2016 CX-9 Compass and other useless features

SDL said:
Thanks for the explanation. This is my first car with fog lights. I rarely use them. I've also read it was illegal in some places to drive with them on, but I see people driving with fog lights on all the time. Also, I have seen lots of vehicles use them as day time running lights.
Click to expand...

Hey, I totally agree with you in terms of seeing a lot of vehicles with fog lights on without the need for them (weather clear) and I maybe guilty of it sometimes but in our province it is not illegal so in case I forget to turn them off then I am not worried. I do however like that the CX9 has it and even wished it had rear fog lights just like my previous Volvo SUV but that's just a wish...
 
SDL said:
I never said it wasn't a good car.

Based on my experience, the traffic updates are not coming from the HD radio (read my post above). If you can point me to the documentation where it says it does, I'll be forever grateful as I'll be more incline to trust the detour prompt. Unfortunately, the experiences that I've had just suggest that is using historical GPS data. Again, I haven't see where this is documented. When I spoke to Mazda about it, they told me I had to go into the HD radio app to look at traffic updates.

Regarding the sun coordinates 22.5 degrees? I think from my video it shows more like 45 degrees. Take a second look. The compass display DEFINITELY does not show NNE, ENE, ESE, SSE, SSW, WSW, WNW, NNW. It only rotates in 45 degrees increments from what I can see so NW, SW, SE, NE.
And while the the sun does not always set W, you CANNOT tell me that if sets with that much margin of error. At solstice? Maybe. Not during this time of the year. Again, look at the video, I'm driving where the compass shows W and the sun is a good 40-45 degrees to my left.

My comment about fog lights were that unless you have the headlights on, you cannot use them. I particularly like that they're hidden, but under heavy fog conditions, having your headlights on would reflect a lot of the light back at you - I thought the point of the fog lights was to use them instead of the headlights to avoid such hard light bouncing back? I now read that is more likely for vehicles in front of you.
Click to expand...
Fog lights is most countries is used as a cosmetic item and is normally only available on highest trims but is not only used for incoming drivers to see you better but designed for use at low speed to increase the illumination directed towards the road surface and verges in conditions of poor visibility due to rain, fog, dust or snow.(*)

Driving from Mexico city to tuxpan, Veracruz show me how important is the fog light. In a 2 way one single lane Highway (on go one back) and extremely heavy fog at 9sm when I barely see 10 meters front, I had better wide view with my fog lamps. We was driving very low due to bad conditions and fog lights allow us to see the highway bettee because normal / high beam lights fades into the snow very quickly. I was able to see incoming vehicles easier if they had fog lights. Most drivers turn emergency yellow blinking light as well.

I had a Volvo s40 with rear fog lights. Btw rear fog lights at least in the volvo are only present in the rear left side of the car and you can of course turn it off.

Enviado desde mi Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
 
USB in the armrest console does not charge phone (we've only have iPhones), it syncs but does not charge.
 
Mazda gave me a 2016 CX-9 off the lot which had a $35,499 sticker on the window with no leather, not Navi. I say no Navi because when I hit the button a compass popped up on the screen. Who uses a compass? I wasn't hiking, just wanted to get to the Convention Center.

The foglights on my Grand Touring don't stand a chance with the HID / LED combo headlamps. Although since it looked hideous with those stock bulbs I changed them to LED's to match. They don't do anything but look cool.

I find the sunglasses holder to be a waste, it's so small in there nobody in family can get there sunglasses in there. I use it to hold packs of gum.

I also find the power supply in the 3rd row of my 2015 to be such a waste. Should have put it in the second row not behind the 3rd row.

Mazda should have put the A/C vents in the ceiling for 2nd and 3rd row passengers. When someone is in the 3rd row (mostly my kid) he's dying with no A/C. My 2012 Traverse had A/C vents in the ceiling.

Here are before / after pics of the fog lights.

BEFORE
Mazda LED After by https://www.flickr.com/photos/143276860@N04/, on Flickr

AFTER
Mazda LED Before by https://www.flickr.com/photos/143276860@N04/, on Flickr
 
It charges both of our iPhones at the same time. Not fast, but does charge.
 
SDL said:
What are some of the features you think the 2016 has that only look good on paper? I can think of two:

1) Compass (I realize no one uses this, but still, the way it works it's ridiculous) You can see in the short video below, the compass is pointing West in the direction I'm moving, but the sun is setting about 45 degrees from where the compass thinks it's west

Mazda CX-9 Compass
Click to expand...
Then drive around in circles in an empty cat Park until it calibrates.
Photoshop an alternate hemisphere etc likely at play in that image.

SDL said:
2) Traffic Updates
Every time I get a "Detour" alert due to heavy traffic ahead, I laugh on the inside. I don't think it has a way of knowing if there is traffic or not. It simply uses historical data. Meaning, if you drove route A and that day there was an accident, now it thinks traffic is slow all the time so next time it will suggest route B instead.
Click to expand...
The data is sent over the radio waves. This is not how this works.

SDL said:
3) Fog lights
I rarely use these, but what's the point? They can only be on when the headlights are on and I don't think they improve visibility that much. Haven't driven under heavy fog conditions, but I would imagine the bright headlights would reflect a lot of light back. It would be more useful if it could be turned on without turning on the headlights.
Click to expand...
Fog lights. Until you've lived in foggy old England don't knock em.

So low beam headlights plus fogs is how you drive in the fog.

The low beam identify you to other drivers as normal.

The fogs are low and light the road for objects etc. You only need max of 20w of light for fogs so small led are perfect.

The bcu should switch the fogs off on high beam anyway as that makes no sense.

Let's go to Wikipedia for a god description.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_lighting
Extract said:
Front fog lamps

[https://upload]

ISO symbol for front fog lamps[4]

Front fog lamps provide a wide, bar-shaped beam of light with a sharp cutoff at the top, and are generally aimed and mounted low.[14][15]*They may produce white or*selective yellow*light, and were designed for use at low speed to increase the illumination directed towards the road surface and verges in conditions of poor visibility due to*rain,*fog,*dust*or*snow.

They are sometimes used in place of dipped-beam headlamps, reducing the glare-back from fog or falling snow, although the legality varies by jurisdiction of using front fog lamps without low beam headlamps.

[https://upload]

Selective yellow*fog lamps

In most countries, weather conditions rarely necessitate the use of fog lamps, and there is no legal requirement for them, so their primary purpose is frequently cosmetic. They are often available as optional extras or only on higher trim levels of many cars. An SAE study has shown that in the United States more people inappropriately use their fog lamps in dry weather than use them properly in poor weather.[16]*Because of this, use of the fog lamps when visibility is not seriously reduced is often prohibited in most jurisdictions; for example, in New South Wales, Australia:

"The driver of a vehicle must not use any fog light fitted to the vehicle unless the driver is driving in fog, mist or under other atmospheric conditions that restrict visibility."[17]

The respective purposes of front fog lamps and driving lamps are often confused, due in part to the misconception that fog lamps are necessarily selective yellow, while any auxiliary lamp that makes*white*light is a driving lamp. Automakers and aftermarket parts and accessories suppliers frequently refer interchangeably to "fog lamps" and "driving lamps" (or "fog/driving lamps").
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
ZzRicezZ said:
I think you just proved my point, it for other drivers. Trust me you wouldn't see much with fog lights when you are driving that fast. It only lights up the ground around you for a few meters. I have hid fog lights in my Honda prelude and that my experience with it.
Click to expand...
Driving fast in fog causes airbag deployment and premature death of the car.
 
The traffic updates in your 2016+ CX-9 are based on historical data ONLY. Mazda built in real-time updates into the nav software but then decided not to pay the provider (Total Traffic Network) for incident data. The only thing you get is the RDS-TMC map under "apps", if you're in a coverage area.

It's a really stupid call on their part, imo.
 
Some people say that the updates work from the HD radio; however, I am yet to see any documentation describing such thing. I drove 3 hours today on a rental car, so I had to use my phone with Google maps and I had to take two detours to avoid some pretty bad accidents. I'm 100% sure that Mazda's navigation would have send me straight to the traffic jam
 
tex2670 said:
That's what I was thinking--he is saying that he had a '16 from the dealer, but it didn't compare to the '15 he actually owns. I think.
Click to expand...

Yeah I had a 2016 and really wanted to buy one but the 4 cylinder I couldn't deal with, didn't like the sound of it. Not saying it's a bad motor or anything just not for me.

Does the 2016 come with AC vents in the ceiling? The one I had didn't but if it does than my complaint is not valid. The 2016 I had also came with the stupid compass instead of Navi and for $35K used that's not acceptable.

I think my points are still valid regardless of the 2015 model I own.
 
jpjr50 said:
Yeah I had a 2016 and really wanted to buy one but the 4 cylinder I couldn't deal with, didn't like the sound of it. Not saying it's a bad motor or anything just not for me.

Does the 2016 come with AC vents in the ceiling? The one I had didn't but if it does than my complaint is not valid. The 2016 I had also came with the stupid compass instead of Navi and for $35K used that's not acceptable.

I think my points are still valid regardless of the 2015 model I own.
Click to expand...
SUV don't usually come with ceiling vents. That's a Minivan thing. The lower roof line has no space for it.
 
SDL said:
Some people say that the updates work from the HD radio; however, I am yet to see any documentation describing such thing. I drove 3 hours today on a rental car, so I had to use my phone with Google maps and I had to take two detours to avoid some pretty bad accidents. I'm 100% sure that Mazda's navigation would have send me straight to the traffic jam
Click to expand...

I've spoken with a number of people at Mazda, and I also worked for Total Traffic Network. I'm intimately familiar with the way RDS TMC works. I can confirm that, at least in North America, they do NOT get live traffic updates into the nav system. The system IS loaded with historical traffic data, which will definitely help if you're in a new city and don't understand daypart specific traffic patterns... otherwise, it's totally useless.
 
snapbox said:
I've spoken with a number of people at Mazda, and I also worked for Total Traffic Network. I'm intimately familiar with the way RDS TMC works. I can confirm that, at least in North America, they do NOT get live traffic updates into the nav system. The system IS loaded with historical traffic data, which will definitely help if you're in a new city and don't understand daypart specific traffic patterns... otherwise, it's totally useless.
Click to expand...

So are you saying it's loading with historical data from other drivers? I've really only noticed historical data from roads where I've hit traffic in the past.
 
SDL said:
So are you saying it's loading with historical data from other drivers? I've really only noticed historical data from roads where I've hit traffic in the past.
Click to expand...

It *should* be loaded with historical data that was provided to Mazda by Total Traffic (not just collected from other drivers, but roadway sensors/commercial vehicle tracking etc) - and likely part of the nav map updates if Mazda is doing their job. With that being said, I've also occasionally noticed it come up on roads where I drive a lot, and I don't think I've seen it elsewhere.

The whole traffic system is a cluster - many other manufacturers have been getting that part right for YEARS (live traffic was introduced back in 2008). If not provided by RDS-TMC, then at least go with SiriusXM (data also compiled by Total Traffic and delivered via the satellite receiver.) The car already has Sirius built in, it would've been a logical next step.
 
This is something I noticed the other day... The Navigation has 3 views: 3D, 2D, and 2D N - This is 2D North UP - Seems like it's pointing somewhere where else (The compass is right - Nav system isn't)

8NsZ5Jm.jpg
 
Based on your settings, this is correct.
The nav map does have North up. The the arrow shows your direction of travel.
If you (mentally) rotate the compass display "left" to where the "N" is also facing north, you'll see that the pictured vehicle is traveling in the same direction as the arrow on the nav display.
 
Turborascal said:
Based on your settings, this is correct.
The nav map does have North up. The the arrow shows your direction of travel.
If you (mentally) rotate the compass display "left" to where the "N" is also facing north, you'll see that the pictured vehicle is traveling in the same direction as the arrow on the nav display.
Click to expand...

Aaaah..I see!!
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

SmileyDrive
2015 CX-9 Low Beam Light Socket
Replies
0
Views
747
SmileyDrive
SmileyDrive
shawnee
CX-9 Headlight Adjustment
Replies
7
Views
6K
b1gfish39
b1gfish39
M
Replacing Door Applique (2016 CX-9)
Replies
2
Views
2K
morenar
M

Latest posts

Back