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

[DoomsdayJesus]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

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).

[go2brz]

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.

[MysteryMachine]

Originally Posted by go2brz

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....

Mine has done that twice now...


Sent from my Moto X via Tapatalk

[sshole]

Originally Posted by go2brz

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.

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

[go2brz]

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.

[go2brz]

[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.

[LiveHereNow]

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 :-)