[Lorusteve]

How to check version

i have a 67 plate vitara s, how do i check which version of maps i have installed on the sd card.

 

[jbscot]

At what point did the navigation unit switch from using Bosch maps to Garmin? My 2016 Vitara appears to have Bosch maps -- and no way to install the Garmin.

 

[sub5]

For most of the journeys requiring a satnav, the old (2014?) version is more than adequate. It was rather "interesting" touring North Spain last Autumn though. For journeys when the inbuilt is out of date, I just use Google maps through the phone link-up.

 

[2013GV]

At what point did the navigation unit switch from using Bosch maps to Garmin? My 2016 Vitara appears to have Bosch maps -- and no way to install the Garmin.

about the same time they swapped manufacturers and started fitting Garmin head units. Depending on model and location you could have either a Bosch head unit, or a Garmin, and maps are unit manufacturer specific

 

[jbscot]

about the same time they swapped manufacturers and started fitting Garmin head units. Depending on model and location you could have either a Bosch head unit, or a Garmin, and maps are unit manufacturer specific

Ah so... that is obviously what happened in my case. Thanks for the information. For a minute I thought I was "losing the place".

 

[frupi]

So I thought I'd revisit this thread because I decided to do some research into obtaining a so called 'latest' nav SD card from the famous auction site.

Sure enough, there are sellers offering supposed latest nav SD cards for the Suzuki Vitara. In the photos, they show what they are selling. To all intents and purposes, they look the real deal. I decided to do an experiment and so I used the QR code reader on my iphone to read the QR codes on the labels on the photos of the SD cards for sale. I was really surprised that the QR code reader actually worked scanning the image on the screen of my laptop. It revealed to me, that not a single QR code that I scanned related to a 'latest' map. Some dated from 2015, some from 2017. Another give away was the fact that the QR codes revealed the actual official part number of the copy of the map that was held on the SD card, which almost always differed to the official part number printed on the label of the SD card.

All that aside, my Wife had an offer for a new Tomtom Premium X model which she bought direct from Tomtom for over £100 less than she could buy it from anywhere else. It's a superb bit of kit, much much better than the Suzuki built in nav and of course, bang up to date. Big screen, live traffic, iphone integration etc, well worth the investment. I've inherited her old GO5000 model for use in my day job, so I'm not complaining.

 

[BarnsleyRob]

@frupi

Interesting research. My dealer suggested that the auction versions were ok but on the basis of what you’ve found, I reckon they’re more suited for a replacement stolen card rather than regular updates.

I’ve got the 2019 model and have only used the Suzi satnav once. Nothing wrong with it but I prefer the versatility of Apple CarPlay and Waze.

Rob.

 

[frupi]

Agreed. I personally wouldn't buy one purely because I don't believe the majority of the SD cards being sold, are in fact up to date and this of course is reflected in the price they sell for. The cards probably work fine, but my Wife and I rely on up to date navigation in our day jobs and we also rely heavily on the live traffic aspect that TomTom gives us.

 

[MRmjay]

I bought this item:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2019-202...ZUKI-NAVIGATION-SD-CARD-MAP-EUROPE-SWIFT-SX4-S-CROSS-VITARA-BALENO/362625137894

And it looks genuine and works fine.

With the new SD-Card installed, the satnav shows the following information:

'Data carriet version: Sd2-Suzuki-SLN_EUR_2019 v1'

I am assuming this means that the maps data on the SD-Card is dated 2019.

My unit is the older Bosch SLDA unit, using the Bosch maps SD-Card, obviously. Unlike the Garmin unit, the older Bosch unit does not have the Live Data option, instead it relies on the standard TMC traffic information. The reason this could be important is that I was told that the Live Traffic subscription will only work with an original Garmin SD-Card, but not with a fake or copied SD-Card bought off eBay - but since I don't actually have a Garmin unit, I can't verify this.

And, just to say that with help from other forum members I was able to uodate the firmware on the SatNav/Radio unit to the latest version 1806.2. This is a free download. What I don't know is if the SatNav software (not maps data) gets updated with the firmware update, or it may reside on the SD-Card and gers updated when a new version of the SD-Card is released.

 

[atheling]

Did you manage to connect using Android Auto after the firmware update? Or mirror an Android phone to get Google Maps?

 

[MRmjay]

Did you manage to connect using Android Auto after the firmware update? Or mirror an Android phone to get Google Maps?

Yes, Android Auto works perfectly with my Samsung Galaxy S9.

However I do not use Google Maps so didn't check that particular app.

 

[Jake046]

Sat nav updates

I personally would not bother with any car manufacturers installed sat nav. None are updated more than on an annual basis, making them potentially out of date within weeks. and then they are pretty expensive. Far better to use an app on your phone such as Waze or Co-pilot. If you have Apple car play these apps can be displayed through your cars entertainment screen. Simples!

 

[MRmjay]

I personally would not bother with any car manufacturers installed sat nav. None are updated more than on an annual basis, making them potentially out of date within weeks. and then they are pretty expensive. Far better to use an app on your phone such as Waze or Co-pilot. If you have Apple car play these apps can be displayed through your cars entertainment screen. Simples!

I agree in essence, and mostly use Waze or Apple Maps (via Apple CarPlay and my wife's iPhone), but at the same time I also like to have updated maps on the original satnav unit, for completeness....

 

[Ethanedwards]

Can I just add my vote for Waze too. The built in is a good basic satnav. It'll get you from A to B. I just prefer using Waze on my phone for that and using the single usb socket for an Ipod classic. Pity the system doesn't have two, it makes you choose between music and maps.

 

[Hertssjc]

Hi,

I have a 2016 Swift SZ-L with what i believe is a Garmin head unit. I have an SD card slot that is empty so assume the maps are stored on the HDD of unit. I have tried the process on Garmin Express with no luck. Has there been any breakthroughs on this problem?