Satnav How useful is the Civic Satnav's TMC?

sjg · 5th June 2008, 16:57

Hi,

I'm a prospective Civic owner, and getting tempted by an EX. I do about 25k miles a year and use a Tomtom at the moment. However it doesn't do any of the traffic stuff so I need to keep the radio's TA feature on in case of any hold-ups. Around 8am it feels like every few minutes I get a new annoucement from all the different local radio stations, usually to tell me about routes I won't use anyway - very annoying.

How well does the TMC feature of the sat-nav work in the real world? I'll be using it within about 100 miles of London so hopefully coverage should be OK. Do you get good, useful info out of it? Do you bother getting traffic reports via TA on the radio any more?

thanks,

Simon

Lurker · 5th June 2008, 17:49

I've got an EX too and use the TMC a lot. I've had mixed experience. When you get the usual build up of traffic around rush hour it works fine and you just "know" that you're in for a crawl for a while.

However I went up to the Lakes last week and the TMC told me that there was an accident on the M6 at Jnc 16. I chose to be diverted and it took me through a whole bunch of A roads - not particularly optimal route and took ages. After about 15 mins of leaving the M6 the previous accident appear to have been cleared which left me a little frustrated.

So IMO it's useful but I get the feeling that it's not quite as up to the minute as it needs to be.

pcr · 5th June 2008, 17:58

When comparing the 5.00 pm radio traffic report with TMC, many of the reported hold-ups do not appear on TMC.
On one occasion TMC showed a local incident which required a large detour. I ignored it and found no hold-up whatsoever.
My view is that it works but I am not confident with it.

FWH · 5th June 2008, 19:31

I agree it can be limited.

The info you receive is good to have, but there is plenty more info you would want to have.

Not a Honda fault, it is dependant on the transmition of the data.
This will vary from region to region.

For example, the other night, driving on satnav a major tunnel was closed. This was not on the TMC and therefore I was not given a new route which excluded the tunnel.

psykik · 6th June 2008, 01:43

ive mostly found the traffic reports outdated, but its better than not having them
does anyone use the auto reroute feature? ive found this more of a nuisance than useful

Kremmen · 6th June 2008, 06:48

As long as you don't get lumbered with the SatNav v 3.22 then the TMC is extremely useful.

There are loads of reports over on the PGPSW forum about the TomTom's TMC aerial and it's shortcomings resulting in a bad TMC experience. Plus, from what I'm reading over there the TT TMC is only local to where you are?

The Civic TMC is quick to activate and it shows the whole country.

I find it extremely useful on busy days when I can see what the M25 is doing from many miles away and I can take a detour well in advance.

Plus with the EX you get Bluetooth, HID's and a load of other goodies.

alanwalne · 6th June 2008, 08:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kremmen

As long as you don't get lumbered with the SatNav v 3.22 then the TMC is extremely useful.

There are loads of reports over on the PGPSW forum about the TomTom's TMC aerial and it's shortcomings resulting in a bad TMC experience. Plus, from what I'm reading over there the TT TMC is only local to where you are?

The Civic TMC is quick to activate and it shows the whole country.

I find it extremely useful on busy days when I can see what the M25 is doing from many miles away and I can take a detour well in advance.

Plus with the EX you get Bluetooth, HID's and a load of other goodies.

Grrr don't talk to me about TomTom TMC. It is brilliant if you live in Rochester and work in Basildon (fortunately I do). The receiver simply is not strong enough.

True the coverage is only local, but it is more detailed than the national coverage. Allegedly (if you can get signal that is) the coverage maps overlap so it does keep you informed as you travel from region to region.

TMC can only carry a finite number of incidents per broadcast so the more local, the more detailed.

On the Honda can you manually choose (or omit) stations that you receive the broadcast from? If you can then by choosing Classic FM you can get the detailed local (in Kent the coverage is from Southampton to Luton so not too local) or Capital group stations for a overall national view.

Constantine · 6th June 2008, 09:45

I find I over ride it if I know the road - if I know the detour is likely to take as long as the jam. Driving on unfamiliar roads it has been more useful. Worth it just to avoid motorway closures.

Kremmen · 6th June 2008, 10:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by alanwalne

Grrr don't talk to me about TomTom TMC. It is brilliant if you live in Rochester and work in Basildon (fortunately I do). The receiver simply is not strong enough.

True the coverage is only local, but it is more detailed than the national coverage. Allegedly (if you can get signal that is) the coverage maps overlap so it does keep you informed as you travel from region to region.

TMC can only carry a finite number of incidents per broadcast so the more local, the more detailed.

On the Honda can you manually choose (or omit) stations that you receive the broadcast from? If you can then by choosing Classic FM you can get the detailed local (in Kent the coverage is from Southampton to Luton so not too local) or Capital group stations for a overall national view.

I just let the TMC station seel do it's own thing.

I get Eagle when in Surrey and it flips to Capital as I approach Heathrow. Works fine though.

alanwalne · 6th June 2008, 10:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kremmen

I just let the TMC station seel do it's own thing.

I get Eagle when in Surrey and it flips to Capital as I approach Heathrow. Works fine though.

They are both Capital Group stations. Perhaps Honda do not subscribe to the Classic FM service as well.

5th June 2008, 16:57	#1 (permalink)
sjg Valve Cap Join Date: 28th August 2007 Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	How useful is the Civic Satnav's TMC? Hi, I'm a prospective Civic owner, and getting tempted by an EX. I do about 25k miles a year and use a Tomtom at the moment. However it doesn't do any of the traffic stuff so I need to keep the radio's TA feature on in case of any hold-ups. Around 8am it feels like every few minutes I get a new annoucement from all the different local radio stations, usually to tell me about routes I won't use anyway - very annoying. How well does the TMC feature of the sat-nav work in the real world? I'll be using it within about 100 miles of London so hopefully coverage should be OK. Do you get good, useful info out of it? Do you bother getting traffic reports via TA on the radio any more? thanks, Simon

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This thread is about: How useful is the Civic Satnav's TMC?, it's in Electronics at the Honda Civic forum Civinfo; Hi, I'm a prospective Civic owner, and getting tempted by an EX. I do about 25k miles a year and use a Tomtom at the ...

5th June 2008, 17:49	#2 (permalink)
Lurker Supporter Valve Cap Join Date: 20th January 2008 Location: Southampton Posts: 26 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	I've got an EX too and use the TMC a lot. I've had mixed experience. When you get the usual build up of traffic around rush hour it works fine and you just "know" that you're in for a crawl for a while. However I went up to the Lakes last week and the TMC told me that there was an accident on the M6 at Jnc 16. I chose to be diverted and it took me through a whole bunch of A roads - not particularly optimal route and took ages. After about 15 mins of leaving the M6 the previous accident appear to have been cleared which left me a little frustrated. So IMO it's useful but I get the feeling that it's not quite as up to the minute as it needs to be.

5th June 2008, 17:58	#3 (permalink)
pcr Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 5th September 2006 Location: Shropshire Posts: 848 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post iTrader: (0)	When comparing the 5.00 pm radio traffic report with TMC, many of the reported hold-ups do not appear on TMC. On one occasion TMC showed a local incident which required a large detour. I ignored it and found no hold-up whatsoever. My view is that it works but I am not confident with it.

5th June 2008, 19:31	#4 (permalink)
FWH Super Moderator Civinfo master Join Date: 3rd June 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 6,067 Thanks: 16 Thanked 67 Times in 62 Posts iTrader: (0)	I agree it can be limited. The info you receive is good to have, but there is plenty more info you would want to have. Not a Honda fault, it is dependant on the transmition of the data. This will vary from region to region. For example, the other night, driving on satnav a major tunnel was closed. This was not on the TMC and therefore I was not given a new route which excluded the tunnel.

6th June 2008, 01:43	#5 (permalink)
psykik Supporter Triangular Exhaust Join Date: 28th April 2007 Posts: 469 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts iTrader: (0)	ive mostly found the traffic reports outdated, but its better than not having them does anyone use the auto reroute feature? ive found this more of a nuisance than useful

6th June 2008, 06:48	#6 (permalink)
Kremmen Krem de la Krem Civinfo guru Join Date: 7th January 2007 Location: West London Posts: 2,875 Thanks: 14 Thanked 19 Times in 19 Posts iTrader: (0)	As long as you don't get lumbered with the SatNav v 3.22 then the TMC is extremely useful. There are loads of reports over on the PGPSW forum about the TomTom's TMC aerial and it's shortcomings resulting in a bad TMC experience. Plus, from what I'm reading over there the TT TMC is only local to where you are? The Civic TMC is quick to activate and it shows the whole country. I find it extremely useful on busy days when I can see what the M25 is doing from many miles away and I can take a detour well in advance. Plus with the EX you get Bluetooth, HID's and a load of other goodies.

6th June 2008, 09:45	#8 (permalink)
Constantine Supporter Valve Cap Join Date: 25th October 2007 Location: Northampton Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader: (0)	I find I over ride it if I know the road - if I know the detour is likely to take as long as the jam. Driving on unfamiliar roads it has been more useful. Worth it just to avoid motorway closures.