Navigation system problem...

[Jet Jockey]

Can someone check out if they can program their Navi system to "Fastest Time" please?

I am really not sure how the B9’s system is programmed to propose a route to a destination. At first I thought It was set by default to "Shortest Distance" but after experimenting with many destinations I don’t think this is the case (see below) but it is certainly not set by default to “Fastest Time”.

I even went back to my dealer and spoke to my salesman and he was unable to find it in my Navi. So I'm wondering if this is a B9 A4 or Canadian omission in the Navi unit or just the wrong software that was downloaded in the Navi unit. Perhaps there is an update available to fix this issue.

Even when I select the option for multiple routing in the menu of the B9, none of the 3 proposed routes give me the fastest time. I know this because if I program a destination that I’m familiar with, the routing shown is not correct.

One example of this is from my house to a race track north of the city… The routing proposed never takes a highway close by, adding upwards of at least 10 minutes to the trip. There are other examples too of routings that are familiar to me that simply do not make sense with this system.


Here's the best of the 3 routes (in RED) that is proposed by the B9's Navi versus a much faster route (when I use my Garmin in 3 other cars) for the same destination (race track). Like I said before, it adds at least 10 minutes to my time and more mileage.

On the red route proposed by the B9, the speed limits for much of the route is 30 MPH or 50 KPH. You go through small towns and a city with multiples stops signs and traffic lights. Only when you get to the HWY 640 does it go up to 60 MPH or 100 KPH. Additionally this routes is 11.6 miles or 18.6 kilometres to the same merging point on HWY 640 east of HWY 13 which makes the proposed route by the B9's Navi system 2.9 miles or 3.7 kilometres longer than the black route proposed by all Garmin equipped cars I use.

On the black route as proposed with my cars with a Garmin system, the speed limits are higher at 45 MPH or 70 KPH and then 60 MPH or 100 KPH when you get to HWY 13. There are only 3 stop signs and 3 traffic lights on that route. That route to the same point on HWY 640 east of HWY 13 is also 9.3 miles or 14.9 kilometres long, so shorter and faster!

Why does the Audi Navi system not use this same routing as the Garmin units in all my 3 cars? Hopefully there is a solution to this problem because it is very annoying and if not it is pretty unacceptable in a car of this price range.

[superswiss]

I don't believe the latest system has the fastest, shortest, balanced route options anymore. It's always supposed to calculate the fastest route based on your route criterias and traffic information. I assume in Canada you don't have traffic information since it requires Audi connect, so the routes are calculated without traffic input. However, make sure you don't have things like highway, HOV etc. turned off in the route criterias. It almost sounds like you have it set to avoid highways, so it takes you the long way around to minimize use of highways. If you have the multiple routes option turned on, then the first route should be fast, the second fast alternative and the third is the economic route.

[Jet Jockey]

I don't believe the latest system has the fastest, shortest, balanced route options anymore. It's always supposed to calculate the fastest route based on your route criterias and traffic information. I assume in Canada you don't have traffic information since it requires Audi connect, so the routes are calculated without traffic input. However, make sure you don't have things like highway, HOV etc. turned off in the route criterias. It almost sounds like you have it set to avoid highways, so it takes you the long way around to minimize use of highways. If you have the multiple routes option turned on, then the first route should be fast, the second fast alternative and the third is the economic route.

Audi connect is not available at this time in Canada (who knows why) but apparently will be sometime in the future (3 months, 6 months a year is anyone's guess) but cars without the system now, will not be able to get it once the system is online (apparently). Audi connect, I'm told does not affect the navigation system.

None of the options you speak about (Highways, HOVs etc) are disabled.

I do have the multiple routes option selected and like I said the best route proposed in red by the system which is the fastest of the 3 is by no way the fastest route (black route).

Like I said unless there is a software issue, this navigation system sucks big time!

[superswiss]

Audi connect, I'm told does not affect the navigation system.!

Audi connect does most certainly affect the navigation system. The online traffic data via Audi connect feeds directly into the routing of the navigation system. There are also other aspects such as online destinations and Google POIs that feed into the navigation system.

What you are seeing could have a number of root causes. The limited software that you have in Canada due to the lack of Audi connect may have a buggy routing algorithm. The map data for your area might be inaccurate, especially the speed information etc. that goes along with the roads that help decide the navigation system which route is faster. Without the online traffic data, the system doesn't have travel times information, so it can only make its decision based on the digitized road information in the map data and that information may not be correct for your area.

Maybe you can convince your dealer to give you a loaner and see if the issue is isolated to your car. You can always try a factory reset of your MMI in case there's a setting that was changed.

[Jet Jockey]

Audi connect does most certainly affect the navigation system. The online traffic data via Audi connect feeds directly into the routing of the navigation system. There are also other aspects such as online destinations and Google POIs that feed into the navigation system.

What you are seeing could have a number of root causes. The limited software that you have in Canada due to the lack of Audi connect may have a buggy routing algorithm. The map data for your area might be inaccurate, especially the speed information etc. that goes along with the roads that help decide the navigation system which route is faster. Without the online traffic data, the system doesn't have travel times information, so it can only make its decision based on the digitized road information in the map data and that information may not be correct for your area.

Maybe you can convince your dealer to give you a loaner and see if the issue is isolated to your car. You can always try a factory reset of your MMI in case there's a setting that was changed.

What I meant it doesn't affect the actual mapping and I was confirmed this by a salesman I know. He also told me that some options like fastest route (least amount of time) are not part anymore of the navi system the B9's menu. In any case without Audi connect, this means it doesn't see the traffic and if so should always give you the fastest route regardless of the traffic on that route.

Other people with other Audi cars are reporting the same thing on another forum. Routes that take you to secondary roads through small towns when highways area available and now that I think about it the A3 we rented in France last month also had the same issues. I don't think this is a Canadian problem but a bad Audi navi problem.

In my example above, when I turn right onto the black route (instead of left onto the red route), the Navi system recalculates immediately and then shows me a new route which turns out to be the black route with the least mileage and time to destination.

I guess when I go somewhere I'm not familiar with, I'll bring along my portable Garmin to get the real shortest route.

[superswiss]

What I meant it doesn't affect the actual mapping and I was confirmed this by a salesman I know. He also told me that some options like fastest route (least amount of time) are not part anymore of the navi system the B9's menu. In any case without Audi connect, this means it doesn't see the traffic and if so should always give you the fastest route regardless of the traffic on that route.

Other people with other Audi cars are reporting the same thing on another forum. Routes that take you to secondary roads through small towns when highways area available and now that I think about it the A3 we rented in France last month also had the same issues. I don't think this is a Canadian problem but a bad Audi navi problem.

In my example above, when I turn right onto the black route (instead of left onto the red route), the Navi system recalculates immediately and then shows me a new route which turns out to be the black route with the least mileage and time to destination.

I guess when I go somewhere I'm not familiar with, I'll bring along my portable Garmin to get the real shortest route.

Sounds like the system has issues in your area and some other areas based on complaints from other owners. My experience here on the US West Coast and driving in Europe has been the complete opposite. I regularly compare the MMI route with what Google Maps tells me and I also occasionally use Waze with all the great things people are telling me about it, however, I keep going back to the MMI. Waze got me stuck in bad city traffic a couple of weeks ago while the MMI told me to use the highway. I visually confirmed that the highway was moving a lot faster, but I thought Waze knew something I didn't, but it had me stuck at traffic lights through several cycles, because pedestrians made left and right turns nearly impossible. That was frankly the last straw for me. I won't be using Waze again for routing. Google Maps on my phone does a good job, though and I use it frequently when not in my car or if I feel it might have more up to date traffic information. I can honestly say the MMI never got me stuck or had me follow a route that didn't make sense. It is reluctant to use residential streets to get around traffic, whereas Google Maps is not, so that's why I sometimes confirm with Google Maps to see if it knows of a faster route, but it's rare that it actually offers a significant faster route than the MMI.

I don't have much experience with the system in the B9. If it has degraded compared to the system in my RS5, than that's just another reason for why I might hang on to my current car for a while longer. As for bringing along a portable Garmin. Who still owns those? Hook up your Android or iPhone to the MMI and use Android Auto or CarPlay if the MMI nav is not working for you.