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BMW Navigation .... sucks?

32K views 164 replies 69 participants last post by  Spyder1963 
#1 · (Edited)
I did not have navigation in my previous car (an E46 M3). In my household, my wife's honda accord was the only vehicle with navigation. In her car, we have not once in 6 years of ownership had an issue with the navigation routing us to the wrong place. I've had the 535 for about 3 weeks now, and it has mis-guided me at least a handful of times. It has pointed me in the wrong direction many times, including wrong corners, wrong streets, wrong TOWNS. This morning I made sure the building number, street, city, state, were all input correctly, and notwithstanding that, I was routed to the wrong town.

Did I miss a memo on BMW navigation or is it really this terrible?
 
#2 ·
It is this bad and I can only hope you got it for free.

Search the forum if you like as there are several threads on how bad. :thumbdwn:
 
#5 ·
My experience is vastly different. Is the Nav perfect? No. Not all POI's show up and I don't always find what I am looking for searching. But every time I have entered an address I got there.

I usually send addresses from google maps, or my contacts and it works like a charm.

I am not sure how people can have such a different experience with the same system. :dunno:
 
#9 ·
Well, my experience with the nav has been so-so. Not a fan of it when it took me down a one way street downtown Miami... and I was driving in the wrong direction. :yikes: I was thankful that it was rather late at night and traffic was sparse.
 
#11 ·
It gets confused frequently, and has given me conflicting instructions on several occasions. Thankfully I have Google Navigation on my Android device, or I would be out of luck in some cases.

This is common kind of problem it has. Near me is a highway that splits in to three different directions. Two left lanes are one, the right lane goes straight, and from the right lane you can make a right. If you are going on the roadway that is straight, it will tell you to take right, then take a left immediately. It really should be saying bear right. The nav in my E70 never had this problem at this or other such intersections.
 
#13 ·
Another semi-positive voice here... Even though I hate the way many street do not contain labels until zoomed in too closely (when they disappear from the screen altogether), direction-wise it has never led me wrong. Maybe it doesn't always find my preferred route and I have to override it by ignoring a suggested turn (which would be hard in the city I don't know as well), it has yet to act in any strange way as to mislead me or take me to a wrong place.

I've recently used a new TL's navi and it looked even worse than ours (in fact I started appreciating our look after that). It was tool colourful, like a toy, simply childish. Our day-time choice of colours is very mature and fits the class and interior well. TLs navi also did not show many street names at a zoom level I would have liked to see them at....

Unless Google gets into this car-navi system full time and offers some great bargains to the auto-makers to use g-maps, we are not going to see a perfect solution, probably...
 
#16 ·
The graphics and display are very good, but the directions generally are not..and they have gotten worse. My '08 X5 knew my street...my '12 X5 M did not recognize it as a street, nor does my '12 550i. When giving directions, it frequently tells me to "bear right" or "bear left" when what I really need to do is either go straight or turn. I'd say in half of the times I have used it, it has taken me either the wrong way or mislead me on where and how to turn.

The nav on my GTR is much better in that it gives street view looks showing exactly how you are going to turn and also shows simulated street signs. Overall the directions seem more accurate, and the voice is better. It also always shows you what street you are on and what the speed limit is where you are. And it's a touch screen, too.
 
#18 ·
In a related story: water is still wet. :)

I generally find that if I can get the destination inputted properly the nav will get me theree. Sometimes the routing is not the most logical (Google navigation on my android phone is infinitely better) but it'll get me there.

But yes, the nav system on this car is a disgrace in a $55k+ vehicle.

Consider it the equivalent of crank windows or a four speed automatic transmission and you'll have a better frame of reference.
 
#19 ·
It is true that it is a disgrace, when you consider the cost of the car... I've just relied on it to get me places and it did (which were for timely business and it never failed really which would have been baaad). But often on our freeways it will tell me to bear right (onto slower collector lanes) when I should really bear left to stay in express.

Google send to map is a Godly option. I cannot see myself using that nav address entry at all had it not been for that (this or any other w/o keyboard and live lookup)

Oh, the nav also does not read out street names (just says: Turn left, but not ... onto Main street). This would be 100% unacceptable in portable units or smartphone apps (I have Navigon on Iphone which reads names since 2 yrs ago).

But it will get me places... which kind of matters the most. Funny, this is the Nth thread on the topic. Some guys are probably like... WTF....
 
#20 ·
In my experience, I find it sometimes takes me on fairly inconvenient detours. It often avoids a certain bridge that I often take into the city for some reason. (Victoria Bridde in Montreal) It will only correct the route once I'm actually on the bridge, shaving a fair bit of time off the route. Weird.
This makes me wonder when I'm in cities that I'm not familiar with, does it take me on longer routes than necessary?
 
#21 ·
Same here, my experience is quite different. My NAV is just about as good as the NAV in my 5 year old Honda Odyssey (the same NAV in the Acura). It has been pretty much spot on every time I have used it. I suspect this may have more to do with location/City that it is being used in.
 
#24 ·
Yogi, regarding address entry, have you tried voice entry? It works like a charm every time. Easiest address entry of any system I've used.
I've noticed as well that the system frequently goes off the rails just as you are approaching the end of a trip. With the destination literally in sight, the system will instruct you to make a left turn instead of a right...

As for the dreaded "If possible, make a legal U turn...", who the hell knows.
 
#26 ·
OK, good to know. I did not have a chance to try it thanks to Google maps Send to Car thingy.

But in all honesty, I have yet to be mislead anywhere in the GTA (that's Toronto area for our bros down south) and I sometimes travel to 4-5 unknown locations in the West end in a day. My worst observation is not knowing the difference between collectors and express on 401 and constantly telling me to veer right instead of just shutting up and letting me drive straight LOL. And sometimes taking me through the city rather than doing 5km more but directing me to a highway.
 
#28 ·
I only got the nav because BMW was giving it away for free with the Nav Credit promo. I've used it a couple of times just to test it with my google maps on the phone, and it's been pretty much the same. Sometimes the exit or the local roads it tells me is different, but the time that it calculates and the total miles have always been pretty much identical between the two systems. The Send to Car option from the desktop is totally awesome though! And yes, the voice entry of the address works remarkably well also.
 
#29 ·
I think the Nav works fine if you know how to use it.

With so many people routed to the wrong places and not mentioning that they took the car to the dealer and reproduced the issue is suspicious. If you have this issue, would you not want it resolved?:dunno:

I don't think BMW will ever have a Nav system that does not yield complaints as forums tend to attract a crowd of spoiled whiners and complainers. I suspect if you ask their wives, they would agree. :D

I was reviewing the 5 series threads and all the various comments made me laugh.

1. Whining about suspension
2. Whining about steering
3. Whining about seats
4. Whining about iPhone cradles
5. Whining about BMW Apps
6. Whining about tires/wheels (even though there are warning plastered everywhere that these are not designed for bad roads, yet people are inisistent on having a BMW where it does not belong. But go ahead, whine about that too.
7. Whining about the nav

See the pattern, the issue to me is not BMW. Some people are just never happy. I am not sure why they continue to buy products they don't like. Perhaps a chemical imbalance.
 
#30 ·
I think the Nav works fine if you know how to use it.

With so many people routed to the wrong places and not mentioning that they took the car to the dealer and reproduced the issue is suspicious. If you have this issue, would you not want it resolved?:dunno:

I don't think BMW will ever have a Nav system that does not yield complaints as forums tend to attract a crowd of spoiled whiners and complainers. I suspect if you ask their wives, they would agree. :D

I was reviewing the 5 series threads and all the various comments made me laugh.

1. Whining about suspension
2. Whining about steering
3. Whining about seats
4. Whining about iPhone cradles
5. Whining about BMW Apps
6. Whining about tires/wheels (even though there are warning plastered everywhere that these are not designed for bad roads, yet people are inisistent on having a BMW where it does not belong. But go ahead, whine about that too.
7. Whining about the nav
+10

See the pattern, the issue to me is not BMW. Some people are just never happy. I am not sure why they continue to buy products they don't like. Perhaps a chemical imbalance.
It's the internet, what did you expect?
 
#33 ·
I've found quirks in all nav systems, not just BMW's, but the new database combined with the new nav software has consistently had trouble with common sense routing.

I've not made simultaneous side-by-side comparisons but given that I have the opportunity to drive a new and different car every week in addition to the BMW and MB, I have more of an opportunity to observe these things than most.

For example, from Bayside New York to Midtown Manhattan, the BMW wants the route to be via the Throgs Neck Bridge, across the Cross Bronx Expressway, and then down the FDR.

Not only would no one ever think of taking that (longer and more time-consuming) route but no other car (including CCC-based BMW nav systems with the older db) has proposed it as well.

In discussing this with BMW, the manager I spoke with suggested that it might be a combination of the db and the hardware. I haven't had time to really push this as I simply ignore silly routing when I am aware of it but it is there.

On the other hand, I've seen equally silly routings on other cars so it just may be a question of the technology still being far from perfect at this point in time.
 
#42 ·
I would bet that the problem is the Tele Atlas database, which replaced the excellent Navteq database when the CCC was replaced with the CIC. Which I find ironic as the cost of CIC map updates went up almost 100%. When my own personal experience tells me that BMW switched over to Tele Atlas just because it was a cheaper supplier.

I can see how cheaper it is compared with my 4-year old RNS-510 Nav OEM system in my VW CC that uses Navteq maps. Navteq include even tollbooths and controlled access communities in their data, something tha it is completely missing from my 2012 M3 iDrive. :confused:
 
#35 ·
How do you transfer from Computer Google Map to in car Navigation? From a non-geek.
Gail
Use the Send to Car function on the web site (right mouse click etc.).
 
#38 · (Edited)
Going back to the thread's original topic, I just drove a Lexus HS250h (I am spending a week with this car) and I was on the Upper West Side, close to the GW Bridge.

Because of traffic, I couldn't turn so the navi "suggested" I cross the GWB into NJ and come back.

I declined to follow this advice - but it was pretty funny to look at the map and see the routing.
 
#50 ·
Going back to the thread's original topic, I just drove a Lexus HS250h (I am spending a week with this car) and I was on the Upper West Side, close to the GW Bridge.

Because of traffic, I couldn't turn so the navi "suggested" I cross the GWB into NJ and come back.

I declined to follow this advice - but it was pretty funny to look at the map and see the routing.
I've had a similar experience where the Nav system routed an inexplicable detour when my destination was straight ahead on the same highway I started from. I've learned to zoom out (adjusting the view scale with the iDrive knob) to get a sense of the entire route before starting, and find that this often gives a valuable, common sense perspective.
 
#39 ·
I have found there to be only 2 issues with the navigation in my region:
1) It has some wrong addresses in the POI.
2) It has incorrect speed assumptions for main roads and side roads, versus highway, and consequently uses highway and side roads too much relative to main roads.

I solve option 1 by calling BMW assist every time I need to enter a POI into my navigation and have them send an address to the nav. This works beautifully and is much better than fumbling trying to look for a POI or enter an address into iDrive. In fact with BMW Assist support I love using the nav.

I haven't solved issue 2. Is there anyway to program your speed by type of road on the BMW navigation?
 
#41 ·
I solve option 1 by calling BMW assist every time I need to enter a POI into my navigation and have them send an address to the nav. This works beautifully and is much better than fumbling trying to look for a POI or enter an address into iDrive. In fact with BMW Assist support I love using the nav.
This works well except when you really need to get in the car and know which direction you are heading in without waiting to speak with BMW Assist and have the address "looked up" and then downloaded. In such cases, I find it much faster to use Send to Car.

I haven't solved issue 2. Is there anyway to program your speed by type of road on the BMW navigation?
No, but keep in mind the system is typically using actual traffic reports and Inrix predictive data in addition to posted speeds and road type when calculating arrival time.
 
#48 · (Edited)
There are just a few nav companies and algorithms. Not one of systems is perfect. I can find flaws in them all.

Having said that, without question the BMW map interface quality looks very elegant compared to others I have seen in luxury cars which look like they belong in a Kia.
 
#51 ·
There are just a few nav companies and algorithms. Not one of systems is perfect. I can find flaws in them all.

Having said that, without question the BMW map interface quality looks very elegant compared to others I have seen in luxury cars which look like they belong in a Kia.
I agree. I have been in cars with various NAV systems and none of them are perfect. My Acura TL had a touch screen which made it a little easier to use, but the directions were no more consistent than the BMW's. My Acura did not have the ability to receive directions from Google maps, did not have 3d perspective and it's points of interest were narrower in scope. The make a "legal U-turn" is present in all the systems I've tried.

To me NAV is a valuable tool, particularly at night when you're travelling on a long trip.
 
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