I have the factory gps, and honestly it is a waste. My biggest complaint is that it doesn't upload contact addresses, so you still have to manually enter them.
Plus the little screen that pops up in the radio is missing info.
Mine works ok. It's a little slow and had to get used to it. You have to enter state, city, street, house #.You can't say it all together. That's the man thing I don't like about it.
I had the dealer upgrade my radio with the navigation for an extra fee of $585. Not sure whether it was worth it or not but I no longer have to have a unit sliding around on my dash so that is a good thing. Don't let them charge you any more than that for what I was told takes two hours to do with you truck engine idling outdoors. They need the satellite access and it is too damn hot in South Louisiana to not run the AC.
Personally, almost $600 is way too much for the in dash convenience. Maybe 10 years ago. You can get a stand alone GPS withe lifetime map updates for $100. Ram will charge like $160+ for each map update. You can buy a laptop for the amount of money they want to charge for this upgrade and one update.
Also, the added GPS on the 8.4A does not have all of the same exact features that the 8.4AN does.
It doesn't take 2 hours, more like 10 minutes. Nothing needs to be installed, the entire system is in your truck already, only an unlock code has to be entered to activate the nav. It goes like this: Client pays for the navigation upgrade at the dealership. Chrysler tech-line called by them and upon the proof of payment they get the unlock code. Tech enters the code, pulls the truck out from the shop to get clear view to sky, navigation is activated.
No way would i pay that kind of money for that... HUGE waste of money...PERIOD...!
Ther are far better units out ther for far less money, and you can take it from vehicle to vehicle.
Even my smart phone has GPS maps, and that didnt cost me a dime.
I don't use it all that often, but I still like having nav built in. I also don't use a lot of other features, but I appreciate them when needed. Things like a heated steering wheel, cooled seats, remote start etc all make the truck more fun and enjoyable. Where I live the fog can render visibility near zero and I love having the map pulled up to reference upcoming curves and stops.
After all the initial hassle with my truck, I got the NAV upgrade for free, so I think its worth it. That said, I have only used it once (installed 2 days ago) and it worked very well. I even went down wrong roads to see how long to re-direct and it was quite quick. So far so good.
I would advise you to save your money. I have NAV in my 14 and a GARMIN that sets on the dash. I would say you only have a 60% chance of either being correct. Use a map if possible. In a city I will try NAV/GPS because there is no other option. Just be aware that you may be pointed in the wrong direction if it even lets you enter the address. I prefer the unit that sets on the dash. You can keep your eyes on the road while you look at it. And, it doesn't keep interrupting the radio with directions, your wife can try to enter address while the truck is moving and you can update your GARMIN (for what good it will do) any time you want from your computer - free. Not so with NAV.
Mine hasn't let me down. I did get it thrown in on the deal because of a radio problem. But I was going to buy it for 500. I don't see why you would need to update maps every year. Not that many things change. As far as using it while driving. I use the the steering wheel control. Voice recognition works good. I work out of my truck and use it everyday.
Roads don't change much but hopefully the programing will - errors will be corrected. Tried the VR several times and usually got "I'me sorry I didn't get that". While on a recent trip it couldn't find Amarillo once I passed through Lubbock, had me drive past a restaurant and make a left turn to ???, kept trying to get me off an interstate because of minor road repair with no viable alternative. When I took an alternative route around a lake it wanted me to turn back 75 miles and go the way it wanted. Trying to find a Best Western (from YELP) it took me to a bad part of town - 5 miles from the motel. I am running out of room for all the errors.
I like the factory nav, works well and is a much better unit then my nav in the vette. After having two portable nav's go bad, having the in-dash one under warranty is good.
I do not have NAV activated. I connect my Android phone to the entertainment system via Bluetooth, and use Google Maps. The directions come out the truck's sound system. I don't mind that I can't see the screen, as the phone is on the center console, since the turn-by-turn directions are excellent. I find this works quite well. I'll be experimenting with audio control through "OK Google" in the near future.
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