SiriusXM Travel Link, NavWeather, and Nav Traffic

[TravelFree]

Has anyone who has Sirius XM radio subscription tried to use The Travel Link features SXM offers?

I had Travel Link and Nav Weather a awhile back on a Ford and really liked it. The Sirius XM website claims it is compatible with our 2020 Model S.

I recognize that Traffic feature and a few others is aleady standard on our Premium Tesla service but Tesla doesn't offer weather, latest stocks update and other stuff that SiriusXM has in the package. Seems strange there is little information by other Tesla owners using it.

 

[David.85D]

I have SXM but have never seen those features on my MS. How is it supposed to work? Did you tune to a Specific channel or the data was streamed onto a display without a channel selection?

 

[TravelFree]

On my other cars the Travel Link is accessed through the app page in the settings. You turn the feature on and it automatically syncs the feature onto the nav screen as an overlay. So, like weather, as I was traveling in Texas I saw several funnel icons up ahead on my map indicating tornadoes. In south FL, I could see clouds on the map with lightning bolts tor thunderstorms. I don't believe it streams over the internet but sends the data from satellite. On stocks there was a traveling ticker tape on the bottom of the screen like we see on Fox News but it showed up all the time.

 

[David.85D]

Never seen anything like that. Guess it isn’t enabled. I know several people here have asked for weather to be included on the maps/navigation , but it hasn’t happened

 

[TravelFree]

check out this link for what's available:

SiriusXM Travel Link

 

[bob_p]

With Tesla vehicles, only SiriusXM audio is available, none of the extra features, which would have to be integrated into the Tesla apps.

Tesla provides real-time traffic data in console maps, and uses that data for calculating routes. Tesla apps do not currently provide notifications of traffic situations (such as lanes blocked or accidents on the route). This information can be accessed through websites (though the Tesla Waze website appears to be going away).

Tesla doesn't provide any weather data, and provides limited POI information in the navigation system. It is possible to get this information using the browser, using a weather website.

Other vehicles also have the ability to buffer SiriusXM channels, allowing you to pause and skip backward/forward in the program buffer - the Tesla SiriusXM app only plays real-time audio.

Tesla could certainly do more to support SiriusXM, including supporting their streaming channels, which would provide access to more programming, such as your choice of home/away broadcasts for live sports (when they resume).

 

[BigNick]

Has anyone who has Sirius XM radio subscription tried to use The Travel Link features SXM offers?

I had Travel Link and Nav Weather a awhile back on a Ford and really liked it. The Sirius XM website claims it is compatible with our 2020 Model S.

I recognize that Traffic feature and a few others is aleady standard on our Premium Tesla service but Tesla doesn't offer weather, latest stocks update and other stuff that SiriusXM has in the package. Seems strange there is little information by other Tesla owners using it.

These features work on my Impala's NAV system (and maybe all GM Nav systems?).

No idea if they'd work on a Tesla, when I was paying for SXM radio I never opted for those packages in the Tesla. I can tell you that the SXM Travel Link is NOT available for all roads. When I get far enough away from the Baltimore Beltway, no traffic info outside major interstates like I-95. Forget about back roads.

I find less need for SXM radio with the Slacker/LiveXLive options, lots of content there, and no more repetitious than SXM. So I dropped the subscription on the Tesla.

 

[TravelFree]

I just spent an hour on the phone with SXM advanced tech support and they verified that the Travel link and Nav weather works on year 2020 Model S and X. However, they could not get it activated on my screen. According to their technician, the access to activate it is located below SXM on the left of the radio screen below Direct Tune. Once subscribed they said it tales about 24 hours to download the update to the Tesla SXM radio. Audio channel updates are much faster and they activated mine and those popped up like one at a time over the hour. If it doesn't work by Friday I'm to call them back and they will remove the subscription. I will just keep the News channels.
I haven't looked at slacker or the other apps yet.

I like the weather overlay to the navigation, the stock reports, but I'm aware I don't need the traffic overlays as Tesla already has that.

I had Travel link on some of my other cars and it is really nice for long road trips.

Currently I do have weather.com and waze as favorites on the web browser.

 

[bob_p]

Seem highly unlikely that you'll get anything other than audio streams from XM radio in a Tesla.

Tesla's XM app is very basic - doesn't even have a station slider (this was removed several years ago). Would be extremely surprising if Tesla had upgraded the app to include anything from XM other than audio - otherwise, wouldn't they be highlighting that on the Tesla website?:

 

[TravelFree]

otherwise, wouldn't they be highlighting that on the Tesla website?:

Probably never. I don't recall Tesla highlighting too many competitive services. They just acknowledge SXM but offer no specifics. There isn't an app for SXM, just a radio. It's Sirius XM that advertises compatibility with the model S and X for Travel Link, weather nav and Traffic based on the radio code and model of the radio.

But, they don't know why the selection doesn't show up. Claiming it should appear just below Direct Tune on the left column. After 48 hours the update to the radio just doesn't appear.

Not sure what you mean by station slider but there is a listing of genre and stations, plus meta info on each station that changes depending on the programming. The SXM stations can also be added to Favorites.

Anyway, I plan to call them tomorrow and cancel.


In the meantime I was able to use the web browser and get the weather storms on a radar map while out driving today. Not quite as good but better than nothing. It's slower updating than what I had with SXM nav weather.

 

[bob_p]

The XM app is part of the media player app.

Up until a few years ago, there used to be a station slider, like the AM/FM radio interface, where you could slide the cursor along the AM/FM radio band and quickly navigate to a station.

For some reason, the XM station slider was removed. You can single step up/down, but can't quickly move to a different block of stations.

The XM functionality is part of the Tesla Media Player app - highly unlikely the Travel Link and NavTraffic features would interface with Tesla's map/navigation system - which are in a different app/software module.

Before purchasing our first Model S in early 2013, I was driving a Lexus that had XM with NavTraffic - it provided real-time traffic data on major highways (not surface streets) and provided notices of upcoming traffic issues along the route. The Tesla system provide more real-time traffic data on current road speed - but still hasn't integrated traffic notifications (which is why many people use Waze).

What Tesla should do - is add the XM/streaming app, which would eliminate the need for the satellite antenna, make XM more like the other streaming apps, and provide customers more channels, not just the ones broadcast on satellite...

 

[TravelFree]

Bob- Appreciate your opinions and agree that it would be nice if Tesla added offered similar services. Maybe they will in the Premium package one day.

It seems by the way you stated the SXM Travel link and other features you aren't aware of how SXM Travel Link works. The traffic or weather didn't overlay to the Tesla map but rather added it's own map on the Tesla screen the same as the way Tesla allows other maps to be added using the browser. Thats how the CSR said it is supposed to work. But these maps are much slower updating. On my old Ford the SXM map for weather and traffic had three levels of zoom. Tesla map has variable levels. The Tesla traffic is rudimentary with little colored outlines on the roads. The SXM was better refined and offered info on delays. The bad part is it was usually obsolete information as there was about a 15 minute delay. I was mainly interested in two features, Weather and stock ticker. But I thought I would subscribe to all of their services and later cancel what I didn't use.

Anyway, on yesterday's trip to central FL I managed to test weather.com and Underground weather in the Tesla browser and this will do for now. It allows me to let the apps access my location but once again, the system is slow. Still better than nothing. I was able to avoid a heavy rain storm by having this on my screen while driving. Now I want to add something for a stock ticker so I can keep track of my stocks while on a road trip. ( I trade stocks daily ). If I can get these two features on the Tesla screen I won't need SXM travel link.

Some other Favorites I added to the Tesla screen is Abetterrouteplanner which seems to be a nice alternative to the Tesla planner just to look at options but I still prefer the Tesla one as it does more behind the scenes.

PS- I did try to cancel the SXM Travel Ling subscription but their tech support was closed. Try again on Monday.

 

[bob_p]

If Tesla had extended the XM app (embedded in the media player app), either they note that in the owners guide or on their website - or we'd see other Tesla owners commenting on that in the forums.

In theory, the XM app could get the browser to open a web page to display the data, though if it did that, the XM app really wouldn't need the satellite data - the browser would have access to that information over the internet, and not be dependent on using a web page to display local data received from the XM satellite.

As a long-time Tesla owner (since early 2013), the lack of functionality in the media player app continues to be a source of frustration. There hasn't been much improvement in functionality since the software installed in the first production model S cars in mid 2012. We're still missing basic features like playlists. The streaming apps are very limited. While the user interface appearance has improved, the usability is actually less due to some of the "improvements" (like removing the station slider bar for XM).

We're going to be picking up an RV in two weeks that will have the Mercedes MBUX system with Android Auto (and Apple CarPlay) - it will be interesting to see how that compares to Tesla's infotainment system - that is approaching 8 years old...