TMC traffic events no longer being received...firmware update required?

[joek666]

Latest reply I have from Skoda is that they want me to take the vehicle to a dealer... suprise suprise! This is despite me insisting that it seems very unlikely to be a vehicle specific issue since so many vehicles seem to be affected at the same time. 

 

I am going to have to look at my warranty to see if it's still covered, and if so it will be less risky to take to a dealer- may help having a dealer verify that the problem is not specific to my vehicle. 

[Mattnam]

My advice would be to speak to the dealership before going in.  The one I spoke to went and checked and confirmed they they were seeing the issue as well and there was zero point in taking my car in

[NigelR99]

Maybe now is the time to talk to the motoring press as it is country wide problem? 

[joek666]

1 hour ago, Mattnam said:

My advice would be to speak to the dealership before going in.  The one I spoke to went and checked and confirmed they they were seeing the issue as well and there was zero point in taking my car in

Thanks, good advice - I will report back when I have made a bit more progress

[Mattnam]

Get them to go check other vehicles in their yard, I will 100% guarantee none of them will have TMC functioning (the guy I spoke to went and checked his own personal car (a golf) and confirmed that wasn't working either).

[joek666]

49 minutes ago, NigelR99 said:

Maybe now is the time to talk to the motoring press as it is country wide problem? 

Personally I'm not quite at that stage yet; first need to get them to investigate and confirm there is a problem and what they're going to do about it. Of course, if this drags on for too long then the threat of press intervention may help to 'motivate' them!

2 minutes ago, Mattnam said:

Get them to go check other vehicles in their yard, I will 100% guarantee none of them will have TMC functioning (the guy I spoke to went and checked his own personal car (a golf) and confirmed that wasn't working either).

Yes, I made sure to mention that - should be easily testable by comparing to other vehicles on site.

[Arthur124]

Hi Skoda guys.

I'm very interested in this current thread re RDS TMC live traffic.

I've owned a Fiat 124 Spider for 5 years and always had TMC live traffic.  About one month ago the service just stopped for no apparent reason.  I have a valid Connected Services subscription so that is not the issue. Two weeks ago I took a trip to France/Belgium.....   Live Traffic worked perfectly  !!!  On return to the UK to Live Traffic stopped working once again. I don't belive the problem is car/model specific, nor is it a subscription issue or car settings etc.

It seems to me that it's the RDS TMC broadcast service in the UK that has failed/stopped.

I'll update as and when I find out more information...... please do likewise.

All the best. Arthur124

[Mattnam]

6 hours ago, Arthur124 said:

Hi Skoda guys.

I'm very interested in this current thread re RDS TMC live traffic.

I've owned a Fiat 124 Spider for 5 years and always had TMC live traffic.  About one month ago the service just stopped for no apparent reason.  I have a valid Connected Services subscription so that is not the issue. Two weeks ago I took a trip to France/Belgium.....   Live Traffic worked perfectly  !!!  On return to the UK to Live Traffic stopped working once again. I don't belive the problem is car/model specific, nor is it a subscription issue or car settings etc.

It seems to me that it's the RDS TMC broadcast service in the UK that has failed/stopped.

I'll update as and when I find out more information...... please do likewise.

All the best. Arthur124

That’s interesting!  Trying to find out who is actually responsible for transmission of the information is proving challenging 

 

[bigjohn]

6 minutes ago, Mattnam said:

That’s interesting!  Trying to find out who is actually responsible for transmission of the information is proving challenging 

 

 

I know in the UK it's transmitted with the Classic FM broadcast - has somethings changed, failed or expired(eg certificate of some sort)? I can't test anymore as I just use Tomtom technology via phone sim theses days (device and phone app) - my original RDS-TMC device has died.

 

 

Edited 19 April, 2023 by bigjohn

[NigelR99]

 

According to wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_message_channel

United Kingdom[edit]

The INRIX^[67] provides a commercial TMC service, iTMC in the United Kingdom. It is broadcast nationally on Classic FM and other commercial radio stations. The BBC Charter prohibits it from carrying a commercial service. ITIS provides traffic data on RDS-TMC to major automotive companies (BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Ford, Renault, Jaguar Land Rover and others). The price of the service is included in the price of the car or navigation system.

 

Not sure if this gets us any further, searching for INRIX and iTMC  ITIS don't seem helpful.

[Mattnam]

7 hours ago, Arthur124 said:

Hi Skoda guys.

I'm very interested in this current thread re RDS TMC live traffic.

I've owned a Fiat 124 Spider for 5 years and always had TMC live traffic.  About one month ago the service just stopped for no apparent reason.  I have a valid Connected Services subscription so that is not the issue. Two weeks ago I took a trip to France/Belgium.....   Live Traffic worked perfectly  !!!  On return to the UK to Live Traffic stopped working once again. I don't belive the problem is car/model specific, nor is it a subscription issue or car settings etc.

It seems to me that it's the RDS TMC broadcast service in the UK that has failed/stopped.

I'll update as and when I find out more information...... please do likewise.

All the best. Arthur124

That’s interesting!  Trying to find out who is actually responsible for transmission of the information is proving challenging 

 

[Mattnam]

The problem is that Inrix appear to be impossible to talk to.  The original provider (ITIS) were bought by inrix, but the phone number I have continuously goes to voicemail 

Edited 19 April, 2023 by Mattnam

[joek666]

On 19/04/2023 at 17:15, NigelR99 said:

 

According to wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_message_channel

United Kingdom[edit]

The INRIX^[67] provides a commercial TMC service, iTMC in the United Kingdom. It is broadcast nationally on Classic FM and other commercial radio stations. The BBC Charter prohibits it from carrying a commercial service. ITIS provides traffic data on RDS-TMC to major automotive companies (BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Ford, Renault, Jaguar Land Rover and others). The price of the service is included in the price of the car or navigation system.

 

Not sure if this gets us any further, searching for INRIX and iTMC  ITIS don't seem helpful.

 

If you keep reading that link you will see the following paragraph:

 

Quote

Trafficmaster, a Teletrac Navman brand, operates a national service using local and regional radio broadcaster Global Radio to ensure reception across mainland Britain. This system uses road-side infrastructure to measure vehicle travel time between sensors placed a few miles apart, and uses number plate recognition technology. Data sources used by Teletrac Navman include Floating Vehicle data from fitted telematics devices, 8500 under-road inductance loops, over 1800 CCTV cameras, Congestion Zone charging cameras, Police control rooms plus a proprietary network of ANPR and IR sensors cameras across the road network. Teletrac Navman provide traffic data on RDS-TMC to major automotive OEM brands including VW, Audi, Skoda, Mazda, Chrysler, Honda, Seat and Vauxhall. Teletrac Navman also supply the Department for Transport with historical traffic data for modelling purposes which is used by central and local governments and their sub-contractors when analyzing road network improvement opportunities.

 

If anyone is looking to circumvent Skoda and go direct to the provider of Trafficmaster data, then I think this would be of interest: https://www.teletracnavman.co.uk/company/contact-us

Edited 20 April, 2023 by joek666
adding extra info

[NigelR99]

My colleague has confirmed that their 2016 VW Golf with satnav has the same problem with TMC.

[Danoid]

I have this issue on my 2016 Superb too, pressing the Traffic button says 0 reports and TMC logo has a red line through it 😞

[Meauval]

Concurring with other posts, no updates on TMC have been received since 10th April.

[Mattnam]

I would suggest and recommend everyone with this issue reports it to Skoda.  Don’t be fobbed off with them telling you to take it to a dealership it’s an external problem and they need to provide an official stance

[TheITGuy]

I have a 2016 Audi A4 with Sat Nav and Audi Connect and TMC was working fine today.  It's the first time I've driven the car in a couple of weeks but the live traffic was online throughout my journey today.

[Arthur124]

Hi ITGuy

Can you confirm you're in the UK ?

And do you know which "Connected Services" supplier you subscribe to e.g. NNG, Naviextras etc ???

[bigade1]

13 hours ago, TheITGuy said:

I have a 2016 Audi A4 with Sat Nav and Audi Connect and TMC was working fine today.  It's the first time I've driven the car in a couple of weeks but the live traffic was online throughout my journey today.

 

I believe you're referring to a very different system of live traffic updates utilising the ( online ) Connect Services which is not the standard RDS-TMC service. Therefore your post is very misleading, inaccurate and may cause confusion. . This thread is about the standard RDS-TMC live traffic updates which is provided by information broadcast utilising the signal of a  networked radio station. It's a completely different system.

[Arthur124]

Hi bigade1

This was what I was trying to establish from ITguy.

There is no issue when using mobile phone hotspot for online live traffic.

 

This relevant concern in this thread is the RDS TMC Live Traffic via FM is no longer updating built in Sat Navs.

[NigelR99]

I have emailed Skoda Customer Services twice and tweeted them once about this without a response. 

It is confusing to have reports of traffic messages working when using connected services which I agree uses a completely different service. I can confirm that I have not subscribed to Skoda Smartlink a service that I always thought should be free - but that is a different issue.

[Arthur124]

For info....... Honda drivers also reporting no RDS TMC FM issues in the past week.......

 

 

[Mattnam]

I’ve emailed the supplier of Trafficmaster, see what they say

[bigade1]

2 hours ago, Mattnam said:

I’ve emailed the supplier of Trafficmaster, see what they say

 

Same here - I'm also waiting for a reply. I can also confirm for clarification purposes, which I also posted in a different thread, after digging out my 15 yr old portable Tomtom and its optional plug in TMC antenna for testing purposes that the RDS-TMC service is still up and running and working perfectly albeit not for us VW Group users. I only hope that it's not a deliberate cancellation of the service by VW in favour of the new ( online ) Connected Services that are deployed in the newer model cars or possibly an individual cancellation of my TMC licence because my vehicle's media system has passed its 5 year support date.