Mazda sat nav update confusion

venomx

My vehicle was registered in March 2017.
The map version I'm currently running is December 2019 so thankfully not that outdated

I put my SD card into my PC and opened up the mazda toolbox app. It then said my SD card was incompatible and I needed to download a different version so I did.

It then said something like " you are eligible for the mazda mapcare plan or there is a map update available"

So I clicked next, it then said my SD card has insufficient space and then asked me which map i want to install, so I clicked "europe" as I'm in the UK.

It then went straight to the download but I cancelled it as it didn't give me an option to do a backup.

So first question is, why was I not offered a back up , incase it goes wrong?

Secondly from what I know, the free map updates used to be for 3 years, but on cars from 2019 onward it is 5 years.

As my car is from march 2017 surely march 2020 is when the free updates expire.  As far as i know updates are bi yearly  usually december and then june... so how could I be eligible for an update, when the next one would be June 2020 which falls outside of the 3 year window?

It also didn't tell me which map version/ year it was about to install, hence why I cancelled it

 would appreciate some assistance, thanks

born_again

Why not just get a new SD card?

But if this is anything like Kia update system. Once it has updated, there is no easy way to go back. 

So if you want a back up, just drag & drop files from SD to PC, but don't hope it will fix anything..

I would also find a mazda forum, as they will have plenty of posters who have been through this. 

venomx

Thanks for the reply...
You cannot get a new SD card. You must use the mazda branded one which is paired to the car and it's VIN.

Also don't think you can drag and drop as it's all secured so you can only update via the mazda app.

Ectophile

How is it supposed to do a backup if there's already insufficient space on the SD card for a full map download?

Dave_5150

Is it the MZD Connect system you have in your Mazda?

venomx

Ectophile said:

How is it supposed to do a backup if there's already insufficient space on the SD card for a full map download?

I'm not sure where the back up is supposed to store, if it's on the SD card then that would explain it. I thought perhaps it uploads to the Internet somewhere or to the pc hard drive, it's just when I watch tutorials on how to update mazda maps, people usually get an option to do a backup Dave_5150 said:

Is it the MZD Connect system you have in your Mazda?

Yes it is

roddydogs

Yes you get 3 yrs update free, then they want about £90 to update so i didn't bother. Suggest contact a main dealer.

[Deleted User]

venomx said:

Thanks for the reply...
You cannot get a new SD card. You must use the mazda branded one which is paired to the car and it's VIN.

Also don't think you can drag and drop as it's all secured so you can only update via the mazda app.

That is actually incorrect, you can get a new SD card - copy and paste all the files on your Mazda card onto the new one, then run the new card in the Mazda for I think 100 miles (or it might be 100km?) and it will write the car data to the card and the toolbox will recognise this new card. I have done this myself, I have the standard old 8gb card and bought a 16gb one and it works fine.

The card backup is also a separate option in the mazda toolbox from memory. It stores the backup on the PC, I seem to recall it offers the backup before you start the map updates

I believe you can get third party map updates but needs some jiggery pokery to do this.

The map updates are also on a fixed time period e.g. yours ran out in December 2020 - I cannot remember if you can still get the option if you try now but it might be eligible but it would be December 2017-December 2020 updates or June 2017-June 2020 - that was how I found it, mine was a 2014 December reg and the last update was December 2017, I left it a year and then bought another 3 years. I use google maps at the moment on the phone. I am deciding if I should buy the android auto update at £350 at the dealer or buy a kit from ebay which is lower but needs some car surgery

venomx

Deleted_User said:

venomx said:

Thanks for the reply...
You cannot get a new SD card. You must use the mazda branded one which is paired to the car and it's VIN.

Also don't think you can drag and drop as it's all secured so you can only update via the mazda app.

That is actually incorrect, you can get a new SD card - copy and paste all the files on your Mazda card onto the new one, then run the new card in the Mazda for I think 100 miles (or it might be 100km?) and it will write the car data to the card and the toolbox will recognise this new card. I have done this myself, I have the standard old 8gb card and bought a 16gb one and it works fine.

The card backup is also a separate option in the mazda toolbox from memory. It stores the backup on the PC, I seem to recall it offers the backup before you start the map updates

I believe you can get third party map updates but needs some jiggery pokery to do this.

The map updates are also on a fixed time period e.g. yours ran out in December 2020 - I cannot remember if you can still get the option if you try now but it might be eligible but it would be December 2017-December 2020 updates or June 2017-June 2020 - that was how I found it, mine was a 2014 December reg and the last update was December 2017, I left it a year and then bought another 3 years. I use google maps at the moment on the phone. I am deciding if I should buy the android auto update at £350 at the dealer or buy a kit from ebay which is lower but needs some car surgery

Thanks for the useful information.

I have considered the android auto retro fit however the price is ridiculous just so I can use Google maps in the car ( I find the built in nav to be really good however the lack of traffic update isn't) also good how it alerts for speed cameras and red light cameras too.

What I'm trying to say is, I don't know why it's saying there's an update available when I'm already running the latest map that I'm eligible for which is December 2019, unless there was another one prior to March 2020 ( unlikely as the following update would be june 2020 which is over the  three years from when my car was registered. March 2017 )

Perhaps its just a way to reinstall the December 2019 again if one was to run into any issues, or even if you wanted to change the map zone from Europe to Turkey or Russia .

I didn't  get a back up option, it just said "install now" and then immediately started downloading the update but I cancelled it because it didn't even tell me which map version it was updating to, or give me and option to back it up.

Can you manually back up by putting the card into the pc and then drag and drop,?

[Deleted User]

As I said, I'm sure there is an option on the toolbox for a backup which is separate, I know I have backed them up before. If it's offering a new map update still, do the SD card file swap, run the car (I'm leaning to it being 100km / 63 miles) and once it's written, use the larger card and get all the updates.

You can get an android auto kit on ebay for around £100, it plugs into one of the 2 USB ports (I have the digital radio retro fit on the other) and you have to wangle off the dashboard and wire it up but seems doable if you're confident with these things and a lot cheaper than the dealer price. The older firmware allowed you to hack all sorts of stuff like make the touchscreen work at any speed but the newer one is a bit more work

venomx

@Deleted_User

OK I understand that. I did not get an option to back it up so could I just pop the sd card into the pc, transfer the files across to my hard drive via Windows explorer then plug in a new SD card from currys or whatever then transfer the files over to the new one manually? 

Then run the new SD card for 70 miles, pop it into the pc and then do the update. Is that what you mean ?

Then I could keep the OEM mazda sd card as a back up / spare for the future in case I ever need it ?

Thanks