AIBU to think that in car Sat nav should update for traffic?

[PotatoPolly]

Just bought a second hand Vauxhall, about 5 years old.
We’ve discovered that if you want the Sat nav to take account of traffic and adjust ETA or suggest new routes, it’s £100 a year! We’ve got another older Vauxhall, about 10yrs old and that doesn’t charge for it, why does this one?
I get it tells you the correct route, but surely the whole point of the Sat nav is to tell you the quickest correct route?!

Just use your phone

To have live traffic updates it needs to be receiving constant information, so that's going to have to cost something somewhere. I can only guess it was built into the initial purchase price with the older car

I've actually reread your OP and I understand better what you're actually saying. "You will own nothing and be happy" is the response

Same with my 18 month old SEAT. Previous one was free, now you need an app to update after the first year (and check whether the doors are locked or unlocked etc). To be honest Google via Android auto is way better anyway. And I can check my own doors, remember where I parked etc!

We bought a brand new car last year, with all possible smart features and bells and whistles. Advice from the sales person was to always use our phones for maps (cast onto the car map screen), as they were more accurate than the in built car sat nav, and updated more often. I’m sure the same applies to a 5 year old car too.

Just use google.

in car sat navs are a pain

It’s the same in my 2019 Fiesta, I just use google maps with car play using my phone.

If you can link your phone to the car's media, you can use Google maps that way therefore telling you the quickest route

I don't know anyone who uses an in car satnav anymore, everyone just uses waze or similar.

Everything is turning into a subscription model. Even things like heated seats on your car!
think of it like the really old car sat nav’s where you would have e to buy a new sd card with it on.

Apple CarPlay and your phone are much better to use TBH

Use Google maps. I never use ours for that reason.

We just use waze.

Waze here too. In car sat nav is hopeless.

I always have waze on the screen

In-car sat navs feel like deprecating technology now that all newish cars have CarPlay and the android equivalent that let you use Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, etc. We have in-car satnav on both cars and never use it as we just use CarPlay.

Thanks everyone, I’ve connected my CarPlay and google maps is much better!

Waze updates live traffic and you can report hazards for other users, so it can reroute you. I reported a major road closure yesterday, lots of cars having to divert. An hour later on the way back, no one was diverting because my report had updated the route for everyone else and they were following a different road.

@PotatoPolly I drive a bmw. a couple of years ago was driving back up to scotland and just about at the border when a traffic warning came up. diverted me down a side road and when I looked in rear view mirror, only 5 cars were there. every single one of them was also a bmw!!! obviously our sat navs knew something that no one else's sat nav did! had a lovely tour of all the local villages though!!! we had a good laugh in the car !

I love Waze. Especially the fact the voice is minions. Amuses me greatly every drive.

My Ford is the same, after 3 years, I need to pay a subscription to have updates.

However, it does still sometimes "adjust for traffic" so I'm baffled.

Is it adjusting for delays that were happening when the subscription expired, or are the updates only relating to new road layouts (which are definitely out of date)?

Not a BMW, but google did that to me a few years ago. Diverted me off the M5 for a "faster route" through dozens of very scenic but by now congested villages. The diversion lasted for hours as the motorway traffic tried to travel through roads not designed for it. Spent bloody hours on that diversion.

Apparently the blockage on the M5 was cleared in 25 minutes....

I drive an all singing and dancing fancy pants new bmw. The sat nav is so shit but it has a heads up display that I find really helpful. 10% of the time it takes me to the wrong sodding place! Every so often the sat nav just won’t function and stays on the start up page. It still thinks the m1/m6 split goes the old way. I still prefer it to Apple car play which won’t go to the heads up display.

actually that’s a lie. There was an update and Apple Maps does but Google maps doesn’t and who on earth uses Apple Maps!

@PotatoPolly @ProfessionalWhimsicalSkidaddler I actually had a major problem with my bmw sat nav just 3 weeks ago. driving to edinburgh but sat nav was travelling to inverness in the opposite direction. got back to my house but sat nav was half way to norway over the north sea. none of the fixes on google worked but eventually found one that said when all else fails, disconnect battery for 5 minutes then reconnect and everything will magically reset itself!! absolutely worked a treat!!

In built sat navs aren't worth the hassle google maps, waze far better. Most modern cars have screens and android auto/apple car play. Don't know why anyone would bother with subscriptions to the built in navs.