My 2014 CX5 is the same. It has the TomTom NC1 nav system. The updates are no longer free, but you get a year of updates for $79.

 

I discovered for myself one way )) I buy SD cards for all my cars here https://navi-world.com/product-categ...azda_sd_cards/
my friends are buying here too , we are more than happy now ))

 

No it goes off if your vin #. As soon as you put it in your car the vin registers and you can't update already tried that with several cards.

 

I was thinking of buying a new one off eBay too for 39.00 but I can update it after this one cuz it goes off of my vin #

 

I bought one recently off Amazon for $39, works perfectly. But as I am past my 3 years of free updates (goes by your VIN which gets written on the card when you insert it into your car) I'm stuck with what I have. New one from Mazda will run a ridiculously $395..for a lousy S/D card.

 

So even if you buy a new card it won't update anymore as the Mazda Toolbox keeps track of the VIN? I would assume this to be the case even if you did buy one at the dealer. Seems like a silly business model. I guess after three years your only option is to pay for each update? Or is that even an option? I have not seen a recent update posted. When was the last map update? I think it was 2021.

EDIT- you can't make this up.... Literally within 5 min of posting this I received this email from Mazda : Dear valued Mazda Connect user,

A new map update for North America is available for your Mazda Connect navigation system as of August 18, 2022.

With each map update thousands of roads, street names, restrictions and POIs are added or modified. Get the latest update now!

BTW my "gray market" Mazda nav card still updates just fine. No new issues cropping up as some had suggested would happen. I still suggest bypassing the dealer and getting one from Amazon or Ebay.

 

Yeah, received the same, must be something new. Think I'll try to update just to see what happens. BTW, purchasing new updates runs about $89. Ridiculous, that plus the cost of a card from Mazda will cost more than a unit from Garmin.

 

For sure I will do the 3yr option if I decide to go further than 3yrs. Much more economical.

 

I used to think this bulit in Nav was a waste of time, since we had CarPlay or just the phone in a bracket. Of course, when there is no signal in the boonies, or you the local cells are saturated, such as in a major traffic accident, phone map apps do not work, unless you have previously downloaded the geographic area. Now I think better of the whole Mazda nav thing...don't use it often, but it is very useful when you need something, and do not have a paper map in the car, and someone that knows HOW TO READ A MAP...it seems to be a lost art...

 

We are just about to purchase a new vehicle with our '17 is going to our daughter. The '14 is still running strong with one of the boys. We have 2 problems, the first is that our windshield was replaced in March and the rain sensor and heads up display brightness started acting up - back to Safelite on Monday. Our second problem is the Nav system update for $79/yr or $395 for 3 years - what gives? The system has always had some quirks when comparing to other mapping systems, but this cost takes the cake. With all of the mapping technology how can it possibly cost this much? Does Mazda have a dedicated mapping IT team? I suppose they are simply phasing this out and moving to a cellular interface, but this was a poor way to make that happen and/or business decision. We have been loyal Mazda owners, this will be part of our next purchase consideration.