It is called being credible and that is somehting that you are not at this point. As I have pointed out, yes, the NAV could use a better POI search. I don't find the current system "broken" as you put it, but I do think that it could use some work. That being said, you have posted about talking to a dealer whom informed me that they have heard of no such thing. I spoke to a German friend of mine that works for BMW and he has heard of no such thing and now I am trying to get the information for the lawyer to which you refuse to post.

I'm guessing you are just full of it and just like to whine. I now have zero faith in anything that you have posted.

 

daflake,
That is just great, goodbye!!

wheeeeeeooaoaaa!! Glad that is done.

Now, DID MINI FIX the problem yet?

 

Could use some work? hmmmm...... sounds like broken to me!!

See, if it weren't broken, it wouldn't need work now would it?

If you want to discuss the 100 or so other things on the Nav software that are just stupid, and should be changed, fine. But that thread is in stock problems, "Software Changes Needed". You know, things like if you search for something, and actually find it somehow by a complete strike of luck, then it would be nice if you could Save it to the address book, without first having to Click Navigate to it, wait for the system to calculate the route, then display the map, then you go back to the menu's and view the history of places visited, then select the place again, then select Save to Address book. Now that is just dumb of the software to work this way, but that is not broken. At least it works. And I could list at least 50 to 100 of these type of dumb things that should be changed in the software. Those are what leads me to believe there was NO testing done on this system whatsoever. None!

But the POI search problem, is BROKEN and needs FIXED, plain and simple, it doens't work.

 

I just read this whole thread (whew). I should note that I have the first gen Nav, so I'm used to this "issue".

Is the factory nav overpriced? Yep, sure, definitely. I guess that's why it's not a huge selling option.

Could it work better? Without a doubt.

But is it "broken"? Sorry Birdman, I just don't see your point. It's not designed the way you would prefer it to be, but I still don't see how it's "broken".

I get that you're mad about spending a large amount only to be dissapointed. I was dissapointed in mine too, and yours does things that mine can only dream about. But I don't see where MINI owes you anything. The system in your car works as well as the one in the showroom.

And no, I dont work for MINI...

 

i'm not mad at all about spending alot of money. I'm lucky enough to have plenty. I'm mad that MINI/BMW, a HUGE mulitbillion dollare large corporation is bullying customers around, and not at all supporting their product.

You know, your right. I should just sit back and be quiet. Why complain?? What right do I, as a paying customer have in asking a large company to fix a problem with a product the sold me? Shame on me!!! In fact, why ask George Bush for explanation on why we went to war? What the heck are we thinking?? We should just sit back and let the powerful people and companies of the world run things. They do such a grat job, why bother them.

Ok, I'll stop complaining. You guys are right!! Thanks for enlightening me.

 

Wow, you've seen a Nav system (other than the Garmin Nuvi! ) in a MINI showroom???

and....it should work as good as the advertisment which states you can search over 6 million POI's as well. But it doesn't. But it will, when they fix it.

 

The government says it put out millions of South Dakota quarters. I can't find one. They obviously lied.....

 

The day I ordered my Mini the dealer had 2 with the Nav system. I spent about 20 minutes in one car checking it out. Neither car were special orders, just ones they brought in to sell on the lot.

 

My 3 local dealer on LI had lots of cars, none with Nav in them. So it wasn't un-reasonabe to assume that if they advertise you can search for over 6 miilion POI's, you would be able to find them in a reasonable manner.

Call me crazy!! But giving somebody a disc full of data of which a large percentage of is stored almost randomly, doesn't seem right, does it?

 

And that's something I didn't spend much time checking. I did search gas stations and some restaurants.

If this thread was here before I ordered, I would have paid a lot more attention to the POI system when I demoed it.

 

Yep, me too.

OfficeMaven, any updates, get anywhere with PMN? Not that I'm rushing you, nudge nudge.....

 

Makes sense. Those are the types of places you'd potentially be interested in finding when you're behind the wheel.

Other types of places could potentially come up, but not very often. And the fact that they're tough to search to without knowing their street address wouldn't make me claim that the NAV system is broken (and certainly not create a thread with a title stating directly that!). I'd definitely point out that the POI UI could use some work, however.

~Neal

 

Call it "Broken", cal it "Needs Work", call it whatever you wish. In any case, MINI should fix it.

When you get your vehicle (or maybe you just picked it up 12/11? good luck by the way, enjoy it, it's a great little car!!), and drive it away, and heaven forbid the paint is lets say faded a little bit on one panel. Is the car "broken", or does it "need work"?

And in that case, if you asked MINI to "fix it" (which of course you would), and they said "No, we think the paint is ok as is". Would you then post a thread titled "MY PAINT IS BROKEN!!"?

I'm 120% sure, you would. And that's exactly what I have done. And I have done all the people on this forum, and current and future owners, a HUGE favor by doing so.

Your welcome.

 

Broken is a very strong word that does not apply in many situations. Perhaps the words "substandard", "cumbersome", "problematic" or "defective" would be better alternatives?

 

The KEY difference, of course, is that the NAV works the EXACT SAME as it did the day it was delivered. That you didn't check the POI function doesn't make it any more broken today than when you ordered it/received it/drove away with it.
Your issue is more like: "I wanted a 5 second car, and this is a 7 second car! FIX IT!" The Nav is no more 'broken' than the engine is 'broken' because you want it to be faster than it is.
That said, I hope your quest is successful.
As others have stated, my primary POI requests have been gas and hotel, which work fine (though I'd rather have fewer clicks to get there.) But I sat in the drivers seat and tested the Nav because I wanted to know how it worked. Before I purchased it.
When you're done getting them to 'fix' the nav, have a go at idrive, would you?

 

I'm not in sales. I've also got other means at my disposal to look this stuff up. So I fully recognize that I'm not predisposed to think the system is a piece of junk if this aspect of things doesn't work. I guarantee you that there will be zero times, in the life of me owning my MINI, that I'll hop behind the wheel and then sit down and try to figure out where the nearest winery or sign store is located. I love technology and all, but not to the point where I'd ever rely only upon my in-car's NAV system to get me to a specific business.

Again, I recognize that others may be in different situations. They are certainly going to be more motivated to get MINI to fix the system. And if their activities means that MINI fixes the system and I get to benefit from that fix, then great!

Still waiting (we had a winter storm which may delay me taking delivery by a day or two), but very excited. About your Q, I don't know that it matters to what extent I'd say that my paint was "broken" or "substandard" or "needs improvement." But (relevant to a thread in the R56 forum), I wouldn't say that MINI as a company was "broken" because I got a bad paint job.

I don't think the comparison is apt, however. Everyone who looks at my car, each time, would see that my fender was the wrong shade of yellow. Every time I sit down to use my car, I'm not going to be left high-in-the-water because I can't use the POI system to navigate to the closest Pep Boys.

This thread is appropriately titled: "POI issues." The one in the Stock Problems/Issues forum that claims "Broken NAV" is so over the top as to be dismissively ridiculous (IMO). It's not a question of "issues" vs. "broken." It's tossing the baby (NAV) out with the bathwater (sometimes-troubling POI search problems).

~Neal

 

Eric,
So in that sense, lets say you take delivery on your car today. You drive away, and everything is hunky dory, great car. A month later it rains for the first time, so hey, flip on the windshield wipers. Hmmmm.... the windshield wipers are not working. Oh well, your tuff luck!! You should have tried them before taking delivery!! In fact, I'm sure you like me, did not turn on the windwhield wipers in the showroom, right? We asume they will wipe the window.

So the fact they installed a "faulty", "substandard", "cumbersome", "problematic" or "defective" wiper motor is now your problem?? The warranty on it is now void and null because you didn't check how the wipers worked in the showroom?

Along the same the same lines, I assumed (bad assumption, I agree!), that I could SEARCH and find things in the POI db, in a "reasonable" manner. Finding things like a winery under Banking and Shopping, does not fall into the reasonable category (no pun intended!).

I do understand the sentiment, "you should have tried it in the showroom....". I agree with that, I should have. But un-foretunitely, I did not have any chance to do so. 3 dealerships in my area, had no nav to look at, and none on order on the way. I even went to a dealer in San Fran during a bidness trip there, and they didn't even have a MINI in the lot, forget one with Nav. But still, just like i nthe case with the malfunctioning wiper, the fact I didn't look at the nav prior to buying it, deosn't mean MINI isn't liable to fix a problem with it.

For some reason, I find people have WAY too much tolerance for software problems. I beleive it comes from the long line of problems Microsoft has had wiht OS relases in the past. When software "malfunctions", as the mini nav is, it is just as broken as when your windshield wiper doesn't work.

 

@Neal,
First, I have never said that MINI as a company is broken. In fact, I have never siad MINI is a bad car, I LOVE the car. What I am saying is, the Navigation system, is broken. And that is fact, un-arguable.

If your windshield wiper motor works, but you have no rubber windshield wiper blade on the wiper itself, the windshield wiper system, as a whole, does not work. Correct? Yes, because you can not turn on your windshield wiper, and clean your windshield, so in this case, the system is broken. Me and you know, it's easily "fixed" by simply instaling a rubber blade, which mini should do at no cost, they are the ones that forgot it. BUT, grandma, might turn it on, here a screeching sound (metal scraping accross the windwhield), and have no idea what the problem is. From her standpoint, it's not an easy problem to fix, or solve. She would need to bring the car to a service center to get serviced, and get the broken windshield wiper system, FIXED.

Likewise, my Nav system works partly. But one part of it, a major part in most peoples minds by the way, does not work. So the system as a whole, is broken, and needs toi be fixed by MINI.

If mini spent 1/10th of the time that has been spent on this thread, they could have fixed the problem already. That's the really sad part.

How about, they just fix the problem, which we all know now is easily fixable, for the simple fact of making 1000's of customers happy?

 

I didn't relaize that I posted this one in a different thread. Thus, I'll go ahead and quote it here just so that it's in this thread as well.

 

Our difference is that you think that this particular issue with the NAV's POI search system is a major component of the NAV. I understand this. I understand that for some users that this is the case. I'm not one of those users.

I didn't say that you called MINI broken. I said that your calling the NAV system as a whole, broken, is just like the guy who created the thread in the R56 coupe forum calling MINI broken becuase of a paint issue he's got. Ironically both of you are claiming that some sort of new web domain will fix the issue. Like MINI is some sort of college football coach or something.

That said, go back and read my last post again, this time with a proper understanding of my analogy. I'm all for getting this issue fixed.

~Neal

 

Read my story about the "broken" windshield wiper. Then you will understand why the Nav system, is broken. Like it or not, the Nav system is broken. That is fact, and NOT arguable. Does some of it work? Yes. Does that make it not broken, NO. If any part of it does not work, it is broken. The search function does not work, so it is broken.

The only question left is, how are we going to get it fixed? And if we can fix it (as Officemaven is), there is ABSOLUTELY, no reason or excuse in the world, that MINI/BMW should not fix it.

I do understand that some folks might not use this function. Like yourself. But some of us folks do, I travel alot, and find myself in alot of towns I know nothing about looking for "things" for various reason (need something, for business, kill some time.....). And for that reason, I bought the Nav. That is what is supposed to do.

 

Where is my popcorn?

 

In the other thread!!

 

Get it while it's hot. Attachment 27493

I wonder if Mini/BMW just doesn't consider the Nav broken. Maybe they don't really car how badly it works. That must be the case or it wouldn't have been shipped in a car.

This problem with POIs was in the 1 gen cars was it not? Seems like they could have fixed it a long time ago if they wanted to.

Attachment 27494

 

I suspect there are going to "want" to, so to speak, pretty soon. ;-)

I could care less if it was in 1st gen, the -1 gen, or even the 3rd gen. I have a 2nd gen R56, and bought it with hard earned money. And I will get what I paid for.