IN DASH UNITS

I don't like the indash ones either. Like they said, once u get rid of the car it's gone and it's not worth the 1500$ over 500$ for a good portable that u can take with u anywhere.

Reading the posts regarding the many, many problems with the Garmin units leads me to believe the portable units are much less reliable than in dash units from the factory. I have had my Lexus nav system over three years and have never had an issue. Just look at all the updates the portable manufacturers issue and the problems that come with them and tell me how much better the portable units are. I do love my NUVI 750 but to think it is better than my factory built in is not even thinkable.

Reading the posts regarding the many, many problems with the portable units from all the manufacturers tells me the portable units are much less reliable than in dash units from the factory. I have had my Lexus nav system over three years and have never had a single issue. Just look at all the updates the portable manufacturers issue and the problems that come with them and tell me how much better the portable units are. I do love my NUVI 750 but to think it is better than my factory built in is not even thinkable.

In dash might make sense if there were an easy way to share POI files with portable and other indash units.
Jen

Why spend all that cash for a unit that is not portable, is expensive to update or repair and may not have all the features of a good portable unit??

gusb

In dash units are nice except for the "lock-out" feature.

This should not be a problem for people who purchased and owned in-dash units with the following reasons...
#1, they can afford in-dash unit, losing it may be nothing to them.
#2, these in-dash unit become out-of-date three or four years after purchase. Getting a new one to keep up with new tech makes more sense to them.

I have no lockout on my unit,The installer defeated all those annoyances.As per my request.

What is a "lock-out feature"?

It means you can't change or make entries when the vehicle is in motion.

Garmin's much better then the in-dash unit. Some auto makers are beginning to go towards the portable units such as Garmin and TomTom instead of making their own.

Hate to say it but you are wrong....Other than being able to take it with you please tell me why you think the Garmin is a better unit than the one in my Lexus....Do you actually think the auto makers have there own brand of GPS's??? I have a Garmin and a built in Lexus unit and as much as I love my Garmin there is really no comparison between them...although my built in unit is over 3 years old the portable manufacturers still have not yet caught up to the features of my built in unit. Go try one and you will see what I mean....Haven't had to have ANY updates because it works perfectly the way it was designed. Look at all the updates the portable makers keep coming out with to TRY and correct problems and usually create more.

I think that the Lexus equippement is one of the best on the market ( built in unit ).

Don't know if it is the best but it sure is better than the one in my sons Charger....

For those that have Toyota or Lexus built in units

http://gsmserver.com/shop/car/navigation_system_for_toyota_l...

Does seem like a lot of guessing going on in this node!

Like I said before, I work for a Nissan and Infiniti dealer and customer's are complaining.

I kind of equate the in dash units to tricking out a car with fancy new wheels and tires. Both are of no use to you when the car is sold. Given the prices of these units and the cost to update ($300 for a 2004 BMW 700 series), I'll stick with my nuvi ($70 to update). I'll get one when they become standard like AM-FM radios.

Go to the Acura Site and check out their information on the Nav. system. Blows away anything my 750 could do and many other models from Garmin.

You could also get updates when you want. If I was in the market for a car like this, then I would add the nav. to the car.

I know, you can't take it with you, so what, I only have one car!

I am not an electronic genius by any means...I do not understand why anyone with a Lexus navigation system would want to do this. Please tell me....

Will you still be around is the question??? and you will have missed all the fun of having one for 10 or 15 years. Heck CD players still aren't even standard equipement in some cars. And even if they are st. equip. do you think it will be free and not included in the price of the car? I love both my indash and nuvi....

Of course the in dash will be included in the price. But when they are standard the cost won't be in the thousands. Will I be around? Who knows? If I am, I'll let you know.

Not only do you have to pay $2,000, or more, for an indash unit, you also pay a heavy price when you want to upgrade the system.
My in-laws own a Lexus and I was charged with finding out how expensive it would be to upgrade, since their car is about five years old.
The dealership wanted $700 to upgrade, which, by-the-way, consists of putting a "special" DVD into the unit. No way!
JeffSh

If you have a CD player in your car in 15 years from now, you might just as well have a 8 track in there too. they will be replaced by solid state memory way before then. 15 years is way to far away to be trying to figure on anything electronic.

they're toooooo expensive

My in dash unit has a Garmin add on unit is KNA-G510 This is a Garmin!!

My in dash unit is an add on to my upgraded stereo,I would take the unit out and place it in my other vehicle.Yes not portable but movable!

Do any of the mfgr equipped built-in GPS have custom POI addition capability? A friend got an aftermarket unit for his truck and has since been complaining about it for various reasons.

they add $2500 to the price of a car? Yikes...well......I'm not gonna say EXACTLY what i'd expect for that price....i think this is supposed to be a family friendly forum.... My Garmin Nuvi 760 was around $700, and was top of the line when I bought it last year, well just a very small step down anyway... I'm pretty sure this year's top of the line models are about the same price. I cant see spending the extra $ either unless there's a LOT of extra features. ANd the portability of my Nuvi, I gotta agree, is a major plus.

WOW! Alot of different takes on this subject...I guess its a matter of personal taste. Thanks for all the input. After digesting it all, I think I might want to give it a try...I like the fact that it is always there without a thought about it. Thanks again all!

I just saw an ad for a new Lexis GPS. Great reviews. Price is over $4900.

OUCH !!!

I had an in-dash GPS in my 2005 Honda Odyssey. It was great. Looked nice, big screen, instant fix on satellites, also integrated a backup camera. It was expensive to update the DVD though (I think $150) and the fact is that they have made so many advances in portable ones in recent years that mine was obsolete (it didn't speak street names, didn't have bluetooth or traffic, etc.). When I traded it in I opted for a portable. I figure if it becomes obsolete I am out $200 rather than $2,000.

My 2 cents

When I have lots of data (trip destinations) to input, I like to do it inside a room than a car. not to mention if car is parked on a street and the weather is very hot or cold.

too much dinero. in the near future it should come stock with all new cars.

Just kicking the old thread. It seems that many of the in dash units now us SD cards for maps, and have TTS as well as Bluetooth.

Does anybody have any better feeling about the in dash units? What brands of in dash GPSs are everybody using?

I'm considering if it would be a good upgrade to add an in dash unit to my Hyundai, and I was wondering how everybody feels.

Thanks

Beas

I would save the money on in-dash GPSr for a better car.

I have an in-dash unit (aftermarket: Kenwood DNX8120)

I like it a lot and would recommend it if you're interested in an integrated unit and don't like the cables on your dash (I really don't - it drives me nuts).

With my in-dash unit I get:
- iPod functionality
- GPS (Garmin)
- XM
- CD/DVD/AM/FM/etc - all the regular normal radio functionality.

I know with the Kenwood/Garmin combination that when everyone else gets their map updates then I'll be able to get mine (unfortunately the numaps Lifetime doesn't work for this unit - that is a downside). Still, I'm not reliant on the auto manufacturer to deal with their subcontracting company on getting me the latest maps and their price (which I'm guessing is more than Garmin's).

I also have grown accustomed to the Garmin interface and enjoy extras such as traffic (FM) and POI files. I'd guess that the factory nav unit wouldn't allow POI files but I never have checked into it.

So, for me: No to factory in-dash GPS, Yes to aftermarket in-dash GPS.

Gotta agree...a portable unit is easier to upgrade, move to a new vehicle, update the data in, etc

It is obvious that those that do not have a factory built-in GPS do not understand the reason for having one. No question the portables have advantages such as portability but when it comes to screen size, screen visibility, features, ease of use, ease of updating, looks, always there, backup camera, blue-tooth, voice command and on and on and on the built-in units also have their advantages. I say don't knock it until you try it....I have a 750 to use in my second car and rentals and love it but it does not compare in quality to my Lexus built-in unit.

I bought an aftermarket unit for my car. I prefer it for the same reasons stated above and if/when I get a new car I can just buy a new installation kit and wire harness and move it to the new car. I kept the factory stereo.

I have a 750 portable as well, but it seems it was always sitting safely back at the house when we wanted to look up something.

Not that there is anything wrong with the portable units but why would you spend $40,000 or more for a car and have a portable GPS with all the wires, etc sitting on the dash..come on lets be realistic. Why order heated seats when you could somehow hook up heating pads, etc, etc, etc...

DENSO is the company that manufactures the Lexus GPSr built-in units. The problem with these unit is not their operation because they are great, it's the cost of updating them dealer cost is about $350.00 for a Lexus Navigation System.

Here is a alternative to the dealer for many built-in units:
http://tinyurl.com/yea6zpv

Price is $199 for the latest update. I would not and have not updated every year. I have updated mine only once in 4 years and it is great. I got mine for $50 from a dealer when the new ones came out.

I just got this Nissan email:

Order your Nissan navigation system map update for $149* by February 29, 2012
or call 866-562-8837.

I think I'll restrict my map updating to my Nuvi 765T w/free lifetime updates.

Anyway, the roads in NY don't change that often.

We have a Garmin for my wife but the last two cars that I have bought, I have bought with the infotainment system. Without question it is worth it for me. Gps cuts the radio volume when it provides directions. With newer BMWs you can wirelessly send info to you navigation, etc. With older navigation systems you can get redlight camera and speed trap information. This takes some effort but people create work arounds for the nav disks just as people creat workarounds for portable gps devices.

I think in dash units have something to offer. There are many pros to them including it always knows where you are, includes dead rekoning, don't have to put anything away at the destination or get anything out to use it - always on. But there are significant cons also, mostly very expensive, not upgradable and usually feature poor, cannot sync to my computer for route and waypoint management, not portable. So for me, I would have pay up to get in dash, and then have a portable anyway for use in other vehicles like my wife's car, rental cars, etc.

So, for me cons far away the pros.

My BMW convertible and Suzuki SUV both have semi-permanent mounts for one of my Garmins. The BMW GPS was $2100 and updates were $200 each (no lifetime option). BMW offered a re-branded Garmin with a mount and custom cradle and some car programming to integrate it. I didn't even go that far but I bought the BMW mount and put my own Garmin on it (first a 760, now a 885t). The appearance is not as good as the iDrive but the functionality is great. I feed the Garmin output to the aux port of the radio. So the GPS directions come out the speakers but I have to have the radio switched to Aux. It is also my bluetooth phone connection. With the BMW/Garmin, it would switch from the radio to phone or GPS by itself. My bluetooth works great, I added a remote microphone in both cars that helps. When I travel, I just grab a suction cup mount and snap out one of my Garmins.

The Kenwood in dash unit is interesting because it is the Garmin interface. It takes custom POIs and routes and has next turn guidance. It has lifetime NavTeq traffic. It is about $1000, much cheaper than the factory option. My son has an older model without the GPS in his older Mazda. He likes it and I think it's fine. I've been exposed to an Acura built-in system and it was nice but didn't have next turn guidance. That would be a significant downside for me.

I think the main benefit of the factory system is appearance. I disagree with the contention that there is major functionality difference. Higher end Garmins do bluetooth very nicely and my older ones are great MP3 playback devices. There is a way to do the backup camera routine on some but I admit it is difficult. If you want that, the built in or an aftermarket in dash could be an advantage. But as a GPS or bluetooth phone or music playback, the right portable unit is as capable as any in-dash I have seen. They look "stuck on" but you don't have to have wires hanging on the dash. If you want to pay over a thousand for nicer appearance that's fine with me but it is most if not all of what you are getting for your money.

Jim