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Garmin Mapping Issues??

gene36542

New member
I just finished a 1500 mile boat haul trip from Cape Cod to Lower Alabama and for the first time experienced continuous, annoying Garmin errors. I've owned several of their units, including early streetpilot "boxes," BMW Nav3 and several NUVI's. This trip was with a n??vi?« 1490LMT. I also use this one on my RT. My complaints on this trip are as follows.

1. I have no idea how Garmin figures the next "point ahead?" e.g., after crossing the tappan zee bridge heading on 287 towards CT, at some point I would expect to see the distance to the intersection of I 287 and I 95. Instead, I get a 50 mile ahead point where I 95 and I 91 intersect.

2. The unit allows me to ID myself as a pedestrian, bicycle or car. It therefore goes out of its way directing me to usage restricted parkways, e.g. Merrit or Baltimore Washington. I don't think a pick up w/ a boat trailer should require a purchase of a truck specific gps for a once in a lifetime tow???

3. While travelling on 95 and later 85, the unit continually directed me to local access or business routes, rather than staying on the main highway.

4. HOWEVER, when on 85 in Atlanta, it tried to direct me onto the HOV lane which requires a "GA Peach Pass"...

VERY ANNOYING... VERY DISAPPOINTED...
 
I just finished a 1500 mile boat haul trip from Cape Cod to Lower Alabama and for the first time experienced continuous, annoying Garmin errors. I've owned several of their units, including early streetpilot "boxes," BMW Nav3 and several NUVI's. This trip was with a n??vi?« 1490LMT. I also use this one on my RT. My complaints on this trip are as follows.

1. I have no idea how Garmin figures the next "point ahead?" e.g., after crossing the tappan zee bridge heading on 287 towards CT, at some point I would expect to see the distance to the intersection of I 287 and I 95. Instead, I get a 50 mile ahead point where I 95 and I 91 intersect.

2. The unit allows me to ID myself as a pedestrian, bicycle or car. It therefore goes out of its way directing me to usage restricted parkways, e.g. Merrit or Baltimore Washington. I don't think a pick up w/ a boat trailer should require a purchase of a truck specific gps for a once in a lifetime tow???

3. While travelling on 95 and later 85, the unit continually directed me to local access or business routes, rather than staying on the main highway.

4. HOWEVER, when on 85 in Atlanta, it tried to direct me onto the HOV lane which requires a "GA Peach Pass"...

VERY ANNOYING... VERY DISAPPOINTED...

I think I can tell my Zumo 220 to avoid HOV lanes.
 
On my Zumo 450 I can set it to avoid toll roads and interstates. Read your owners manual. your GPS probably does a lot more than you think.
 
Yep, read the book. I think the "car" mode covers cars/trucks (even those little ones with boat trailers) and motorcycles. You can avoid seasonal roads, HOV lanes, toll roads, dirt roads, etc. Now from personal experience, when you have the box in Ped. mode, don't expect the routing dirctions to take you on the freeway! My bad, not the box.

Now the GPS isn't perfect either. Had a handful of errors on a recent ocean to ocean trip (and back). Most were database errors (Sorry Garmin, ain't no Chevron stations in that town, I looked). And had a major routing error through Oklahoma City (which after reporting to Garmin, has been fixed). But have to say that after 5,000+ miles, the little box was 99% accurate.
 
If you have it set for "shortest" it will often route you off an Interstate and onto a local road or street through a town when the interstate loops a bit around the town. It is putting you onto a shorter route when it does that.
 
If you have it set for "shortest" it will often route you off an Interstate and onto a local road or street through a town when the interstate loops a bit around the town. It is putting you onto a shorter route when it does that.

And that's why I like to set it to "avoid highways". :D As I get older, I can't stand the interstate.
 
I just finished a 1500 mile boat haul trip from Cape Cod to Lower Alabama and for the first time experienced continuous, annoying Garmin errors. I've owned several of their units, including early streetpilot "boxes," BMW Nav3 and several NUVI's. This trip was with a n??vi?« 1490LMT. I also use this one on my RT. My complaints on this trip are as follows.

1. I have no idea how Garmin figures the next "point ahead?" e.g., after crossing the tappan zee bridge heading on 287 towards CT, at some point I would expect to see the distance to the intersection of I 287 and I 95. Instead, I get a 50 mile ahead point where I 95 and I 91 intersect.
(Due to the route your Garmin selected, I95 and I91, it selects this intersect as the next waypoint. If it had selected I287 instead of I91, it would have selected the I287, I95 waypoint. As some of the other riders responded, changing the avoidances or selecting your own waypoints will eliminate the wrong waypoints)

2. The unit allows me to ID myself as a pedestrian, bicycle or car. It therefore goes out of its way directing me to usage restricted parkways, e.g. Merrit or Baltimore Washington. I don't think a pick up w/ a boat trailer should require a purchase of a truck specific gps for a once in a lifetime tow???
(Again select your avoidances or select shortest route or quickest route. BTW, you and I may know a mix of highways and back roads to get to our destination but the GPS does not do well mixing them. It will be all highway or all back roads. Once in awhile it will mix but in my experience it doesn't)

3. While travelling on 95 and later 85, the unit continually directed me to local access or business routes, rather than staying on the main highway.
(Select quickest (highway) or shortest (back roads)

4. HOWEVER, when on 85 in Atlanta, it tried to direct me onto the HOV lane which requires a "GA Peach Pass"...
I live in the Atlanta area and HOV lanes are open to motorcycles without Peachpass.

VERY ANNOYING... VERY DISAPPOINTED...

k
 
Entry errors aside, Garmin seems to be having problems with recent software updates. I am using a Zumo 660 on my RT and have encountered numerous errors. For example, the current software cannot find the house I have l lived in for 26 years whereas as earlier versions had no problem finding it. I crossed the Alberta/US border setting an address in Whitefish Montana as a destination and the GPS repeatly told me to turn around all the way to Glacier National Park whereupon it said recalculating and set a proper course. On another trip I was headed to Grangeville and the GPS steered me to a secondary highway that certainly ran toward my intended destination but dead ended about 40 miles into the ride. Only a goat trail existed beyond the dead end and locals recommended either turning around or chartering a helicopter.

I informed the Garmin technical team as to my experience(s) and gave them a short list of ligitimate street addresses that the 660 was unable to accept. Garmin's reply was short, "you are correct, current software cannot locate those addresses."

No apology, no explanation, no thought of attending to the matter.

I still use the GPS but not without a coinciding map reference sitting on my tank bag.
 
Entry errors aside, Garmin seems to be having problems with recent software updates. I am using a Zumo 660 on my RT and have encountered numerous errors. For example, the current software cannot find the house I have l lived in for 26 years whereas as earlier versions had no problem finding it. I crossed the Alberta/US border setting an address in Whitefish Montana as a destination and the GPS repeatly told me to turn around all the way to Glacier National Park whereupon it said recalculating and set a proper course. On another trip I was headed to Grangeville and the GPS steered me to a secondary highway that certainly ran toward my intended destination but dead ended about 40 miles into the ride. Only a goat trail existed beyond the dead end and locals recommended either turning around or chartering a helicopter.

I informed the Garmin technical team as to my experience(s) and gave them a short list of ligitimate street addresses that the 660 was unable to accept. Garmin's reply was short, "you are correct, current software cannot locate those addresses."

No apology, no explanation, no thought of attending to the matter.




I still use the GPS but not without a coinciding map reference sitting on my tank bag.

Maybe the answer is to move house:laugh
 
No issues with my garmin. When there's a wreck or if I just don't want to do slab time, I can set it to avoid highways, avoid toll roads, avoid HOV lanes, etc. ad nauseum. One of the best features of a GPS, in my book, is to get me where I want to go without using the highway, where possible.
 
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