I've looked through all the pages of the workshop manual, but found no information on the sat-nav component. So here I am seeking some help.

So when I bought my 07 V8, I noticed that the Sat-Nav door doesn't open all the way, seems to be stuck with half an inch to go. A gentle nudge fixes the problem.

After the last trip to the dealer, I guess they bent it out of shape to prove the urgency of this fix. Now when I open it, the whole plastic cover (plus trim) pops out of alignment and gets stuck. I have to snap it back, but it pops again the next time it opens. Plus one of the spring 'pins' is loose.

I spent some time trying to look at the mechanism this weekend, but still have not figured it out. Anyone removed their sat-nav assembly can shed some light?

 

did you ever get this fixed? my assembly must be broken, i hear the motor no nav movement though.

 

I had it fixed at the dealership while getting other services done, it was thrown in for free. (surely it was built into the overall dealership experience)

After spending months prior to that trying to mend it myself, I'd say it's needlessly complicated. However if the motor's still spinning, I guess something's simply lose. The dealer should be able to address it in a few minutes (and bill you an hour)

 

hopefully loose and not broken

 

When my nav closes, the piano black cover doesn't close all the way. ??
A gentle tap closes it though. Anyone seen this/fixed it?

 

There can be a problem with the gears in the mechanism. I had to have a gear replaced (it wouldn't open by itself); everything works properly now. Inexpensive part, about an hour to change it at the dealer.

 

I had this same problem on my 2006 and it's actually quite a simple fix.


First off, the issue that is causing the problem is the middle rivet rubbing up against the plastic door, therefore causing it to "get stuck" just before the screen is fully deployed.

I had John Ryan in San Diego do the fix for me (New Tickford Street Service) where he just removed the center rivet (took all of maybe 5 minutes)

If you want, you can also do something of an quick fix yourself at home, the door opens about 2 inches or so and is attached to the screen with only a couple of simple wire clips.

Once you free the door from the screen, you'll see where the chaffing is coming from and you can either remove the rivet like I did or, use some sort of lube to prevent it from occuring.

Hope this helps!

Patrick.

 

My satnav screen opened and closed fine but never opened to truly vertical -- it was always pitched a bit forward and drove me nuts. I spent hours searching forums and thought I had a gear problem.

So I purchased the gear replacement set...removed the ski slope (I was very nervous doing this) and removed the satnav. The gears were fine and I was happy I didn't have to attempt the gear/spring removal replacement detailed in the service bulletin. So back to searching forums until I ran across this thread.

Since it wasn't the gears, and I had everything in pieces, I played with it for a bit and discovered there is a felt covered t-shaped stop piece bolted onto the back of the satnav door (not the satnav) that acts as a friction mechanism to make the satnav door open smoothly (rubs against plastic behind satnav as the door opens). I've circled the stop piece in this photo.

I figured it was probably creating too much friction and keeping the door from opening fully. I removed it, reassembled everything, and discovered that was the trick. Now my satnav door opens to an upright 90 degrees and closes fully -- the movement is just as smooth as before...and I can't understand why that stop piece was installed in the first place.

Taking the ski slope off allowed me to repair the foam seals around the vents. I sparingly used clear silicone which worked like a charm.

BTW, I have a 2010 DB9 and the satnav is secured to the ski slope door by wonky clips. My best advice for removing the clips: with satnav off/down, carefully lift up the door just a bit till you see the clips. Press down on the back of the satnav with one finger while lifting the door a bit more till you can reach the the clips and slide each one away from the center till they disengage from the door. Reinstalling is just the opposite...with the door laying on top of the satnav, push down on the back of the satnav and pull up on one clip at a time, moving it towards the center of the door till it engages. Hope this helps someone...but if this is clear as mud, see this thread with photos to better explain the clips:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1332420

***One thing I forgot to mention: once the stop piece is removed, the door will swing freely in all directions. Be careful and make sure it won't swing and damage the door or surrounding components. I used painter's tape on top of the door to keep it in place while reinstalling.

 

I found a different solution that doesn't require any modifications to the Sat Nav. I found this solution by pulling all of the gears out of the assembly and adding each one in one by one starting at the motor, and powering the motor with a 9V battery. I would try to hold the gear in place and see what happened. After doing so with the 3rd gear, I found that I could hold the gear in place and the other gears still turned. It turns out the second gear is designed to slip if there's something keeping the Sat Nav from closing. You'll know it because it's white and has a spring on the end of it. It turns out some lubrication got into the area that causes it to slip, causing it to slip too easily. I cleaned it in a wash of isopropyl alcohol. The gear has two parts forced together by the spring, so I pulled them a part as much as I could (1mm or 1/6 inch at most), dunked it and rotated the two separate parts of the gear until it took a good bit of effort to turn the separate parts. I let the gear dry, put the entire assembly back together and everything worked like new!