OK all.. this maybe a dumb question, however, I haven't took the time to read the manual on this yet.

Everytime I start the car, I have to press "I agree" to get the Nav. to start. Is that how this is suppose to work, or is there someway that I can set it were I don't need to do that? I've never seen that on anyother car with a Nav.

 

I would imagine it's standard on ALL automtive GPS systems. It's on my Garmin portable, was on my '02 STS, and now on my '04 SE.

BLAME THE FRIGGIN' LAWYERS!

 

It is on all Nav's i've seen- our 02 max, 03 max, 04 max, and my 04 Z roadster. blame the lawyers, indeed. it is a nuisance, but for the time being...everybody has to deal with it. srm

 

Dumb question ... does the GPS work well in the concrete jungle where the skyscrapers may block the satellite signals?

 

Actually, I have seen a module available (perhaps on ebay?) that connects to one of the Nav wires and bypasses the warning message each time you start up. I just did a quick search and couldn't find it again, but perhaps someone here remembers the link or can provide the name of the product so we can search.

 

THAT would be an awesome find! See what you can dig up! It is very annoying in the Max. In my Z, the Nav hides behind a flip screen and I don't need the screen for the audio or climate visuals. So, I only use the Nav really when I need it. Otherwise, it stays tucked away. However, when I do, I HATE having to "agree" and push enter!!! Thanks for the heads-up, and again, let us know what you find...srm

 

I have ran mine downtown Seattle many time with no problems at all. Even in the mountains it works great.

 

Sorry for what might be a studpid question, but as the NAV system is DVD based, could the LCD be used to play DVD's? Either thru existing NAV drive or thru an additional one?

 

Yes and No,

Their is a company that sells a video switch/TV receiver for numerous vehicles including the 04 max. Its about $450 but allows you to receive TV, input a DVD/backup camera, etc. The "no" portion is regarding using the factory DVD drive for video DVD's. Their is a thread on this subject, just do a search. The unit is available via the internet and sounds quite easy to install.

Smitty

 

The answer to your question is "No"...I contacted the maker of the system in the '04 Max to verify that this annoyance had to be dealt with every time you start the car and their response was that it was designed to operate that way (a legal thing) and there was no way to work around it. If you are in an accident because you are programming an address into the nav while driving, they will not be responsible as you "agreed" at the beginning of the trip to the leagalese at the log-in screen which will hold them "harmless"...

 

But...

What if you have someone else start the car and click "I Agree" and then you get in and drive off? Would that make it ok to program while driving?

What if you get into an accident while reading the agreement but before pushing "OK"? Can you sue the nav maker then? Maybe we should be forced through another agreement to not read the "Programming while driving is dangerous" agreement while driving.

sorry for the rant...

My oppinion is that the nav system is crippled if you want to change your destination while driving. If you are legally bound by the agreement, then they shouldn't gimp the programming functionality while the car is in motion. At the minimum, they should allow users to scroll up and down through their address book and previous destination list. I understand why they don't allow actual typing though. Although I don't agree with that either. Why should I be penalized because someone else is not able to program and drive without killing people?

 

Hmmmmm...... wonder how the cell phone manufacturers get away with not having a warning??

 

For us who were not able to get NAV due to availability and unwillingness to wait, are you saying you can't make destination changes on-the-fly? So, if you get to Cincinatti during a road trip and want to reset the NAV for your next destination (say, Cleveland), your wife (or husband, friend or significant other) can't do it while the car is moving? If that's true, what do you have to do ... just stop the car, or do you have to stop, kill the engine and restart the car?

Jeez, that's a bummer, no matter which answer you give me.

Mike

 

the short story is that functions are only disabled when the car is in motion. once the car stops moving, the functions are re-activated until you start moving again. you dont have to restart or anything like that.

there are a few things you can do while the car is in motion:

you can have it re-route and calculate a detour for a specified distance. the options are something like 1, 5, 10, 25 miles.

you can have it create a waypoint and re-route to the nearest restaurant or gas station. once you get to the gas station, it will tell you how to continue on to your orignal destination. i haven't used this much and can't remember exactly how it works. i do remember that the list is limited to somethign like the 4 closest restaurants or gas stations. i am not sure if you do something like tell it to never to include fast food restaurants. (definitely not while you are driving)

you can have it calculate the route to one of the top 5 addresses in your address book or one of the last 5 destinations you programmed in. The address book and last destinations lists have a scroll bar... The scroll bar is locked while the car is moving.

one kind of nice thing is that you can start programming at a traffic light. if you have to move before you finish programming, the screen will become inactive until you stop moving again. at which point, you can pick up the programming where you left off.



i dunno... New York passed a law forbidding it. I wonder if they will pass a law against walking and chewing gum. Cuz not everyone can do it without hurting themselves or others.

 

Thanks, zearO ... good info. I really wanted NAV this time, but I would have had to order to get it and the other stuff I wanted. Oh, well.

Mike

 

Just to clarify... I am generally pleased with the nav system. It gets me where I need to go, even in Boston. (Sometimes not by the most direct route, but it ALWAYS gets me where I ask it to.) I am new to downtown Boston and the road situation here is FUBAR due to the Big Dig.

I can't say that I would recommend the nav or not. But figured it was worth making sure people understand some of the minor annoyances that come with it. Especially considering that its an expensive option and you can't switch it out after you buy it.

Make no mistake about it, the system works (with the occaisional hiccup). The way they disabled most system functions while the vehicle is in motion sucks. I think alot of the suck came from the fact that the lawyers forced the changes AFTER the system's interface was designed.

I was forced into the elite package so I could have manual with the nav system... I am not overly keen on the bucket seats in the rear. If I were to make the decision again, I would stick with the nav system and maybe give up the stick for automatic. Then I could get the Journey package and 5 seats instead.

One question I have is whether the nav system software is upgraded with each release of a new map dvd? IF this is the case, its possible that some of the more annoying aspects of the nav system will be improved in the future. At any rate, I don't expect to see the legal mumbo-jumbo removed from the picture.

 

I bought the update for the nav last month and it did come with a second dvd which was the firmware upgrade. Ufortunately it was the same firware that was in my car already and I got it in july.

 

Has anybody tried to put the NAV dvd into a computer and see the source files. If there are file , then they could be changed, reburned and no mor annyoing messages.

 

Do you know the name of the company ?

 

don't hold me to this but i'm pretty sure you can't do that. yes you may be able to read the files but the dvd will probably not allow you to rewrite the info after you try and change it

 

Can someone tell me what the new firmware # is and what it improvement it has over the original?

 

I popped the DVD, put it in my computer and found several directories full of meaningless, binary data files. I suspect that the idiotic lawyer's message is in the systems OS, which is burned in EEPROM and not part of a data file.

The company responsible for this horrifically bad software is Navtech (http://www.navtech.com/). Their VP of Engineering is M. Salahuddin Khan, skhan@chi.navtech.com.