Our Oregon adventure has entered the final phase: driving home. After re-packing our stuff and saying our good-byes, we pointed our Commander south for the 900-mile or so return trip. The run home will follow a more direct route, as the dog is waiting for us and the kids are itching to see who their teachers will be next year.
Three of the Jeep's electronic gadgets have already helped this driver wile away the miles behind the wheel: Sirius satellite radio; the Navigation system; and the Tire Pressure Monitoring System readout. Here's how they are doing:
Sirius satellite radio - I've become a fan of satellite radio, especially Sirius, which, for me at least, has the better programming. Although I have to admit it is a bit surreal hearing Richard Blade still playing the same New Wave playlist that he used back in the 80's when he was on KROQ.
During this trip, however, we've learned that it just doesn't work reliably in certain parts of the country. Here on the wooded coast of Oregon, extending south through California's Coast and Humboldt redwoods, the signal drops out with alarming frequency. Since all of the programming is coming from the same orbiting source high above, all stations are affected simultaneously. Even if there are no trees overhead, nearby canyon walls can block the signal if the angle is right. Indeed my parents had me remove the aftermarket XM receiver I installed in their Odyssey last Christmas for precisely these reasons. They'll be e-baying it soon.
It's a shame really, as rural areas like this are the sorts of places that satellite radio is most needed. Indeed most everyone in Pistol River has a satellite dish for TV and my folks get their internet that way. But houses don't move, so it's possible to maintain the required "clear view of the southern sky " despite the trees. Still, the Jeep's Sirius receiver worked very well for most of the time, especially while driving the length of California's vast , and treeless, Central Valley.
Navigation system - The Commander has a nice-looking Navigation system, with easy to operate controls and a nice-sized screen. But on this trip, it turned out to be an interesting toy, not a trustworthy tool. Why?
For one, it is not really set up for vacation-style touring. It always wants to route me the shortest way, as if I were the UPS delivery truck. I want to take back roads, and see those smaller road choices on the screen when I'm zoomed out a bit, as I can on a paper map. And I want to use highway 20, not the more vomit-inducing, but technically shorter, highway 299. What I'd really like to be able to do is lay out a route of my choosing on my home PC, and then upload it somehow, perhaps with a USB memory stick, into the in-car Navigation system for guidance. Some of the aftermarket systems can approximate this, but I don't know of a factory system that can.
Also, it is just flat wrong at times. On the way to my folks house, for example, the system repeatedly wanted to route me across private property and through locked gates, while ignoring the regular Pistol River connector road right off of highway 101. The road was displayed on the screen, as a dotted line, but it wouldn't use it. When I drove on it anyway, I received a stern warning. These roads have been in the same state of use for all of the 15 years my parents have lived there. Another example is the Lobster Creek bridge over the Rogue River: It has been there since the 50's or 60's, but it doesn't show up on the e-map. As a result, the system wanted to route us 20 miles out of our way. This isn't a Jeep Nav system problem really, as I've found similar behavior on every one I've ever used.
For the prices they charge for these things, navigation systems ought to work better. Until these systems allow more user definition of routes and have more accurate databases, I'll stick with my trusty AAA maps, highlight pen, and coffee. I'm sure I won't have long to wait. For now, it's fun to listen to the computer-generated guide go crazy and repeatedly scold me to make u-turns while I ignore her for 20 miles.
Tire Pressure Monitoring System - Jeep has one of the better and more useful displays. They've gone well beyond the letter of the new TPMS rule and provided actual tire pressure readings, not just a low tire warning.
Everyone knows, or should know, that tire pressure increases as a tire is driven on. Tire pressures are meant to be checked and set cold, before starting out. As soon as driving begins, tires heat and the pressure rises. If tire pressures are set to the door sticker figure just after getting off the freeway while they are hot, they'll end up too low after the car sits overnight and the tires cool again. But how big is this effect?
When I started this trip, I set the Commander tire pressures to 35 psi on my home gauge. Here is what the TPMS readout showed:
Commander Tire Pressure, start of trip.
After getting up to speed on the freeway, at about 75 mph and 85 degrees air temperature, here was the reading:
Commander tire presure, mid-day freeway cruise
That's about a 6 psi pressure rise due to driving at 75 mph for an hour or so. If I had mistakenly set my pressures to 35 psi directly after pulling off the freeway, my cold pressures would have dwindled to a too-low 29 psi or so - well below the recommendation
Day 8 tally: 455 miles, 33.7 gallons in 2 stops (493.0 miles since previous recorded fill), 14.7 mpg, $107.73 fuel cost
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 25,341 miles
desmolicious says:
10:05 AM, 08/28/06
That tire pressure sensor is too cool! The one I had in my M Coupe would just warn you if there was low inflation w/o giving any indication of actual pressure. Same thing with the Mini Cooper S.
ahightower says:
10:42 AM, 08/28/06
GM has the same type of TPMS, much more useful than just a warning light.
I appreciate your comments on the navigation system. I've only used one once before, in a rental car, and was not impressed. I think it's a cool idea and have thought about getting a portable unit, but so far I'm not convinced they're worth the expense, or reliable enough for me to head out without printing directions off of google first, or at least a map.
jerrywimer says:
11:09 AM, 08/28/06
I do like that the Jeep TPMS displays all four tires simultaneously and next to an easy-to-decipher diagram of the vehicle though. My Av doesn't do it like that.
skierx420 says:
11:06 AM, 08/29/06
Appearently you did not read the owners manual for the navigation. There is a feature that allows you to route yourself with the option of minimize freeways, maximize freeways, shortest route etc. The feature is located in the screen after you program your destination. Just before it shows you the map. Select the options menu and go down until you find the option to change the routing. This will get you your vacation type cruising that you would have desired. I don't know if you got to have the salesperson give the instructions or not but a thourough delivery by a GOOD salesperson should have shown you this feature. I always blame the salespeople for never doing a good enough job in explaining the features of all of this sophistated equipment. My buddies Commander Limited will go everywhere my old '89 Dodge Ramcharger will go without any modification and the breadcrum feature has made mapping our favorite trails back to our fishing holes a breeze.
actualsize says:
12:09 PM, 08/29/06
Yes, I've seen and used those options on the Commander. And my Microsoft Streets and Trips PC software has them too. The trouble is, if I want to use a specific road, or stop in a specific place that is not on any of the optional routes between the widely-spaced Start and Finish, I have to add waypoints, sometimes many of them, to force the computer to route me where I want to go. That's much easier to do camped out at a desk than it is with a joystick-operated "keyboard" while sitting in the Jeep.
Since the route I want to use while vacationing does not usually coincide with any of the suggested routes, you might wonder why I need or want a navigation system? Well, I find it very useful to help navigate through tricky intersections and avoid mistakes at poorly-marked turns in unfamiliar areas. It also helps me find the way back onto the path after I have diverted to see or do something that wasn't in the original plan.