Factory fit Sat Nav is rubbish

[Hantshog]

I have just returned from 3 weeks holiday in Europe (Spain and France) and I must say I am so disappointed with the factory fitted Sat Nav. At the moment I think I wasted a shed load of money on this useles piece of kit. The logic is more dates than my TomTom 500 Go from around 2004.
It doesn't stay in auto zoom mode. It doesnt zoom in enough when it does zoom in. The 3 route options presented at the beginning of a journey aren't different enough. If I chose the quick route it takes me down ridiculously small roads. There are no useful POIs, like campsites for example. And whatever route you chose dictates the colur of the route on the map, weird!. It also struggled with french destinations. So unversatile.
In my opinion this was a waste of money. How can VW be so out of touch with old software? My 5 year old Audi (VW group) sat nav did everything I wanted yet this system which is a lot newer is crap.
I ended up using the sat nav on my phone through the Car net thing.
I am hoping I just havent set it up right and someone's going to tell me what I need to do to make it a really useful tool.

 

[Max-Felix]

A brand new circa £100 Halfords Garmin with live traffic and lifetime updates will trounce 90% of ridiculously over priced, poorly designed and shonky car manufacturers in built satnavs.

Why they don't all just leave it to Garmin and Google and license the tech from these two giants is beyond me.

 

[JohnGuppy]

If you plug in your iPhone and use apple play you can use apple maps and as long as you have 4G it works fine plus the phone app is great and reads and sends text
I agree the maps are out of date we have a new by pass 3 years ago not on the maps
not sure if you can update the maps via 4G guess I should try

 

[T6Beach]

You are right, it is crap! Really crap actually.

There is no comparison to the navigation in my BMW, how VW can charge the premium price for this is criminal, I don't even use it now to be honest and have gone back to using my phone.

Anyone one looking to buy a Cali, save your money and remove this from your desired options

 

[WelshGas]

I thought the T6 had 4,000 improvements and upgrades compared to the "OLD" T5.1?

This obviously isn't one of them.​

 

[Hotel California]

Seems thats of the many things that's not been changed compared to a T5....
The most overpriced option on my T5 is the RNS 510 and it works like sh@t.

Got myself a 150€ tomtom ...suggest you do thesame?

 

[Meoncoast]

Our van came unreqistered but built to dealers spec with built in sat nav. I have never found a "fitted" sat nav as good as my Garmins and Tom Tom's. The VW unit is in my view never worth the amount of money and I would not add it as an extra if I was having a van built I would spend my money on something else.

 

[WelshGas]

Seems thats of the many things that's not been changed compared to a T5....
The most overpriced option on my T5 is the RNS 510 and it works like sh@t.

Got myself a 150€ tomtom ...suggest you do thesame?

Our van came unreqistered but built to dealers spec with built in sat nav. I have never found a "fitted" sat nav as good as my Garmins and Tom Tom's. The VW unit is in my view never worth the amount of money and I would not add it as an extra if I was having a van built I would spend my money on something else.

Well cannot complain about my RNS510. Got me to all the places I've wanted to go in the UK and Europe with no problems.
In fact easier to use than any Garmin or TomTom I've had, so I must beg to differ.
Mind you I do keep it upto date , unlike many.

 

[Freeley]

I replaced my bog standard CD radio with a pioneer sat nav built in thingy.
Although it has the odd hissy fit when travelling through Europe it's always got us to our destination and has proved invaluable when leaving motorways as it shows an unerringly accurate lane indicator, unlike here slip roads in Europe tend to separate into multiple lane exits which I would find confusing without help!

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[BillyCasper]

'Your route has been re-calculated owing to current traffic conditions' over and over again, constantly, it's rubbish.


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[WelshGas]

'Your route has been re-calculated owing to current traffic conditions' over and over again, constantly, it's rubbish.


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You can disable that if you want, but then you may not keep moving.
If there are multiple traffic condition reports coming in, very common around London or in the Midlands the the unit is only doing its job, trying to keep you moving. Switch it Off if you want to be stuck in traffic.

 

[BillyCasper]

You can disable that if you want, but then you may not keep moving.
If there are multiple traffic condition reports coming in, very common around London or in the Midlands the the unit is only doing its job, trying to keep you moving. Switch it Off if you want to be stuck in traffic.

Ah, but that means that I have to read the manual and I'm genetically programmed to ignore manuals. I turn it off and use a Garmin.

My observation is based on trying out both the factory unit and Garmin, the frequency of messages and route recalculations is just incomparable.

I'll never forgive the VW unit for the alternative route it took me on to avoid Adele concert congestion near Wembley. Never like Adele, never will after that experience!


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[WelshGas]

Ah, but that means that I have to read the manual and I'm genetically programmed to ignore manuals. I turn it off and use a Garmin.

My observation is based on trying out both the factory unit and Garmin, the frequency of messages and route recalculations is just incomparable.

I'll never forgive the VW unit for the alternative route it took me on to avoid Adele concert congestion near Wembley. Never like Adele, never will after that experience!


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Ah, I see. That seems to be a problem for many car owners, reading the Manual. The SatNav only does what you tell it to do. If you don't tell it then what do you expect?
I'm use to reading technical Manuals for Ventilators, Dialysis machines etc: so the SatNav Manual is a doddle and setup correctly works as I want it to.
At least it doesn't report " Satellite - Lost Connection " as a Garmin did in Sydney NSW as we drove through a number of tunnels with slip roads in-between . Totally useless. The RNS510 made no complaint in Norway, even driving the 25 Km Laerdal Tunnel and was spot on at the end.

 

[Freeley]

Yes i seem to remember that our Pioneer will keep track of our location and progress even when GPS signal is lost when driving through tunnels etc.
Not quite sure how it works but it does!

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[WelshGas]

Yes i seem to remember that our Pioneer will keep track of our location and progress even when GPS signal is lost when driving through tunnels etc.
Not quite sure how it works but it does!

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I gather it gets info from the vehicle as regards speed etc: and normally has a form of compass and accelerometer to determine direction and then plots the predicted position.
When I drove that long tunnel in Norway it even coped with me parking up for 20 minutes in the central rest-stop area.

 

[T6 CFO]

Although I could quite easily switch to the app connect and Apple maps which I am far more familiar with I shall persevere with the in built one. Traffic re routing has saved me twice from long delays around the M25. There are things I don't like about it and others that I do. Ability to import the POI for C&CC C&MC and especially the wild camping ones is proving useful.

Mike


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[topmonty]

Although I could quite easily switch to the app connect and Apple maps which I am far more familiar with I shall persevere with the in built one. Traffic re routing has saved me twice from long delays around the M25. There are things I don't like about it and others that I do. Ability to import the POI for C&CC C&MC and especially the wild camping ones is proving useful.

Mike


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Hi
I must say perseverance seems to be the key here,we have just completed the Ring of Kerry and the Wild Atlantic way clocking up around 2000 miles and using the built in sat nav.
Made use of poi's for campsites and tourist attractions etc , along with view points and discovery points.GPS entry came in handy as well although the decimal format gave us problems,incidentally does anyone know how to overcome this small hitch ?
Cheers

 

[Amarillo]

I love my factory fir sat nav, and it is proving to be a valuable tool for navigation away from Norway's main roads. Its main shortcoming is its inability to reliably predict delays waiting for ferries, but as that seems to be dictated by the mood of those loading the ferries and wether they fancy the driver at the front of lane 6 more than the driver at the front of the other lanes, that shortcoming is forgivable.

I do use it in conjunction with Google maps on my phone and the ACSI campsite app to find camping locations, and I am a convert from paper maps not other Sat Nav systems, though I have used hand held GPS with grid references and paper maps for hillwalking for a number of years.


Follow my blog at www.au-revoir.eu

 

[Erbster]

Can I add a shout out for the cheaper alternative? I am really impressed with apple maps (and app connect)- we were able to input lat Lon numbers for aires in Belgium/Holland/Germany. Reliable routing (inc traffic). I like being able to input locations before leaving home (e.g. From camper stop book) and the fact that the map is always up to date. Main disadvantage is that it does use data from phone; was worried that poor reception would be a problem but it hasn't been so far.


Charles

 

[JohnGuppy]

It does seem nearly all manufactures fit GPS units of most I agree are out of date and are difficult to use even when you buy new including Garmin
My California spec was ordered by the dealer I got better than he ordered as upgrades happened before building I must admit it works but is complicated there is a compass so I guess the lost sat signal it follows a map just like it did in the early days so yes you came out the end of a tunnel and gained signal and carried on. I seem to have a button where I get traffic delays from 50miles radius confusing when you think you know a better way but you cant see along the way ahead of journey or what's around the corner
If you are considering upgrading think as you will in most cases no better off in fact a £100 unit is going to be an out of date model apposed to a £350 new model
Most people now use I phones or android Google maps , apple maps so if you are considering a unit make sure it has apple play plug in your phone hide it in the glove box or in our case the special place in the dash , with 4G you now have access to you local radio stations anywhere in the world , Hands free dial phone , speaking text messages Apple maps and soon I guess Google maps , who knows what's just around the corner and upgrades are free so I guess forward compatibility

My wife and I travelled 9000 miles all over the USA we bought 5 GPS units , all could not find most places via zip codes Most places are found navigating via POI zip codes where set up by Wells Fargo in the Wild West days roads moved ,In Nevada a zip code was 30miles radius and towing a car we ended up in the middle of a ranch 20 miles off the road when you are 45 foot long you cant just turn around
So please don't think the inventors of the GPS system have it any different

Have a look at apple play or use your phone its much better than any GPS

Lastly
If you connect to VW portal and enter your Vin number as I am sure we all have they can track you and gather info via your phone 4G

 

[hirsty]

Can't account for everyone's preferences but the Discover sat nav & stereo in my T6 is fantastic - I've had a dozen different brands built-in & standalone & this is the best I've used.

It's not perfect, but I have RTFM & then tried every option to get it perfectly adjusted for my use in UK & across Europe, very happy with it.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Can't account for everyone's preferences but the Discover sat nav & stereo in my T6 is fantastic - I've had a dozen different brands built-in & standalone & this is the best I've used.

It's not perfect, but I have RTFM & then tried every option to get it perfectly adjusted for my use in UK & across Europe, very happy with it.

So far the Satnav in my 2017 Van seems pretty good.
Set it to fastest & dynamic. Got home from FOS campsite in 2:15 avoiding traffic delays on M25, them M40.
Now, who knows. Perhaps I could have got through them, but it directed me around and it only made about 10mins difference to what I was expecting.

I have app connect too.
Interestingly, i put the postcode for the campsite into app connect first as I browsed the campsite while I was down there. It took me to the wrong location.
I then used the satnav and although it didn’t get me to the exact location either. It was closer by quite a few miles...???

 

[Amarillo]

Very happy with our Discover Media.

With dynamic routing. It will take you off a congested motorway onto unmonitored roads which can be equally congested.

It also doesn't seem to recognise the difference between paved and unpaved roads.

But overall superb.


Follow my blog: www.au-revoir.eu

 

[2into1]

I too believe this is a pile of crap but have only skimmed the manual. Trying to correct my error, I searched youtube as, wait for it, we are in the 21st Century and a brief demo beats a thousand poorly translated words.
There was some helpful privately made ones which in particular show how to use the postcode function (VW hid it, just for fun).
Imagine my delight though when I found an official VW video called Volkswagen Navigation System (part 2) - easy to understand .
It's actually quite helpful, but guess what, part 1 doesn't exist! (Well I've tried hard and can't find it).

Here's part 2 for you. Hopefully someone can find and link to part 1, and we can all become believers.

I'm only going back to trying the built in Nav as App Connect only connects smoothly 1 in 5 attempts.

 

[2into1]

Well, after much searching I've found part 1 IN GERMAN, no SUBTITLES on the vw.de site. I'd have preferred subtitles to the gratuitous shots of the handsome boy.

https://www.volkswagen-driving-expe...staendlich.html#powerlayer-navigation-1-video