-
Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
I Didn't Get Tech Package - Is There a Turn-by-Turn Workaround with Internet Screen?
- Thread starter Batman
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Model S User Interface
NigelM
Recovering Member
There's no way to get voice directions. You could try Wisepilot.com but I not sure the download speeds will give you the turns fast enough in a city environment. Another option would be using Google maps and after you put in you route click on the "print" symbol and you'll see a full screen turn-by-turn list.
Unless you've got a passenger reading off the turns, trying to navigate by looking down and reading the directions yourself could be dangerous.
Unless you've got a passenger reading off the turns, trying to navigate by looking down and reading the directions yourself could be dangerous.
mknox
Well-Known Member
I've found the TomTom app on my iPhone works great when I travel and have a rental car (there is a Garmin app as well). It gives pretty good voice turn-by-turn directions, and if you pair it via Bluetooth, you should have a workable audio solution at least. (I like these apps because they include all the maps on the phone, and I don't have to incur data roaming charges when I'm out of the country).
Written turn-by-turn? Google, MapQuest, etc. I presume you mean verbal turn-by-turn--I don't know that the browser even does audio (I suspect not). If you have a smart phone, there are apps built-in or free that you can get, and inexpensive ones, that do verbal turn-by-turn.
Krugerrand
Meow
I didn't get the Tech Package either. I just mounted a dock just to the left of the screen under the vent, put my phone there connected to the usb, connect bluetooth, and turn by turn through speakers w/o paying $3500
I really wish there was an a la carte option for nav. The car clearly has GPS without the tech package so it's just a software thing. I'd gladly pay under $1000 for nav.
I really wish there was an a la carte option for nav. The car clearly has GPS without the tech package so it's just a software thing. I'd gladly pay under $1000 for nav.
spatterso911
P100DL - Raven
You could try a free web based turn by turn solution with voice: Things to Do in Columbus, OH - Scout.me -- I don't have a Model S and haven't tested in a car. Worth a try at least.
Some would argue that it may not have a dedicated GPS but rather just cell tower triangulation. I have no idea if this is the case though.
Morristhecat
Member
Oh crap is right! If I read this a month ago I would have saved myself $4,000can! Poop...
Cell triangulation isn't accurate enough to place the car on a road consistently as you're driving and to consistently get the car's location to an exact parking spot. If it were, cell manufacturers could save money and just not include the GPS. A way to test this out is to just turn your cell phone GPS off and see how well it finds your location. The location uncertainty, which is usually presented as a another circle around where the phone thinks you are, is fairly large and not consistent.
The GPS in the car is better than my phone too.
Thank you for this article. This was my thought going into not getting the Tech package but it seems that some internal to Tesla were told there was no dedicated GPS for the non-tech package car. Here's the snippet in case people don't want to read it to just get the non-tech package nav discussion:
Vivek Wadhwa of the Washington Post said:
I don't know how anyone thought there would not be a GPS chip without the Tech Package. There are tons of posts on this forum about the navigation. And the general consensus was you get 'turn by turn audible directions' and 'Offline' maps/navigation. Google maps would be close to worthless without a GPS chip.
As for work arounds buy a Nokia Lumia. They have Nokia maps which I find to be better than dedicated navigation units. They bought a Navigon (now owned by Garmin) like company in Europe and you get offline turn by turn directions, and offline vector maps too. It is really nice.
I was told by a few Tesla employees that the non-Tech package car would not come with GPS. I even tried to explain to them how that would make the location feature on the phone app and the map in the touchscreen useless. I simply chose to be stubborn and ignore what didn't make sense to me.
Looks like in this case it paid off.I was told by a few Tesla employees that the non-Tech package car would not come with GPS. I even tried to explain to them how that would make the location feature on the phone app and the map in the touchscreen useless. I simply chose to be stubborn and ignore what didn't make sense to me.
Many people use "GPS" as shorthand for the navigation system rather than just the positioning component, which I suspect may have caused some of the confusion.
If they do enable turn-by-turn directions without tech package, then my tech package goes from "the most expensive nav system ever" to "the most expensive unnecessary nav system ever"...
I was told by a few Tesla employees that the non-Tech package car would not come with GPS. I even tried to explain to them how that would make the location feature on the phone app and the map in the touchscreen useless. I simply chose to be stubborn and ignore what didn't make sense to me.
A lot of people use "GPS" for a "Navigation Device". It drives me nuts. It has gotten so bad that non-location dependent step by step interfaces even use the term "GPS" (I am looking at you TurboTax). "GPS System" is also used but is even stupider. Global Positioning System System?!?!
GPS = A network of satalites and protocol to determine exactly where you are on the globe.
Navigation System = The thing you suction to center of your windshield.
GPS device/unit/chip = That chip in you electronic device that reads GPS feeds and determines your location.
I could easily see this conversation in a casual enviroment:
Buyer: Does this car have GPS?
Seller: It comes with the Tech Package.
Buyer: Ok.
- - - Updated - - -
Well you got HID lamps, and homelink! :biggrin:
I personally thought the HIDs were about 85% of my Tech Package decision.
About 10% was for OFFLINE navigation. But I do have that on my phone, and my old phone too.
The tech package was the biggest wildcard for me. In the end I figured this car is a technological leap ahead of other cars and it didn't make sense to me to NOT get it. The problem was (and remains) that Tesla has not been transparent enough regarding what these cars will be like with and without these options! (Not just tech, but prem sound, air suspension, etc).
As far as navigation goes....smartphones users should download WAZE. It's a socially/crowd sourced navigation app with turn be turn voice directions (Through car speakers via my Bluetooth on my last car...though I haven't tried on the S). Since its crowd sourced it's often more accurate and up to date than even google! It's 5 stars on App Store with thousands of users. My last car didn't have navigation but i never needed it with waze! (Last car was a 335i and "iDrive" was notoriously terrible so I didn't shell out the extra 3 or 4 thousand! In the end with Tesla I knew it was never going to be "notoriously terrible"....)
As far as navigation goes....smartphones users should download WAZE. It's a socially/crowd sourced navigation app with turn be turn voice directions (Through car speakers via my Bluetooth on my last car...though I haven't tried on the S). Since its crowd sourced it's often more accurate and up to date than even google! It's 5 stars on App Store with thousands of users. My last car didn't have navigation but i never needed it with waze! (Last car was a 335i and "iDrive" was notoriously terrible so I didn't shell out the extra 3 or 4 thousand! In the end with Tesla I knew it was never going to be "notoriously terrible"....)
+1 for WAZE
I love how the WAZE crowd marks speed traps, accidents, and hazards, and the app will bring these up if these are on your route or in your general vicinity. Also, it'll quickly compute the travel times for alternate routes so you can continuously optimize your commute. No built-in car system can match it.
Similar threads
