[ksholt2]

I'm planning on purchasing an EX soon and was wondering is the navigation system a good thing to include?

Also, I've been told if you get the navigation system you have to have leather interior instead of the FXC seat cloth. Anyone been able to get a navigation system and still have the same material?

 

[lizzurd]

I'm planning on purchasing an EX soon and was wondering is the navigation system a good thing to include?

Also, I've been told if you get the navigation system you have to have leather interior instead of the FXC seat cloth. Anyone been able to get a navigation system and still have the same material?

Welcome to the EOC ksholt2. Leather in not an option on the Element. To get navi you do have to buy an EX.

Whoever told you about the leather must have been thinking of the CRV.

 

[ksholt2]

lizzurd- do you have the navigation system? Is it worth the extra $$?

 

[lizzurd]

lizzurd- do you have the navigation system? Is it worth the extra $$?

Mine is a 2006....No navi for me. I don't do a lot of travelling myself. If i go somewhere i have my Pearlys or i just print off directions from Google maps. For the $2000 cost of navi i would suggest someone buys a good portable GPS myself.

 

[mbushaw]

Ours came with NAV. Bought the E used, so we didn't have to make that decision.
It's a pretty good unit -BUT-
The update DVD's are around $189

The back-up camera is OK. I like the split screen that shows the names of the next few turns. The voice activation is pretty cool too.

I think I would buy an after market one too if the above quoted $2000 is right. You could probably get Bluetooth too for less.

Not sure how all this will stack up come resell time, but $2K is a lot of cash.

 

[OUZO Power]

There are many permanant in dash units out there for under 1K. Even under $500.

And running off a disk is old school.

Most now run off the hard drive and map upgrades are free.

 

[Dom.five]

It's a nice option, If And only if, your not good with portable electronics.

A separate unit will allow you to take it with you if you rent a car. It also allows you to up grade easily when newer stuff comes out. Five or 6 years down the road you may want features that are not now included with your unit.

For example, My Garmin has blue tooth, traffic, and MP3 and an FM transmitter built in.

My wifes Garmin has all that and weather,pluss stock up dates. Her unit is only 7 months newer than mine!

Who knows what will be next.
Why pay 2,000 for a unit that will be outdated next year?

Dom

 

[Tortuga Rojo]

You can only get the factory nav system on an EX. It looks to be the same system that is offered on the Civic line. It works great for me and is very handy to have. It works just as quick as some hard drive units. It hides the CD and SDD slots, so you push a button and it motors out for access, then back when you push another button.

Voice command is very cool, not to mention the backup camera. Updates, blah, who cares, it's not like highways and roads are springing up overnight anymore!!

I am a fan of the Garmin Nuvi line, but the drawback there is if a mounting bracket or pad for the unit is visible from outside, break-in chances increase, whether you take the unit with you or not.

 

[ElementaryEd]

Aftermarket

Go with an aftermarket unit like I did. I have a Kenwood that was about $1500 installed. It does everything and I love it! There are some more and some less. This is still way less than the factory unit and they have more features. Like bluetooth, garmin nav, dvd player etc. .02

 

[Racer Chaser]

My wife and I decided that we will never pay for a navi system that is locked into our dash. We definately prefer a straight up GPS unit like a Garmin or TomTom.

There are few reasons for this choice. The main reason is the fact that we can take it with us when we are walking around. We went on vacation last year to Niagara Falls and spent the day walking around the area. We could easily pull the GPS out of our pocket and find whatever we wanted and how to get there. We could also use it in our hotel room at night and plan our next day in the comfort of our pajamas. Not so if it was in the dash of the car.

The other is that many OEM navi units cannot be used while the vehicle is in motion. What I mean is that you can't search for stuff while you are driving, you have to stop. When we travel, the passenger can use our Garmin to look ahead and find whatever we are looking for. On our new 2010 Mazda3 the navi contols would have been on the steering wheel!! :shock:

 

[ksholt2]

Do any of you who have Honda's built in navigation system in an Element know anything about the leather interior situation?

 

[Dom.five]

Do any of you who have Honda's built in navigation system in an Element know anything about the leather interior situation?

It's not available in the Element.

You can go Here and see for yourself!

Dom

 

[lizzurd]

Do any of you who have Honda's built in navigation system in an Element know anything about the leather interior situation?

This post should have answered your question already.

http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=828666&postcount=2

 

[joenet]

Navigation? Meh.

I was in an accident last week and totaled my 2006 Element EX (other guy ran a stop sign in the rain). Since then have been looking at 2008 - 2010 Element SC with and without Nav - I have to say, compared to Navigon on my iPhone, which is what I'm used to using, the Navigation in the Civic/Element SOOKS big time. It's slow, unresponsive, and is hindered by its attempts to predict what you're looking for.

So...I'd definitely suggest a Nuvi, an after-market in-dash hard drive-based system, or Navigon for iPhone (updates are frequent and free and there's an in-app Google search engine).

 

[bisdak]

Totally agree getting a Nuvi

heres mine just in case you havent seen this!

 

[Z06_Pilot]

we are picking up our 2010 EX 4WD tomorrow, and I made sure I got the Navi system. Man, those things are hard to find! My dealer did a 7 state search and found one. fortunately, it was the color we want and they traded for it today..

I am fully aware of aftermarket units. I have a Lowrance and a couple of Garmins, and am familiar with the Alpine in-dash units.

I like the OEM unit for these reasons:

*it's warranted for as long as the car is. no more 1 year warranties on aftermarket units to worry about.
*has iPod control from the glove box-a MUST have for me.
*voice activation is great
*backup camera, while rudimentary is a nice touch.

 

[Shabbis]

I like the OEM unit for these reasons:

*it's warranted for as long as the car is. no more 1 year warranties on aftermarket units to worry about.
*has iPod control from the glove box-a MUST have for me.
*voice activation is great
*backup camera, while rudimentary is a nice touch.

Exact same reasons I went with OEM. Didn't want to hassle with aftermarket either.

 

[ElementaryEd]

we are picking up our 2010 EX 4WD tomorrow, and I made sure I got the Navi system. Man, those things are hard to find! My dealer did a 7 state search and found one. fortunately, it was the color we want and they traded for it today..

I am fully aware of aftermarket units. I have a Lowrance and a couple of Garmins, and am familiar with the Alpine in-dash units.

I like the OEM unit for these reasons:

*it's warranted for as long as the car is. no more 1 year warranties on aftermarket units to worry about.
*has iPod control from the glove box-a MUST have for me.
*voice activation is great
*backup camera, while rudimentary is a nice touch.

Aftermarket has all this except for the warranty plus bluetooth, dvd player and more. Is the 2 yr warranty worth twice the price for a lesser system? Just sayin .02

 

[Flat Lander]

I'm with Z06 and Shabbis on this one. I have a handheld portable GPS for walking/hiking, but I wanted a vehicle mounted unit. I got the extended 110k/10 year warranty and it's covered too. Could I have got an aftermarket one cheaper....sure, but that's not what I wanted. It's all personal preference.

 

[lwclancers]

I think what is being lost is aftermarket INDASH unit. Way cheaper than factory with more bells and whistles...period. Most of the time their warranty will rival the Honda one w/o having to pay for an extended warranty on it.

I'm with Z06 and Shabbis on this one. I have a handheld portable GPS for walking/hiking, but I wanted a vehicle mounted unit. I got the extended 110k/10 year warranty and it's covered too. Could I have got an aftermarket one cheaper....sure, but that's not what I wanted. It's all personal preference.