2010 Nav comments
 

Maybe I came to this with too high expectations given what I had heard about the changes to the 2010 nav and what I got from my 4 year old $200 Garmin unit, but I am sadly unimpressed.

I figured spoken street names would be a given - but "turn right on road" for a major freeway intersection just doesn't cut it!

Also does anyone know if there is a way to get advance turn directions in the 2010 nav? On my old Garmin you just touch the little arrow at the bottom right of the screen and keep touching it to produce the subsequent turns. I can't seem to find a way to do this with the BMW nav :dunno:

The 2010 Nav system is abysmal. Having recently traveled from Chicago to Phoenix and back, I can say that the next time I will take my Garmin along and use it instead.

Someday I'll catalog all that is wrong with it, but for now here's a few:

(1) It often confuses what city things are in. If you want some fun, try looking up a hotel in Van Horn, Texas, and then route to it. It will then show the street addresss as being in Kent, Texas, all the while actually directing you to Van Horn, while telling you it is taking you to Kent (Van Horn and Kent are about 40 miles apart, so it's not like a suburb or anything).

(2) Several times the Nav randomly announced "prepare to turn Left" or "Prepare to turn Right" while the map showed absolutely no turns on the route for at least 25 miles ahead.

(3) Often fuel stations at exits were not shown accurately, with the Nav locating them smack-dab in the middle of the interstate. As a result, it would not tell you to take the exit. Clearly Teleatlas did not have the actual GPS coordinates of the stations, but just the exit number. So they just located it in the middle of the interstate at the exit location.

(4) The POI database is very poor compared to Garmin and others that use Navteq, rather than Teleatlas data. TeleAtlas is European-based, so I suspect BMW swithed to them from Navteq for the new GPS as their European data might be better than Navteq's.

I can only think of four advantages the BMW Nav has over Garmin:

(1) The screen is excellent, both in resolution and visibility in all light conditions,

(2) The Zoom function with the rotary dial is quite easy to use and quick, compare to the Garmin touch screen,

(3) It is linked to the audio system, so it will lower the entertainment volume when it speaks, and

(4) being built in, you don't have to store/hide it when you stop and leave the vehicle.

I am very unimpressed with the Teleatlas dataset. I think this is the root of the problem.

German companies just cannot appreciate the importance to the consumer of these 'creature comforts'... they kind of view this as "well we need a Nav, how can we cheaply contract for a nav system" and then they run it as a vendor-based project. As opposed to other companies that recognize that the 'end user experience' will be comprised of driving AND 'surfing', and they therefore place as much emphasis on the electronics as the mechanicals...

A

turn by turn is "route list"... perhaps you have that in your 2010... I actually just found it today in an '08.

My biggest gripe with nav (yes it's the old version) is the search is horrible. I couldn't even drill down to specific streets in Dix Hills (huge town in NY). It would list 3 major roads and that's it. What use is that? Also have tried searching for businesses and the need to choose categories first make it impossible to find. Hope yours is improved that way at least.

No problems in major cities, but in small locals, it has taken me off-course to a surprising degree.

It's always been relatively obvious, but I have TomTom's top-of-the line portable GPS unit, and have had a GPS on every vehicle I've owned since 2003, save for 1.

They've all had their flaws, and every GPS unit from the one on my iPhone to the one in my Nissan has had its share of issues.

If you're looking for 100% perfection, each and every time, within any GPS system currently sold to the general public, please let me know when you find it.

I'll agree that some are better than others, but the 2010 GPS is really no better nor no worse, than any other system I've used over the last 7 to 8 years.

With any GPS system, it's not a question of if it will send you off course, but when.

One thing that is noteworthy about the X5 is that accuracy to which it calculates when the vehicle is approaching a turn or individual intersection.

It's by far, the most accurate system, I've used. In fact, I don't know who makes the GPS receivers, but they're close to the level of the ones on my Meade 12" GPS - 200 Telescope (some will know how accurate those are).

I'm betting the GPS receivers are made by Sony or Philips, and are not made in Germany. I could be wrong, on who makes the receivers, but the point I'm trying to make is that the GPS, while it's not perfect, is satisfactory to say the least.

If you're resorting to the having to use an axillary unit, there may be an issue with your GPS receivers. They can be damaged, and they should not be sending you off course to the point that you're having to resort to 3rd party units.

I'd have BMW either calibrate your GPS receivers or have them diagnosed and possibly replaced.

I've had my 35d for 3,000 miles, driving in completely familiar terrain for the majority of the car's mileage that I've accumulated since taking delivery on December 21. If it's only sent me off-course once, that's not too bad.

For reference the location in which it sent me off course was in Sedona, AZ. With that said, Sedona is known for having some fairly aggressive magnetic disturbances which have been known to create malfunctions within GPS systems. On the other hand, my Nissan worked there without flaw (visit there 2 to 3 times per year).

Then you haven't had a recent Garmin.

I've compared both, and the Garmin Nuvi 750 is vastly superior to the 2010 X5 Nav system.


P.S. Go ahead and try my example of Van Horn and Kent Texas and see how the 2010 Nav changes the address from Van Horn to Kent when you use it as a route destination.

Just a comment about "GPS Accuracy"...

Your indicated position on the display is a synthesis of several bits of data- in particular the system "knows" you must be on a street, so it places the car cursor on the street- EVEN if the internally indicated positon (in terms of lat and long) might have your off the road. The GPS system is pretty accurate in absolute terms- in fact it is more accurate than most of the maps. (Maps say the road is one place, when it is actually off by 10, 20, 50 feet...) Maps are made using plats from the USGS, County and City maps, and satellite data. There are errors. The software corrects for this and keeps you nicely on the road. AThe software also uses accelerometer data when GPS drops out, and uses incremental data (ie there is 1500 feet between the first left and the next left, he went 1100 feet so far, so 400 to go.)

Use a GPS that is not a "car only" system, and you will see it is actually rare to be on the indicated road all the time.

A

I see some folks are using Garmin as a reference here. I bought the top model about a year ago. It bugs the hell out of me. It takes five minutes (some times longer) to locate the signal and I live in a fairly flat area with no tall landmarks, smack in the middle of the San Francisco Bay metropolitan area. You can imagine how frustrating it could be if you had to drive aimlessly, waiting for the map to show up. I don't have that problem with the x5 Nav at all. I have to admit there are quite a few issues (Penguin did a great job documenting them) but the fact that I can access the map immediately and it has a huge screen and an easy to use controller/knob is a huge plus for me.

True it won't announce street names like Garmin (though it does announce highway names) but it does display street names on the nav. A quick glance at the Nav can solve that problem. I often use the map and zoom function plus the campus on the rear view mirror instead of the guidance. I also use the email feature although that feature is not a feature of the Nav itself but it does provide a great tool to transfer addresses to your Nav.

!!
 

I've tried that, and if you soom in close enough to be useful in terms of seeing the label of the next street in cities, it typically is not smart enough to move the label in close enough to show in the screen. I have found that to ensure you can see the label of the next upcoming street, you have to zoom out so far it loses its utility for determining the next street (in cities).

But you can set it up so that the split screen will give you your latitude and longitude in degrees, minutes, and seconds! Quite useful if you're a boat.

As to the speed of initializing a position, yes, that is an advantage of the Nav over the Garmin that I forgot to include -- the X5 Nav clearly has much more computing power than the low-priced Garmins and has less lag for most tasks. The Garmin is reasonably quick to initialize if you are not moving, but does take some time if you are moving while it is initializing.

Penguin, I did not mean looking at the map for the street name. It actually writes the name of the street at next turn on the split screen with a close up drawing of the turn below it. You can read it very easily.

Only if you are navigating a route, If you are not navigating a route, you cannot easily see the next street coming up. The Garmin will show the next cross street you are approaching, even if you are not navigating a route.

Handy if you are not using a route, but know you need to turn right at "Power Rd."

The biggest gripe I have is not being able to see many street names. That's the whole point of having a map! It's a shame, as people have said, the screen is really nice. 10x nicer than the one in my 03 Infiniti. Unfortunately, less street names show up on the BMW, so its a bit of a waste.

As far as navigating and accuracy, so far it's been okay, but I tried any small cities or rural areas yet.

Is this the new nav? Because on the old one this is a big gripe for me... I've missed a few turns because the vehicle symbol looks further away from the intersection that I want, then I end up passing my street. Instead, I have to rely a lot on the distance arrow... if it shows 400ft, then I know the one I am approaching is it regardless of where the symbol shows me at.

while the new nav is fancy and cool... I think the nav that was in my 2002 745 was much more accurate... I've noticed the same thing where it tells me to make a turn too late... I'm hoping this is just software bugs that need to be worked out over time

I have some gripes with the factory nav too. However, I think the BMW 2010 nav is no worse than other factory nav's that I've had. In my Infiniti nav system, it also didn't have text-to-speech. And, the routing wasn't great. However, many of the features in the BMW nav is much better than the Infiniti nav.

Of course, compared to my two Garmin units, I don't think any factory nav will compare. I think most "experts" will say the same for any factory nav out there.

The biggest gripe that I have though (similar to my Infiniti nav) is that the BMW nav screen doesn't display the name of the next street/exit that you will be turning on.

If I were to rate the BMW nav system, I'd give it a 4/10. The one in my cadillac seems to be one of the best I've seen. The screen in touch screen, can show music (ipod) selection on 1/2 screen and nav on the other. Entry is simple and fast as is searching for poi's. Lastly, the voice prompts and street names are so clear that make the BMW system look like a X386 computer compared to the cadillac which would be a new MACpro.. LOL!

Its so confusing....
 

I agree with Penguine,
Its so confusing, Randomly announces "prepare to turn Left" or "Prepare to turn Right" while the map showed absolutely no turns on the route.
Sorry to say this but my 2007 MDX had a better navigation in this regard...

At least to my mind, errors such as this are totally unacceptable... I can understand errors in the POI database, but the route on the map and the verbal directions should always match.

Something is seriously wrong with the new Nav system.

Since this issue can be reproduced, is there any way to bring it to BMWNA notice and have free navigation software with the issue fixed?

You are too funny! :rofl: I live there. May years ago, maybe 15 - pre navi(s), a friend was driving her Uhaul from NY and AAA trip-tik sent her down Schnebly Hill Road to approach into Sedona! For those unfamiliar, this is a dirt road switchbacking down the face of the Mogollon Rim (2,000 foot decent cliff-face w/no guardrail - back then, now a couple of them were installed). Unfamiliar with this area, she approached and drove down this road at night and in the snow in a fully loaded uhaul medium size truck!!!

I'm just now coming out of a 2008 Infiniti (Nissan) G35S lease (with nav). I rarely use the nav, especially here because there are just so few roads to navigate, but - as my first and only nav unit (other than google maps on my phone) I have found the Infiniti nav unit exceptional! It has yet to steer me in a wrong direction. I am not always convinced its taking me in the absolutely shortest path but it is always accurate and shows and announces names of streets about to turn. Map view is usually too macro to see individual street names but I know I can zoom it (just never do so I don't know how detailed the micro view is). Voice commands are near perfect too "state, city, street, building ("house") # - view map or calculate route" (with auto changing day/night views), touch screen and more.

One of the things I am looking forward to in the X5 is the real-time traffic (streamed thru HD radio to nav unit). I am hoping this works well - especially the traffic recommended detours/alternate routes. Real time traffic is a huge benefit in the Phoenix area (or any metro area for that matter). I am a bit surprised to read forum complaints about some of BMW other decisions like a less than stellar Nav unit, unshielded stereo speakers, charging for programming a keyfob, and the like.

I would certainly hope that if owners are complaining, BMW would want to update firmware, software and programming to improve the usability as much as humanly possible. Wouldn't require any recall, just give it to dealer/scv centers and install as part of prep on new and install on all others whenever in for service. Hoping BMW is not dropping their former reputation for emphasis on owner/driver experience!

The X5 nav has real-time traffic with detours - that I have taken - so how is that different from what you are proposing?

Didn't propose anything. Just said I'm looking forward to using it and hope it works well. People are posting less than stellar aspects of their Nav units and I had good experiences with the one in my Infiniti. So far, haven't read any complaints about the real time traffic and suggested alternate routes so I am hoping this feature works well. Guess I'll find out when mine comes in.

Sorry that I got this wrong but you may want to know that the instructions one gets are only as good as the source. I remember NC in particular being a place where I was told to detour more than once but the information was wrong. On the other hand, the nav did save me about 2 hours in western NC when there was a huge accident on my route.

"Real-Time Traffic" - provides information about the traffic jam you're already stuck in, or reroutes you around a traffic problem that cleared up hours ago.

I didn't read all the posts but you folks are funny.
I can't imagine how you would fair using the Navi
in my 2005. Except for the fact that the map is old
I have no trouble getting anywhere. Maybe it's
because I'm still in the dark ages using knobs to
find letters and all but this baby is fast. Nope it
doesn't call out street names but Oh well I can
deal with that. Oh I've seen better units but what the hey
it works like gang busters for me. OBTW no Garmin

Have fun.........;)

Quick,
Indication of wisdom!!!:thumbup:

If it doesn't call out street names, like "turn right on Elm street 1/4 mile", how do you know which street to turn on or which street name to look for to make sure you are turning in the correct place? Sorry, mine coming out of "paint shop" today, and did not try this on the test drive.

My G35S (first and only GPS I've ever used) gives exact instructions like the example I just gave, splits the screen to show you the upcoming intersection on a map zoom, and even sounds a DING when you are at the intersection.

Remember mine is an 05 4.4. So I was kinda messing
around in Ye ole (E70) forum just for fun. Anywhoo......

For me? The Navi announces turn this way or that way well in advance
and the street name shows up on the Navi screen.
My Co-pilot (the wife is helpful when I can't look.....;)


Yours had got to be better than mine for sure.

Maybe you would if your "old" nav confused the address of a Holiday Inn between two cities 40 miles apart, as my 2010 nav did in Texas.

You might be right...... Texas is ..."BIG"
Thats why I look up destinations in advance just to
get an idea where I'm headed. The iPhone helps also.;)

When I'm traveling from Chicago to Phoenix, I generally stop along the way for a bit of sleep. One function of the GPS is to tell you where these places are when you are planning to stop for the night.

Of course, to take your example to the extreme, one could use a map instead of a GPS... but then that's not why people pay for a GPS now is it...

If you use a GPS to look-up a hotel and it says the hotel is in Van Horn, you click on the "use as destination" option, and it then shows the hotel 40 miles away in Kent, but with the same street address, the GPS is deficient.

My expectations are not that high -- I want the $1,900 BMW GPS to work as well as a $200 Garmin. I think that is a reasonable expectation.


P.S. With the new GPS, BMW has switched providers of mapping and POI data from the NavTeq to the European TeleAtlas. Your "Old" GPS probably has superior data to the new GPS.

:iagree: ...:thumbup: No arguement from me.
Watch out for electronic gremlins though.....:wow:

If you get the heads up display like I did the NAV System shows the street name and the direction to turn right in front of you. It is slick and I am glad I got the heads up display. I almost did not get it.

Chuck

I didn't spring for the HUD, but if the info is displayed there it must be in the system. I don't see how the HUD could add that to the info in the map. But, mine will be here sometime soon so I'll see.

One would at least hope that a company with as much focus on engineering as BMW has would at least look at other Nav units when designing theirs; and not leave something as basic, obvious and kind of essential as street name out of the system. Not having the system announce them at turning points seems such a big omission that one has to wonder how such could be missed. After all, the point is to keep one's eyes on the road as opposed to staring at the nav unit. And, if the street names are in the system, I cannot help but wonder what user options may be in the options menu for display and/or announcement.

Finally, if this has somehow been omitted, one can only hope that BMW can and will update the system (if the streets are in the system for HUD display and the system does announce coming turns, how much update would it take to update - software/firmware - the system to announce the street names?).

The information is there BMW just made a decision to only provide it to those who spring for the HUD.

Chuck

its there if you make the split screen show the arrow map viw

I had not tried that.

Chuck

Yes, it is, and that is how I've had my system set up from Day 1. It shows the street your on, and the street you need to turn on.

I usually keep voice guidance off, so I'm not sure if it "announces" the streets, but it certainly provides you, in text, what street your on and counts down the miles, then the feet, you must travel until your next turn (within a graphic arrow).

The split screen makes it easy to tell what street your on and what street you must turn on.