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Navigation Maps Updates

13K views 33 replies 17 participants last post by  bill.k.lopez  
#1 ·
For those of you familiar with the map update process on a 2023 MDX and have gone through this ordeal, please feel free to snicker or laugh at my travails. For those unfamiliar, please use this information to survive the process.

To start with, my Acura dealer would not assist me in this process at all except to offer the website where to go first. The process starts with formatting a minimum 2.0 32GB USB memory stick, then downloading the HERE map downloader tool before anything else. Once those 2 tasks are complete, downloading the current maps version (for me it was 23.01.03) can then be initiated.

Depending upon many variables, the three (3) above mentioned tasks can take anywhere from the time it takes to prepare a seven course meal to growing a beard! For me, everything took just under 5 hours from start to finish. Now you are ready to transfer the map data from the USB stick to the car.

Everything that I had read from Acura owners online indicated that the process would take between 45 minutes to as long as an hour and 15 minutes, preferably with the engine running. With that in mind, my wife and I just planned a drive out in the country.

After inserting my loaded USB disk into the USB port in the center console armrest storage box, the entire download process took exactly 46 minutes. There is no progress meter during the download process, and the only indication that you have completed the process is when a message "Download Complete, Please Re-Start the Car to Load Maps". My wife and I were already operating the car, so we just stopped at a market, then re-started the car to confirm that my maps version had been updated.

Acura and Honda should be embarrassed and ashamed to ask their customers to go through this BS procedure just to update their maps. I've owned other new cars where you just simply changed out the disks, and I've owned many Garmin products that were updated online. This process that Acura now uses is total BS and puts them squarely in the dark ages when they are supposed to be an upscale car company. At the very least, the company that Acura uses for this program (HERE) should stock pre-loaded USB memory sticks for sale to owners of older Acura cars or complimentary for owners of new cars.

God help us all if cars get even more complicated.....cheers to all!
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
All good points, I think on-board (integrated) navigation systems' days are numbered

It will be more profitable for the car manufacturers to go towards a subscription system similar to Toyota's which means monthly or yearly subscriptions for the consumer but also never have to worry about updating to the latest map database since the maps will essentially reside on the OEM's servers.
Totally agree.....I don't mind periodic updates, but my point of all this was to throw at jab at Acura who sells a 2023 MDX for $65K, then goes ultra cheap by telling its customers to fend for themselves if they want the latest navigation information. I've owned several aircraft, and periodic navigation updates with Garmin and Collins are a piece of cake. I love my new MDX, but Acura's program to update their navigation maps is BS and a very bad joke!
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
My mother's car uses Android Auto which lets her car connect to her phone and use Google maps which: downloads maps to use offline, has live traffic updates, and feels way smoother imo. Why does Acura still use this outdated system?
My exact question to the service manager at my Acura dealership. His answer was that he has brought the question up on numerous occasions to his Acura rep, and they both know that the issue will never change. My personal opinion is that Acura may have a change in the works like an internet based upload. Since most of the new models have the onboard wifi with AT&T now anyway, a program to upload the map and data updates would be a snap!
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Funny that I use Android Auto 99.9% of the time but still go through this random and inconsistent process to update the Navigation Maps because it would feel incomplete if I didn't. I'd probably stop after the free download period of 3 years...
Yes Sir...totally agree and would wager that most folks are like you and would not pay good $$$ to go through this crappy process after the free 3 years are up!
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
I can't even get the files to download to the USB without failing. I've tried two different computers and 3 different USBs always fails about 10% in.
Don't know the exact steps you're taking, but make sure you are formatting the USB stick and downloading the HERE map downloader tool before you start to download the newest version of the maps to your USB stick. That entire process took several hours for me on my laptop with Windows 10. Hope that helps!
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Followed the instructions to a T but still having issues. Maybe its the USB stick, will go pick a new one and see if that works.
My Acura dealer specifically mentioned that the USB stick "must" be a 2.0 32GB version. I bought a 2.0 64GB version from Walmart thinking that I could use the disk for other uses later.....and I had no problem. I do believe that 32GB is the absolute min though.....good luck Sir!
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Acura has always lagged behind the industry in terms of infotainment. With CarPlay/Android Auto, why even bother with this update process?
My very first Acura ever...and having bought a 2023 MDX with the Advance Package with navigation, I just assumed the process was more seamless. GM and Ford certainly have Acura "whooped" in this regard, but I'll keep updating the navigation until my 3 "free" years are up!
 
Discussion starter · #19 ·