Traffic reporting on MyFordTouch

[machoman1337]

Surprisingly, even though I'm in Canada and don't have any subscriptions, I manage to receive somewhat accurate traffic/construction reports on my built in nav system.

 

However, when I have a route programmed, not once has it ever rerouted me off main roads, even when the map itself explicitly shows heavy traffic on the main road. I checked the settings - I've authorized MFT to auto reroute me around traffic and accidents.

 

A friend introduced me to Waze and I finally decided to buy a vent clip to mount my phone at eye level so I can use Waze during heavy traffic - it actually reroutes me through residential streets and has saved me quite a bit of time during my commutes. I am quite surprised that the built in nav doesn't seem to know how to do this.

 

Anyone else with built in nav finding that the traffic reports are quite useless?

[talmy]

Yep. I rely on Waze now for local driving, but use the built in nav for long distance travel (unreliable cellular data, traffic not an issue, and nicer display on car screen).

[machoman1337]

Same here - Waze for commuting, and on a road trip where I leave home early and avoid traffic, I use the built in one because of its superior integration especially the duplication of the next turn on the dashboard screen next to the speedo.

 

I remember reading a BMW review back in 2008 praising the smart nav which routed around traffic if it could get the update via satellite. Nearly 8 years later, it seems like Ford didn't quite get it right :(

[Waldo]

The traffic re-route will only work for traffic "incidents", the little yellow squares that pop up. Depending on the source info (in Vancouver it's likely not complete like it might be in US cities), you may not have those pop up for congestion. But if you do have one of those "incidents" on your route, it will offer a re-route option.

[machoman1337]

I do get the yellow squares, i.e. the ones that show 3 cars in a row to represent heavy traffic. I also get a yellow line overlaid on the part of the road that has the congestion, yet the nav never reroutes me around unlike Waze :(

 

How does it work for you over in Ontario?

[md13ffhguy]

I never noticed any traffic info after my Sirius trial ended. What is the source of this info? Through what means does the system receive it?

 

In any case, it's too expensive to keep the maps updated, and the updates that are available are likely outdated upon release. That's why I rely on Google Navigation.

[machoman1337]

I believe it's SiriusXM which is separate from the radio subscription, but still done over satellite.

[wiscy67]

Do we need a current subscription to Sirius XM to have the built in NAV recommend alternate routes due to heavy traffic? I'm beginning to wonder how useful NAV is without traffic analysis. My $60 Garmin has traffic analysis with no subscription needed.

[FordIVTteam]

Do we need a current subscription to Sirius XM to have the built in NAV recommend alternate routes due to heavy traffic? I'm beginning to wonder how useful NAV is without traffic analysis. My $60 Garmin has traffic analysis with no subscription needed.

 

Hey wiscy67,

 

You do need to have SiriusXM Travel Link for the traffic portion. I believe you can subscribe to it without having the radio portion of SiriusXM, but you may want to confirm with Sirius:

 

http://www.siriusxm.com/contactus

 

Hope that helps!

 

Rebecca

[md13ffhguy]

Do we need a current subscription to Sirius XM to have the built in NAV recommend alternate routes due to heavy traffic? I'm beginning to wonder how useful NAV is without traffic analysis. My $60 Garmin has traffic analysis with no subscription needed.

Even when I've had a traffic subscription, reroutes are extremely rare with this nav system. I've run into traffic that caused 20 minute delays, and the factory nav didn't even consider any obvious alternate routes. Google nav does a fantastic job for me. I've all but abandoned my factory nav.

[jeffo65]

This is why I did not buy MFT with Nav.

 

I use Google Maps Navigation.

[md13ffhguy]

This is why I did not buy MFT with Nav.

 

I use Google Maps Navigation.

Smart man! ;)

[wiscy67]

thanks for the responses, everyone!