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Why do I have to pay an annual fee to keep my navigation up to date?

I've recently noticed that the sat nav on my 3 year old BMW 3 Series is out of date and no longer providing real-time traffic updates. My local BMW dealer suggested I need to purchase an annual subscription from them to access updates once the car is out of its 3 year warranty, at a cost of c.£120pa. Is it really the case that I need to pay BMW annually to have continued access to accurate maps and traffic alerts, or ar there cheaper (or even free) alternatives out there?

Asked on 28 March 2025 by martin tonbridge

Answered by David Ross
Yes, unfortunately real time traffic and map updates are free for the first three years but require a subscription after this point. Unfortunately the only free alternative is to use phone mirroring and navigation apps such as Waze or Google Maps.
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