Anyone know a way to disable "Safe Mode" on the SX4 GPS?

joecwell

I have a 2009 SX4 Crossover, which came with a Garmin nuvi 760 ... but which has been customized for Suzuki. I actually already own a "real" Garmin nuvi that we've been using in our other vehicles, so the Suzuki customizations are fairly obvious to me.

For the most part, they are welcome value-adds over a standard Garmin nuvi 760, with one very annoying exception ... and that is the mandatory "Safe Mode".

Suzuki has apparently decided for me that I must always have Safe Mode enabled, by removing the enable/disable option for this in the Suzuki version. A "real" nuvi 760 (and for that matter all other real Garmin nuvis with Safe Mode) has a Safe Mode enable/disable toggle button on the Security settings panel; and that has been removed from this panel in the Suzuki version.

While I understand the safety issues involved with a driver trying to use certain features while the car is moving, did Suzuki forget that they also install a passenger seat up front as well; and that maybe me or my wife, while in the passenger seat, might be trying to look up some location information for us while we are driving through an unfamiliar place looking for things? The only way to get out of Safe Mode is to pull the car over somewhere and stop ... very inconvenient, especially in congested city traffic. This has happened to us a number of times now, and is really getting old.

So I'm just wondering if anyone else has found a way to disable Safe Mode on the Suzuki version of the nuvi 760? Or, what I am actually hoping is that the option to turn toggle it on/off really is still there but just hidden, and that maybe there is a way to un-hide it ... anyone know?

I have searched on the internet, and have found I'm not the only person that doesn't like this Suzuki difference, but couldn't find anything that figured out how to fix it ... hopefully a reader here has figured it out. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Joe

jallent

The only way I have found to get around it is to take the GPS off the dashboard. Once it is unplugged, safe mode goes away.

joecwell

Unfortunately, while unplugging from its cradle gets rid of Safe Mode, it then also removes a lot of function that my wife was actually trying to use from the passenger seat while we were driving ... like all the MSNDirect stuff goes away because it only works when the unit is plugged into the vehicle cradle (as long as the car isn't moving).

But thanks for the tip, at least some of the stuff might still be usable.

Poor design on Suzuki's part.

salisalaam

I think it's more about the lawsuits rather than they forgot to add the feature.

alicat666

Hi Joe,

I've owned a Nuvi 760 before, it's misleading & start up really slow. Did you have the same problem with it with the one comes with SX4? I'm going to buy the 2010 SX4 Sport, so can I plug my Nuvi 765T to it instead?

joecwell

Hi ... I'm not sure what you mean by "misleading", so I can't comment on that part of your question ... but, as far as slow startup, I would say that the one that came with my 2009 SX4 is definitely a slow startup. I have a nuvi 265WT in my other car, and the 760 in the Suzuki is way slower starting up than my 265WT. In fact, I've found the 760 is a noticeably slower performer in almost all categories.

But, I think the performance difference is just a factor of all Garmins between their 'x'60 series and the newer 'x'65 series, regardless whether you obtained them standalone or as part of a Suzuki navigation package.

I also wouldn't know if you can plug your 765T into the same cradle as the one provided by Suzuki ... best advice there would probably be to bring it with you when you go to the dealer to look at the car and give it a try.

Joe

alicat666

Thank you Joe for your help. I've done a bit of research on Nuvi 760 & found out the chip inside is a OEM chip, that why the performance is quite bad. My bad experience is you can be driving in the wrong direction for over 15 min before it will tell you the direction is wrong. Also, always saying recalculating when you try to access Hwy 401 entrance in Toronto is quite annoying. A total piece of crap as far as my experience with it last year, I like SX4, but I will not buy SX4 with Nuvi 760. The cradle is the same for both 760 & 765T, but the traffic transmitter will be an issue. If it won't work with SX4, I will consider the base model instead.

Thanks for your advice, I'll bring my 765T along for my test drive this weekend.

joecwell

Yes, even if it fits in the cradle, I believe your "T" model needs the FM traffic antennae, and the Suzuki only has the antennae built in for the MSN support (which blows, by the way, since MSN is going out of business after next year). I don't know if they changed that in the 2010 models to support both FM traffic and MSN, but that was not the case in my 2009 SX4.

Quite frankly, if the only reason you were considering the SX4 technology package was for the navigation, I'd save my money and buy the lesser SX4 model and use your 765T. I actually bought the SX4 Touring edition, which had lots of other features that I wanted, and since the Touring package automatically came with the nuvi 760 I use it rather than plugging my other Garmin 265WT into this car via its power cord ... but if the SX4 touring edition didn't have the navigation feature standard, it would not have bothered me in the least ... I'd have rather used the Garmin 265WT I already owned :-).

As far as the SX4 itself goes, though, I love it! Hope you have a nice test drive.