[minivan]

I love Pacifica way better than my 2011 Odyssey but pne thing i like about Odyssey is Navigation. the Odyssey Navigation highlight traffic and the map is smooter bigger to see than Pacifica. is anybody using another Map beside the factory one? i hope there is an update for a better interface.

 

[generaltso]

A lot of people use Waze on their cell phones. I don't think you're going to see Chrysler change the interface of the factory Nav.

 

[Norbert]

Try the different map themes.

 

[manoli]

Does Gen4 uConnect change this?

 

[generaltso]

Does Gen4 uConnect change this?

Performance is better and you can pinch to zoom, but the interface is the same.

 

[Norbert]

I actually like the Pac's rendering of traffic better than our Ody's. We use the Fiat theme and its pretty clear. Even on our Ody, the traffic line is sometimes hidden by the street line. And they made highways orange so you can't tell the red traffic line from the highway.

 

[Alt19851]

Just went on a trip from Philly to Cleveland and back in a Limited.
The Nav's shortcomings were numerous. It tried to take us off the PA TPK to Altoona, why I have no idea; it's eta was initially 45 minutes later than what Google Maps showed which proved to be right on. It's analysis of traffic is primitive compared to Google Maps. Going into a strip Mall it had us enter a bank parking lot instead of the strip mall lot.
It looks and sounds great, but when getting down to the nitty gritty it is inferior to what else is out there.
If I were Chrysler, I would facilitate allowing Android Auto and the Apple equivalent. Meanwhile, I will always have my smartphone nearby running Android Auto.

 

[Mo Pho]

All car navs are inferior to the smartphone app maps, not just Chrysler. I've found the whole uConnect system to be one of the best I've used, and it has been praised in a lot of reviews. The Nav is decent enough, not the best, not the worst.
I usually use the cars Nav because the graphics visualizing which lane and when to turn is better, plus it's bigger and shows the turns in the center IP. I also use my phone running Waze next to it and use that for real time warnings and to overrule the cars nav for alternate traffic avoidance routes. I've found the ETA is way off between the two initially but seem to converge as I get closer to the destination
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay don't offer Waze, so I am indifferent to it.
The car companies are not that eager to have the CarPlay and AA in their cars because it takes away a source of income for them, but also Apple and Google want access to the cars data [via the apps] and there is a lot of issues with that.

 

[Norbert]

Yea its not as good as Waze but its not terrible, in fact its the same Garmin system people buy as a stand alone GPS system. So how bad could it really be?

 

[Alt19851]

I feel the Nav was better in the 2011 T&C. This one chooses strange routes from time to time. The presentation is excellent but the basic NAV is suspect. I had Android Auto in a Malibu rental recently and I prefer that over what is in the new Pacifica. I am a retired airline Captain and our NAV wasn't beautiful on the 777 or 767; it just worked! In the end with all the competition out there, one auto company will get it right and that will increase their market share. Then everyone else will follow suit. My bet is the one who pursues hiring the brains behind Google Maps or Android Auto.

 

[Norbert]

Hey Alt. I once rented a car from silvercar.com and all their cars are loaded Audi A4s and it actually used google maps as a nav system. Of course it had an LTE connection at all times so I don't know how much that's costing people that actually own Audis. Put it was cool to see google maps on the nav screen. The one or two times it couldn't get a signal it defaulted to the build in map.

 

[manoli]

My bet is the one who pursues hiring the brains behind Google Maps or Android Auto.

Funny you should mention that. Chrysler is working with Google on an Android 7.0 based uConnect system. Since it's Andoid it will run Google Maps natively. They previewed it on a Chrysler 300 at the Detroit auto show in January.

 

[kshermy]

Not a Fan

I consider the Nav system to be the weakest feature on my Pacifica (which I love).

I did want an on-board map system for when cell coverage fails and understood this car-centric system would never likely to be a match for cloud augmented Google or Waze smarts (my current favs). But this system is slow to load, picks poor route choices, has bazaar inefficient routing for minor and non-existent traffic issues, displays only 5 random street names at a time, etc and etc.

I would be happy to ditch this system for the described Audi rollover from Google to car maps when cell fails. If somebody knows a way to get to that dream world I would love to hear about it.

 

[jhopster]

I have not been able to figure out how to search for a POI outside of my near proximity. Also that it doesn't detect a passenger is in vehicle and allow to enter an address while the vehicle was in motion. It would be nice if there was a prompt asking if you were the passenger if weight is detected in that seat. Send N go also doesn't work if the phone is in the car and vehicle is in motion. This is my first van with Nav so its possible I just don't know how to use it yet.

 

[dcpacifica]

I have not been able to figure out how to search for a POI outside of my near proximity. Also that it doesn't detect a passenger is in vehicle and allow to enter an address while the vehicle was in motion. It would be nice if there was a prompt asking if you were the passenger if weight is detected in that seat. Send N go also doesn't work if the phone is in the car and vehicle is in motion. This is my first van with Nav so its possible I just don't know how to use it yet.

I had no problems using the uconnect send-to-car feature while in motion (yes, I was in passenger seat). It's the only way I've found to search for a location more than a 2 mile radius from the Pacifica. Are you on iPhone or Android? Wife and I use same account on each of our droids, but it certainly sucks if we aren't on the same road trip.

 

[jhopster]

I had no problems using the uconnect send-to-car feature while in motion (yes, I was in passenger seat). It's the only way I've found to search for a location more than a 2 mile radius from the Pacifica. Are you on iPhone or Android? Wife and I use same account on each of our droids, but it certainly sucks if we aren't on the same road trip.

I use an android Moto Z, Soon as I get to a certain speed on the send and go screen it tells me the this function is disabled while vehicle is in motion. or something similar to that. To me that has been the most frustrating part of the Nav. I get it that the driver doesn't need any distractions. Even the voice commands are pretty lousy. If I can't send it from the screen, then I should be able to tell the system where I want to go vocally.

 

[generaltso]

To me that has been the most frustrating part of the Nav.

You could check with Customtronix and see if they're selling a basic version of their RAX Jailbreaker software for the Pacifica yet. A lot of things don't work with it yet, but Nav input while in motion is one of the things that does work.

 

[CenTexas]

Yea its not as good as Waze but its not terrible, in fact its the same Garmin system people buy as a stand alone GPS system. So how bad could it really be?

It might be sold to FCA by Garmin, but my 5 year old $99 Garmin hand unit is infinitely better than what is in my 2017 LTD.

 

[Red MC]

I consider the Nav system to be the weakest feature on my Pacifica (which I love).

I did want an on-board map system for when cell coverage fails and understood this car-centric system would never likely to be a match for cloud augmented Google or Waze smarts (my current favs). But this system is slow to load, picks poor route choices, has bazaar inefficient routing for minor and non-existent traffic issues, displays only 5 random street names at a time, etc and etc.

I would be happy to ditch this system for the described Audi rollover from Google to car maps when cell fails. If somebody knows a way to get to that dream world I would love to hear about it.

Google Maps allows you to save or preload maps for offline navigation, so as long as you plan ahead you don't need a backup system for when you're out of cell coverage. See here:

https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6291838?co=GENIE.Platform=Android&hl=en

I can't wait until all the auto manufacturers are on board with Android Auto and Car Play. I don't like buying a car with a big 7" or 8" info screen and then searching for a place to mount my cell phone.

 

[IOUZIP]

ProClipUSA makes a great mount that snaps on. I have a tablet with 4g and can run Waze or Google. Took a 600 mile trip and used the tablet all the way. Better traffic and police notifications. I use a 7" Samsung Tab 4 and a swivel mount. I find I use the builtin NAV less and less.

http://www.proclipusa.com/dashboard-mounts/vehicle/chrysler/pacifica/2016-2018/proclip-angled-mount-855234-13383.cmsv?p_leftorright=0