DON'T PAY FOR NEW GPS MAPS! Q3 '12 and later BRZ owners should get a free upgrade.
 

I just wanted to give a big money saving heads-up to everyone who bought their BRZ after the Q3 2012 US/Canada maps were released.

After buying my BRZ Limited in April in Olympia, WA, I asked the dealer why my new car didn't have the most up-to-date maps and what they could do to get me some current ones.

They told me to call customer service and they would hook me up (1-800-SUBARU3).

After talking to a customer service rep, he got back to me a few days later and told me I had two options: He could get me the latest maps, or I could wait for the next major map release (he indicated it would be later this year) and get that one for free. I chose the latter, and he made a note of it on my account.

This is an awesome way to save $140+ on new GPS maps on a car that should have come with something better than 2011 maps.
If anyone has any luck with this with a BRZ bought prior to Q3 2012 please post it here.

Oh... that kind of map. Came expecting something else :D

...I guess I'll have to do some digging to see which version of the maps I have.

It's easy, pop out the stock SD card and it should say 2011 Q-# on the sticker (don't do this while it's running). Or you can get into your NAV settings and it'll tell you.

Thanks for the heads up. Bought mine on 4/13/13 and it has 2011 maps. Guess I need to get on the blower and give Subaru CS a ring...

Same here, Q3 2011 maps on a car I picked up late March.

hmm...checked the "about" sections of the gps and it says Jul 30 2012. I'm guessing it's up to date.

Probably because I had the gps looked by the dealer since I was losing signal constantly.

No need to call Subaru CS. Just tell your dealer that you are losing gps signal all the time and you are frustrated. SOA already has a bulletin for this.

Dealer will put new SD car with updated maps and replace something in the gps antenna. It's covered by warranty.

The map data is useless if it can't place me on the map correctly. Driving in and around Vancouver, BC gave me at least 3 ulcers over the weekend.

A nice android phone with Google's navigation is all you need..:thumbup: why pay for something that's free on your phone :bonk: and way more features..:thumbsup: you can download maps for offline viewing and more..

As someone who's liked google maps for a while, I prefer using the car navigation any day of the week, because having a map on your screen and not your phone, is far more intuitive for me.

Customer service via email wasn't much help:

I have a feeling once someone gets the newest maps on Sd, they will be ripped, and uploaded to the interwebs.

They sent me to that site as well. :thumbdown::thumbdown:

I know a guy that works at a Subaru dealership. I'll see if he can rip the 2013 SD when it comes out.

There is a TSB out if your GPS can't connect. I had to take mine in to have them update the software and put in new mounting hardware for the GPS antenna, but it finally works now.

Whoever manages to get their hands on the new maps: this is a nice app. Just sayin' :P

Called my dealer about this because my GPS drops out about once a day and he is replacing it this afternoon with the new card and mount...easy. Interestingly, he told me that my vin does not fall under this TSB, BUT he is going to do the upgrade anyway.

I purchased my DGM LTD AT in early March. It included the older 2011 maps. I found out a couple weeks ago that there was an update available for 2012Q3, but it cost $160.00 after tax, so I called my dealer and was told to call SOA. Called and spoke to a representative and he told me that I would need to purchase the map update, fax my invoice (receipt) to him, and he would have Subaru cut and mail me a check for the cost. It took approx. 2 weeks, but I received my reimbursement check this week. All good. I suppose I may do this again if there is another update. Except this time I'll see if they can supply me with a redemption code rather than having to purchase it.

I bought mine 5/2012 do I get free update?

I understand you got your money back but, $160 for a map update! Really!? that seem a bit high.:eyebulge:

SOA told me the code was a NAVTEQ thing and they couldn't hand them out. They said they're going to handle it when the new maps come out, my guess is that they're just going to send a new SD card.

Try it and post results.

Also, talking to your dealer first may help. Granted, people may talk to SOA reps who aren't nearly as helpful as the guy I talked to, so the key in some cases may be persistence. It's like going to 3 dealers, asking a question, and getting 3 different answers.

I got pretty lucky and had awesome customer service the whole way through, though. The dealer got me the affirmative answer before I ever called SOA.

Yeah, I called SoA and they pointed me at the website. I guess I'll need to speak with my dealer over the phone. :paddle:

These maps don't update themselves? I recently used it to locate my cousin's house, who lives in a brand new neighborhood, and it showed up. This surprised both him and I, because he said other peoples GPS were having trouble finding it. I also have 2011 Q3.

I think they did upgrade the software with no improvement. I wasn't aware of any hardware changes... time to check back with my dealership.

Now if I could only get my Sirius to stop dropping reception in the middle of I-5 I'd be golden. I believe the GPS improvements were already in my car, I've never had an issue with it.

Just called. They promised to reimburse. Sent me a link to buy the $150 update and they will send me a check.

The guy I talked to suggested waiting until January when the 2014 maps come out before buying.

i purchased a brz nav unit from another member. would be nice to get updated maps for it but yeah, $150+ is too steep

Was the map update released?

Yes, I have 2013 maps that I was reimbursed for. You have to get them through Subaru's download tool (there's an identical NAVTEQ software tool as well).

I just got my Fujitsu HD repalced because it was re-booting, going blank and then reloading the with a new splash screen and lost some saved data. Subaru replaced it for free....
Even though I now have 2013 Maps they are not much better in my DFW area because of all the ongoing construction on major highways and toll road both.
I will purchase the new 2014 Maps in January because construction on the North Tarrant Expressway will be completed by December and the new 121/114 intersection is complete. In fact the 121/114 construction shows up on the A3 S Line Prestige that I bought for my wife just last week. But it is based on Google Maps and Satellite software. I can actually pull up a satellite street view picture of where of where I want to go, then upload it from my PC to the Audi, by wireliess, and use it as the basis of a new route destination.
Unfortunately none of this shows up on the 2013 Subaru maps. So I will have to upgrade the BRZ head unit in January to get updated construction completions and pay the price. Yet when you consider the price difference between the two cars it is easy to figure out why it is this way. With the Audi, I can upgrade the maps for lifetime for free. But I had to pay 41,200 after a nice discount and traded my 2006 Tribeca B9 for a $9000.00 traded in (Subaru's obvously have a great trade in value, which I would have expected if I traded it in to a Subaru delarer, but not an Audi Dealer) to reduce it even more for the A3 Prestige and paid just 28,6000 for the BRZ with no trade in and no MSRP discount. That explains the difference in equipment quite simply...........you get what you pay for, even though I am still disappointed with the price of upgrading the BRZ maps. Now I only use the Garmin in rental cars. But being that my wife and I own a travel agency, we travel very often and will save money by not having to rent a GPS unit when we travel to LA in June, Banff, Canada, in September and Europe in November when we go to Munich, then Newschwanstein (the famous castle that Walt used to design the Disneyland and DisneyWorld castles) on the Austria, Germany border, and then to Ingolstadt to see the Audi Museum. Then to Cologne for a few days and then on to my wife's family home near Brugges, Belgium. So it all works out in the end as the rental car companies charge a large amount to rent a GPS unit.

Point being that I paid $150.00 for a Garmin 5 inch screen unit four years ago that is still as good as the BRZ HU Nav when it comes to maps. But the Garmin comes with Lifetime map ugrades and the BRZ makes me pay for every upgrade that comes along even if it is not truly up to date. What is funny is that I still prefer to have a built in NAV unit, rather than have my dash cluttered with the Garmin and my Escort 9500 GPS radar detector. I hard wired the BRZ for the Escort detector through the rear view mirror mount, which changed the whole dynamic. No wires running from the console to the dash anymore, and I am very happy with that. But spending 150.00 to uprade the maps is a real drag.

That speaks directly to the overall low price of the BRZ/FR-S, and that you get what you pay for..............As part of the Limited package the NAV does not cost as much as most other car companies charge for a NAV package upgrade.

Mine has done that twice now...


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You don't have a smartphone? Google Maps is always updated. And it's free.

I have a smartphone. A very good one. But I don't want a lot of clutter on my dash as I already use an Escort 9500 GPS unit and having a small smartphone and the wiring is a mess in my opinion. I am quite happy with the Navigation skills and quality of the Fujitsu HU, it is just not always the easiest HU to use with the small touch screen buttons for the phone and the radio. But in my area once I get the new maps for 2014 that shows the completed construction areas, I will not need to upgrade every year, but more like every two or three years. If I go on a long driving trip, I will take the Audi A3 anyways.

Yes I like the Google Maps better, but not to the point where I need to have power splitters and wires all over my BRZ just for a small improvement in map picture realism...

But hey, each to their own......and I respect your opinion.

[QUOTE=MysteryMachine;1779834]Mine has done that twice now...


It is easy to get them to replace it. I just told them what was happening, and they ordered an new HU with no questions. They did not even try to test it, they just took my word for it because they have had to replace a few units with the same problem.

Sewell Subaru of Dallas..............a great Subaru dealer.:)

Short story: I'll pay someone cash if they can get me an SD card with the newest maps. Message me and we'll connect. Head unit is model # FA601US.

Long story: I went to dealer. Dealers said just order online b/c they don't stock them. I tried to order online and their horrible "app" won't resolve an apartment number in the address. I spent an hour on the phone and was transferred twice while the application kept creating weird address combinations that didn't work. They put me on hold and came bake stating the error in the address shouldn't be a problem and if for some reason it is and the item doesn't show up, they'll refund my money. Not too excited about spending nearly a lot of money to "maybe" get what I want and have to deal with some sort of refund/RMA situation.

Any other ideas? My SD card says 2011 Q3 on it... so I'm guessing it's woefully out of date and seems to be when I drive on streets that aren't there :-)