Received a notice that I could update my nav software for $159.99. I have a 2008 Yukon Hybrid. I asked the guy on the phone if their software was better than what I can get for free on my iPhone, and he of course didn't have a clue. His only point was that at least I wouldn't forget my nav system map at home. Guess he didn't understand that I have my phone with me always. Anyone have experience with this software update?

 

alb810,

The users I have heard from have found it very useful on their road trips. Sometimes the mobile device can be a distraction, off, or no signal. The navigation software will come with up to date information.

Erica Tiffany
GM Customer Care

 

There are two types of updates...a feature update which updates the firmware in the navigation unit and new map data. If your 2008 has never been updated there might be a feature update which is worth having. I personally find the map updates useful, but even the new ones are not very current. I find major roads built in 2008 are not on the 2012 update disk.

It is upto you if $159 is worth it - the price was $199 for the 2012 update and I did pay for that (maps only).

 

Thanks, but I'll stick with my iPhone 5 and iOS 7 for far more accurate data.

 

Who on earth would use that GM nav system when this little thing called GOOGLE MAPS has been around for nearly a decade ?

Your smart phone makes in dash nav and On-Star completely worthless. Its amazing these things still even exist.

No I would not pay to update it. The LCD screen in dash is merely a flat surface with which to attach your smart phone suction cup holder to...

 

"Completely worthless" is perhaps a bit too strong, even if one accepts your contention about the superiority of Google maps.

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving through parts of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina in and around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There were plenty of areas in which there was no Verizon signal to be had, and a large area in which the signal was degraded to a single bar of 3G on my phone. At such low levels of available bandwidth, the smartphone is not a viable tool for much of anything, but the locally stored data on your navigation DVD is still quite usable.

The digital coverage area issues would also be much more prevalent for someone traveling in western third of the U.S., where cell carriers tend to be more "spotty" with coverage.

I agree the GM navigation unit is not an exercise in engineering excellence, or interface elegance, but it does work, and is reasonably easy to use, once you master its "quirks".

Even for those who prefer a smartphone or stand-alone nav unit(e.g. Garmin, TomTom, etc.) as a first choice for navigation, I still think upgrading the nav disk is a worthwhile expenditure. It's only a couple hundred bucks and is, at least, a worthwhile backup. At most, it's an acceptable navigation solution for general use. It's nice to have on hand for that trip on which you see your smartphone go over the side of the boat. YMMV.

 

I go places cells phones don't work so I like to have some mapping capability. I usually use the iphone to send the map to the Silverado NAV. I find the voice nav (or in dash) on the Volt to be extremely annoying, but the mapping is better since it is 'live' data - it is DOA outside of cell range however.

 

Totally agree...

Already give up the map update for my 2008 Tahoe hybrid, instead I bought the "iGO primo Navigation" on my iphone, update twice in year with no additional cost...

While you drive crossing some area with no or weak signal, the Google map still is not a good solution at all.

 

both systems have limitation. I still use the on star voice commands for those out of sat coverage area and it works.

 

I have an 08 HyHoe and did one of the DVD upgrades. The 09 vehicles had XM traffic and from what I can tell, it was a different head unit. It would have been great if a DVD upgrade would have added the traffic feature because that is the main reason that I pull out the TomTom for trips.