BMW's Nav system is HORRIBLE! How can I reprogram/replace it?

I have a 2007 550i with the BMW Nav system. IT SUCKS!!!!! I wish I could rip out the Nav system and replace it with a Garmin GPS.

About 95% of locations that I want to find are BY NAME, NOT BY ADDRESS!! This freakin' BWM GPS Nav system WILL NOT allow me to SEARCH by NAME for a business. WHY? I don't know, because the names are already there in the database on the DVD--they're what show when I do a "general" search for all restaurants, for example, near my location, so why they didn't, and STILL DON'T incorporate a name search is completely ludicrous.

Does anyone know what language the Nav system is programmed in? I'd be happy to reprogram it for free for them just so I could get to where I need to go without having to know a street address, city, or zip code.

Which MORONS at BMW think this is acceptable??

I had to buy a Garmin Nuvi just to be able to look up locations by name.

Can anyone get the message to programmers and senior management at BMW? I can't make it past the customer service reps.

Shame on you BMW for providing and charging so much money for a severely handicapped Nav system!

Reply » BMW's Nav system is HORRIBLE! How can I reprogram/replace it?

Quote:

Dude I would say you realy got a problem but then again it might be you. Do a search, some of us have minor problems but nothing like you are describing BMW might have to stop offering the Nav as a option to stay in business.
Cheers
vern

Reply » BMW's Nav system is HORRIBLE! How can I reprogram/replace it?

You're supposed to go under information, then by city, then whatever subject you want to search under, than you can search by name. I haven't heard that type of complaint yet about the nav, hehe (although I've heard many other complaints). You should take the nav out of your car, and put in a garmin nuvi in place of the i-drive screen, that will help the resell value of your car as well.

Reply » BMW's Nav system is HORRIBLE! How can I reprogram/replace it?

Vern,

Thanks for the reply. I've checked with the tech support at BMW a few times. There is absolutely NO way to do a search by name for a business. When I asked them, this was their reply:

Quote:

Thank you for your patience as I researched your inquiry. Your satisfaction is our goal and I believe I have further information that will help to resolve your navigation issue.

Your BMW navigation system is destination rather than directory based. In order to locate points of interest, you must first select a destination. Once a destination has been chosen, then a comprehensive list of restaurants, hotels and the like will be available to you.

I can't believe that all of the BMW drivers in the United States who use their Nav systems use it that way primarily. That's nice if you're undecided, don't know where you want to go, and want to pull up a "comprehenisve" list of everything within a few miles of where you're currently driving, but it's useless otherwise.

Here's a perfect example:
You're in your car talking on your cell phone to your friends about meeting up with them for dinner. They say, "We're thinking of meeting at 'Beni Hana' in Mission Valley," (which is maybe 15 minutes / 12 miles from where you are). You were previously driving around furniture shopping in an unfamilar part of the city, and you aren't familar with the restaurant's location, so you want to bring up your Nav system, input the [partial] name, and have the GPS present to you a list of all Beni Hana (names) within 30-200 miles. You select the one you want based on distance and directional arrow pointing which way to head.

Currently on the BMW Nav system you have to bring up the information menu, select from the list to search for restaurants, select the "type" of restaurant (best guess is needed, but often times the listings don't always appear within groups where you'd intuitively expect to find them), scroll through a HUGE COMPREHENISVE list (while driving, mind you) of every restaurant within 15 miles of your location and hope you find it.

Are you telling me that I'm part of a minority group of people because while I'm driving I decide I want to go somewhere, like a Comp USA, or a Taco Bell, or a specifically named business--a place where I hardly ever know the street address, and want to use the Nav system to find it BY NAME without have to search through pages of listings on the Nav screen? There's no one else who else does this?

Reply » BMW's Nav system is HORRIBLE! How can I reprogram/replace it?

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You should take the nav out of your car, and put in a garmin nuvi in place of the i-drive screen, that will help the resell value of your car as well.

Don't laugh, but the Garmin Nuvi rests perfectly in front of the iDrive nav screen if you have the Nuvi's antenna at about the 135-degree "click-stop" position.

iDrive GPS Navigation should have a search by name. Every other handheld/portable (car) GPS has it. Audi has it (not that I'm a fan of Audi), but my best friend owns an Audi 8L, and though the "look" of his GPS system is outdated, at least he can find a business within 30 seconds by name.

Reply » BMW's Nav system is HORRIBLE! How can I reprogram/replace it?

I have the same complaint withe the nav in my 650i. What bugs me more is the nav in my 2002 BMW M5 allowed an alpbetized lookup by city. Why take the feature away?

Their response is absurd. Just the other day, I wanted to go to a Macaroni Grill in Winston Salem. If you know the street and approx location (address or cross street) you can program that destination and then search for "information on destination". The list provided is sorted by distance from that destination. If you search for "information on new destination" the stupid thing pulls up a list as soon as you enter the city name. It's sorted by distance from the center of the city. There are 100s of restaurants in Winston Salem. How the heck do they expect someone to find it that way???

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