Navigation has always been a staple of the vehicle infotainment world. Since we moved from reading paper maps to looking at something on a screen, we have been infatuated with the best and latest maps on our big navigation displays.
While the proliferation of mirroring technologies like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are making stock navigation systems less favorable, some people still want to keep their inbuilt navigation working and up to date.
Most car manufacturers go the traditional way of giving you navigation updates through an SD card. Ford isn’t any different.
How Often Should You Install a Ford Navigation SD?
The only reason you have to update your navigation SD is that new cards capture most of your area’s new roads and buildings. This will make your navigation more fulfilling and efficient.
Additionally, you can get a new navigation SD if you move into a location where your existing card did not have detailed maps.
Finally, you will have to replace your card if, for some reason, it gets corrupted or ruined. Water damage or an electrical problem can corrupt the data in the card, rendering it useless.
How to Get the Latest Maps on My Ford Navigation System
While most of us will be okay with a simple Ford Navigation SD card download package we write to our cards, manufacturers rarely availed navigation data for download.
The only way you could lay your hands on an upgrade is by paying the dealership or manufacturer for a pre-loaded navigation SD card.
To get the update, visit the Ford Navigation Store and purchase the correct update for your vehicle model and year. You can still get used cards from salvage vehicles or the third-party market on Amazon and eBay, but there is no guarantee it will work or have the latest map data.
After filling in the relevant information at the navigation store and getting the map information for your location, place your order, pay the necessary amount and wait for the navigation data SD to arrive.
How to Install a Ford Navigation SD
Once you have the card, you can install it into your infotainment system. You can use your user manual to identify the navigation data SD card slot. In most cases, it is on the front fascia, where you have the USB, music SD card, and AUX port.
- Push and release the existing SD card to eject it
- Remove any other SD cards or USB drives plugged into the car
- Please insert the new SD card the correct way and push it in until it clicks
- Turn on the vehicle to the Accessory mode or fully on to power on the infotainment system
- Once the system discovers the new SD, it will take you through an installation wizard to install the new maps
- This can take a couple of minutes, and you will be good to go
When doing the update, ensure your vehicle stays on and don’t interrupt the process until the process is complete and the infotainment system completely boots, and you can access the maps. This will help you avoid corrupting the card or ruining the update.
How to Install Sync with MyFord Touch Software Update
If you have a more recent vehicle with a SYNC system, you can download all updates from your Sync owner account and load them to an empty USB drive.
Remove any other devices, USB drives, and non-navigation SD cards from the infotainment system before proceeding.
- Start the vehicle. It will have to be running through the entire update. You can go for a drive to pass the time or multitask or leave it idling but attend to
- Ensure that you disable Automatic Engine Idle Shutdown to prevent the vehicle from auto shutting down the engine during the installation process
- Turn on the audio system and set your volume to a low but audible place
- Insert the USV drive with the update files into the USB port, and don’t remove it until the entire process is complete. The update should start automatically
- You will get a Sync Message that is audible and an option to Press OK on the screen to start the update
- Your infotainment system should reboot and start the update with a progress bar. This should take up to 30 minutes
- Once this step is over, you will get a Restarting System message, and the infotainment system will reboot. Your screen might stay black for up to five minutes during this reboot period. Don’t panic and do anything. Just sit back and wait
- When it restarts, you will get an ‘Installing Service Pack’ message that could be up for around 10 minutes before going black for around two minutes
- The system will again display the Home Screen for a while before showing a progress bar
- After this, you will get an ‘Installation Complete’ on your touchscreen
- Press OK on the screen and remove the USB drive. You can now enjoy your freshly updated infotainment system.
The above process is only compatible with SD card navigation systems that work with A3, A4, and A5 SD cards. Anything below A3 will need you to purchase a physical update SD card.
Can You Copy a Ford Navigation SD Card?
Thinking of a shortcut that goes around the tiresome purchase of a physical SD card process when updating navigation? You might think that merely copying data from your old SD will get the job done.
Unfortunately, the SD cards use a proprietary file system and intentionally make it impossible to copy data and write it to another SD card that works. Vehicle manufacturers used to do this because selling map data cards or discs was a great aftersale service back before Android Auto and CarPlay.
If you have a newer Ford vehicle with SYNC systems with A3 and above cards, you can download the necessary data and copy it to a card. However, you can’t copy an already installed card data and hope it works since the infotainment system has to go through an installation procedure just like your Windows or Linux computer has to inflate and install OS data for it to work.
How Do I Activate my Ford Navigation System?
Ford navigation systems running on Sync 4 and above could need a subscription and activation to access the Connected Navigation system fully.
You will need a FordPass app, and a FordPass connect modem to activate the system.
- Go to AppStore or Google Play and download the FordPass app to your smartphone.
- Use your existing Ford Account to log into the FordPass app or create an account if you don’t have one.
- Enter your VIN and select activate vehicle. If the vehicle is legally attached to your Ford account, this should go through.
- Go to your vehicle and start the engine.
- Your infotainment system will take you through prompts to activate the modem and navigation system.