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Infiniti M35/M45 Navigation System

13

Comments

  • mmoreno1978mmoreno1978 Member Posts: 106
    He was jealous he will never be able to afford this car!
  • j21mj21m Member Posts: 22
    All of a sudden when driving to a destination with "lots of turns" the voice on my Navi stopped!
    I had to turn it off, then on again in order for it to work...anyone else have this problem???

    Also, can you reset previous fuels history "bar graps"???it says "reset intervals" but you can't go there.

    Thanks
  • mmoreno1978mmoreno1978 Member Posts: 106
    Please let me know if anyone answers the question for you. I cant figure it out either.
  • wilds101wilds101 Member Posts: 1
    I just bought an 07 M35 and I am searching high and low for the hack to enable the Nav/DVD while driving. Can you help?

    Chris in Tampa
  • towermantowerman Member Posts: 12
    Yes it's frustrating that even the passenger can't use the GPS while driving, however, I took the time to learn the voice commands and that solves the problem and is much faster and probably safer. Still if i could unlock it I would.
  • wtkm45wtkm45 Member Posts: 11
    You might also try steering wheel commands on the left side. Some interesting things can be accomplished through them.
  • art234art234 Member Posts: 99
    It's a misleading label. The fuel history bar graphs show the reset intervals--basically they register the fuel economy showing at the time you reset the average fuel economy reading which is the button above. You reset that and the graph moves up one notch. On the other hand I don't need to be reminded graphically of how lousy my M35X is on gas....

    Personally I think it's useless-the instantaneous MPG should be always visible, and the car needs a touch screen for nav, but I guess you can't have everything.
  • james27james27 Member Posts: 433
    I think I read the 2008 has a touch screen...have to double-check.
  • nycdudenycdude Member Posts: 33
    I agree that the fuel history graph is both misleadingly labeled and not helpful. I don't find the mileage all that bad for a car of the M35x's size and performance. I get 22-23 on the highway, which is not any worse than I expected. As to the nav system, a touch screen may be useful for some, but I prefer to work controls by feel when I'm driving, without having to look at the screen too much.
  • ghstudioghstudio Member Posts: 972
    The problem with touch screens is that when you touch them, you leave fingerprints and it becomes at best, messy, and at worst, hard to read the screen due to the smudges. We have a touch screen on our Honda and we never use it.
  • towermantowerman Member Posts: 12
    22 to 22 MPG? wow, I've never seen any better than 17 on the freeway and i usually get about 14.5 with mixed driving. I'm not complaining here, just saying ...
  • tsoltsol Member Posts: 40
    Any clue as to why when I say "Destination Home" it tries to dial the phone with a # sign??? I'm not that bad at the king's english :)

    Also, is there a voice command for Guidance "Off" and "On?" I can do that with the Route button, not that hard, but sometimes with a "fuzzy" destination the system wants to guide me back there when I leave and I just want to terminate guidance altogether.

    Thanks ...
  • towermantowerman Member Posts: 12
    I have the same problem (Destination Home), but assumed it was just me because i have an English accent! But, really, i have had my wife and kids do it and they have the same problem. Eventually it will get it right but requires some pretty bad attempts at an American accent - Cheers.
  • tiny361tiny361 Member Posts: 5
    I too am getting 22-23 mpg in 70 mph highway driving (2007 M35x), often using cruise control. I often use premium gas, and that may be boosting my mileage vs. drivers using regular.
  • tsoltsol Member Posts: 40
    Thanks, towerman. I think I speak "English" about as well as any other American and, nope, haven't got it yet. I'll keep trying though ...
  • m35macmanm35macman Member Posts: 2
    I am the proud owner of a new M35 will all the new bells and whistles, however the security features on the Navigation that gray out certain functions while the car is moving (no matter how slowly) is driving me nuts. Is there a "hack" that can override this so called safety feature? Now before you preach to me about the dangers about driving and distraction, I'm not attempting to watch DVDs or access while traveling at 95 MPH on the highway, but merely to find POIs while driving around town. Any suggestions (polite ones only please) where to locate a "fix" for this problem would be appreciated.

    MacMan
  • classic124classic124 Member Posts: 6
    I too just purchased a 2008 M35 and LOVE the car. My only suggestion is to use the voice command system for the nav when traveling. It seems to work pretty well and will just take some time to learn the commands. The nav and control systems are much more user friendly than the 530i. I think this is the best car I have ever owned.

    Enjoy!
  • bocatripbocatrip Member Posts: 194
    The number one complaint about Nav systems these days is the inability to program it once in motion. There is no way around this issue. Welcome to the club.
  • jjs4jjs4 Member Posts: 14
    Let's keep working this Nav issue. While the lockout while underway may not be changed by Nissan, the issue of a disabled voice command set ( see Alternate command mode) is one I am pursuing with dealer and Infiniti.

    I am convinced the Nav has been altered as evidenced ( see above issues with "Destination Home") by voice recognition problems. Please join in by calling Infiniti Customer Call in line and post progress as I pledge to do.
  • towermantowerman Member Posts: 12
    What's the Alternate Command Mode?
  • jjs4jjs4 Member Posts: 14
    Suggest you check the 08 Owners Manual for a listing of Standard as well as Alternate Commands. you can select this mode by going to settings- voice recognition and select Alternate Command mode.
    Problem is that even with this expanded set, many useful commands are not available on the later VIN 08 models. Some idiot from Nissan ordered a disabling of many at the Port entry. My guess is they had some users with issues on using the original full set ( I have this set on my 08 QX, but not on my 08 M45...my issue!).
  • towermantowerman Member Posts: 12
    Ok, I'm still in my 2007 with 7K - - Don't have the 08 model yet - - i guess i'm behind the times for now. So this issue only realtes to VIN 08 models?
  • dhellerdheller Member Posts: 28
    A TSB just came out on this one from Infiniti - contact your dealer. Sounds to me like there is a whole new firmware update for the 2007 Infiniti.
  • whereamiwhereami Member Posts: 4
    I've had my 2008 M35x for a little over a month. The nav system is highly inaccurate. I drive about 70 miles a day through NY's Westchester county highways. The nav system keeps getting lost, showing me on side roads when I'm actually on a 4-lane highway. After a while, it can be off by tens of miles. I've tried adjusting my position manually and this helps for a couple of days until it gets lost again. One thing I noticed is the GPS Satellite info screen shows my location as "Out of range" for 99% of the time (my $200 GPS handheld has no trouble figuring out where I am at all times). I contacted Zenrin amd they sent me to the dealer. I took the car to the dealer but all they did was run diagnostics which, of course, reported all was ok. They claimed that they checked other 2008 models and the GPS info screen shows "Out of range" for them as well. Has anybody seen this problem?
  • j21mj21m Member Posts: 22
    How come when its 12 midnight the clock display 0:00 instead of 12:00....Anyone notice this???
  • james27james27 Member Posts: 433
    does it read 2300 at 11PM? If so, it is in 24-hour mode verses 12-hour mode.
  • kfhmailkfhmail Member Posts: 199
    Mine does the same thing. I have a 2006 M35. The clock is set on the 12 format...not the 24 format. I have had the same question, I do not see any reason for it to show all zeros for midnight...but I am use to it now.
  • j21mj21m Member Posts: 22
    No, it is 12 hr. mode!
  • 5infinitis5infinitis Member Posts: 2
    I just took delivery of a new M35 and generally love the car, but the navigation system is terrible. It spends most of the time showing I am on different roads, sometimes miles or even a state away and traveling in a totally different direction. If it is providing route info, it is of course based on where it thinks the car is--with hilarious and frustrating results. The screen that shows the latitude and longitude is usually "out of range". The dealer and I have checked all the settings and they replaced the unit once. It worked for about 30 minutes (brilliantly too--just to tease me with what it can do!) But the next time I drove the car, it took over 40 minutes before it figured out where I was. Basically, the unit doesn't check in with the satellites very often, so it is guessing. The dealer and Infiniti don't seem to know what is going on. Does anyone out there have an idea?
  • 5infinitis5infinitis Member Posts: 2
    See my note at #134--exactly the same problem. Clearly, the unit needs to check with the satellites and get a new fix. Don't know if it's antenna, settings, software or whatever. They are replacing the antenna and the unit again this week.

    Again, when the dealer replaced the original unit last week, the new one worked great for the 30 minute drive home--was in contact with the satellites (2 or 3) almost the entire time. Since then, hardly at all--with predictable mapping errors resulting. Maybe the Navy shot down the wrong satellites?? JK.
  • james27james27 Member Posts: 433
    The gps antenna has an amplifier in it. It typically gets powered through the coax. If the connection is loose, or the coax is pinched, it can short out or not connect the power (often 3.5-5 vdc, at low current, so it probably wouldn't blow a fuse), or mess up the coax.

    There probably is a diagnostic that can be accessed to verify the receiver detects the antenna is there. basically, no antenna, it reverts to dead-recconing, which will get out of whack after a few miles. I'm not sure if this unit has any dead-recconing in it.

    I vote for a loose conection to the antenna. If the antenna coaxial connection is fairly standard, with an adapter you might be able to plug in a handheld gps - they typicall indicate if an external antenna is detected in their status page. I don't know on this antenna, but many of them have a connector at the antenna rather than being hard-wired into it. It makes eventual replacement much easier, since you don't have to thread a new coax through the car.
  • whereamiwhereami Member Posts: 4
    There's a diagnostic. Turn the radio off. Press the Settings button and at the same time turn the volume knob clockwise 30-40 steps. You'll enter the diagnostics mode. Repeat the Settings/volume knob operation and you'll get the advance diagnostics mode. Under this one, go under navigation. You'll see one setting (forgot how's named) that will display a screen showing you what the navigation parameters are at any time, including its current lock status with the satellites. You need at least three "OK" satellite settings to get a 2D GPS lock, and 4 for a 3D lock. I see the same issues as 5inifinitis. Sometimes I get good locking on my way to work and on my way back I get nothing. Most days it takes the system anywhere between 10 and 40 mins to get a lock and correct its position. I've crossed so many rivers and lakes, according to this thing, I often think I'm driving a boat. I could be driving due North and it shows me going South, as far as 30 miles from my location. All the dealer will do is run the diagnostics which, of course, shows nothing being wrong.
  • james27james27 Member Posts: 433
    I'm not sure even where the antenna is on the car (I didn't buy the nav!). Make sure that nothing is over it, if, for example, it is on the back deck or something. A loose connection will make it come and go, sitting still in the shop, it might be great. Functionally, without the antenna being powered, it can't track any satellites, and, it can't stay on long enough to obtain the ephemeris data to be able to accurately keep tracking. I'd find the antenna and make sure the lead is screwd in tight on both ends.

    I recently had a box installed on my car that lets me run any video signal into the display when turned on. Leave it off, and it is the normal factory, flip the switch, whatever is plugged in feeds the display. I'm using my Nokia N95 (which has a video output) to feed the phone's gps/nav stuff into the display. Technically, anything that's displayed on the phone shows up on the display. While I don't use it, you could surf the Internet, or anything the phone can do (write a note in Word, etc!). Just need to be careful not to do anything dumb like watch a movie while driving. Box is made by AVELECTRONICS. It will still switch to the backup camera while on, but to get the other factory screens, you need to flip the off switch.

    While the phone has a gps receiver in it, I picked up a small bluetooth receiver. That way, I have control over where the antenna is, and don't have to worry about placing the phone just right to keep access to the buttons and its internal antenna.
  • ghstudioghstudio Member Posts: 972
    Driving along an interstate today, I decided to look for a restaurant "on the route". I was shown one page with four or five options....I tried to scroll down assuming a next page...but was unable to scroll. I tried everything...buttons, knobs...nada. Yes, I was moving...but certainly there were many more restaurants that should have been shown.

    Same symptoms if I just asked to look at restaurants ... forget "along the way". I could see the first page of 4 or 5, but no way to scroll down the list.

    What's wrong with my 06 M35 navigation system...or is the M35 Navigation system just junk.....
  • towermantowerman Member Posts: 12
    While you might just be in an area with few items in the restaurant database, it really sounds like your problem is related to the car moving. The NAV system is substantially disabled when the car is moving as a safty feature - the fact that you have a front seat and might have a passenger is inconseqential - your only options to have it display all options/screens is to stop the car. You will not be alone as you mutter, ridiculous! One other option that might help is trying to use the voice command set to get what you want, but that takes some practice and has other drawbacks.
  • ghstudioghstudio Member Posts: 972
    My M35 lease is up in 3 months. While I like the car, the navigation system is such that I will not buy another infiniti. Today we were in route to one location but decided to stop at the airport. I had to stop to program the navigation to find the airport. I consider stopping on the side of an interstate as much more dangerous than my saying....destination airport...or destinations other...but neither option is allowed. Obviously there are some complete jerks in Infiniti's development or legal department. One lost sale won't matter to them...but it's my way to indicate one person's displeasure...
  • davidv935davidv935 Member Posts: 17
    I just wrote Nissan North America a very pointed letter about this because I didn't expect this at all. They have so much functionality disabled while the car is in motion that the Bluetooth, MusicBox, and Nav are not worth the price paid. I have a pocket Garmin Nuvi 350 that I take everywhere I go on business to use in the rental cars. Garmin has the warning screen at startup, but does not disable anything, so why do the automakers think they must. Anything and everything disabled should be accessible using voice commands.

    The phonebook holds 40 numbers, but you can only see and select 12 while driving. The musicbox holds over 9GB of music files - over 100 albums or CDs, but you have to stop the car to search and select a different album. Ironically, it will allow you to manually scroll through 2000+ songs which will take your eyes off the road for a lot longer than scanning 100 albums. On the nav, there are 10 categories of POIs, but you only get 5 while driving and you can't search for a restaurant while driving through a town. All in the name of our safety.

    Safe attentive driving is my responsibility. All the bells and whistles work great in my driveway, but that's not where I want to use them.

    I encourage everyone to put pen to paper.
  • dhellerdheller Member Posts: 28
    I fully agree with your sentiments about this stupidity on the part of Nissan. The next time I buy a $50,000 car, I will make sure all the functions work when I want them to work, not when Nissan's layers decide to allow me the privelage. Who in the world do they think they are to allow you to buy something, then cripple it from usage.

    Do you have the address to write, I will certainly join in. Alas, I think our words will be unheaded as the layers are grabbing this whole country by the throat and stifling any of our rights in their name. Where will it ever end - our tort system needs major overhaul
  • davidv935davidv935 Member Posts: 17
    My email address is davidv935@yahoo.com. If you send a note there, I'll forward you the letter I wrote to Nissan. Feel free to use anything that fits your particular circumstance. Checking some of the other forums, Nissan isn't the only one, but that doesn't excuse Nissan.

    Cheers
  • tsoltsol Member Posts: 40
    what, if any, federal regs are the cause of all this? This is my first in-car nav and I never really compared the nav cripple-factor among cars I was considering. I know that the last Benz I was riding in the nav looked like something out of Windows 3.0 ... ugh!
  • jjs4jjs4 Member Posts: 14
    No regs! Acura has unlocked navigation. Nissan Lexus and most others listen to their lawyers over their customers.

    i was hoping the voice commands would have given us on option, but Nissan has scaled back the command set there as well.

    Lacking a straight answer form Nissan ( and I HAVE tried to get one!), I suspect there were a few dealers with customers who had problems with usability. Ugh!
  • cafccafc Member Posts: 3
    In February 2008 I bought a new M35x. I have had it in the shop three times for problems with the Navigation system. On several occasions it has lost fix, provides false location information and generally has very slow performance. The dealer informed me that this is a typical problem with the 2008 M series and there is basically no fix in place from either Infinity or the GPS manufacturer. I find it hard to believe that this is a problem on every M series car in 2008, and that Infinity is not doing everything in it's power to fix it. Especially since it is on their top of the line model. I suggested to the dealer that they replace the GPS antenna since I can't imagine that the 8 Gb hard drive would have any impact on GPS location determination. Can anyone help with any additional recommendations or rights I may have relative to handing the car back to the dealer. In my case the navigation system is the the most important "and used" subsystem in the car. Without it, the car is almost useless to me.

    One other point if interest, The infinity service manager who advised me that this is a problem with all 2008 M-series never saw this problem before. In addition, the service tech. who worked on the car never saw this before, as a matter of fact, neither did the four other personnel who looked at the car the previous two times, nor did any of the sales personnel who expounded upon the great technology package offered in the 2008. I feel as if I am getting the run around here, if ever 2008 M series cars would have this problem, :mad: then I would think I would have seen this issue posted in several of the consumer guides that we used to research and compare this vehicle.

    Someone please help!!!
  • james27james27 Member Posts: 433
    I don't have the nav package. This info is generic. The remote antenna for a gps system relies on power coming through the coaxial lead connecting it to the receiver. It uses this power to amplify the very weak signals from the satellites (until they get the new ones up in a few more years) that are only in the order of a 40W transmitter, about 14000 miles up in the sky. If the receiver can't get a signal from the antenna, it can't do much. If the antenna isn't getting power, it will not produce an output. There are a bunch of things that can be displayed in the diagnostic menus, and since I don't have it, I don't know about the normal ones...If you can get to the status of the antenna on either of those, I'd access that and monitor it while driving around when you notice it happening. If the antenna is coming and going, you should see it. I'd have to look this up to be sure, but if I remember correctly, with the radio off and the car running, hold the settings button and turn the volume knob 20-clicks or so and this accesses the diagnostics menu. There's all sorts of things there - just don't change anything you don't know what you're doing!
  • dhellerdheller Member Posts: 28
    THere is a Nav recall on the 07 model M series. Mine is being installed as we speak. They had to order it, but hopefully, this update will fix the lockups. There also is TSB07038 which is supposed to fix bluetooth with a Treo dropping calles, and echo problem.
  • blackknightsblackknights Member Posts: 4
    I'm having a similar problem with my one week old 2008 M45x. Has anyone successfully solved the problem with the navigation system being unable to locate the GPS satellites?
  • blov8rblov8r Member Posts: 567
    For what it's worth I've had my '06 M for 38 months and the nav has performed flawlessly since day one. Bart :shades:
  • james27james27 Member Posts: 433
    I've said this before, but my guess is that there's a loose connection, probably going to the antenna. Or, the coax cable got pinched or kinked. A process with the harness bundling that used too tight a wire wrap, or kinked or bent the coax in too tight of a bend, or a loose connection will not allow the amplifier in the antenna to work, and you'll get no signal, or if it is intermittent, will work fine for a bit, then stop working. The gps satellites are around 12K miles up and are broadcasting a signal around 40W. Considering a typical radio station is broadcasting probably in excess of 100Kw, and is maybe a thousand miles closer, you get the idea of how important a good antenna is!
  • inglebergingleberg Member Posts: 1
    Until recently I had a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder, which has the same nav system as the Infinitis. My nav was completely lost for 8 solid months... showed the wrong location and vehicle direction -- sometimes dozens of miles from my actual location. I could manually override the current location, but within minutes it was lost again. The nav info screen always showed "Out of Range". The dealer tried 3 times to fix it, including replacing the motherboard.

    I filed with the BBB's Auto Line program for arbitration. Their process is slow, but was instrumental in finally getting my issue resolved. Nissan sent a DTS to Houston, but he was unable to get it working. I had a meeting with an arbitrator to try and get Nissan to buy the truck back, but the arbitrator ruled that Nissan should get another chance. On the 5th repair attempt, the 2nd DTS finally resolved the issue -- the antenna was installed UPSIDE DOWN AT THE FACTORY.

    I wrote Nissan corporate and told them how I felt about going 8 months without a nav system. They paid me a reasonable settlement.

    I now have a 2008 G37 with nav, and fortunately have had no issues.
  • james27james27 Member Posts: 433
    Upside down would certainly do it! I don't know how the thing is mounted, but most of those I've seen would be hard to do that to...hope they've solved their QA/QC for this.

    I've owned gps units for years. I liked, but didn't want to spend the $2K for the factory unit...I have a Nokia phone with a built-in gps, maps, and nave that also has a video out. I had an interface box installed and I can hook up the phone and switch it to the dash display. Works well, but obviously, isn't always hooked up nor does it have the voice controls. It is handy in that you can pick up the handset and both view and adjust things fairly easily.
  • cafccafc Member Posts: 3
    Just got my 2008 M35x back from the dealer after four attempts to fix the GPS/Nav system for both frequent lose of fix and frequent location errors. It took several tries but for the last several days I have not had a single problem with the unit. "Knock on wood " I won't have any future problems. I pointed out several times that it appeared to be an antenna issue. The dealer replaced the GPS/Nav unit, the antenna and the wiring harness. All with no improvement in performance. After I explained that I was prepared to give the car backto the dealer, the Service Director got personally involved. He contacted both Zenrin (useless) and the Infinity tech. center in TN. He spoke with an engineer that said they were having issues with the 2008 hard drive system. The engineer recommended that they relocate the GPS antenna from under the center of the dash to a spot under the dash on left side of the driver. Apparently, there is no technical directive available to dealers yet so they are probably as frustrated as their customers. Inform your deale :) r about this type of repair or have their service director contact the Infinity of Chantilly (Virginia) service director.
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