Built-in Navigation is Pretty Damn Bad

[vetygud]

They like to nag you for the update at $65 a pop. This is better than a Corvette which was over $200 and would only do regions. My apple car play works great with apple maps.

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[TrentYoung]

Actually on the Tom Tom for the 2024's navigation works really well. Especially with the larger screen and more real estate to view on. It is a no cost to update and very accurate. I like the advanced warning for "red light cameras" in an area I am unfamiliar with. The lane guidance through big cities also makes it invaluable as does showing heavy traffic and automatic avoidance of that traffic.

 

[running_man]

I've only used mine once and it seems kinda clunky.... I tend to use Apple maps on my phone because I have an Apple watch that taps me when I have a turn/exit coming up, which helps me keep my focus on the road/traffic vs staring at a small screen.

 

[Willys41]

On my 2020 Willys I installed the Insane audio radio JL 4001
Its not perfect but I can down load any app right onto the radio bypassing my phone
Its basically and android tablet
Also this one looks interesting
Navos Gen 5 12.10-Inch T-Style Radio

https://www.extremeterrain.com/navo...1210-inch-t-style-radio-ts-jpjl12-1rr-5s.html

 

[JLeco2022]

It's a good backup if you're driving somewhere that doesn't have good cell service. But yea, it's pretty bad. Before CarPlay, it was a $500-$1,000 add-on + ongoing map updates.

i use paper map if no cell service, never been lost

 

[PeatedWhisky]

I got it (and use it) for back-up to my cell phone navigation apps. The vehicle's GPS antenna reception is much better than my phone's reception. Regardless of how good the downloaded maps are, they're not any better than paper maps without GPS reception. It is possible to add an external GPS antenna to cell phones, but I prefer the vehicle as an independent secondary system. In past vehicles I carried back-up paper maps, but now just count on the vehicle as a back-up.

I've had cell phones overheat on summer desert trails and cell phones lose GPS reception in the tall trees of the PNW, but the vehicle nav system has always worked. Terrible for actual navigation, but it always tells me accurately where I am.

Are you sure your phone is losing GPS and not simply data? I also live in your area and have property that's way off grid near Mt St Helens and spend a ton of time out there. My phone's GPS is every bit as reliable as my car, in that I've never had any issue regardless of my view of the sky. (As an aside, the newer IPhones can communicate via satellite for emergencies and works much better than my dedicated SatCom device.). Some of the smart phone Nav apps rely on a combination of both data and GPS and will have issues when data isn't available, unless they are being ran in an offline type of mode.

Phones can definitely overheat though, and it's always nice to have some redundancy in pinch. I find that in car systems work well enough, but are definitely a bit more clunky than the smart phone apps that often have a much nicer user interface.

 

[Bayrat]

i use paper map if no cell service, never been lost

Exactly! Paper maps as a backup. I have yet to see a decent layout or interface on any of the factory installed systems.

 

[JLeco2022]

Exactly! Paper maps as a backup. I have yet to see a decent layout or interface on any of the factory installed systems.

I learned this little trick when I was young from my dad who had one of those big ass country books with all the roads in it. I also used this when i was lead convoy vehicle in the army at times, because you don't wanna be that guy trust

 

[Ratbert]

Actually on the Tom Tom for the 2024's navigation works really well. Especially with the larger screen and more real estate to view on. It is a no cost to update and very accurate. I like the advanced warning for "red light cameras" in an area I am unfamiliar with. The lane guidance through big cities also makes it invaluable as does showing heavy traffic and automatic avoidance of that traffic.

It's awesome that they finally delegated their navigation to a decent third-party provider that focuses on navigation.

 

[Ratbert]

Phones can definitely overheat though, and it's always nice to have some redundancy in pinch. I find that in car systems work well enough, but are definitely a bit more clunky than the smart phone apps that often have a much nicer user interface.

Mine only overheats when I'm doing trails like Moab in the summer. I have it mounted to the dash, so it's directly in the sun. When it overheats I remove it from its case, which lets it cool off.

 

[PeatedWhisky]

Mine only overheats when I'm doing trails like Moab in the summer. I have it mounted to the dash, so it's directly in the sun. When it overheats I remove it from its case, which lets it cool off.

Yeah for sure the sun can cause it. Carplay also had a bug with certain handsets and mine was effected, where it would basically run the CPU all out and cause the phone to overheat.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254947995?sortBy=best

 

[BXFXJeep]

I could never get the voice command to work properly, since on the JK

I only use it for long trips mainly for the exit info it displays. I have also noticed it gets the posted speed limit wrong on occasion.

It gets the speed limit wrong because the maps are already outdated by the time they install it in the vehicle, and the updates they sell are also pretty dated before you buy it.

 

[snphufford]

Ok, I finally caved in and actually tried using the built-in navigation in my '22 JLURD. I'd played around with it before, but never tried to really use it. Oh boy, it's bad.

First off is you apparently have to be stopped to enter your destination. And entering that detail is stupidly clunky. Maybe you can use voice to enter it on the fly?

Navigation itself was decent although the graphics seem to be about a decade old. A pleasant voice and cute arrows on the speedo when it's time to turn.

Then it was time to take my exit off the interstate. Nope, it insisted that I should drive about eight miles out of my way through the next town at the next exit. And it continued to insist that I needed to turn around for the next five or so miles until I got about a mile and a half from home. Simply the wrong directions.

Later in the day I needed to go to Home Depot. It seemed to really, really want to go the much longer / slower way by interstate that passes right by Home Depot.

Then on the way home it seemed to be confused and said that the speed limit was 65 on the 45 mph road that I was on.

Yeah, stick with Google Maps, Waze, or Apple Maps instead. Free / frequent updates and they fundamentally work.

I am a little surprised about the hate for the built-in nav system. I use mine fairly often and am pretty happy with it. Sure, it’s not perfect, but I live in the boonies where roads rarely change and cell service is marginal or nonexistent. I also had an occasion where I was using CarPlay and missed a turn because I got a phone call. I use both, but am glad I have options.

 

[Ratbert]

I am a little surprised about the hate for the built-in nav system. I use mine fairly often and am pretty happy with it. Sure, it’s not perfect, but I live in the boonies where roads rarely change and cell service is marginal or nonexistent. I also had an occasion where I was using CarPlay and missed a turn because I got a phone call. I use both, but am glad I have options.

Why would being on a call cause you to miss a turn with CarPlay? Does it completely take over the screen or something?

And the hate is simply because it's so bad.

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