Kia Stinger Navigation Map Update

[Marc Collins]

It will be interesting to see what all updates in this version of the map on the way around here locally. I know of about 20 speed limit corrections and a few miles of time zone data that need corrected as well from the limited attention I've paid to the maps.

Well, you can spend hours helping them by updating them all at the KIA mapping site so that maybe they will get included in an ANNUAL update in the future...that you then have to pay for. That's why other cars use the camera system to read the road signs. It's not fool-proof, either, but vastly superior to map-based.

 

[Marc Collins]

Somewhere, maybe through the UVO app, you are supposed to be able to update the AndroidAuto or ApplePlay at no cost, exclusive of the nav map. No updates yet announced for those.

Are you talking about the phone app? I have the full app with remote start, etc. No updating the car functionality.

 

[SteveCo]

Somewhere, maybe through the UVO app, you are supposed to be able to update the AndroidAuto or ApplePlay at no cost, exclusive of the nav map. No updates yet announced for those.

Yes, I heard that's on the way as well. Hopefully won't be too long in coming ...

 

[Got_Stinger]

Anybody wanting or expecting kia to send out an update for the map better talk to Micah. I called today and was told Micah was out and would not transfer. She ask if she could help and I explained the situation and ask to be sent the map update....was all down hill from there. Finally I ask to speak to her supervisor 3 times. she said hold on and came back 20 minutes later and said I got it approved this time. Not sure what changed but somebody caught on somewhere....

 

[Rango]

Called today to request a map update card to be sent to me. Gave them my VIN# for purchase date ... on hold for 3 minutes and was approved for the card. Painless in my case. She told me the update was released Dec 12th. Purchased my Stinger a month ago so I was good to go. The lovely lady I spoke to was very polite and professional. Wish I could remember her name!

 

[Got_Stinger]

Called today to request a map update card to be sent to me. Gave them my VIN# for purchase date ... on hold for 3 minutes and was approved for the card. Painless in my case. She told me the update was released Dec 12th. Purchased my Stinger a month ago so I was good to go. The lovely lady I spoke to was very polite and professional. Wish I could remember her name!

Not sure why my experience was different?

 

[NYLAWBIZ]

The latest update was released the first week of March.

 

[mldavis2]

Waze and Google maps are free....

 

[Marc Collins]

Waze and Google maps are free....

Great, get a refund for the built-in NAV system for those who prefer to duplicate technology we already have.

Let's get real, here. Does any car company produce their own maps? No, they all license them from somewhere. They all require the same sort of update procedure through USB or SD card. The difference is the other companies provide for user self-download and update for free. You only pay if you are inept and need the dealer to do the update for you. That is fair, since it takes them time and effort to do so.

What possible justification is there to make people pay every year for an annual update (that is already out of date since it has speed signs embedded in it that, in urban areas, change frequently)? Why can this not use a VIN-based download like so many others?

How is it possible that basic functionality updates to multimedia and phone systems that all customers should get automatically at their next dealer service, or earlier if they are troublesome, are embedded in the paid map update?

While everyone is jockeying to get a free 2018 update, we're ignoring the bigger issue that the entire way KIA has implemented this is ridiculous and needs to change.

 

[mldavis2]

Dunno, but my neighbor's Ford and his Chevy truck both charge for nav updates. If you find a car company that does not, you probably paid several hundred dollars extra up front for the "free" updates. Ain't no free lunch, anywhere.

 

[Ucinn]

With Android Auto, didn't even look for the Nav...don't need it anymore with the technology of today

 

[SteveCo]

Ain't no free lunch, anywhere.

You got that right ... Dodge charges a similar amount for their NAV updates as well. Ultimately, somebody has to pay the data provider - HERE supplies a lot of the manufacturers. As I mentioned earlier, Genesis offers 'free' updates as one of their purchase perks, along with free car delivery and pickup, loaners, etc. It all comes at a cost - I'd rather have the choice to pay for it or not. In this case, updating to the latest version is paid for by KIA, and I'm certainly going to take advantage of it.

 

[Marc Collins]

You got that right ... Dodge charges a similar amount for their NAV updates as well. Ultimately, somebody has to pay the data provider - HERE supplies a lot of the manufacturers. As I mentioned earlier, Genesis offers 'free' updates as one of their purchase perks, along with free car delivery and pickup, loaners, etc. It all comes at a cost - I'd rather have the choice to pay for it or not. In this case, updating to the latest version is paid for by KIA, and I'm certainly going to take advantage of it.

For me, it isn't the latest version, it's the current version that should have been on the car at delivery.

By the way...

Free map updates for your car with HERE MapCare

MapCare program manager Laurent Vernerey tells us, “People get regular map updates for their smartphones, and for personal navigation devices from the likes of Garmin. So there’s an expectation that the same should be true of their car’s maps.”

In fact, a survey conducted by HERE* found that 74 per cent of respondents expected map updates to be a free part of what they receive with a new vehicle.

I guess I am spoiled because this was started by Volvo in 2009, but read the article to see who else does this. Anecdotes are fine. Facts are better.

 

[mldavis2]

For me, it isn't the latest version, it's the current version that should have been on the car at delivery.

I agree. The problem stems from the fact that the SD card is in a little plastic pouch inside the papers that come with the car so they are dated according to the build date. The download time is a couple of hours (no word on internet download speed or bandwidth) so for a dealer to be downloading dozens of these everytime they get a transport full of cars would be rather impractical. Having said that, it would be appropriate for Kia to allow for free downloads within a month or so following purchase. I think another problem is that the updates are serial number specific so they are coded at Kia and not easily available over the internet. It would be very easy for someone to hack the internet update to fit any number of different serial numbers.

From my personal experience with Garmin GPS's, I have friends who haven't updated theirs in a couple of years and they are still using them. I spent $129 for a lifetime update on my Garmin 760 and used it for 8 or 9 years updating it four times a year. Those downloads took half an hour over a very fast (160 MB/s) internet connection, speed limited by the Garmin server. Then inputting them into the GPS itself took at least an hour if I recall.

I plan to update my Kia map even though I have both Google maps and Waze under AndroidAuto, and I also will edit the HERE maps as I find errors or changes. So far only one change in my area which was a minor speed limit change.

 

[phxgt]

For me, it isn't the latest version, it's the current version that should have been on the car at delivery.

By the way...

Free map updates for your car with HERE MapCare

MapCare program manager Laurent Vernerey tells us, “People get regular map updates for their smartphones, and for personal navigation devices from the likes of Garmin. So there’s an expectation that the same should be true of their car’s maps.”

In fact, a survey conducted by HERE* found that 74 per cent of respondents expected map updates to be a free part of what they receive with a new vehicle.

I guess I am spoiled because this was started by Volvo in 2009, but read the article to see who else does this. Anecdotes are fine. Facts are better.

Based on the article....are they truly "free" updates? If so why is it only for three years? IMO the answer-as others have stated-is that the so called free update has just been baked in to the purchase price and is not really free at all.

 

[Marc Collins]

I agree. The problem stems from the fact that the SD card is in a little plastic pouch inside the papers that come with the car so they are dated according to the build date. The download time is a couple of hours (no word on internet download speed or bandwidth) so for a dealer to be downloading dozens of these everytime they get a transport full of cars would be rather impractical. Having said that, it would be appropriate for Kia to allow for free downloads within a month or so following purchase. I think another problem is that the updates are serial number specific so they are coded at Kia and not easily available over the internet. It would be very easy for someone to hack the internet update to fit any number of different serial numbers.

From my personal experience with Garmin GPS's, I have friends who haven't updated theirs in a couple of years and they are still using them. I spent $129 for a lifetime update on my Garmin 760 and used it for 8 or 9 years updating it four times a year. Those downloads took half an hour over a very fast (160 MB/s) internet connection, speed limited by the Garmin server. Then inputting them into the GPS itself took at least an hour if I recall.

I plan to update my Kia map even though I have both Google maps and Waze under AndroidAuto, and I also will edit the HERE maps as I find errors or changes. So far only one change in my area which was a minor speed limit change.

The SD cards are not car-specific, but they do have to come from KIA (they must be encoded in some manner). Of course that requirement could be altered by KIA simply reprogramming the NAV/multimedia system. It's a choice whether to require an encoded SD card versus USB stick user update.

The dealer doesn't need to do anything besides ensure the SD card is current by ordering them in advance from KIA. They know when their cars are coming and they know the build dates long in advance of handing them over to customers.

 

[SteveCo]

Anecdotes are fine. Facts are better.

The fact is HERE isn't providing data as a public service. If you would rather pay for these things in the purchase price of your car, fine! You can always lobby KIA and see if they come around to your point of view. While you're at it, feel them out about lifetime maintenance, and free tires, brakes and windshield wipers for the life of the vehicle ...

Laurent says, “Our vision is that every driver with a car equipped with a navigation system deserves an always up-to-date map, included in the price of the vehicle. HERE MapCare is poised to become the industry standard for achieving this.”

 

[Marc Collins]

Based on the article....are they truly "free" updates? If so why is it only for three years? IMO the answer-as others have stated-is that the so called free update has just been baked in to the purchase price and is not really free at all.

It's a simple marketing decision. KIA has chosen to offer free updates in some markets and not others. Some companies offer; some do not.

The vast majority of people would prefer simple and free updates, just like every other map device we use (phone, GPS).

 

[mldavis2]

The link above by @Marc Collins includes Kia in the list. It does however say that if differs in different locations. No idea if it works in Canada or the U.S. or Europe or wherever.....

 

[Marc Collins]

The fact is HERE isn't providing data as a public service. If you would rather pay for these things in the purchase price of your car, fine! You can always lobby KIA and see if they come around to your point of view. While you're at it, feel them out about lifetime maintenance, and free tires, brakes and windshield wipers for the life of the vehicle ...

Laurent says, “Our vision is that every driver with a car equipped with a navigation system deserves an always up-to-date map, included in the price of the vehicle. HERE MapCare is poised to become the industry standard for achieving this.”

I think the ridiculous time wastage in this thread that will be repeated out in the real world speaks for itself. The process that we have to follow to get an update (aside from the payment issues) is preposterous compared to the MapCare process that I have used on other cars. Simple download; simple update. Do it whenever you want, or not. No need to call, wait on hold, fill out forms, wait for delivery of a chip, pay for things, get reimbursed, etc.

If you think you got a discount on your car because we don't have free map updates...well...take a look at the marketing decisions and price points just between the US and Canadian models. It is an illogical, poorly thought-through mess, mostly for our US cousins. This is simple customer service--there's an easy way to do this (that twenty other car companies and KIA itself already follow) and a stupidly clunky way. Pick.

Until the functional updates are available separately from the map updates, I won't be paying for map updates. And after that, I will curse KIA's marketing stupidity every time I need a map update. Just like I do every time I see my exposed cup holders that should have had the cover on them that is in the Canadian brochure and marketing materials (wonder why) or see a G70 AWD knowing it has the LSD that should have been available on the Stinger, too.