[5mph]

After a fair amount of testing my Professional Media SatNav :

1. quite a few Post Codes missing - last 1 or 2 or 3 characters - so that it either displays a huge list or the address is missing - this is for valid Postcodes for addresses of houses that are decades old and which my 6 year old Garmin recognises.

2. using the Interactive map instead it rarely actually picks up the road where the cross hairs are but often the nearest town or a road a mile away.

3. also quite a few roads are missing from the data base.

It seems that the SatNav software is either badly written or faulty in that it will not do what the manual or common sense says it should.
Made worse by the fact that the SatNav database is incomplete.

Does anyone know if the software is being replaced?
My dealer is getting no where with BMW.

Stupid since some of the software in the car (Highbeam assist, Speed limit display) is pretty impressive. So how they managed to take something so common now as SatNav and make it such junk is beyond me.

[philtrick123]

Originally Posted by 5mph

Stupid since some of the software in the car (Highbeam assist, Speed limit display) is pretty impressive. So how they managed to take something so common now as SatNav and make it such junk is beyond me.

+1 , I think the BMW Sat Nav is completly over priced as well. I went for it because of extra screen size. The satnav is average to poor for the price, apart from supporting Google Send To Car, which I use all the time. BMW Routes could be good, but the web interface is clunky.
Why BMW cannot push down map updates on a monthly basis, or even allow users to self download and usb update the maps is beyond me.

Wish they would allow 3rd Party Sat Nav apps to be installed, IOS or Android. This would take away a cash cow for BMW, so I'm not holding my breath.

[sfax]

Never use the lookup in the car. IPhone My BMW Remote send to car or google send to car much quicker and easier - and from the sounds of it more reliable. Agree it should be better but don't hold your breath waiting for BMW to fix it. There are still bugs that were there 2 years ago in the latest version.

I drove all the way across Europe to near Krakow and it was very accurate. I think the main problem is the address book not the maps and route calcs

[Bustofa]

Agree that it could and should be a lot better but I wouldn't go so far as to say it wasn't fit for purpose. Like sfax I use 'Send to Car' a lot and it's got me to some fairly remote locations in the Cheviots and the Lake District without any problems.

[ErnestHouse]

Originally Posted by 5mph

...Does anyone know if the software is being replaced?....

The SatNav hardware and software is due to be replaced in the MY 2014 X3 due out this spring/summer.

http://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showth...satnav+x3+2014

[Jurisprudent]

My SatNav can be absolutely maddening at times. When set in "fast" route preference, it will occasionally choose a much longer route and act as though it is oblivious that I am able to head the proper direction on the interstate. In other words, rather than having me get on the interstate heading east to my destination, it will have me go west to the next exit, turn around, and then come back. If you look through the route options, the correct route will be there (and will show being much quicker) but for some reason, it simply ignores it. Doesn't do it all the time, but does it every time when heading a certain direction from my house.

[Bmwlvr60]

My Acura has one of the better navigation systems on the planet. Whenever I'm driving on a highway to another highway the navigation always directs me to exit before the correct exit and make a 3 mile loop before feeding me back on the correct highway. I mistakenly followed the directions once and realized there is some odd quirk in this route I take quite often. It doesn't matter if I set the navigation system to Direct Route, Major Highways, or any other setting it still Always makes the same mistake.

There's a restaurant we go to that the Acura's navigation sends us in a 1/4 mile figure 8 instead of directing us directly there. GPS is never perfect and I'm amazed it works as well as it does. I haven't used our new X3's NAV enough to be able to comment, but know there will be inaccuracies .

So, don't do what Michael Scott in The Office famously did and drive into a pond because he refused to listen to Dwight and steadfastly followed the cars navigation instructions and didn't use common sense.

[BIMMER UK 76]

It has become an expectation that the post code of my destination cannot be found. Grrrrrr!

[Sco]

Originally Posted by 5mph

After a fair amount of testing my Professional Media SatNav :

1. quite a few Post Codes missing - last 1 or 2 or 3 characters - so that it either displays a huge list or the address is missing - this is for valid Postcodes for addresses of houses that are decades old and which my 6 year old Garmin recognises.

2. using the Interactive map instead it rarely actually picks up the road where the cross hairs are but often the nearest town or a road a mile away.

3. also quite a few roads are missing from the data base.

It seems that the SatNav software is either badly written or faulty in that it will not do what the manual or common sense says it should.
Made worse by the fact that the SatNav database is incomplete.

Does anyone know if the software is being replaced?
My dealer is getting no where with BMW.

Stupid since some of the software in the car (Highbeam assist, Speed limit display) is pretty impressive. So how they managed to take something so common now as SatNav and make it such junk is beyond me.

Add to that list the problem with post Nov 2012 builds showing RTTI info on the opposite side of the road to where it should be.

[mcorliss]

I like my X3 but the Sat Nav is by far the worst I have ever had. I often ignore it as it ends up suggesting the least efficient route regardless of which setting it is on. Come on BMW!

[no golf clubs]

I had pro nav on my e92 330d (2009) it was embarrassingly bad. A £2k option not exactly useless but shockingly poor functionality. Send to car is ok but there are many areas for improvement. It's incredible that most of us have better functionality in our phones than in a 40k car with a 2k option.

I decided not to scope it in my x3 purchase. A wise choice I think so far.

[skibuddy]

I didn't pay for the sat nav option option but was thinking I should have to get the premium audio and larger screen. Sounds like the sat nav probably wasn't a big omission. Does anyone use the iPhone tomtom app and if so is it worth buying?

...and has anyone bought/used the iPhone cradle that fits in the iDrive screen recess? Interested on thoughts on this.

Thx

[Jurisprudent]

I've since had an update applied to my nav system that solved the problem I described above. Apparently there is a software glitch in some 2013 builds.

[noka]

Originally Posted by Jurisprudent

I've since had an update applied to my nav system that solved the problem I described above. Apparently there is a software glitch in some 2013 builds.

What was the build date of your '13 and do you have details about the Nav revision level, what vehicles might qualify, etc?

[pharding]

it works fine for me in the US.

[noka]

I was a couple of miles from my house and it wanted to take me back on the highway and loop around some really out-of-the-way route. I was just curious but since my X3 is a Jan-2013 build, my guess is I have the most current s/w.

[Jurisprudent]

Originally Posted by noka

What was the build date of your '13 and do you have details about the Nav revision level, what vehicles might qualify, etc?

I'll have to check - but I purchased in July of '12, so it's a fairly early '13 build.

[snowboardjoe]

The NAV system on my 2013 X3 has been good and bad, but mostly a failure.

The 3D modeling is nice in the hilly terrain of western Washington state. So, it's good when just traveling through the city and you're looking for a particular set of through streets to get from point A to point B. Integration with the HUD is really nice too and a lot safer in my opinion.

The rest is all bad. Can't speak street names. Really? About 25% of the addresses that we enter are not found (and the address has been there for many years). Therefore, we have to resort to the map app on our iPhones to get us there. Want an upgrade to the NAV database? Only every 2 years and it wil cost you (unlike my Garmins that I can update every 4 months (that have a lifetime of map updates)).

[Poohbore]

I don't have an X3 yet, but use the Waze app on my iPhone in my current car. It pulls data from their database so should be fairly accurate. I also use a brodit powered mount fixed to the A pillar which I think is also available for the X3. I spent £1500 on a ford touch screen sat nav 7 years ago and had similar issues so I've vowed not to do it again.

[MurrayX3]

The navigation in my 2012 X3 does a really poor job in Northern California, specifically getting to common places in San Francisco it will make very odd and clearly sub-optimal routing choices through the city. The Google Send To Car functionality is great, but just using Google directly with a mobile phone in the center console provides for a much better experience -- way better speach recognition, vocalization of place names, maps, and routing. Which is a shame because you can get a ticket in California for holding a phone while you speak instructions to it while driving.

[buze]

That was also my choice BTW, I didn't take the nav because it would be hard to beat the google one I have in my pocket. When you can buy a Nexus 7 for £150, it's hard to justify spending ten times more for a lame one...

[plymjack]

Originally Posted by buze

That was also my choice BTW, I didn't take the nav because it would be hard to beat the google one I have in my pocket. When you can buy a Nexus 7 for £150, it's hard to justify spending ten times more for a lame one...

Personally I would never buy any OEM SATNAV option, they are out of date far too quickly and cost 10 times other options.
I use a Samsung Note on a £10 a month THREE contract. gives great service and low cost.