[rthammer]

This is my 5th Acura 3rd with Nav. My 2014 AWD ADV TL was far better, faster, sharper and more precise. I was on the bubble for this versus the Q 7 or X5. Yes in aware the cost difference ....but really ? ! I travel and this nav system is awful - I reached out to the the propeller tech heads in Torrance Ca ( got passed Cust svs) and i feel like they are not very inclined to improve the speed accuracy or quality.

I'm not sure if any one else experiences this poor precision............. but i surely hope they send on a patch or new release to improve the performance - O:frown2:therwise this will be my last Acura

 

[DesiMDXer]

One of the major reasons why I opted for the base model this time around. The NAV system is absolutely awful, and I prefer my phone's google maps.

 

[neoshi]

So far, I've noticed that Acura will fix some more major bugs that have some safety issues associated with it (e.g. backup camera not showing up sometimes required a software update) or if there is enough bad press about it from the major outlets (so the 14/15 got an update, but apparently the 14 could not be updated as well as the 15 was). Otherwise, you will see updates come through on newer vehicles, but nothing to already owned vehicles. Acura is sadly still in the dark ages on the infotainment and they know it. But they put all the investment into the TLX instead and it included hardware changes, so it is highly unlikely we will get anything better than we have now.

 

[Bluepill]

Honda Japan has been in bed with Alpine since the eighties, and Alpine has been supplying mostly junk for the whole time.

Clearly someone high up in Honda management is getting unlimited sexual favors courtesy of Alpine.

 

[E92Vancouver]

This is my 5th Acura 3rd with Nav. My 2014 AWD ADV TL was far better, faster, sharper and more precise. I was on the bubble for this versus the Q 7 or X5. Yes in aware the cost difference ....but really ? ! I travel and this nav system is awful - I reached out to the the propeller tech heads in Torrance Ca ( got passed Cust svs) and i feel like they are not very inclined to improve the speed accuracy or quality.

I'm not sure if any one else experiences this poor precision............. but i surely hope they send on a patch or new release to improve the performance - O:frown2:therwise this will be my last Acura

Yes it is bad. But I find it works in an acceptable manner if you let it boot up and warm up which takes about 3 minutes. And it beats having to use an external garmin unit or your smartphone 6 ways to sunday.

 

[mrgold35]

I won't upgrade my 08 RDX or 11 MDX until carplay becomes available for the next Gen models (and bring back sh-awd for the 3rd Gen RDX). The only reason I upgraded to an iPhone 6S plus was for the larger screen to use as a back-up Navi when the Acura system lets me down.

Acura could even make the base models with larger display screens with carplay and that would increase sales.

 

[rthammer]

Thanks for all the comments - Its unfortunate Acura does not realize standing by existing customers with basic features sold in their cars will yield new buyers

 

[mdxstang]

but i surely hope they send on a patch or new release to improve the performance - Otherwise this will be my last Acura

This will almost certainly not happen. It's important to know what you're buying before buying it so you can make an appropriate decision you can be happy with. If you're as bothered by the Nav as you stated in your post you should have never purchased this vehicle in the first place after 'test driving' the Nav/infotainment. You can't assume that because you liked a particular feature/function on a different vehicle by Acura years ago, you'll always like the similar function/feature for any vehicles they build since then.

My own opinion based on a 2014 MDX Tech - the Nav could certainly be improved but it performs the basic functionality of putting a map in a nice big display that's not a distracting kludge like a phone stuck somewhere, it can do routing, and it can do a few other things. I don't think it's good at all at voice recognition, so much for the 'hands-off' they were trying to achieve, and every now and then it just does something strange, like dial the phone rather than find a motel.

Regardless, the Nav to me isn't the main reason I bought the vehicle - I bought it mostly due to the handling, power, size, price point, mileage, etc. and for the relatively few times I actually use the nav (for >90% of driving I don't need it - I know where I'm going), it somewhat works okay for me.

All that said - I agree it's a pain that the manufacturers don't handle their nav/apps like a smart phone or PC does with 'free' updates and improvements as time marches on - but I knew they didn't when I bought it and bought it anyway so I'm not going to get irate at Acura for something that was ultimately my own decision.

Again - make sure you know what you're buying before buying it. This is especially true for Nav/infotainment since offerings from almost every vehicle manufacturers receive complaints and dissatisfaction in this area.

 

[elvisfan]

Yes it is bad. But I find it works in an acceptable manner if you let it boot up and warm up which takes about 3 minutes. And it beats having to use an external garmin unit or your smartphone 6 ways to sunday.

I use a Garmin. Free updates. My wife can program it while I'm driving. A street that was finished 6 months ago is in the latest update.

 

[E92Vancouver]

This will almost certainly not happen. It's important to know what you're buying before buying it so you can make an appropriate decision you can be happy with. If you're as bothered by the Nav as you stated in your post you should have never purchased this vehicle in the first place after 'test driving' the Nav/infotainment. You can't assume that because you liked a particular feature/function on a different vehicle by Acura years ago, you'll always like the similar function/feature for any vehicles they build since then.

My own opinion based on a 2014 MDX Tech - the Nav could certainly be improved but it performs the basic functionality of putting a map in a nice big display that's not a distracting kludge like a phone stuck somewhere, it can do routing, and it can do a few other things. I don't think it's good at all at voice recognition, so much for the 'hands-off' they were trying to achieve, and every now and then it just does something strange, like dial the phone rather than find a motel.

Regardless, the Nav to me isn't the main reason I bought the vehicle - I bought it mostly due to the handling, power, size, price point, mileage, etc. and for the relatively few times I actually use the nav (for >90% of driving I don't need it - I know where I'm going), it somewhat works okay for me.

All that said - I agree it's a pain that the manufacturers don't handle their nav/apps like a smart phone or PC does with 'free' updates and improvements as time marches on - but I knew they didn't when I bought it and bought it anyway so I'm not going to get irate at Acura for something that was ultimately my own decision.

Again - make sure you know what you're buying before buying it. This is especially true for Nav/infotainment since offerings from almost every vehicle manufacturers receive complaints and dissatisfaction in this area.

What he said!!:29::29::29::29:

The reason I bought this car was because the infotainment system was a big upgrade from my 2011 MDX. I played with it for hours before buying it. I hooked my phone up to the demo model. So there was no surprises when I bought my 2016 MDX. It is not anywhere near to being the best but it is good enough for me.

 

[E92Vancouver]

I use a Garmin. Free updates. My wife can program it while I'm driving. A street that was finished 6 months ago is in the latest update.

I have an iphone 7 plus. I have a Garmin GPS for when I travel and rent a car. I still like the built in GPS way better. It is integrated with the stereo. The best feature is Acuralink. I use it all the time. They program my GPS with the address I am going to while I am driving. Mostly I like the big screen and the fact that it is built in. Cars here get broken into all the time for the Garmin units attached to windshields with a suction cup. It is worth the money. I started buying Garmin GPS units in 1999 when I was too cheap to buy the built in GPS option. In 2011 I splurged and bought an MDX with built in GPS. Now I am hooked.

 

[skirmich]

I can do the same with my TomTom GO600... Just download the TomTom App and it fully integrates with the iPhone so if anyone passes a direction or place to go I can direct link it to the TomTom App and it sends it to the main GPS Unit.... It have worked 100% of the times even in México and beats the living crap out of the NAV system in my 2G MDX.

 

[DesiMDXer]

I have an iphone 7 plus. I have a Garmin GPS for when I travel and rent a car. I still like the built in GPS way better. It is integrated with the stereo. The best feature is Acuralink. I use it all the time. They program my GPS with the address I am going to while I am driving. Mostly I like the big screen and the fact that it is built in. Cars here get broken into all the time for the Garmin units attached to windshields with a suction cup. It is worth the money. I started buying Garmin GPS units in 1999 when I was too cheap to buy the built in GPS option. In 2011 I splurged and bought an MDX with built in GPS. Now I am hooked.

I think that if you have your iphone connected to your bluetooth, the google maps audio will play through your stereo.

 

[neoshi]

You have a choice to play navi through BT to speakers or through the phone's own speaker. Some of us elect to use the latter because of the 3 second BT delay, which can cause some issues with timing of exit instructions.

 

[tsd345]

What he said!!:29::29::29::29:

The reason I bought this car was because the infotainment system was a big upgrade from my 2011 MDX. I played with it for hours before buying it. I hooked my phone up to the demo model. So there was no surprises when I bought my 2016 MDX. It is not anywhere near to being the best but it is good enough for me.

I travel for work and have not really been let down with the Nav in my 2010. It's clunky to use but always got me where I wanted to go. I played with the nav in the Hybrid I drove a month back...it was a bit better, you can voice command more than one word at a time. Maybe I'm not critical enough but it gets me where I need to go without drama....

 

[rthammer]

This will almost certainly not happen. It's important to know what you're buying before buying it so you can make an appropriate decision you can be happy with. If you're as bothered by the Nav as you stated in your post you should have never purchased this vehicle in the first place after 'test driving' the Nav/infotainment. You can't assume that because you liked a particular feature/function on a different vehicle by Acura years ago, you'll always like the similar function/feature for any vehicles they build since then.

My own opinion based on a 2014 MDX Tech - the Nav could certainly be improved but it performs the basic functionality of putting a map in a nice big display that's not a distracting kludge like a phone stuck somewhere, it can do routing, and it can do a few other things. I don't think it's good at all at voice recognition, so much for the 'hands-off' they were trying to achieve, and every now and then it just does something strange, like dial the phone rather than find a motel.

Regardless, the Nav to me isn't the main reason I bought the vehicle - I bought it mostly due to the handling, power, size, price point, mileage, etc. and for the relatively few times I actually use the nav (for >90% of driving I don't need it - I know where I'm going), it somewhat works okay for me.

All that said - I agree it's a pain that the manufacturers don't handle their nav/apps like a smart phone or PC does with 'free' updates and improvements as time marches on - but I knew they didn't when I bought it and bought it anyway so I'm not going to get irate at Acura for something that was ultimately my own decision.

Again - make sure you know what you're buying before buying it. This is especially true for Nav/infotainment since offerings from almost every vehicle manufacturers receive complaints and dissatisfaction in this area.

Wow ! Thanks for the insight.
I checked out this series and text drive the car and new exactly what i was purchasing and why....
My point is simple. When I sign / drop $ 50k+ i expect the manufacturer to live up to the basic offerings / features they have marketed. Acura is well aware of this problem and are aware the informant and screen cluster is one of the worst in this price range. In fact, a lot '17 owners have experienced deterioration in the informant performance upon extensive usage
Acura knows to retain customers its worth the investment to try and improve the '16 '17 OS version with some form of upgrade or patch. It all about cost benefit and customer satisfaction - I bet you know this too.

I merely expect to get what I pay for and evaluate the manufacturer should they decide to not fix or live up to their offering.

 

[mdxstang]

Acura knows to retain customers its worth the investment to try and improve the '16 '17 OS version with some form of upgrade or patch. It all about cost benefit and customer satisfaction - I bet you know this too.

I'm telling you that Acura has already demonstrated an unwillingness to enhance the infotainment system for models already purchased.

If there's an outright 'bug', i.e. not a perceived performance issue with a slower than desired boot up time but rather, the system 'goes to the stars', this system's equivalent of a blue screen of death, then Acura might release a patch for it.

I have a 2014 MDX and have had the Nav system updated twice with bug fixes. These were outright bugs where the system would hang, etc. but when Acura came out with a function improvement in essentially the same unit for 2015, they did 'not' offer it to 2014 owners.

The original message on this thread referred to mostly function/performance dissatisfaction rather than bugs. Don't hold your breath waiting for Acura to enhance the unit on the vehicle you already bought because they likely won't even though it would make you (and any customer) happier and perhaps more loyal. I don't think they'll do it. This is why I said to be sure of what you're buying and be sure you'll be reasonably content with your decision before having false expectations that just lead to dissatisfaction.

I'm not on Acura's side on this - I think they should provide similar enhancements as a smart phone does when it doesn't cost them a great deal to do it, which would require they have a better way to update these, but I'm realistic enough to not 'expect' them to do it, since they don't seem to.

 

[carli123]

I merely expect to get what I pay for and evaluate the manufacturer should they decide to not fix or live up to their offering.

You got exactly what you paid for which is a vehicle that has a feature that you dislike. What exactly did they offer here that you didn't get? If you're not trolling this forum like so many others then where does the sense of entitlement come from where you buy something you don't like and then hold the OEM accountable to make it better for you? It's a called a free market, make good choices and minimize regret.

 

[rthammer]

QUOTE=carli123;1295529]You got exactly what you paid for which is a vehicle that has a feature that you dislike. What exactly did they offer here that you didn't get?

Sorry I beg to differ. My sense of entitlement comes from I should have rec'd what was marketed by the Honda Motor Corporation.
All other features as marketed perform great - as they should. I also did scan the reviews,websites, other owners along with a close relationship with an Acura dealer owner. The conclusion was, I would get an above average, very dependable vehicle with fair / poor complex nav system. Ok no worries. And yes, I am happy it is loaded with excellent functional features. Oh, and that work, as marketed.

But,the nav 0/S system is unstable and erratic. Works well sometimes and then sometimes it does not. - Yes I do hold Acura accountable to try and make it better. Not just my opinion, but observations from other '17 owners. Some have even suggested it frustrating, and a distraction and dangerous especially when the directional arrow goes off into never never land and does not stop. The bugs should be fixed for present owners and future buyers - It would be a really poor message if no attempt is made.

 

[mrgold35]

I think car manufactures are stuck between providing the latest tech, long-term reliability, and making a buck after the sell. My 06 TSX Navi still works pretty much at the same level of speed and accuracy as any current Acura Model with Navi after +11 year of service (update disk about every 3 years). I can't even imagine still using tech from 2005/2006 today like my old RAZR flip phone or 1MB cable modem with my old windows XP computer today. The only other tech I have the same age or older are my digital alarm clocks (everything else has been upgraded or just not useful anymore).

I think adding Carplay, larger display, and wireless charging would help future proof the MDX. They could add heads-up display with navi and/or digital dash with navi down the road that works with Carplay or the in-dash Acura system.