satnav...ouch

[London987]

It has the traffic warnings and TMC info options on the INFO button - works fine, helped a lot this weekend on the M4! When I go to put in an address it asks for the country, town and street number. The car is March or May 2005 and had a mini update about 6 months later as a recall/warranty item. Is the postcode search on the PCM a myth then? I read it somewhere and assumed, probably incorrectly, that the software update they are offering will allow this. So to be clear the software update has nothing to do with anything and adds zero unless I get a later map set (which by the sound of things I might already have the latest lot anyway!).

Thanks!

 

[gdavison]

Enter the post code in the city/town box

Ie RG31 7 (thats all it will allow) will get you into the area for Reading OPC

 

[London987]

Thanks - new software, old handbook! I'll give it a go and guess if it works then you chaps have saved me a good few hundred pounds!

 

[Black80XSA]

There are places on the net where you can download this yourself for free...

''This is the Multimedia Update CD's for early 2005 model Boxster (987) Cayman and 911's with the PCM2.1 system installed. Simply pop the CD's in to enable new functionality on your PCM unit including playback of MP3 CD's (in the head unit only) This update will also allow you to use maps dated beyond October 2004. This costs circa £500 to be done at Porsche. Enjoy! ''

no idea what this does, or if it works- i'm just quoting the description from the net.

 

[Faz1]

I have a recently purchased Oct'05 Boxster S with PCM. I was a little concerned it would have an out of date Nav disc. Luckily for me it had a May'07 Nav disc (the lastest I believe) and so TMC works fine. I assume it had the relevant software upgrade also, as the Head Unit plays MP3 discs as well as normal CD's.

 

[whinbush]

If its of any interest I happen to have a PCM 2.1 DVD Navigation Europe disc 05.2007

 

[London987]

if its going spare then yes!

 

[phlize]

Mine has PCM but I don't find it at all user friendly/intuitive compared with tom tom etc. There's no way I would pay for it again. The really annoying thing is the way it shuts down if the engine isn't running after a few minutes. So you have about 3 minutes to completely familiarise yourself with the thing before it decides it would rather preserve the battery. As I don't feel like sitting on the drive with the engine ticking over for ages I just don't bother with it anymore. Complete waste of money!!

 

[berty987]

I've used tom tom twice , both times the software threw a wobbly and the unit became a brick. Personally I think tom tom is over rated, the garmin product is better. As to the OEM sat nav , it has much better functionality than most people realise , its a question of being open minded with a different technology and operating system, a bit like MAC versus Windows.
On the subject of the multimedia download site, avoid this like the plague. The author doesn't know what he is talking about, the MP3 funtionality is hardware not software dependant and the update must be performed in a set sequence to avoid errors. There are no instructions on using the software or comment that if the CD that is created isnt 100 percent the PCM will be a brick. There is no reset for the software on the PCM , so if an update goes bad the PCM needs to be replaced. Don't attempt a DIY update unless you have all the correct discs and know what you are doing.

 

[London987]

good advice - i don't think i'll go down the hooky software route!

 

[London987]

right, my car does need the update. speaking to the OPC they say that there is one available but it will be the last one they do. apparently when they move on versions of PCM they discontinue the updates. So now they are on PCM 3 there will be no further PCM 2 updates after this one. Seems when PCM 2 came out they stopped PCM 1 updates as well.

does anyone know if that's actually true? if it is then perhaps it really is time we organised something either via owners and/or the club to get some kind of copyright release on the map updates. this is really beginning to annoy me especially as it is such an expensive option to begin with. granted i don't imagine that there will be many updates to the maps but that's not the point, especially when BMW release ones every few months and always around 100 pounds.

Moderators - any suggestions here on how we can verify this and if it is true what we can do about it?

 

[Mark_Bennett]

Sounds about right to me - although I thought I saw a post on the board recently from someone who had been told an "old" system was getting a surprise map update in the near future. (?)

It's a stupid situation - they certainly have not supported PCM1 owners with new maps for many years.

I've always advised prospective owners of this when they ask me - I don't think many believe me though.

What can we do about it? Well that's an interesting question. Register Secretairies are not allowed to talk to Porsche directly (especially over something like this) without going through the Club Chairman, so we'll need to contact him and express our concerns. 996, 997, Cayman and Cayenne owners will similarly be affected, so it's not just Boxster owners...

 

[London987]

i'd really like to do this if we can. its just annoying especially when the updates are available for other manufacturers and for older cars. i'm sure it can't be that big an effort from a software perspective to update the map disks - fair enough if they discontinue the actual PCM brain software as i imagine that's a porsche thing but its just the map disk most people want.

happy to give you a call to discuss - we've seen a number of people try to make a statement (for example the poll on the other forum) but nothing seems to happen. there must be thousands of cars with this issue. i like the satnav - i'm not the first owner and to be honest i wouldn't have bothered....but its in there and i like the car and i want to keep it for a long time. its only four years old and already obselete and they are asking 500+ to update it. it is too expensive and too far apart on the updates

as i said i would appreciate it if we could discuss an approach.....let me know what we need to do next.

Thanks for your help

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

Just as a matter of interest, Porsche HAVE recently released a map update for PCM1: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/fb.asp?m=429701

 

[Mark_Bennett]

ORIGINAL: Richard Hamilton

Just as a matter of interest, Porsche HAVE recently released a map update for PCM1: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/fb.asp?m=429701

That's the one I meant []

 

[berty987]

Trouble is , there are a few people who are vocal about the issue but in reality the numbers that can be amassed are small (probably 100-200). The deal with software is that Porsche hold all the cards and unless they see a cost benefit to undertaking a new map release , there simply will not be one. Navteq who supply porsche with the map data are unable to release map updates direct to porsche owners as the system is locked out from using anything other than a porsche supplied DVD. I have spoken with navteq on the subject and their hands are tied. The map DVD for porsche cars is encrypted in house by Porsche and no one outside of porsche has access to the codes/ encryption. PCM 2.1 replaced PCM 2 so the arrival of a new map update for the PCM 2 suggests that porsche will continue to release maps for older systems albeit at a less frequent rate. The best policy is to rally other PCM users to continue logging on the poll I started on renntech. If we can get enough numbers there is a chance that Porsche Ag will listen and release a new update. There is no point lobbying your local Uk agent or Porsche GB , the map updates are not country specific and the UK is a small market anyway. The Map is pan european so really we need some more input from other countries such as France and Germany. Is there any way porsche GB can link to other porsche club sites on this issue ? The map DVD is applicable to all porsche PCM 2.1 models - Cayenne, Cayman, 911, and Boxster , so there should be a large customer base out there, its just a case of contacting them.
Map updates are not compulsory for the system to operate so your dealer is incorrect saying your car needs an update (London987). Updating your PCM will only give you newer map information unless your current map is dated 2004 , in which case TMC or traffic messaging for the UK will be added as a result of updating the PCM and using a newer map.
With map DVD's costing over 350 pounds and infrequent use of navigation , many porsche owners simply do not bother updating the maps , hence porsche do not see it as cost effective to continue releasing updates.
Here is the thread and link to the poll.

http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=427314

 

[Mark_Bennett]

Well I've asked our Chairman for permission to approach Porsche on the subject, so we'll see what happens.

 

[berty987]

If Porsche GB have any voice with the parent company , then maybe we can get some progress. Personally I think this needs to go direct to Porsche Ag. you may also want to direct them to the thread i started on renntech. Though the numbers may not be huge it does show a significant trend towards mistrust of ordering sat nav in future , based on current map updates and support.