Not for the technology challenged

[vito]

Yesterday I updated the maps in my built in GPS in my 2016 Dodge Durango. Its amazing to me, in this day and age, that the process would be so complex, and I could only imagine what someone who is technology challenged would have done. I guess I could have had the dealer do it, but I can't imagine how much more expensive it would have been. As it is, the cost was $150 (maybe I was crazy to do this at all) and what you receive from Chrysler is a flash drive and an instruction book.

You would think that what needed to be done was just to insert the drive and let the vehicle do the rest, but not by a long shot. You have to start the vehicle, find the settings screen (easy enough) and then go down through a few menus to find what software edition your car has. If not the latest, then you go through a moderately simple process to get the software updated via over the air signals. But then you have to go back into the settings, find and WRITE DOWN manually the software edition. Then you go back online (obviously not in your car) to the Chrysler website, be prepared to enter appropriately the 20 character (aproximation) "Request Code", your full VIN #, and the aforementioned software edition. That gives you an Activation Code which you need again to manually WRITE DOWN. Then you return to your car, again enter the settings and get to the point where you say "Yes" to an update. You have to then enter this lengthy Activation Code with the flash drive inserted into the car. Then you wait about an hour, with the engine running, for the map data to download.

You would think then that you are done, but not by a long shot. After everything appears to be done, you have to open and close the driver's door and then wait 60 seconds, during which time you are warned not to put your foot on the brake pedal nor to open any door. Then you are instructed to open and close the driver's door again, and again wait 60 seconds during which you are not to touch the brake or open another door. Only then are you done with the process and can you remove the flash drive.

I went through this whole process but was flabbergasted at this complexity, especially after possibly being foolish enough to spend $150 just for updated maps in the first place. Unbelievable.

 

[contender]

Yep,,, so much of this new technology is good,,, yet it takes a computer whiz to use it. So many of the designers of this stuff think it's "easy" yet fail to grasp the fact that a LOT of the population is not as computer savy as they THINK we are. I've heard young folks say; "oh it's easy to do," about smart phones, computers, etc to where I want to grab them, head to the deep woods,, give them a few basic items,, and say; "Ok, build a shelter, get some food, and cook a meal. It's easy to do."
Easy is a relative term in any endeavor.

 

[mhblaw]

I have an '18 Audi S5 and a map update took about 30 minutes of sitting in the car with it running. Not near as complex as vito's, but seems it should be simpler.

 

[Dan in MI]

I work in automotive and quite often have days I want to go over to the software guys and smack them....HARD.


Tasks that were simple and easy and did NOT require you to take your eyes off the road now require your full attention and you must stare at some stupid screen. I swear they are trying to create distracted drivers.


Uh oh, black helicopter thoughts came into play as I typed. Of course they want to make it harder and more distracting that will supply more reason to make autonomous cars federally mandated.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

. . . and more reason for most of us to pay the dealer to do the upgrades for us.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[wwb]

.........Tasks that were simple and easy and did NOT require you to take your eyes off the road now require your full attention and you must stare at some stupid screen. I swear they are trying to create distracted drivers.......

I have a 2014 Silverado 2500 diesel. The heat/AC controls are maddening. A bunch of tiny buttons located at the bottom center of the dash. You need to look down at them to see which one to push, and still need to watch the tiny little icon light up to tell you if you have floor heat, dash heat, both, defrost, or defrost with floor heat. Changing fan speed or temp setting is not quite as bad, but you still need to look down there to find the proper button. :evil:

 

[toysoldier]

Vito, it sounds like the programmers were having a good time jerking your chain. That process sounds deliberately difficult and confusing. And $150?! You can usually get a free highway map from any state you plan to travel to.

I intend to never purchase a vehicle with an in-dash computer. It's bad enough when the factory-installed AM/FM radio goes bad (which mine has). When the computer in my electric stove went haywire, I said NO to a $200 replacement computer board, and replaced the stove with one that has five knobs and no timer or clock.

 

[Pat-inCO]

How many roads, that most of us are likely to travel, have changed
enough in the last two or three years, to make all that worthwhile?

You can go out and buy a NEW, pre-loaded, Garmin for that much.

I got one with a video camera built in that all I added was a Micro SD card
to save the video on.

I guess that thirty years of programming showed me the easy way, for at
least some things (some of them the least expensive, as well).

 

[GP100]

I dunno.. I still find the easiest way to do things for me, is the simple way.. I just buy a road atlas from the Truck stop.. Cheaper and gets me there..

Anymore, it seems like you need a degree in computers just to open the hood.. To many new fangled gizmo's on these things.. I remember when vehicles were cheap to fix.. All you needed was a wrench and determination.. And maybe some bailing wire here and there..

Heck, I can remember buying a starter for my 1971 Ford LTD and installing it myself.. Starter cost me $50.. And about thirty minutes time..

 

[pisgah]

Wait 'til you see the secret YouTube made of you following all those directions. Hilarious! :lol: :lol:

 

[Ka6otm]

And for those who have a good smart phone, get the Google maps app for free, download it by pushing a button saying you want it, wait around 2 or 3 minutes for it to finish downloading and you're done.

Then, around once every 2 or 3 months, you get a notice that there's an update to the maps and the update takes pushing one button, waiting a couple of minutes and you're done.

It contains maps of the entire U.S. including Hawaii and all its islands.

Much easier than the ones in cars, plus you take it with you.

When I go on business trips or vacations, I have a clip that fastens my phone to a heater/AC vent and there it stays until I pull it off.

Couldn't be much easier.

 

[Bull Barrel]

Every vehicle I own has a GPS...Gluteus Positioning System. The drivers seat!

 

[DeletedMember275]

I just use my phone.

 

[vito]

Sometimes I just use WAZE on my phone, but the built in GPS has the nice large 8 inch screen, a voice that I can actually hear, and is pretty user friendly to set up. Whether or not it was worth getting updated maps for $ 150 is still a question. It was sort of an impulse purchase, and a pain in the butt to install Well, most likely I will not update this again unless I own this vehicle for a really, really long time. My motorcycle has a built in GPS as well, so I wonder how expensive it will be to update and how much trouble it will be to do it. But that shouldn't be an issue for at least another year or two.

 

[bogus bill]

A few years ago wife and I took a trip to California. It started raining hard and my wipers were shot from living on the desert. I pulled over to the gas station in front of the Morongo Indian casino and bought a set. I was trying to figure out how to hook them up and muttered to my wife, we need a Jap kid right now. Just after that a young Japanese guy walked over and volunteered his help! That cracked me up and he gave me a odd look. I tried to come across with some asinine story to explain why I was still laughing.

 

[Psb1911]

My truck still has crank windows!

 

[coach]

There’s a hokey pokey joke in there somewhere for that map update.

 

[SamV]

There’s a hokey pokey joke in there somewhere for that map update.

Dang! I was just about to post that myself. You put your left foot in.....

 

[mohavesam]

Disconnect/change a battery in a Volvo. If you've done it, you know...

 

[opos]

Not about cars but about high tech phones...my wife had a birthday a while back and asked for a phone to just make calls..to send an occasional text and to take a picture now and then...and that was it....none of the smart phone mish mash...I tried and tried to find what she wanted and finally had to resort to being a bit creative....here is a picture of what I got for her

https://imgur.com/uJbu7kp

 

[pisgah]

Not about cars but about high tech phones...my wife had a birthday a while back and asked for a phone to just make calls..to send an occasional text and to take a picture now and then...and that was it....none of the smart phone mish mash...I tried and tried to find what she wanted and finally had to resort to being a bit creative....here is a picture of what I got for her

https://imgur.com/uJbu7kp

Consumer Cellular has what you need. A simple phone, with camera, for $50, and $20 per month for unlimited talk.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Disconnect/change a battery in a Volvo. If you've done it, you know...

Never had a problem with my '87 760 GLE with the v-6 or with my '98 S-70; Just gotta have the radio code written down somewhere handy.

 

[opos]

Not about cars but about high tech phones...my wife had a birthday a while back and asked for a phone to just make calls..to send an occasional text and to take a picture now and then...and that was it....none of the smart phone mish mash...I tried and tried to find what she wanted and finally had to resort to being a bit creative....here is a picture of what I got for her

https://imgur.com/uJbu7kp

Consumer Cellular has what you need. A simple phone, with camera, for $50, and $20 per month for unlimited talk.

Thanks...I think you missed the picture I posted...just a joke folks..

 

[pisgah]

Not about cars but about high tech phones...my wife had a birthday a while back and asked for a phone to just make calls..to send an occasional text and to take a picture now and then...and that was it....none of the smart phone mish mash...I tried and tried to find what she wanted and finally had to resort to being a bit creative....here is a picture of what I got for her

https://imgur.com/uJbu7kp

Consumer Cellular has what you need. A simple phone, with camera, for $50, and $20 per month for unlimited talk.

Thanks...I think you missed the picture I posted...just a joke folks..

Yeah, I know -- but no joke to folks like my 86-year-old mom who was recently duped, after asking for the simplest phone and cheapest service they offer, into a 24-month contract with Verizon requiring her to pay $76 a month for service, plus over $100 a month for a $600 smart phone she couldn't even figure out how to answer. Her 2 attorney children and her attorney son-in-law have filed suit on her behalf, and we really don't care how it comes out because it'll end up costing them a heckuva lot more than they would have made off of her either way.

 

[blume357]

I new we were all going to hell when a number of years ago to upgrade a software program they required a 15 digit password..... I mean who in the computer industry came up with the 'idea' that 14 digits would be just too easy to counterfeit? Most of my billing accounts, like electric and gas, have an account number that is so long.. there aren't that many people on the planet!

 

[roarindan51]

I said to my wife the other day... I can't imagine my grandparents coming back and trying to function with todays do-dads and gee-gaws

 

[Colonialgirl]

I said to my wife the other day... I can't imagine my grandparents coming back and trying to function with todays do-dads and gee-gaws

Our GREAT Grand parents would probably wet themselves when they went to a market and the door flew open without being touched.

 

[Colonel Daddy]

YUP!! I'm technology challenged. A GPS is foreign to me, that's why my wife always sets it up and keys in the destination. Then, maybe........I can follow the map! :mrgreen:

 

[coach]

If you ever have to travel to different locations including local, not so local and flying to different cities a GPS is a Godsend. I’d probably still be trying to find the airport in somewhere. The $150 sounds a bit steep for an update, but they have you by the short hairs with their vehicle.