Nav Unit on 2002s. How often do you use it? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Johnny D · 21st February 2002, 03:07

I fell in loove with the Lexus nav and have zero experience with the BMW version.

What is your impression of it and how often do you use it and is it easy to use?

Thank you.

MEnthusiast · 21st February 2002, 03:16

I have the older (2000) nav unit and heres my observations:

lexus is the best in terms of bells and whistles

I use it once in a while. it is not as well organized as Id like (eg. to get a map of where I am, I have to go through like 3 menu levels)

on the flip side- once I got used to its setup, its not too bad to navigate

and finally,
I didnt get the car for the nav. but its nice that its there.

993 4S · 21st February 2002, 03:24

On the topic of the BMW nav. system, here's a stupid question that maybe someone can answer. The nav. system, particularly, the onboard computer on our '00 740i Sport was very easy to use. This system is the one with the smaller screen to the right, rather than the large, centered screen. The M5's (with the larger, centered screen) seems easy to use and also is nice since it constantly tells you what road you're on, long. and lat., etc. Anyway, after reading part of the manual (which made no mention of it) neither I nor my father can get that damn menu screen where you have to click "accept" to go away. You click accept and all is well, but then you turn the car back on the next day (or whenever) and there it is again. It's starting to get annyoing. Another thing is, on the dash, you can use the button on the side of the directional stem to scroll thru your options like time, date, mpg, avg. speed, etc. On the 740, we selected time, and on the M5 we did the same. The problem is, every time you start the car, the screen is blank, and you have to use the button to scroll thru the options and select time. This too is becoming an annoyance. So does anyone know of any special thing to do to make it so the "accept" screen does not come up every time you start the car? And does anyone know how to make the time or the date or the mpg stay up on the screen below the spedo.??

Bluewater M5 · 21st February 2002, 03:25

I know that the lexus nav is much better because it is DVD base. Also it is much faster with touch screen capabilities. That said, I still dont mind the BMW nav. I actually use it quite often, at least once a week. Since getting the car I find my self going to strange and new places!!

atomic80 · 21st February 2002, 03:28

993 4S: unfortunately as of 2002 on or for those with the new v18.0 nav software, the "accept" button is here to stay. They put it in apparently for liability reasons. There will be some folks out there that managed to somehow escape this annoyance.

Richard in NC · 21st February 2002, 04:26

Quote:

Another thing is, on the dash, you can use the button on the side of the directional stem to scroll thru your options like time, date, mpg, avg. speed, etc. On the 740, we selected time, and on the M5 we did the same. The problem is, every time you start the car, the screen is blank, and you have to use the button to scroll thru the options and select time.

993 4S:
The MID display being blank everytime you start the car seems to be another quirk of the 2002 Nav system. It appears to be related to the stereo. If I shut mine off while the car is running, the display blanks out. Its as if the stereo functions over-ride the trip computer functions on the MID.

tfung · 21st February 2002, 05:32

I think the BMW navigation is quite good.. although it's kind of slow and lacks the bells and whistles of a lot of other makes.. it gets me to where I want to go, and that's the most important! I've been in some older cars with nav systems, and they were terrible, sending you all over the place which was completely unneccesary...

blue max · 21st February 2002, 10:27

Even with the clunky interaction, I use it all the time. As you may know we do a lot of driving in unfamiliar places, the NAV gets us there & back without any problems.

I will not buy another car without one.

cheers!

sbsmith · 21st February 2002, 16:08

I love my M5,X5 and think BMW generally produces a great product. I think their NAV system is the poorest quality feature of their product line.

The Nav sys is slow and difficult to use menues. When you are trying to find an exit at 70 mphs and the screen says,"please wait while generating new map". You understand why they have the lawyer screen.

I have GPS Plotters on my boat and a portable Garmin III+ ($299) that do better jobs than the BMW Nav System. Most chart systems keep the location centered and the map scrolls so you dont have the annoying "generating new map" delays.

Also, have you noticed that you can find every golf course and lake along the I-System but you can not find the name of the town at the exit. My Garmin at least shows what city/town is coming up at the exits along the way. Also, if you let it plot a route you cannot alter with "vias".

THis system needs a lot of work. BUt, I still enjoy driving the Beast I just ignore the nav system as minor inconvenience.
And, I agree in a bind it will get you there.

durango · 21st February 2002, 17:24

has anyone heard of any plans for bmw to upgrade the nav system to a dvd and/or touchscreen?

atomic80 · 21st February 2002, 17:30

Since the new 745i doesn't even have touchscreen nor a DVD system, it doesn't look likely that they'd bring that over to the M5 anytime soon.

Diamond Dave · 21st February 2002, 17:34

Boy am I going to get spanked here or what.

I can honestly say that I never use the nav device and I can't stand it! If I could have deleted it and gotten the traditional 540i dash I would have. Now I have to admit that unlike others that have responded to this post, I rarely drive into different areas or states that I'm not familiar with. Maybe if I got out more (!), I'd like it.

Guess I'm the only M5 owner that can't stand it!

DWP

wbarber · 21st February 2002, 17:53

I use the nav all of the time.