Last week, my wife's 2010 Mazda 3 transitioned from the "I'm paid off so I'll nickel and dime you" phase to the "It's probably not safe to drive and a waste of time to fix" phase. So, we traded it in on this:
It's a 2018 Mazda CX-5 Touring with AWD. While we both love the thing, one annoyance that we have is with the Mazda Connect infotainment system, aka the "tablet glued to the dash".
While it offers a whole bunch of useful info and does well at doing radio things, Mazda didn't feel the need to offer Apple Car Play and Android Auto like most other automakers have been doing for a few years now. They keep saying that it's coming in the future, but there's no definite sign of it actually happening. My wife wants navigation (and so do I), and aside from using a cell phone or external GPS, the only solution I see right now is getting the Mazda SD card that enables the built-in navigation functionality. That can be had for $100 on eBay, but even then, I've read that it's not great.
Then, there's the option of "hacking" the thing. I've read that you can side load Android Auto and some other useful apps by using a USB stick, but that makes me nervous due to voiding the warranty and all that. If there was a way to back up the stock settings and revert back if it needed servicing, that would be cool, but I'm still extremely weary of doing this, as a lot of the car's safety systems run through the thing.
Any suggestions?
Hal
UltraDork
4/16/18 2:12 p.m.
The best navigation available is Google Maps running on some device. All of the factory and aftermarket HU navigation options are usually ~a year behind and can cost as much as $200 to get the latest updates. I have had factory nav in 3 cars and aftermarket in another and much prefer Google Maps.
When I bought a new vehicle in 2015 I did not get the factory Nav. Instead I got a cheap Android tablet and put GM on it. I can also run GM or Apple Maps(good but not as good as GM) on my phone.
You have a lot better chance of getting a software update that enables Android Auto on an '18 than we do on our '15. As soon as the warranty is up, I plan on reflashing with aftermarket software. There's a bunch of neat things you can change/add like a video player, screen cast utility, etc.
https://mazdatweaks.com/
Yea I'd recommend reflashing with aftermarket software. I want a huge fan of the oe sd card gps. It wasn't terrible (liked it better than the Toyota factory gps) but it wasn't as good as Google maps lol. I do love that interior setup though. Also theoretically you should be able to get it soon since I'm pretty sure the 2019 Yaris sedan has apple car play.
I'm still weary about reflashing it with aftermarket software because nearly everything the car does goes through this thing. All the safety systems, body and powertrain control, etc... it all goes through there. If it's easy to revert back to stock, I'll probably do it at some point.
Our '14 has some really annoying quirks and shortcomings in the system, mostly in how it deals with connection to ipods/digital music players. The NAV is done by TomTom, and I have to say it's one of my favorites I've ever used. I actually like it as well as Gmaps, maybe better. It gives alternate routes that seem to match my preferences and it does really well at calling turns and getting me the info I need just when I need it. Probably my retardations just sync with its retardations, but that's kind of the point.
I've used the Mazda nav software a fair bit, it's not bad at all. Spend the $100 for a pirated one or $400-ish for a legit SD card and you'll probably find yourself using it. It is fully integrated into the car.
Safety systems, body/powertrain control do NOT go through the infotainment system. It's tied into them, but it's not a hub. If you brick it the car will still work. I've messed around with the 2016 units by logging in via SSH, but you don't seem to be able to do that on the newer variants.
Ultraclyde, there have been updates. The older stuff had some weird Bluetooth problems, that's fixed in the newer versions.
Yeah, I need to get it in for those and some TSBs. Particularly worried about the one regarding Japanese spiders colonizing the gas tank vents, LOL.
