[BRZ] Subscribing to XM NavTraffic?

[blalor]

When I first brought my BRZ home around June 1st I was able to get traffic on the nav. That didn't last long, despite the fact that we've got a trial subscription to XM for 3-4 months. Apparently traffic isn't included. I drove to NYC on Friday and called XM hoping to get NavTraffic enabled, but the clueless automaton on the phone was only able to tell me that my radio wasn't "populated" even though they show it is supported. Of course, they weren't able to tell me what "populated" meant, and referred me to my dealer. I've asked my salesman to look into it, but given the paucity of information from XM, I'm not holding my breath.

Has anyone had any luck subscribing to XM's NavTraffic service enabled? If so, what was the magic incantation?

[Symbiont]

Fujitsu Ten may know. I'll talk to my guy there this week and see what they say.

[blalor]

Sweet!

[blalor]

Spoke to XM again. Apparently they cannot add it to a trial account, and it is not available as a stand-alone option.

I can get a Garmin nüvi with lifetime traffic for $200, that is more responsive, has a nicer display and doesn't lock out features while you're driving. Thank you, Subaru, for putting this turd in my dashboard.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by blalor

Spoke to XM again. Apparently they cannot add it to a trial account, and it is not available as a stand-alone option.

I can get a Garmin nüvi with lifetime traffic for $200, that is more responsive, has a nicer display and doesn't lock out features while you're driving. Thank you, Subaru, for putting this turd in my dashboard.

Yeah I use an older Garmin right now that needs a power cable but I'm considering buying a new garmin just for the lifetime maps and traffic as well.

The NAV in the BRZ is absolutely *horrible*.

[blalor]

It's truly awful. That being said, I did about 10 hours in a foreign city this week and found that once you get the f***ing thing pointed in the right direction, it's mostly usable. The junction and lane views are helpful, at least…

I've always said factory nav is worthless, especially compared to an iPhone or a Garmin or TomTom device. I wish I could have opted out of it in the BRZ. Now I'm hoping I'll be able to find a head unit that fits in the stock opening without an ugly Metra adapter sticking out of the sides. Just a $200 radio with Bluetooth streaming would be fine.

[poudre]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

The NAV in the BRZ is absolutely *horrible*.

I concur. Wish they had contracted with Garmin. My 2 or 3 year old Garmin is far more simple to use.

[Opie]

Funny how it says on the Subaru site that NavTraffic is included for 4 months on new 2012 Impreza's and Forester's...but says nothing on the BRZ.

Calling 1-800-Subaru-3 in the morning and complaining...(they are closed now)

The Navigation in itself isn't bad...it's just clunky as hell getting it to do what you want it too. My TomTom was cheaper and is easier to use...I would've been happy to save $1,000 and do without the Nav...

[xwd]

I actually like the nav once it locks onto satellites, but I also agree I could have done without it and saved the money. It worked very well for me the few times I actually needed it, better than the factory nav in my 2012 Wrangler.

I have another account with XM with the Wrangler and there is no way online to add the BRZ to the same account, so I get to try and sit on hold tomorrow with XM, and I'll ask them about the traffic stuff at the same time. At least my Wrangler trial came with all the features enabled from the getgo.

[michaelahess]

I canceled XM after they hiked their prices past $11/month. I was the second subscriber in Wyoming right after it launched and had it for YEARS. Course I don't drive nearly as much as I used to. Between that and the fact that I live in Wyoming (who needs traffic?) I think this unit is perfectly acceptable

Now if I lived in the real world, that view would surely change.

What I'm getting at, is that the unit is not a POS completely, don't want people thinking they are paying for crap, it's only a fart. The BT works great for me, the stereo itself is very good for what it is, and the navigation is passable for occasional use.

[Six]

I don't see why it can't use the traffic info from the FM band and have XM data be optional.

FM band traffic info in case any one doesn't know what it is;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_Message_Channel

[xwd]

Okay I've talked to like 3 call center folks at XM who say the radio doesn't support NavTraffic.

I also talked to SoA customer care and they said they would look into it but they thought the trial already had it enabled. I told them I had another vehicle with XM/NavTraffic and if it was enabled it would say so on the XM account and it doesn't. XM specifically told me the current radio does not have it and said there was no way they could add it.

I've read other forums where people had the same issue and it took having to talk to the right person at XM who could activate it manually even with the ESN not "in the list" of compatible devices.

[xwd]

So I spoke with someone at SoA again today and they claimed the traffic information was only applicable if you have an actual route planned, otherwise it will never show anything.

He said the Nav will route around traffic if you want and also show alerts along a route which is planned via the "Traffic Alert" icon on the map screen, but it will not show those without a route and does not have realtime traffic at all.

I asked him why XM shows NavTraffic not enabled for the radio and he said he doesn't know. I told him I doubt we are talking about the same thing and he said he didn't know enough about the XM service or what it might do with the Nav system to figure out if it's enabled or not.

I called XM again and they said again the radio cannot be enabled with NavTraffic and said I probably didn't get the right radio version with NavTraffic support. I told them the car only comes with one radio and they said they couldn't help me any more.

So basically back at square 1...

[sesmls]

Originally Posted by dwx

So I spoke with someone at SoA again today and they claimed the traffic information was only applicable if you have an actual route planned, otherwise it will never show anything.

He said the Nav will route around traffic if you want and also show alerts along a route which is planned via the "Traffic Alert" icon on the map screen, but it will not show those without a route and does not have realtime traffic at all.

I asked him why XM shows NavTraffic not enabled for the radio and he said he doesn't know. I told him I doubt we are talking about the same thing and he said he didn't know enough about the XM service or what it might do with the Nav system to figure out if it's enabled or not.

I called XM again and they said again the radio cannot be enabled with NavTraffic and said I probably didn't get the right radio version with NavTraffic support. I told them the car only comes with one radio and they said they couldn't help me any more.

So basically back at square 1...

I finally got them to enable it on my BRZ, after speaking to 6 different people over a 45 minute period. They were giving me the same story -- that my radio wasn't listed as being compatible with NavTraffic. Then one of them spoke to a lead supervisor, they had me on hold for awhile, and finally got it enabled. My XM radio trial goes to 8/26, but I had them enable the NavTraffic right away, so they just charged me for a partial month, and then will do the full $3.99/month after the trial's done, so that XM subscription and my NavTraffic are billed concurrently.

I figure I will use the NavTraffic until I come up with a better (cheaper) integrated solution..and unlike the XM Radio, it's a month-to-month contract.