One long overdue complaint from my road trip to the Sierras
in our long-term 2008 Subaru WRX STI: Though the car itself is great to drive, the factory navigation system is really disappointing.
It's not that the touchscreen-style nav is hard to understand or use. It's the fact that it simply doesn't work properly. If you enter an address -- say "205 Main Street" in Bridgeport, CA -- that the system doesn't like, it freezes up as shown above.
Pressing the "back" button (or any of the on-screen buttons) does nothing. To bring it back to life, you must press one of the hard keys surrounding the screen.
Now if you happen to know that the hotel at 205 Main Street in Bridgeport has existed in one form or another since 1877, you might assume you could look it up by searching for POIs in the "hotels" subcategory within the "Travel" category.
You would be wrong. In fact, none of Bridgeport's four or so motor inns come up in the system's POI search. And all of these fine establishments pre-date the dawn of the 21st century.
Of course, it's no big loss if you don't get to stay overnight in Bridgeport in this lifetime, but if I'm spending $1,800 on a nav system (which I technically haven't in this case), I expect better performance than this.
At our next service visit, we'll definitely have to inquire about a possible software update.
Erin Riches, Inside Line Senior Editor
carfreak8394 says:
06:46 PM, 10/29/08
That would bug the crap out of me if I bought this car. I wonder if the STI owners know that the system is this outdated. Unless your car is just defective. Ha ha.
eriches says:
06:56 PM, 10/29/08
Our resident Subaru expert, Loren Wong (SubyTrojan) points out that there's a Kenwood software update DVD available for all Imprezas. He's not sure it would solve our problems -- and for $238, it's an expensive solution.
http://store.kenwoodusa.com/detail/KWD+86283SC010
firstwagon says:
08:14 PM, 10/29/08
"I wonder if the STI owners know that the system is this outdated."
Look at the pace of change in electronics. All factory systems are outdated in a year or so.
Just skip these gadgets altogether.
misterscoopman says:
09:20 PM, 10/29/08
The Subie factory system is not worth it... It is an old Kenwood OEM system. Kenwood's current models are much nicer and include Garmin navigation. I have their highest-end model (the DNX-8120) in my STI with a Subaru factory stereo surround, and even the steering wheel controls work. It only cost me about $1,000...
spinchild says:
11:01 PM, 10/29/08
Speaking of the Bridgeport region, if you're looking for some fun this Winter, take the STi or either of the EVO's to the town of June Lake when there's been some decent snow fall. If you go to the June Mountain parking lot at night, you'll be greeted by the beautiful sight of a massive, empty parking lot covered in a layer of snow and ice. I've personally taken a couple of vehicles out there and had a hell of a time sliding around and trying to drift. It'd be a great way to test the AWD systems and how well they REALLY work.
subytrojan says:
12:54 AM, 10/30/08
It looks like Car and Driver decided to replace their long-term STI's base system with an expensive Alpine one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neaXL9z2LWA
cruiserhead1 says:
07:56 AM, 10/30/08
i remember a straightline article saying the built-in nav's were a dead end because the tech is outdated so quickly.
It will be a $2500 cassette player in 3 years.
There needs to be a standard docking system in the auto industry for aftermarket nav's.
Maybe with BMW's idea of standardized software, this can be part of it.
blueguydotcom says:
08:50 AM, 10/30/08
Navi systems built into cars = worthless toys.
There's no reason for a car-based navi to cost more than $300 as an option.
1487 says:
11:27 AM, 10/30/08
they are going to cost more than $300 because many of them control functions in the car. Obviously an aftermarket system isnt going to do that. Plus aftermarket systems that are the size of in dash units are far more than $300. I think $1000 is a reasonable price for factory navs.
bankerdanny says:
11:35 AM, 10/30/08
Why would an $1,800 tech option not come with at least 12 months of free updates?
Having to shell out $230 to update what was apparently not a well designed system is adding insult to injury and is exceptionally poor customer support on Subaru's part.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
07:51 AM, 10/31/08
CU also found the Subie navigation system rather clunky and slow - one reason I avoided that option.
Sounds like an area Subaru needs to revisit and refresh.
Does this $230 update apply to new Subarus under warranty? If so, that's not particularly reassuring.
blueguydotcom says:
08:26 AM, 10/31/08
GPS units are ridiculously cheap to produce.
A 7 inch touchscreen LCD will run less than $130 a unit in bulk. That's the only part of the device that's even close to pricey. The programming is silly easy (assuming it's not already built and just updated across your model range once every few years.
Another model might be for a car manu to cut a deal with a wireless carrier and have the car's GPS work with something like VZNaz or Google's Android/Google Maps. Get the car buyers to pay $XXX upfront for the first year with the car purchase ("You're getting this GPS system for only $320!") and offer voice at an addition X dollars. Basically, create a small revenue stream on every GPS-equipped car (build it into every car) that's renewed yearly or when needed (say $10 for a week's use but $25 ala carte for the month and $19 a month on a yearly subscription). Add internet service beyond GPS for $5 a month (same data pipe but buyers will probably suck it up). Email fetch = $2 extra, plus $1 for each extra email account and $5 for unlimited.
This way the GPS won't cost $2k upfront but over the life of the car it may pull in even more, it receives updates wirelessly and people will get used to the bill like they have with cable, internet and cell phones.
subytrojan says:
11:43 AM, 10/31/08
kurtamaxxxguy, vehicle warranties cover defects in materials or workmanship. ;)
estreka says:
03:26 PM, 10/31/08
Suzuki is the only automaker on the right track:
http://jalopnik.com/384376/suzuki-sx4-first-american-car-under-16k-with-standard-nav-take-that-sync