Navigation Owners

[Craigmri]

Would anyone with Navigation please chime in.I'm torn between waiting 7 weeks to order my Base Vibe with Navigation(there are no manual shift Nav vibes within 500 miles of my home) or just buying a local Base vibe(5-speed mind you) with Moon and Tunes and get an aftermarket mapping GPS.Does anyone who owns a Vibe Navigation system feel they should have deleted this option? Is it a lousy system?I'm very suprised that they couldnt even find the Navigation on a GT either. It appears its not a popular option.Craig

[fuel4soul]

Whoa, I must have been real lucky to have found a GT 6-speed ofcourse, with Navigation AND in Envy Monotone! Yet unlucky that I couldn't get it.

[TopObject]

I have the Nav system in my Vibe GT and I love it.As far as it being a lousy system or not, it is an entirely subjective opinion. Many people have found the Nav system rather confusing and awkward to use. HOWEVER, that being said most professional car reviews I have read (Car & Driver, Road & Track etc.) point out that NO Nav system as of yet is highly user friendly, even on Lexus, Mercedes and the like. It is important to realize that there are space limitations in a vehicle; you can't have a full computer keyboard. Given the many differnet functions of the nav system, and the wide parameters of information you want to input and receive, I think it's about as user friendly as you can get with only a dozen little buttons and a toggle stick.Someday the ultimate Nav system will incorporate interactive voice recognition and a touch screen. (Probably already exists, but I don't even want to think about how expensive it is)If you are relatively comfortable with electronic equipment and/or computers, and/or are a quick study, then you should have no problems. It took me about a week to get completely comfortable with all of my nav system's capabilities and operating procedures, and now I can't imagine not having it. I am in outside sales so I travel hundreds of miles to dozens of unfamiliar places every week. The Nav system gets me where I need to go every time; it has yet to fail me.Is the aftermarket system better? I don't know, I haven't any experience with one, but if you asked me if I recommend the factory nav system, my answer would be a resounding yes. It's great

[Jahntassa]

I agree with TopObject. I'd rather spend the $1600 financed than $3000 out of pocket.. Granted, after my loan is up, I might change it out anyway..I'd say it's money well spent. My only gripe is the out-of-date data disc.

[PieBoy]

Love it. I'll probably never own a car again that doesn't have it. I'm in consulting, so I spend about 50% of my time out of the office at client meetings, but sometimes I use even when I could probably get there without it, especially when I'm late and travelling on major highways. I can see exactly how far I am from my exit. I can see my ETA. I also have a very bad habit of talking on the phone while driving (I know, I know....). On more than one occasion (actually, many occasions) I have completely missed an exit or turn, but with NAV voice promps it never happens, and it gives me plenty of time to safely change lanes.I've never used any other GPS system, so I really don't know how well this one compares.Beefs....Cost to upgrade CD. That will be my biggest consideration when I replace this car.Canadian Coverage. Works great from Niagra falls to Oshawa (where I do 95% of my work) but really weak outside of those areas. Used it in Montreal twice and worked as well there as in Toronto. Drove to my parents place in Prince Edward Island. Very dissappointing there. The island is represented by a green blob in the middle of a blue background (representing water I think). Needless to say, my family there thought it was a stupid waste of money.Would I buy it again? Yes, absolutely, but now that I know how this one works I would spend some time looking at other systems. This one works really well, and re-calculates routes quicky if you decide to go in a different direction than the one it has recommended. The Detour button is also fantastic. You see that the highway you are about to get on is jammed, hit the detour 5k button and it quickly re-routes you. It also shows the locations of gas stations, and ATMs which I have used countless times (as well as some other stuff I use less frequently like hotel locations, shopping malls and restaurants etc.). You can program many locations in yourself. I have our Hamilton, Mississauga, pickering and ottawa office programed in, as well as my sister in laws place in Montreal.I'll be interested in hearing what you decide to get.

[ag1f]

I have used other navigation systems and this one is very bad.It doesn't help that they won't supply an update to the disk.I travel in a lot of places that there is practically no coverage, like in SC. You can forget about using it (except for the map) once you get off the major highways when you are away from the major cities.

[namegoeshere1]

I am thinking of buying a 4wd vibe with Navi and I have some questions about it's features. My other car is an Acura MDX with a wonderful Navi. i) Are there voice commands for turns, exits, etc which are integrated with the radio?ii) How many POIs does the navi have? Mine has about 7million.iii) Does it have the breadcrumb feature whereby if you go off a programmed road, it leaves breadcrumbs on the map so that one can backtrack and get back on the road?iv) When on an unverified area, does it still display a general direction route which will get you to the destination?v) Does the navi have a touchscreen to enter alphabetic characters? vi) Is it integrated with any sort of a trip computer which gives mpg, miles till empty, etc.?Thanks for your answers in advance.

[Jahntassa]

1) No, it doesn't have voice commands, it just has voice nav, so it'll tell you directions.2) A bunch...probably not as much as the Acura..but i'm not sure exactly how much3) Nope, it just auto-routes a new route4) Not sure what you mean by unverified, but it'll auto-reroute pretty much no matter what...5) Nope, no touchscreen6) Nope, no trip computer on the Vibe, just temperature and two trip meters.If you want some of those features, you might want to look into the Pioneer AVIC-N1. http://www.crutchfield.com/S-g...arch=The voice command module is seperate, but what i've heard is that it works really well.

[namegoeshere1]

Thanks for your reply. Without a touchscreen, how do you enter alphabetic and numeric characters for streets and addresses? Also, if you turn off the navi, is it just a black screen or does it display the clock or something like that?In my navi, unverified roads are those, for example in new neighborhoods, that have not yet been programmed.

[esjones]

To answer the original poster:I have a 5-speed with nav, and love both the 5-speed and the nav!I wouldn't be without it. And I got Pontiac to give me an updated disc, too. The unit doesn't have a touch screen, but it does have a joystick at the bottom left of the unit with which you move around an alphabetic display screen to input street names, city names, etc. You move the joystick to select the letter you want, then press it inward to select.Things I like:You can put in 100 of your own points of interest, change the icons that represent each, and input your own label for each one. Where I live (Dayton/Cincinnati area) coverage of the map data is VERY good. There is an "emergency" button which maps you a route to the nearest police station, and also shows you your present latitude and longitude in case you need to give your position to someone.It sets the clock from the GPS satellite data, so the time is always EXACT to the second.I like the RDS radio display.Overall, the audio is quite good, but I'm still thinking about new speakers.Things I don't like:You have to push an "I Agree" button every time you turn it on to signify that the makers of the car aren't responsible for you being distracted by it.A lot of the ability to enter data shuts down when the car starts to move. I guess this is more protection from yourself.The clock is TINY when you're using the nav system or the radio. It is larger, and the only thing on the screen, when the unit is off.The unit is never really off. Even when you turn it off, you can still hear it reading the map disc, figuring out where you are.I wish there were some controls on the steering wheel.

[Jahntassa]

Quote, originally posted by namegoeshere1 »Thanks for your reply. Without a touchscreen, how do you enter alphabetic and numeric characters for streets and addresses? Also, if you turn off the navi, is it just a black screen or does it display the clock or something like that?In my navi, unverified roads are those, for example in new neighborhoods, that have not yet been programmed.I'd like to mention that everything esjones said, I agree with. Lucky him for getting an updated map disc though. Like he said, there's a joystick/enter button on the lower left of the unit, you just move the "cursor" around letters on the screen.If you press the power button, it reverts to a clock center screen. You can also hit "Menu" and another button to "blank" the screen, turning off the screen while leaving audio on.The unit will pretty much have you driving across empty space until it can place you on a road that it does think exists. So, if I'm driving on a new road to get to an old one, I ignore it's route until I get where I know it knows where it is..and it just keeps auto-routing from there.

[ag1f]

How did you ever get a new disc? Most of us need one.

[namegoeshere1]

I was able to look at the Navi manual. Is it true that you either have to use the Navi or use the CD player but not both? This is because the Navi uses the single CD player slot on the dash.The questions I have is can one listen to any of the 6 discs in the changer AND use the navi? How about the radio, can I use the radio AND the navi at the same time?Also, if I buy a navi, I would obviously ask for the latest disc. Can someone tell me the version of the latest disc so that I can request it? Thanks and I'm getting closer to putting in my order.

[MJN2]

You can use the Nav while either the radio or changer is playing - no sweat there.The map DVD has to be in the single in the dash though in order to use it.

[esjones]

Quote, originally posted by namegoeshere1 »Also, if I buy a navi, I would obviously ask for the latest disc. Can someone tell me the version of the latest disc so that I can request it? Thanks and I'm getting closer to putting in my order.My disc is Ver. 02.1. When in nav mode, press MENU, then select "DVD" from the choices on the menu screen. That will show you the disc version number.Does anyone have a disc newer than Ver. 02.1?Thanks.

[MJN2]

Quote, originally posted by esjones »My disc is Ver. 02.1. When in nav mode, press MENU, then select "DVD" from the choices on the menu screen. That will show you the disc version number.Does anyone have a disc newer than Ver. 02.1?Thanks.Mine says Data: 2001 ver. 1

[PieBoy]

Mine is also 2001 ver. 1.0It would be nice to know what the upgrades include, although they would have to be very significant to justify the $500.00 price tag for the new CD. I live in Toronto, and the version I have gets me to where I want to go 99% of the time (within Toronto). My Brother-in-law lives in Montreal, and I have no trouble getting around Montreal with it. Where it really sucks is between Toronto and Montreal. Last summer I drove to my mother's house in Price Edeward Island. The island is depicted on the GPS display as a green blob over a vast expanse of blue, with no roads whatsoever. HELLO, GENERAL MOTORS, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND IS INCLUDED IN "NORTH AMERICA", at lease it was when I was in school. As I've said before, the title of the map CD should be edited to read, "DVD NAVIGATION MAP, NORTH AMERICA (excluding most of Canada, and screw you Mexico, we've included only the parts of North America that are money makers for us)".I know that expecting Prince Edward Island to be on any GPS system might be a stretch, but what have I learned from this experience....I really like having the GPS system and will likely always have a car with it, but I'll likely never buy a GM GPS system again. From what I have heard you will get more variety and value for your money if you go with an aftermarket product from Pioneer, or someone else.

[MJN2]

I seem to recall a decent sized portion of the 407 not being on the Nav map. Up near the northern end of it.Kind of amusing, actually.

[ag1f]

Not all GPS systems skip parts of Canada. My Etrex showed the roads in Iqualuit and Labrador. I couldn't get the car to either of those places since I went by plane and boat.I got around Montreal very well and I really needed the help to get from the airport to the hotel and back. In Massachusetts they include even some of the alleys. GM did not make this unit, they got it from the same people that you could buy it from.