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Subaru B9 Tribeca Navigation System Questions

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Comments

  • megreyhairmegreyhair Member Posts: 154
    LOL I had the same problem when I first got the car. I keep staring at the Nav screen instead of the road.... Glad I m not the only 1.....
  • megreyhairmegreyhair Member Posts: 154
    Oh great!!!!! the site is down.. :(
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    always back up into parking lot spaces, as it's much safer to pull out forwards than backwards

    It's also quicker, if you're not late when you are arriving.

    I used to valet park, and that's one thing we always did. People arrive as a restaurant randomely, but they all seem to leave at once, around closing time. It was a mad rush.

    -juice
  • morey000morey000 Member Posts: 384
    I've been playing with the system to see how it works while I drive my normal commute. Is it my imagination, or does this system make a lot of mistakes?!

    Yesterday, I was 3.5 miles from my destination (my home) when the voice said that I had reached my destination and that navigation guidance had concluded. The map showed the location of the car and my home correctly. Then, about a half mile later, the voice navigation continued. What gives? Anyone else experience this?

    and then how do you stop it from taking what it thinks are 'short cuts' on minor residential streets rather than staying on the major streets?
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    I think you can set up preferences, and avoidances (e.g. tolls, highways, etc.).

    My Garmin is a bit different and I don't remember Becky very well (even though I miss her voice - much nicer than Garmin's NAV voice).

    Sounds like you just lost the signal temporarily. Not sure why it thought you were home, though.

    -juice
  • morey000morey000 Member Posts: 384
    Is there any way to Suspend Route Guidance without deleting the waypoints and destination points?

    then (or ) then then then .

    That's 5 button pushes to get the damn girl to shut up.

    or- if you just want to change the volue to '0':
    then then then
    OK- that's only 4 button pushes.

    Still a bit cumbersome. Is there a faster way?
  • cluelesspacluelesspa Member Posts: 648
    Still no update to the NAV DVDs yet as of Nov 3rd. according to my dealer who asked the local Subbie Rep.
  • danicodanico Member Posts: 2
  • danicodanico Member Posts: 2
    Hi there. I currently live in New Zealand and I bought a japanese import Subaru B4. The entire Navigation System is in japanese and i would like to convert it to NZ maps and frequencies etc. No one here in NZ can help me with it not even the Subaru dealers. Can anyone over here tell me how i could do it?? :confuse:
  • subiedudesubiedude Member Posts: 7
    sorry. no luck there. i am pretty sure they only have map dvds for the continental united states and japan.

    try the pioneer website to see if they can sell you a map dvd for nz. pioneer is the manufacturer of the nav system on the 06/07 legacys (i think they are called libertys in nz and australia) and the 06/07 tribecas in the united states, not actually subaru. however this may be different because it is a 2002 and a different model.

    on a side note, i just bought my 06 beca, and i heard you could play dvds in the nav system while stopped, but i do not know how. i have put in a dvd in the map disc drive under the seat, but it just says this is not a valid map dvd. how do i do this?
  • tupintupin Member Posts: 71
    You can only play dvd's through the nav screen if you have a rear seat DVD system.
  • cluelesspacluelesspa Member Posts: 648
    anyone hear of a date on the NAV Updated DVD coming out?
  • kuohkuoh Member Posts: 15
    I don't know about the Legacys but in the Tribeca, Kenwood is the manufacturer of the NAV system.

    KuoH

    pioneer is the manufacturer of the nav system on the 06/07 legacys (i think they are called libertys in nz and australia) and the 06/07 tribecas in the united states
  • cluelesspacluelesspa Member Posts: 648
    update .. still no update to the NAV system. I checked again and the dealer said he keeps asking the Subaru rep and still no Update...
  • kmartinkmartin Member Posts: 427
    I just emailed Subaru Corporate about this....I'll let you know their response...

    -Karen in AZ-
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Doubt you'll see one for a while. Usually the manufacturers are very slow to update (and it costs an arm and a leg too.)

    -mike
  • cluelesspacluelesspa Member Posts: 648
    The original date the Subaru Reps were saying was Oct 2006. So its behind by a few months already.
  • kmartinkmartin Member Posts: 427
    Here's the official reply I received from Subaru Corporate Office on Jan 2, 2007:

    "Thank you for visiting the Subaru web site and for your message!

    On behalf of Subaru of America, Inc. I apologize for the delay in the release of our first GPS Map Software update. The new projected date for an upgraded disk is early this year (2007). However, that disk should include all or most of the map changes/updates requested by our customers. Part of the delay is because all the upgrades for this system need to be closely checked to ensure utmost accuracy."

    -Karen in AZ-
  • subiedudesubiedude Member Posts: 7
    well everyone knows that "checked to ensure utmost accuracy" means BUGS, BUGS, BUGS!
  • megreyhairmegreyhair Member Posts: 154
    I just hope they use more recent map data.. Hope they don't use 2005 data ..lol'
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The old maps were outdated. They didn't know about the 404 bypass around Bridgeville, MD, on the way to the beach from the DC area.

    That thing was built a decade ago.

    To be fair, Garmin's v6 maps didn't have it either, when I got my GPS, but they're up to v8 and now they have the bypass.

    -juice
  • kuohkuoh Member Posts: 15
    Keep in mind, Subaru doesn't make the maps. They're pretty much at the mercy of Kenwood, who are in turn reliant on the data from the map makers. Given the amount of data and time needed to compile it all for the entire US, 2005 data wouldn't be out of line. Even my Garmin with V8 maps is missing a few 2005 streets, and I live in the same city as their HQ. I would guess that our maps are at least 3-4 years old.

    KuoH
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    Garmin has been in the GPS business for so long that they probably have the most customers (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm sure the # of subscribers helps fund map updates.

    -juice
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    Most of the data I believe comes from Navtec or 1 or 2 other companies. Basically no matter what GPS you have (OEM, Garmin, etc) they get their data from only a few sources and re-format it.

    -mike
  • cluelesspacluelesspa Member Posts: 648
    that is what I heard as well there is only two major companies I heard. so its just a matter of how long they want to wait to buy the data from those companies and the time to reformat them to work with their systems and test that the update doesn't brake any functions.
  • treisnertreisner Member Posts: 1
    I just wrecked a 2007 Outback LLBean with Nav. I'd like to get another Subaru, but I use the Nav system a lot and being older, I like to have the larger screens that come with the build in Nav systems. My question is this; does the Tribeca use the same Nav system as the 2007 Outback? I ask because the Outback's Nav is the worst I have ever used, and I've used several extensively, both internal and movable units.

    My problem first started when I noticed that the maps and POIs were very out of date. Roads that have been closed for close to 30 years are still on routes it calculates, as well as many other really stupid things. That, however, can be fixed by updated maps, which I'm sure will come out every few years for a rather large fee. The major problem I have is with the software. I wanted to find the nearest gas station. I couldn't figure out how to do it. It seemed like I needed to know the name of the gas station. So after reading the manual and still not finding the answer, I send an Email to Subaru. I had a reply back in about an hour that was very well written. It explained that when you are in the screen where you can enter a name, don't enter anything and just wait long enough. The screen field with **** in it will change to the number found, and the list button will become active. Well I tried that and it will give a very out of date list of local gas stations, but it took a little over 3 minutes and the list was alphabetical with no distance indicated. That really is a worthless list. Well, I simply couldn't believe the Nav was that bad, so when I went looking for a new car, I told the sales manager that I would not buy another Subaru unless it could find the nearest gas station to the Subaru dealership in less than 5 minutes. The guy laughed and said "no problem" and got a sales guy who supposedly knew the Nav system the best. He claimed it was the same in the Legacy, Outback and the Tribeca and took be into a Spec B to find the nearest gas station. Well, sure enough, it did exactly what I told him. It took almost 4 minutes to light up the list button and then all of the stations were in alpha order. He didn't know how to change the sort order, or why it took so long.

    In my car shopping, I have asked every dealer (Volvo, VW, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes) to find the nearest gas station. All did it within seconds and displayed the list by distance. Now, some of these systems where not as intuitive as the Subaru and only the Toyota used a touch screen (by the way, Toyota's seems to be by the same manufacture, but it actually works the way a Nav system should). The BMW was really difficult to figure out. Even the sales guy had trouble, but when we figured it out, it was fast. The Volvo's stupid pop up screen was very hard to see, but it did list the nearest gas stations in a few seconds.

    Anyway, is Subaru's Nav system really that useless? Finding the closest POI is one of my major reasons to have a Nav system.
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    I believe it's kenwood as the manufacturer of the navi.

    -mike
  • tupintupin Member Posts: 71
    For the tribeca you can do the following to find gas stations or other POI's.

    From memory:
    When in map mode you touch the lower right part of the screen (can't remember if POI icon is there before or after this initial touch of the screen). Once you hit the POI icon you go to a menu where you select which POI's you want to display on your map....you can select banks, restaurants, gas stations, hotels, etc etc. Just touch the type of POI you want displayed on your nav screen...up to 4 or 5 types at once IIRC. Once you do that the gas station icons (or whatever poi's you choose) will show up on your main map. From there you can simply touch the nearest gas station on the map and select that as your destination. The little icons are kinda neat...restaurants show a little "M" for Macdonalds or the little Wendy character for Wendy's.

    Try watching the informational DVD that should have come with the system.

    As for being up to date, you are correct...they really need to improve their data!!! Where are those updates?!?!
  • paisanpaisan Member Posts: 21,181
    The updates are there, it's just a matter of if Subaru want's to pay the map-data companies for the information and format for their systems.

    -mike
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    The update is overdue, so any day now they should appear. Stick around and I'm sure we'll hear about them.

    On a loaner we had for a week they did not have the Rt. 404 bypass around Bridgeville, MD, basically on the way from DC to the beach. That road was probably built 8-10 years ago.

    I then bought a portable Garmin, with v6 maps, and it actually also did not have that bypass. I updated to v8 and now it does, it's MUCH better now.

    So hopefully when Subaru gets that update DVD their NAV will improve as much as Garmin's did.

    Garmin does have a new Nuvi model with a 4.3" screen. Subaru's is 7", though. There are some portable ones with big screens, but they might get stolen. And of course you can get a car-puter setup like paisan did.

    -juice
  • cluelesspacluelesspa Member Posts: 648
    to answer you question - yes the B9 NAV system is just as out of date and user unfriendly. I have used many and own the Garmin Nuvi 360 for when I travel for work. I love the Garmin that is how interfaces should be made.

    the Kenwood NAV in my B9 is usable but no where near the best.
  • tupintupin Member Posts: 71
    I am 1 month away from a big trip in our Tribeca....so this nav upgrade would be much appreciated if it arrived in time! Any more info?
  • spence66spence66 Member Posts: 39
    they mentioned at my dealer in CT
    it was to be in by Dec.
    now it is Feb.
    anyone here anytH :confuse: ing
  • tupintupin Member Posts: 71
    Is this the nav update?!?! There is speculation at another forum:

    http://store.kenwoodusa.com/product.asp?sku=3298885

    It says version 2.0 I think the original is version 1.0....so is this the long awaited update??
  • subiedudesubiedude Member Posts: 7
    i do believe this is [finally] it. yippee
  • cluelesspacluelesspa Member Posts: 648
    Tupin - NICE FIND! thanks for the heads up. :shades:
  • lmn908lmn908 Member Posts: 34
    There is now a link on the left side of my.subaru.com for the update DVD if your vehicle on the site is NAV equiped. (At least it's there on my menu!)

    Larry
  • cocopandancocopandan Member Posts: 5
    We bought our Tribeca in late December and called them to complain about how old the navigation system was. We were told that the new version would be available in January, but they didn't commit to providing it for free. Yesterday morning they called and said that it is available now and they would send it for free, as a one-time goodwill gesture. We should receive it in about a week. :)
  • kmartinkmartin Member Posts: 427
    The my.subaru.com link goes to http://store.kenwoodusa.com/subaru/ which is Kenwood's online store, but is not an accurate link.

    However, if you type delete the "/subaru/" suffix, you will get their main page. Just type "Subaru" in the search box and you'll get the Nav DVD page. Cool! There really IS a Santa Claus!!!!

    OK, I'm game and I'll order it. Stay tuned for more fun :-)

    -Karen- in AZ-
  • tupintupin Member Posts: 71
    OK, I ordered it. I really hope it arrives before we leave on our big trip. We are in Canada and are driving to Florida (yes we are snowbirds). I had it sent 2'nd day delivery but it has to pass customs.

    I may sell the west coast disc as we will never be using that particular area. Anyone interested?
  • yoyodkyoyodk Member Posts: 28
    I'd be interested. I had thought the same thing about paying for the upgrade and only needing half of it, as I'll probably never drive beyond the western US. E-mail me with the details.
  • danieltribecadanieltribeca Member Posts: 13
    Hello I'm a NEW owner of Subaru Tribeca

    I lesead mine yesterday.... 400$ plus Tax ( 430$ ) 36 months 10,000 miles. $3000.

    I have a lot of questions... but first that one...

    1) I have to keep the dvd rom (EAST) because I ive in Miami always inside of Navigation System?

    2) What it is the diferent beetwen this NAV UPDATE DVD?.. I have the version 1.0 something... I don't remember...

    Bye

    Daniel

    PD: I'm sorry about my english.. I know it is to bad... but I'm trying to improve....
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    How much was it, Karen?

    Follow-up question - you mentioned the models with NAV have a video input for a backup cam, what about models without NAV? Do they have it, too?

    I ask because I want to add a backup camera later, if I get one, and want to know which models I could do this to.

    -juice
  • lmn908lmn908 Member Posts: 34
    First, congratulations on your new Tribeca. Enjoy!

    To answer your questions:

    1). Yes, if you live in the eastern half of the country, you just keep the east DVD in the system.

    2.) Since we haven't seen the update yet, we don't know how different or updated it is. The previous version's database is several years old. Roads and intersections are constantly changing or being added, and hopefully the update will be more current. Similarly with various points of interest, i.e. more current with respect to restaurants, gas stations, hotels, etc.

    Juice:

    List price for the update is $238.00
    Don't know about back-up camera inputs.

    Larry
  • kmartinkmartin Member Posts: 427
    Here is Subaru's official corporate response:

    "Dear Ms. Martin:

    Thank you for visiting the Subaru web site and for your message!

    The version that is available for purchase on Kenwood's web site is the latest version available, that includes map software updates for owners of version 1.1.

    If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to reply to this email.

    Sincerely,

    Samir Hasan
    Subaru of America, Inc.
    Customer/Dealer Services Department"


    -Karen-
  • kmartinkmartin Member Posts: 427
    It was $238 plsu S&H for a total of $244.50.

    I'll try to do a detailed comparison of what I find on the new one and post here.

    -Karen-
  • megreyhairmegreyhair Member Posts: 154
    I have a 2006... and mine dvd cover said version 1.0 not 1.1...

    I wonder if the new disc will work....
  • danieltribecadanieltribeca Member Posts: 13
    Thanks Larry....

    I going to wait to read something about this update in this forum...

    thanks again...

    Daniel
  • kmartinkmartin Member Posts: 427
    I had version 1.0 in my '06. According to Subaru, v.1.1 was the most recent (probably included in the 07 Tribecas). Re-read post #96 and that should help.

    -Karen-
  • ateixeiraateixeira Member Posts: 72,587
    That's not cheap, yikes.

    For comparison, Garmin charges $75-85 for their update DVDs.

    Perhaps Kenwood has more POIs? They take 2 DVDs and Garmin only takes one.

    When dealers start stocking it at least you could use Subaru Bucks.

    -juice
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