How do I update the Navigation disc for my 2006 DTS

[wayneman]

My navigation system seems a bit confused at times with the newer roads and streets. The dealers want a lot of money for the newer discs. What,if any, alternatives would be available to update my nav. disc?

[Texas Jim]

Maybe check ebay for a newer one.

What version do you have now??

You can also go to http://mapupdate.navigation.com/GM/

or call 1-877-628-3472

[JohnnyG]

Just forget it and buy an Android smartphone. As you say Navtec wants like $300.00 for an update disc. Update instructions are in your owner's manual. They are living in the past as far as I'm concerned, and I have told them as much. The smart phone will be accurate and continually updated for free, will display a map with your location, and will SPEAK the directions and turns out loud, what more could you ask?

Alternately you could buy a stand alone GPS/Map unit, but I find the phone option ultimately more useful.

Taking this one step further, this is one reason that I won't BUY a car with Nav. I'll lease one, but not buy one.

[Texas Jim]

Just forget it and buy an Android smartphone. As you say Navtec wants like $300.00 for an update disc. Update instructions are in your owner's manual. They are living in the past as far as I'm concerned, and I have told them as much. The smart phone will be accurate and continually updated for free, will display a map with your location, and will SPEAK the directions and turns out loud, what more could you ask?

Alternately you could buy a stand alone GPS/Map unit, but I find the phone option ultimately more useful.

Taking this one step further, this is one reason that I won't BUY a car with Nav. I'll lease one, but not buy one.

The updated NAV discs are $199 if you buy them thru GM.

They are a lot cheaper on ebay.

My factory NAV unit does "SPEAK" the directions and turns out loud... It always has..

I really like it and have used it extensively for the past 125,000 miles.

I also have an android smartphone... A Samsung Galaxy S2...

In my opinion...... It sucks, compared to the factory NAV.

[JohnnyG]

I suppose there would be some instances where factory nav outperforms Google Nav. Two that I can think of is when you are traveling in remote areas with little or no cell tower coverage, and having an inferior carrier.....

I know that in all of my travels in cities and anywhere around here in Florida, Verizon has excellent coverage and the app works just fine. I also like being able to tell IT where the destination is and it navigating to that spot.

I use a Motorola Razr.

I have also had unpleasant experiences with OnStar's Directions and Connections plan. Just way too slow to be useful, especially on the fly. If factory nav can retrieve data directly from satellite, then it would undoubtedly excel in those remote areas. If this is your primary use area,a dash mounted dedicated GPS device like a Garmin might be your cheapest solution.

I can't say the same for OnStar telephone, which, except for the "Emergency" button, uses regular cellular networks for communication.

[Texas Jim]

I suppose there would be some instances where factory nav outperforms Google Nav. Two that I can think of is when you are traveling in remote areas with little or no cell tower coverage, and having an inferior carrier.....

I know that in all of my travels in cities and anywhere around here in Florida, Verizon has excellent coverage and the app works just fine.

I also like being able to tell IT where the destination is and it navigating to that spot.

I use a Motorola Razr.

I have also had unpleasant experiences with OnStar's Directions and Connections plan. Just way too slow to be useful, especially on the fly. If factory nav can retrieve data directly from satellite, then it would undoubtedly excel in those remote areas. If this is your primary use area,a dash mounted dedicated GPS device like a Garmin might be your cheapest solution.

I can't say the same for OnStar telephone, which, except for the "Emergency" button, uses regular cellular networks for communication.

I didn't say the app on the cell phone didn't work well.

It is just a pain to tell it where I want to go and then have to look at the little bitty screen, while NOT looking at the road to see where it is taking me.

It almost sounds like we are using two different services...

I can, and do, tell my indash factory nav system, where to go, and then it takes me there... with voice prompts that count down the distance to the next turn.

If you are on a freeway or other limited access highway, it even shows a display of the intersection and highlights which lane I need to be in.

I have used the Direction and Connections quite a bit.

I use it to find hotels and places to eat when we are traveling.

Every once in a while I use it here in town to tell me how to get to a new place that I have heard about but forgot to look up directions before we left home.

The OnStar telephone uses the Verizon network...

It also puts out FOUR WATTS, and a regular cell phone usually puts out less than a HALF WATT.

My Galaxy S2 uses AT&T...

Between the two of them, there have been very few places that I have been that one or the other didn't work.

Glad you mentioned the OnStar phone...

I have over 1,500 minutes I need to use up before I get another car.

[Cadillac Jim]

I had ONStar until analog phone service was discontinued in 2008, disabling my car phone and thus my Gen I OnStar. I got a Garmin Nuvi at that time and am still using it. It gives verbal directions anywhere in the U.S. and does not fritz out anywhere because all it needs i battery power and GPS satellite signals, and it doesn't have a speed or update problem. Garmin provides quarterly updates, and I use them at least twice a year. I had to pay for an unlimited update plan; new Garmins and other GPS units come with unlimited update plans. I have a friend that uses Google Maps in his Android phone in lieu of a GPS in his travels, and even with 4G the update isn't enough to keep up with road travel in complex areas at highway speeds, but it is still useful, and for my friend it combines his Palm Pilot, cell phone, and GPS, thus simplifying his active life. Verizon is the only truly unlimited data service; Google doesn't recommend using their maps for routine auto navigation unless you have an unlimited data plan. AT&T provides a 2 GB and a 4 GB plan, but charges extra by the GB if you go over; not expensive, but not free either.

So, it's different strokes for different folks. Google Information will provide many of the same benefits of OnStar Directions and Connections but without a person with a brain and OnStar training on the other end, and most people don't even know about it. OnStar does provide a selection of services that you can't get anywhere else because OnStar can read your OBD codes, alerts someone to call you back if you have an accident, and has a direct connection to GM Customer Service available in a heartbeat. And, they have extra-cost concierge services.

The car phone has morphed into car BlueTooth, USB connectivity with your iPad, and in-car navigation systems. The unreasonable update issues with current auto navigation systems tells me that they will themselves morph into something more useful quite soon, such as automatic updates as part of your OnStar subscription. If I were buying a new car now, I would go with BlueTooth, OnStar, and my own Garmin.

[JohnnyG]

I also have an android smartphone... A Samsung Galaxy S2...

In my opinion...... It sucks, compared to the factory NAV.

I didn't say the app on the cell phone didn't work well.

It seems to me that is exactly what you said. Maybe I just took it wrong since I made the suggestion to use a phone app. It is also very possible that OnStar services work better in some areas than others, for my area, they're not so good.

Looking at the screen while driving is NOT something that I do. I usually pull over or let my wife handle that part of the navigation duties.

To be fair though, I have only used factory nav in my Volt, and very little at that. I use the Bluetooth feature in the Volt as well, but purchased a few cellular minutes from OnStar to be generous and to verify any coverage advantages. Both of them using Verizon, and there is no difference in voice coverage. I was hoping that the car phone would use satellite, or have more power, or something but that appears not to be the case. The Emergency button MAY work a little better in remote areas, but I have yet to verify that. My one attempt to connect via the emergency button from my rifle range (on the advice of Onstar customer service) failed miserably.

I also agree with Jims_97 on most of his points, Factory Nav needs to morph into a continuously (free) update service or they will be left behind quickly. Except scratch the words I-Pad, I-phone or I-anything, any current phone will connect to your car using bluetooth or USB. UNfortunately, the advanced features available on the new phones ARE NOT supported by the cars, just voice calling. Probably an attempt to make factory nav still applicable, which it is not in my opinion.

Further, the single FREE Android app "USA Rest Stops" is enough for me to determine that factory Nav is already a thing of the past. So for me it's Bluetooth, OnStar, and my own smartphone.