Navigation SD Card Disappointment

Pitter

Pitter
Contributor
:
2020 CX-5 Signature Azul Metalico
My non US 2020 model Signature did not come with the Mazda navigation SD card so purchased it apart. Very expensive. To my huge disappointment it only provides street names/numbers in the city and major highways. It shows all the rural roads well enough but un named. In comparison WAZE is vastly better naming everything short of donkey tracks. The problem with WAZE though is you can't use voice commands to find radio stations while it is connected to your cel phone.
 
Maybe. My understanding rom the dealer is that the card isn/t Colombia specific but is supposed to serve for all or at least many South American countries. Seems like that would be asking a lot of the system. Also there may be a reason apart from cost cutting that Mazda no longer supplies the card on new vehicles.
 
Another potential weird issue to be aware of with the OEM SD card: The infotainment in my son's Mazda 3 kept rebooting when the weather got well below freezing here in PA. It would work fine above freezing. After Googling the symptoms, it appears to be a recurring issue across other Mazda models as well. The solution was to remove the SD card & the rebooting stopped. Other's had the SD card replaced under warranty. My son's was out of warranty when this happened.

This will be my first winter with my GTR. I'm curious to see if I see anything similar. Mine is garage kept. My son's stayed outside all the time.
 
Another potential weird issue to be aware of with the OEM SD card: The infotainment in my son's Mazda 3 kept rebooting when the weather got well below freezing here in PA. It would work fine above freezing. After Googling the symptoms, it appears to be a recurring issue across other Mazda models as well. The solution was to remove the SD card & the rebooting stopped. Other's had the SD card replaced under warranty. My son's was out of warranty when this happened.

Was it the card reader that was affected by the cold, or the card itself? If the latter, can't you just buy a new card for $5 and copy the files over?
 
Was it the card reader that was affected by the cold, or the card itself? If the latter, can't you just buy a new card for $5 and copy the files over?

I honestly don*t know. I also believe I read somewhere that you can*t copy the OEM SD to a generic SD. I don*t remember why.
 
You can copy the card and run the infotainment on a backup card as long as the backup is made after the OEM card is registered and linked to the vehicle (happens at around 100km driving with the card installed).

Do the updates on the original card thru Mazda Toolbox app. When complete close the app. I then eject the card and flip the read only toggle on the card (to make sure I don't accidentally delete or overwrite anything, skip this step if you want). Copy all of the card's contents to another SD card that's been freshly formatted. Put the OEM card in your file / storage and put the "backup" card back into the car.

That backup card will still only work in that one single vehicle. You can't copy it and use it in other Mazda's that do not have a card.

I did it this way on my '17 3 and CX-5. Haven't done it yet on my 6 as I haven't bothered to update the maps yet.
 
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So, another question on these navigation cards... I just ordered a Nav SD card off eBay for our new CX-5. When does the "3year free map update" period start? And what happens once those 3 years are up? Can you just buy a new card and start over? Or do you have to purchase updates on the original card (and how much are they)?

I tried searching for answers to the above but couldn't find anything.
 
It*s active from the first time you do an update using your PC. I updated my wife*s card a year after she purchased her CX-9 (the June 2019 update using Mazda tools) and it says her 3 years are up in June 2022.
 
It*s active from the first time you do an update using your PC. I updated my wife*s card a year after she purchased her CX-9 (the June 2019 update using Mazda tools) and it says her 3 years are up in June 2022.

Ahhh, very interesting, thanks. That's good to know.

Any idea about what happens when it does expire (i.e. how to renew)?
 
Once your three years are up you have two choices. You can either buy a new Nav card or you can pay to update your old card. When you put the card with the expired maps in your computer and run the Mazda Toolbox, it will give you the option to pay for an update. Don't know what the cost is though.
 
Pitter, your issue must be a regional thing.

Mine gives the cross-street name every time. That's one thing I like about the OEM NAV.
If there is not a cross-street coming up "soon," the banner at top of the screen goes back to displaying radio & phone data.
 
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