Driving home yesterday afternoon was frustrating. Not only because it rained (which always puts a hurt on my 40-mile commute), but also because the CTS seems to need a software update--badly. I didn't experience the glitches Josh did, but as you can see from the above photo, there's something finky going on, because there was no chance it was 32-degrees outside.
About ten minutes later, the true weather conditions appeared.
Ah, that's more like it. It was indeed raining, but is it 57 degrees outside (upper right) or 55?. And guess what else? I wasn't in Long Beach. I was two cities away in Compton, but I wasn't able to verify my location because the navigation system decided to take a nap.
No matter how many times I pressed the "Nav" or "Dest" buttons, the map and all navigation functions were AWOL. When I got home, I shut the car off for about 10 seconds, started it back up (essentially rebooting the hard drive), but still there was no nav. It didn't return until I started the car this morning.
Great. Then I went to get a cup of Joe at the ARCO (those fancy-shmancy places aren't open at 4:30 am), and after backing out of a parking space, the right-side rear view mirror got stuck in the curb-view position. No biggie; I tilted it back up with the button, but what the heck is going on here? Anyone?
Chris Walton, Chief Road Test Editor @ 25,225 miles
sealclubb3r says:
08:41 AM, 02/ 6/09
Maybe it has a computer virus... you should have ordered the McAfee anti-virus software, Cadillac Edition!
dougtheeng says:
08:51 AM, 02/ 6/09
Electronics are wonderful when they work.
I remember the days when cars didn't have in-vehicle weather forcasts *sigh*
1487 says:
08:54 AM, 02/ 6/09
This kind of stuff isnt going away anytime soon. As cars get more and more electronics and capabilites there are going to be more and more bugs. More complexity means more potential for issues.
benson2175 says:
08:56 AM, 02/ 6/09
What's going on is modern day luxury cars have become too complicated and reliant on computers which are notoriously unreliable, especially when exposed to the harsh environment of an automobile.
Or it could be GM uses the lowest bidder approach to electronics suppliers. Just sayin.
firstwagon says:
09:08 AM, 02/ 6/09
"What's going on is modern day luxury cars have become too complicated and reliant on computers which are notoriously unreliable, especially when exposed to the harsh environment of an automobile. "
Computers are very reliable, normally much more so then the mechanical components on the car.
The problem is normally software. The computers that control the car normally work flawlessly for the life of the car.
It's the software that controls all the dumb gadgets people seem to love that will screw up.
barlyhare says:
09:13 AM, 02/ 6/09
There is a bulletin GM released in Dec. to address the no sound from speakers issue by reprogramming the amplifier.
billt9 says:
09:14 AM, 02/ 6/09
Ya luxury cars are headaches.
Go back to basic automobiling and buy a $15,000 car.
cts24 says:
09:19 AM, 02/ 6/09
I have the identical car as your LT tester. I have found that, when accessing the weaather forecast, the car doesnt give you the weather where you are that instant. Rather, it gives you a forecast of pre-selected areas it deems you are closest too. Meaning, if you are in Coachella and hit the button to get weather, the Palm Desert forecast will show up. I believe the info in generated via XM. Also, the upper-right temp is the temp reading outside the car--below is the temp XM says is for the forecast area. Just a thought on what my experience has been.
ahightower says:
11:29 AM, 02/ 6/09
Is it actually a forecast? Looks to just be current conditions, which is pretty darn stupid because I can pretty much see for myself whether or not it's raining when I'm in my car...
joefrompa says:
11:34 AM, 02/ 6/09
These are seriously the reasons why I think about buying an e30 BMW sometimes....simple, easy to work on, no surprises. But the truth is, most of the simple cars with great driving dynamics are now 15-25 years old and require alot of regular maintenance....with rare exceptions, of course.
I like how my 06 Civic SI is pretty painless. I rotate tires every 7500 miles, change my oil every 15000 miles. All the usual maintenance is long-interval. (except I go through tires in 20,000 miles on average)
If I could have that in a 4-door with good power, a sweet manual transmission, luxurious with great handling....well, I'd be happy.
Joe
cts24 says:
11:50 AM, 02/ 6/09
yes, it gives you the currents and also the forecast for the next three days.
limeman says:
12:16 PM, 02/ 6/09
Good grief, Edmunds. There is a service bulletin for a software update for the CTS's radio/nav system. You have mentioned in earlier posts that you are aware of it, but due to your own laziness, lack of memory or possibly, your desire to create drama/problems, you fail to get it done. Be adults, go get the problem fix and quit complaining. Common sense? Clearly your staff has some gremlins. Maybe you should get an update?
d2000one1 says:
12:48 PM, 02/ 6/09
For every city there is a specific location where the "official" weather conditions are determined (often a major airport). That is where the weather information is reported.
The temp in the upper righthand corner is the outside temperature where you are located.
As far as the electronic issues you are experiencing there is a TSB regarding this and a software update resolves them.
d2000one1 says:
01:02 PM, 02/ 6/09
If finding time to take the car in for the software update is an issue, you can order the update disc free from www.gmnavdisc.com (Software Update for 2008 CTS - part no 20833568). All you have to pay is shipping with is about $9.
It took me 2 days to get mine, I installed it and it's working fine. The update took about 10 min.
Is that too much of your time?
d2000one1 says:
01:02 PM, 02/ 6/09
If finding time to take the car in for the software update is an issue, you can order the update disc free from www.gmnavdisc.com (Software Update for 2008 CTS - part no 20833568). All you have to pay is shipping which is about $9.
It took me 2 days to get mine, I installed it and it's working fine. The update took about 10 min.
Is that too much of your time?
chavis10 says:
01:29 PM, 02/ 6/09
Isn't that information sourced from XM? I don't think this is an issue of the CTS but of the information it has received.
chavis10 says:
01:32 PM, 02/ 6/09
Opps- CTS24 said the exact same thing- I didn't read his post.
bimmerjay says:
09:13 PM, 02/ 6/09
Are sparks shooting out of anything yet? If not then just hit it and it'll be fine.
andres3 says:
10:26 AM, 02/10/09
$9 shipping for something that should be covered under warranty? Shame on GM!