blue-impala

I am the owner of a new 2014 Chevrolet Impala 2-LTZ. Let me state first that the vehicle itself is outstanding so far (500 miles)

The big problem that I have run into is MyLink, specifically it’s integration with an I-Pod. The interface is clunky and slow.

The first issue is INDEXING!!!!!! – you cannot scroll through artist or playlist on the DIC IP screen as it seems to always be indexing after start up, takes 10 minutes + for this to work. Indexing is slow !!!!. If shut off for 10 minutes and re started, it has to re index all over again. It would seem that it has to re-index every time the vehicle is started no matter what. I am using an I-Pod Touch 64 with about 6000 songs. My previous vehicle was fitted with a Pioneer Touch Screen System and would see all that is on my I-Pod instantly, and that was with an I-Pod Classic 160GB (My Link will not even deal with the I-Pod Classic, it starts to index and after a few seconds it will cause the I-Pod classic to crash and re-boot.) On my Pioneer I could scroll through anything and set up what I wanted to play before even moving the car. There was no Indexing procedure. The Pioneer used whatever indexing structure that was already in the I-Pod. MyLink seems ignore the Apple structure and instead Index the device itself but can not remember what it Indexed each time the vehicle is started. It amazes me that GM’s software engineers thought this was the best route to take when developing MyLink, seems a bit out of touch with how people want to use I-Pod’s and or I-Phones. Who would want to wait 10 Minutes + to choose what they want to listen to. I find hard to believe that the MyLink developers found this to be acceptable performance.

The second Issue I am having is when moving to next track via steering wheel controls, it sometimes skips two tracks. It will play about one second of the next track and then go to the following track. You then have to tell it to go back one track to get what you wanted in the first place. It’s not predictable.

The third issue is the Shuffle Mode. It is buried in a menu. You cannot activate it from the main screen or through the DIC screen. If you set it to the “On” position it will stay on until the vehicle is shut off. When you restart the vehicle you have turn Shuffle mode on each time. The unit will not remember user settings. This feature needs to be accessible from the main screen as well as the DIC. It is a basic function of using an I-Pod or any other music storage device.

The fourth issue is that I get random dropouts when it is playing music from the I-Pod. It seems random and not repeatable by playing the song over again.

The fifth issue has to do with the NAV Screen. In 3-D mode the screen displays a sky blue horizon on the top of the screen At the top it displays the outside temperature and the time. The problem is that the programmers used a sky blue font on a sky blue background and it is virtually unreadable.

I have contacted the MyLink Infotainment Team and was pretty much met with “ I am sorry you are not happy with MyLink but there is nothing that can be done about it.” As if all these issues were normal operation to them. After some arguing with them about this, all they were able to do was schedule a service visit with my dealer and recommend that Chevrolet TAC (Technical Assistance Center) be contacted by the dealer. I will take it in next Monday and let them try, but my confidence level is pretty low as the rep at Mylink has told me that there are no software updates to address these concerns. It would seem there are no software updates at all. They don’t acknowledge that these are even issues. Great support by GM...Not !!. It would seem they did not learn much with all the issues Ford had with My Ford Touch. I am not thrilled by any of this after spending close to $40,000 on a vehicle only to find out it cannot even come close to an aftermarket audio system from 4 years ago that cost $300.00.

Has anybody else experienced any of these issues and or had any of them corrected ?

EYEL1NER

I can't say that I know of any of the same problems, since I have only put a few hours or so of driving onto mine. But in a month and a half or so I will be back in the country and able to drive it again, so I can see then what kind of experience I have with it. I had my iPhone 4S running one of the versions of iOS5 I think (the one before they ditched google for their native Maps app and switched to Apple Maps) connected to the car back in September and I can't remember how I felt about myLink. I don't think I had any problems with it, but IMO it was a tad bit clunkier of an interface compared to the one in my buddy's G37.