I know i did i can tell you how too! Follow directions below

1.Take the console off thats around the parking brake its very simple pull from the front and it should just click out

2.you will be looking inside the console now and you will see an out of place wire mine was this nasty teal color but i can say what color yours will be but you unplug it

3.next tkae the plug off the wire so it is bare wire

4 the last thing you do it ground that wire (basicly attach it to anything metal in there like a screw or the frame of the car and your set!

5.Close everyhting back up and you can now use all the features of your GPS without pulling the parking brake

Ummm... I don't understand what you're talking about. What does a GPS have to do with the parking brake? Can you explain what it is you're talking about?

What does a GPS have to do with the parking brake?

Seriously. If my GPS only worked when the parking brake was set, geocaching would take me for-freakin-ever! :-D

- Jeff

Mine has been connected this way since it was installed a couple years ago. Some indash nav units require a single ground wire to be connected to the parking brake. Most onscreen nav functions aren't controllable unless the vehicle is essentially parked for safety concerns. They don't want you fiddling with a touchscreen keyboard as you're driving. So most units can have this parking brake ground wire basically connected to any other ground source, tricking the system into thinking the vehicle is parked. The indash DVD player works the same way. DVD playback isn't available unless that ground wire is connected. Tho this trick works on most there are some units that require other more drastic means of bypassing. I think some of the newer Alpine models require removal of a "warranty voided if removed sticker" to access a small hole where you have to solder a connection.

Chris what sort of commands are not allowed to be used on a NAV system when the vehicle is moving? What if you have a passenger with you?

I really don't understand how this is a safety thing and not an annoyance thing. I have never had a radio where you had to stop to adjust something and many radios are more complex than a touch screen NAV unit is.

Im not positive, but I think they are referring to the ability to switch to DVD mode w/o the parking brake on (for those units that allow GPS or DVD).

Even the JVC CD/DVD player in my E (single DIN/no screen) is supposed to be hooked up to the parking brake so you don't watch movies while driving. I just attached the wire to a ground point. Problem solved.

I really don't understand how this is a safety thing and not an annoyance thing. I have never had a radio where you had to stop to adjust something and many radios are more complex than a touch screen NAV unit is.

That is a little odd. There's no law or regulation that keeps from from using all the screens and pressing all the buttons on my aviation GPS (Lowrance AirMap 500), and I'm flying a plane while doing that.

I would be quite miffed if I had an in-dash GPS that was "crippled" when the parking brake wasn't set. So, nice hack, Elementality!

- Jeff

The reason they made this that way is beacuse most people who fiddle with the stereo whatever will tend to look down there insted of on the road and thus have a higher chance of crashing so law requires them to hook up a little wire to the parking brake so that your car wont be moving when u press the buttons and thanks the funny thing is i just asked the guy at tweeter how to do it and he told me

That is a little odd. There's no law or regulation that keeps from from using all the screens and pressing all the buttons on my aviation GPS (Lowrance AirMap 500), and I'm flying a plane while doing that.

but do you fiddle with the GPS buttons while rolling down the runway at 60 knots? When cruising at several thousand feet you can take your eyes off the 'road' (so to speak), and pay attention to navigation, in a way that a car driver can't.

paulj

Chris what sort of commands are not allowed to be used on a NAV system when the vehicle is moving?.
I think even most factory navigation units are the same way. Usually you lose the ability to punch in or set new cordinates or destinations while moving. I've never operated my nav without the "ground hack" so I couldn't say what I wouldn't be able to do. You probably still retain zoom and maybe scroll features or maybe optional interstate exit info but I'm sure the actual typing of the address on the touchscreen keypad is unavailable. However I know my Kenwood unit has an optional voice recognition mic so I could call out commands making it even safer. I'm sure if paper map makers had the ability to prevent you from using a highlighter to trace your route while driving they'd do it also. :D

I think even most factory navigation units are the same way. Usually you lose the ability to punch in or set new cordinates or destinations while moving. I've never operated my nav without the "ground hack" so I couldn't say what I wouldn't be able to do. You probably still retain zoom and maybe scroll features or maybe optional interstate exit info but I'm sure the actual typing of the address on the touchscreen keypad is unavailable. However I know my Kenwood unit has an optional voice recognition mic so I could call out commands making it even safer. I'm sure if paper map makers had the ability to prevent you from using a highlighter to trace your route while driving they'd do it also. :D
Good point. I have built in Nav with a 7" screen in my Accord Hybrid...straight from the dealer. I have punched in addresses and searched for restaurants, etc. while driving on countless occassions.

Either there is something weird about not being able to use nav with some of you. Or my Accord was not installed "properly."

I still think this sounds more like those who have DVD capability in their nav systems who have to have this ground bypass turned on. This doesnt sound normal for a "GPS only" built in unit.

I took a 2006 civic with factory nav for a drive and the salesman told me it only worked if the car was in park. I assumed he just didn't want me playing with it while I was driving...

So I pulled over and threw it in park before fiddling. But I definately didn't have the parking brake pulled.

My TSX's factory navigation retains all functions while driving...from the factory. I'm pretty sure most factory units do.

If you're refering to aftermarket in-dash units (flip-out single-DIN or double-DIN) then you're partly correct I guess. Although it is illegal in all 50 states, grounding a single wire is all that's needed to have DVD playback while the car is in motion (I've never seen navigation not work on these units though when the car is in motion :roll: ). Is it smart? No, it's extremely dangerous & illegal & I'd never perform this on a customer's vehicle (hell, I'd be fired if I did). The wire should always be connected to the parking brake wire...period. Not to get on the safety kick but as a firefighter, I see accidents on a daily basis (some turn out fine while others turn out extremely bad). You'd be amazed at the amount of MVAs I see that are caused solely by some asshat talking on their cell phone or texting (yes, texting). If that's enough distraction, imagine having a movie playing on your dash. Stupid move IMO.

Aftermarket manufacturers are making it harder to bypass this now. I know for a fact that the Pioneer AVIC-N2 doesn't utilize this wire anymore. There's a sticker that must be removed & two points that need to be soldered together to make contact for it to play independant of the parking brake. You do that...warranty is voided.

At startup my Kenwoood flashes a "Lawyer Screen" warning that certain features have been disabled while the vehicle is in motion. But I only got this screen when the nav unit was attached.

I'd say for the most part, US-market cars sold with factory navs will have a "nag" screen . But whether the destination input/settings can be changed while in motion depends on each brand. From firsthand experience with BMWs and Volvos, their systems work the same moving or not. Car & Driver reported that GM/Corvette nav locks out a bunch of stuff while in motion.

Even my Garmin 2610 has a setting to disable certain input functions while in motion (motion determined by GPS signals).

Even my Garmin 2610 has a setting to disable certain input functions while in motion (motion determined by GPS signals).

Is that so? Hmmm...I think everything continues to function on my TomTom GO while in motion (I'll admit I don't thumb through all of the menus on my TTG while I'm driving, so I can't be 100% sure although I haven't heard any reports of any fatures being locked out while in motion)

This could be an important purchase consideration. I love safety but hate gov't nannyism. Why prevent a passenger from using a device while the vehicle is in motion? They're going to end up putting lockout circuits on cheese sandwiches to keep people from driving while eating. Sheesh.

Is that so? Hmmm...I think everything continues to function on my TomTom GO while in motion (I'll admit I don't thumb through all of the menus on my TTG while I'm driving, so I can't be 100% sure although I haven't heard any reports of any fatures being locked out while in motion)

Yup, on the Garmin 26xx/27xx it's a user-selectable setting called "Safe Mode". "It disables all unit functions that require significant user attention and could become a distraction while driving. For example, when Safe Mode is on, you cannot search for a location while the vehicle is moving."

So its user selectable...I get it now.:cool: