What year is your DVD that came with the car? Mine came with a 2002 year disc, even though the Navtech website shows a 2003 disc. You would think that the NAV would be as updated as possible. Indianapolis has had a lot of changes since this disc was made.

Thanks
Eric

i'm not sure what year my cd is for the nav but I do have another question. In the past when I turned on my head lights the nav screen would change to the night color i set. For some reason now, no matter what color I have, the night setting on it doesn't change when I turn my head lights on. Anyone had this same issue?

you need to go into settings and change the day/night color. I also have a 2002 disc.

2002 disc here too

I have changed the day/night colors many times with no luck. I think its broken because when I turn on my headlights the LCD screen flickers slightly. It used to work fine then one day it decided to stop

Take it to the dealer. They'll either show you what you're doing wrong, or they'll see there is a problem and fix it. Let us know how it works out.

at least im not the only one with a 2002 disc. If anybody wants to make a poll, that would be great

Eric

hasg,
Try holding down the Voice button for a couple of seconds and a pop-up menu should appear. From there you can activate or deactivate the auto day/night mode.

Anyone else have trouble with the enter button? It sometimes takes me a couple of times to make it catch (wrong angle, not straight down?). There is also a delay on the initial "legal screen."

How can you tell which disk you have? Mine shows on the case the copyright for 2003. I haven't gone to the car yet and pulled out the actual disk yet.

It takes a few seconds for "enter" to work for me as well upon startup. I think the processor is slow.

Or maybe it's slow because the software is loading from the DVD? (Much much slower than a hard drive.)

When I start my RX-8 I can hear a lot of activity from the DVD drive in the back seat. It's not loud, but I'm sensitive to it since I work with computers all day.

My guess is that the initial delay is caused by the navigation system "booting up".

As for other people's points: I have a 2002 DVD as well, my Day/Night settings works fine, and it did take a bit of practice for me to press down "Enter" correctly.

Oh dang...now I have to check my DVD...

I wouldn't be suprised if its a 2002...I have been to some areas where it doesn't read on the Nav..and they are recently developed areas....

I really don't like the enter button/ergonomics at all. A touch-screen system is much easier to use since you don't EVER have missed or erroneous inputs, and it's more intuitive to keep the hands and eyes in the same vicinity.

Although you can learn the buttons by feel eventually, it is a bit easier and safer to not have to avert your eyes from the road as far for those of us who ignore the warning screen at times.

A birds-eye view would also be nice, ala Nissan.

The retractable feature is cool, my kids love it.

I am really glad I got the nav system. It was a tough decision for the money, but it has come in handy and has a certain fun factor as well.

Once you use one with a touch screen though, that enter button/mouse seems obsolete.

My loaner car also has a tricky enter selction. And I think we should be entitled to a free update to the 2003 disc, what does everyone else think?

I agree it seems silly for a 2004 car to have a 2002 disc. My own neighborhood shows up as a field on the nav screen although I have lived here for just over 2 years. I have also seen times where it would route me around the actual shortest route because the road didnt exist on the map.

Originally posted by hasg
I have changed the day/night colors many times with no luck. I think its broken because when I turn on my headlights the LCD screen flickers slightly. It used to work fine then one day it decided to stop
Does your instrument cluster go from white to red? If not, you may have unkowingly set the override switch. Look for a dial near the TCS switch. The brightest setting is the override mode.

Originally posted by Speed-ER doc
A touch-screen system is much easier to use since you don't EVER have missed or erroneous inputs, and it's more intuitive to keep the hands and eyes in the same vicinity.

Once you use one with a touch screen though, that enter button/mouse seems obsolete.

I work with touch screens all day as the computer geek for a healthcare company. ALL of our nurses that use touch screen monitors and touch screen tablets find them to be inaccurate and fragile. They all prefer a mouse.

They start out ok but the alignment tends to drift over time.

The last thing i want in my car is a touch screen. I think the Mazda layout is pretty good. Much better than the the BMW 7 series where turning the knob counter-clockwise zooms IN and clockwise zooms OUT. Talk about backwards.

greese

greese

if I look at the version under setup on the dvd menu it says I have a 2003. And my VIN <1000. Maybe they ran out? :-/

You guys got my curiosity going.. I went out to the car to find out what my 8 had.. Well, it states "software 2003" . I am good to GO !

A 2004 Car, should have a 2004 Disc! I have a whole freeway (210) missing in my area that has been open for over a year now.

Maybe I'll use my $500 for the next 2 upgrades.

But did the actual disc say 2003?

thanks Jsuzuki, that worked

If you get the chance, try the Lexus nav touch screen (my wife has a GX 470). Other than the fingerprints, it is easier to use imo. Or maybe my enter button is just messed up. Not that it really matters, I love my RX!

im looking on the dvd case that came with the car

Originally posted by Speed-ER doc
I really don't like the enter button/ergonomics at all. A touch-screen system is much easier to use since you don't EVER have missed or erroneous inputs, and it's more intuitive to keep the hands and eyes in the same vicinity.

I am really glad I got the nav system. It was a tough decision for the money, but it has come in handy and has a certain fun factor as well.

Once you use one with a touch screen though, that enter button/mouse seems obsolete.

Some of the capabilities of the nav I like, some I don't. Just did a survey on Nav systems for J.D.Powers.

Biggest things I like: The large readable display, and the color changing.

Biggest dislikes: Enter is a royal pain in the ass to use (both RX8s had Nav, both had this problem); With the front seat up as far as I keep it, the controls are impossible to get to without turning my head (such as for zoom in/out). Programming on the fly while driving is impossible (unless you want to be in an accident). Accuracy isn't great in mountainous areas.

With the programming on the fly, both GPS systems I have used prior to the RX8 could be reprogrammed (ie, find a different route) while driving without much danger [one was my wife's Prius, the other was the DeLorme software on a laptop in a motorhome].

Even though I have more minusses than plusses, it's still better than working off a map at night while driving :)

On the 2002 disc you have to remember that the data must be finalized and the data set burned to a master disk. If I remember the discs I saw said Nov. 2002. That would put DVD production in January and February of 2003. Then the discs are shipped to Mazda for distribution. Car production began in May so the discs sat in storage that is if the production began when I am guessing. It not even 2004 so how can the discs have a 2004 date. I don't know what Navtech update schedule is but I bet its about once per year.

The Navtech website only has replacement disks available for the RX8 which means that all RX8s have the latest disk.