Portable navigation units gain high praise, critique from drivers

As in-vehicle technology becomes more sophisticated, the knowledge of the people selling the products also should follow suit. A recent study, however, points out that there is something lacking at the counter.

A J.D. Power and Associates report, released last week, underlines the current popularity of portable navigation units, but it also reveals that the reseller network may not be fully prepared for this and other emerging technologies.

The study is defined by an extremely high number of consumer complaints, with two thirds of the 4,000 buyers surveyed reporting problems, the most prevalent of which are route accuracy and system mounting. Highest levels of satisfaction were reported with appearance and voice directions, while system speed garnered the lowest satisfaction ratings, the firm reports.

About 25 percent of owners surveyed say they want iPod compatibility, and 26 percent are interested in camera integration, but these two categories have the largest gap between supply and demand, J.D. Power adds.

The high number of complaints points to more overall usage and a demographic that's using some of these products for the first time, says Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies for J.D. Power and Associates. The more a consumer uses a product, the higher the likely incidences of problems, he adds.

Says Marshall: "One of the biggest surprises is the percentage of repurchase of the same make is very high. Ninety percent of these owners, even though they have problems with it, are happy enough that they go back to the same make."

Portable navigation device (PND) users expressed interest in adding real-time traffic, weather forecasts and news alerts to navigation, states J.D. Power.

Another finding of the study that should concern the aftermarket is the lack of product knowledge at the counter. Drivers who contacted the manufacturer directly were much more satisfied than those who returned the navigation device to the retail outlet, says Marshall.

For example, a large population of retail reps have no idea what "text to speech" means. (Marshall says this feature goes beyond audio directions — descriptions like street names are translated for the end-user.)

Additionally, owners who shopped online reported a better experience than those who went to a brick and mortar store, according to a news release.

Marshall clarifies that this goes beyond an aftermarket problem. "The problem goes to the dealership at the OE level, too," he adds. "The large part of the onus is on the manufacturer to best equip the sales personnel with the product knowledge to better promote their product."

The study also points out that more functionality on PNDs can lead to higher satisfaction ratings, and that pnavigation device owners highly rate the value of their devices.

For details, visit JD Power's Web site.