-V EX without nav have all the features we care to have. I replaced my former Garmin GPS with a Garmin DriveAssist 51 LMT-S. It has WiFi, lifetime maps, camera and various other features. I turned off the lane keeping warning function as it is not all that reliable. It is a well featured GPS. Plus, I can use it in any car I might be driving.

 

[phillman5]

There are more things involved in the cost than the thumb drive.
Updates to the software require programmers to change the software and test it.
Honda buys the map updates from another company, so they aren't free.

This is wrong. Honda does not update the software, just the map data!

 

[phillman5]

Got the second letter for the 2019 Navi update - I did the 2016 one on my 2013 and not one road that was new for 2 years in my neck of the woods was on it. I just kept driving thru fields and lakes that the navi said I was in.
End Rant

In the newer Hondas, they have GPS from Garmin and map updates are free for five years, yet older Hondas (2016 and older) must pay $99/year from year one. Write Honda America and complain! I did (didn't help).

Not only this but the software is pretty poor! You specify to use freeways or not, toll roads or not, ferries or not. There IS NOT OPTION TO JUST GIVE ME THE FASTEST/SHORTEST ROUTE by default! You most view other routes and look at those to find the fastest/shortest route. It seems to me Mr Page and Mr Jobs give FAR shorter/fastest routes in some rural areas (West Texas for one).