…had our ND for a while now, but never really needed to use the Satnav (built in), in anger. Went away for a few days this week and decided to “give it a go”…and it’s absolutely cr@p!!!
Regardless of settings it seems hell bent on sending me down all the smallest roads it can find, many with grass in the middle, or almost farm tracks!!
Also seems incapable of finding some post codes even though they are obviously old / well established.
I have completely lost faith in the damn thing so I have decided to get a decent phone holder and just use Waze on my Android phone, so the question is, can anybody recommend a decent phone holder, ideally one that fits into the front (oblong), air vent?..
…many thanks for any input…
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I know it is not perfect but ‘cr@p’ is a little harsh.
Have you been in settings to select the options that suit you. Shortest will send you down some silly roads. Fastest may be better suited to you. You can also stop it using types of road so I think it would be a good idea to play with settings before you have a complete meltdown!!
You can also set way points to force a particular route if you are touring.
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Hi Stuboid
I have a ND 2,also had a ND1,I get on very well with the sat nav,you may not be aware after typing in the post code etc,your get a choice if you so desire of 4 different routes.mine works very well,I either get fast routes mainly main roAds,or scenic short routes depending on what I fancy.
When I first purchased my N D 2,it certainly was not working right and took a while to fix,as it kept ending up in the wrong destination,initially it thre the garage as to what was wrong as they could not work it out,then the light bulb moment one of there computer whizz kids,totally cleared the sat nav memory,then just re loaded it all,since then it has worked perfect,so I think you should go back to garage first if they are a reputable main agent Mazda dealer,and have a brainy person working for them.
The garage I deal with is Lodge Garage near Aylesbury and Bicester.
All best Simon
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Hi Limon, and thanks for the reply.
…yes I tried allt various “route setting options”, but still ended up down farm tracks not much wider than the car. My other car does not have any built in satnav, but it does have android auto so I use that with Waze and have not had any problems. Unlike other satnav systems I do not find the Mazda version at all intuitive / user friendly, so happy to give up on it and stick with Waze / google assuming I can find a decent phone holder…
Like you I’m highly unimpressed with the standard SatNav and used Google Maps which is vastly superior.
Quadlock phone mounts are very good, versatile and well made. Easy to mount and dismount your phone. Only drawback is the price which is a bit steep but quality does cost.
You need to check your settings you can opt out of some of the route options 4 years now I never had a paroblem …
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Why not install Apple CarPlay/Android Auto in your car? If you fit yourself it’ll cost little more than a decent phone mount.
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Mazda SatNav is rubbish, CarPlay/AA is a game changer, I never use the Mazda system since fitting CarPlay.
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Yep, for examples, it does not recognise postcodes on the Isle of Man…
I agree with stubod.
Having used a variety of decent satnavs, I think Mad_Malc is being unduly lenient and kind hearted.
Even Mazda have given up on plugging it and now add the options of third-party phone-based satnav.
It’s the same as in our Mazda3, the worst satnav I’ve ever attempted to use.
I worked through its options very carefully because I could not believe it was so bad, but eventually I gave up.
Instead, for that car we bought another Garmin with its completely intuitive interface, free lifetime maps, intelligent live traffic info and reactions, and it does NOT need the overhead of a phone.
At the last service when the dealer offered to update our Mazda3’s “old” maps for a “small additional charge” I simply laughed and pulled the Garmin out of my bag; I could see from his face I needed say no more.
Most of the time mine is ok- ish but it isn’t a patch on Waze . And twice the treacherous b*****d has lost its senses -
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It decided that the best route between North Yorkshire and Thruxton (Hants/Wilts border) was via Wales
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en route to a friend’s house in the Scottish Borders it routed me down ever smaller roads and I ended up in a farm yard , miles from anywhere and at least 20 miles from my destination . Weirdly , there was a pristine red Austin Allegro SS parked outside the farm. I had not only been misdirected , but I had also been transported back to 1974
Trust it ? Not so much …
Just out of interest is it possible to put way points in Waze?
Hi Team
After reading all your comments,I want to defend my Mazda sat nav again,it works spot on,if I want little pretty lanes as a scenic route it finds them,if I just want from A to B on simple fast main roads it finds them perfectly,I can only repeat it was hopeless in lots of ways when the car was first purchased it seemed to have no idea where it was really going at all,and on about the third attempt to fix it the garage had the brain wave to totally 100% clear the memory chip,then just re-install it all,totally amazing since then,and that was nearly three years ago,the brains behind the job worked for Lodge garage Mazda near Aylesbury,I think it could now navigate me to the moon ,if I put the right post code in.
Have a nice day all best Simon
When I had an ND1 without CarPlay, I used the kenu+ mount and would recommend it. Looks subtle and works well. Now I have an ND2 with CarPlay, so the kenu+ hardly gets used.
Details from Amazon here fingers crossed the link works.
Got me there Malcolm . But I am not sure what I’d do with a way point even if I could create one 
Also not keen on the standard nav system.
Bought an IL Motorsport phone holder, bit expensive but bloody brilliant: MX-5 Handy Konsole mit Klemmhalter - Linkslenker
Then stuck a cig lighter to USB adaptor in the port in the footwell, ran a cable up under the dash, and now use Google Maps - happy days.
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Good morning John, for touring a way point enables you to tailor the best route for your needs. It is a way of manipulating the route.
I take it by the lack of response that Waze cannot be manipulated to create a touring route. A big fail for me then. Shame as i quite like it.
I have no skin in the game, the Mazda Satnav is perfectly adequate if you invest the small amount of time needed to learn it, I also use Google Maps and Waze through Android Auto depending on the need.
On the Google products you can add stops (waypoints) and it works quite well.
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Thanks Ian, unfortunately just adding one way point is not going to work. Most scenic routes need way more than one.
You can add multiple stops, not sure of the total, at least 10 though.