SD Card Removed - and I did it! (Yikes)

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tagexpcom

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We're test driving a used 2021 Yukon Denali this week. All is going well, price OK, beautiful car, towing test was a success, everything works so we're likely to buy.

However, poking around I ran across the SD Card in the center console and popped it out, put it back in wondering what it was for. YIKES - the Nav system now says "SD Card Removed" and a little research indicates this was a bad mistake on my part as 1) they are vehicle specific and 2) corrupted when removed with car on?.

So what's the fix? Can I re-initialize somehow or does a special auto-shop need to work on this or ?

FYI We're set to buy after today's tow test, just need the independent mechanical review but no reason to think there's anything wrong. So this will be my problem and in any case I won't be 'hiding' anything with respect to the seller. Just need to know how to proceed :)
 

DougAMiller

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I think you may need to get a new Navigation SD card. I popped it out and put it back in shortly after getting my Escalade, and everything was turned off at the time. Nav would not work after that. I don't remember exactly what the message was, but the dealer had to get a new card for it to get it working again. Fortunately, it was covered under warranty, so I don't know what the cost was. I know these cards are designed to be single use and then they are locked to that vehicle.
 
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tagexpcom

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This is the website I was on, https://gmnavdisc.navigation.com/models/Catalog/Catalog_Cadillac_Escalade/en_US/GMNA/USD

If you click on 2021 you get the pricing. This is for the Escalade, but if you select GMC and Yukon using the menu at the upper right, the price is the same for a 2021 Yukon. It looks to me like this is the official GM navigation website.
Thank you - I see it. It looks like I can just order / install for $154.
 

RST Dana

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Should still be under the b2b warranty guys. GM should make this right off the dealer balks.
 

DougAMiller

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Yes, I believe so. There are instructions for installation there as well. I think it explains why mine was corrupted when I removed it. The instructions say to turn everything off and wait ten minutes before removing the card. I know everything was turned off when I removed mine, but I don't think it had been ten minutes. I've noticed that the system seems to stay on for a short while (even though the displays are off) after you turn off the vehicle, presumably for a quicker restart when you come back from pumping gas or any short pause. I'm guessing that the card can be corrupted if it is removed during that time.
 

petethepug

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Keep in mind that you don’t know the history of that SD card. It could have been a counterfeit or already corrupt. It’s best to get a factory replacement to avoid any tail chasing.

We had a seller on eBay selling SD cards for our 11-14 SuperNav that would corrupt the current SW in the unit and brick the unit. The only way to bring it back was to install the old, known SD card and it’s data/SW or a new, known working GM original.
 

Eplion1

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I did something similar with my SD card couple months into ownership of my ‘21 Denali and it hosed the maps and Nav… dealer covered a replacement for me. Now we have informed all in the family not to remove it! Lol
 

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