Why update your navigation maps for 2020?

Part of the reason is the fact that roads are always changing. New roads are being built, old roads are being closed or rerouted, two-way streets are being turned into one-way streets. In some areas, up to 40% of the road network can change from one year to the next.

The last thing you want your navigation system to do is send you down a street that hasn’t existed for five years, or let you spend an hour weaving through an unfamiliar town when there’s a shiny new bypass that could cut your journey time in half. BMW adds 142,000 miles of new roads to its maps every year, so updating your maps means your navigation system is going to work a lot better.

But BMW is also working hard to improve its map data. Earlier versions can include mistakes (even Google Maps has a few streets that exist in principle, but in reality are just empty fields), and each subsequent map version is going to iron out more of these issues.

What’s more, BMW adds 300,000 points of interest to its maps each year, including restaurants, gas stations and attractions. If you’re in an unfamiliar area and want to stop off for a bite to eat, having the latest maps on your iDrive will make it easier to use the interactive map to find out what options you have around you.

BMW recommend updating your navigation system’s maps twice a year, or annually at the very least.