Canadian GPS Problem

owenssailor wrote:
As per comment above for my current Garmmin NUVI I had to get a memory card to be able to load all the maps for western and eastern North America.

The same thing happened to me; the current North American map set is larger than the memory in most (all?) older Garmins. If you did an update and didn't notice that you needed a memory card it probably would have loaded only the US portion of the maps. You can buy an SD card for a couple of dollars at Walmart and download the full map set.

owenssailor wrote:
Way up here in Canada we actually buy the same GPS models that are sold in the US. They work fine on both sides of the border. They use the same mapping data and the same GPS satellite system. There is no subscription needed as you cross the border ( unlike cell phones).
,....

Sorry, wrong answer, my older (Street Pilot i2) Garmin did NOT include Canada until I bought a North America update.

The newer Nuvi did include Canada, and Mexico and....

Way up here in Canada we actually buy the same GPS models that are sold in the US. They work fine on both sides of the border. They use the same mapping data and the same GPS satellite system. There is no subscription needed as you cross the border ( unlike cell phones).

Make sure your maps are up to date. As per comment above for my current Garmmin NUVI I had to get a memory card to be able to load all the maps for western and eastern North America.

We also have a Tom Tom it works fine in both countries. We were on an old logging road, very far north in Ontario and all of a sudden it popped up on screen. It stayed on for the whole 30 miles. You can't ask for better than that.

Have you updated your maps, and do you have coverage for Canada?

I just updated my older Novi maps and it is quite good. The new North America maps are large. Require an 8 gig SD card for all of the data. You have the option to load only regions into the GPS.

I have a 2014 Ford with Nav. It's maps are good but only as good as the base mapping used. I've seen errors in both Canada and the US. Often this is in new areas where houses and streets did not match original development plans.

Depending where you travel you may want to do frequent map updates.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
Do you have full North America maps installed or just US? If Canada is not installed you will only get the most basic information about your travels North of the US border.

Agree. Not only that but the maps have to be updated periodically. Mine worked perfectly when we were in the Toronto area in 2012.

Do you have full North America maps installed or just US? If Canada is not installed you will only get the most basic information about your travels North of the US border.

It's not that the GPS is not working - maps and GPS searches are often poorer in Canada than in the USA.

My Garmin (Zumo 660) is pretty good but still not as good here as in US. Even the junk factory "NAV" in my Silverado behaves differently here.

It all depends if the unit has maps for both countries. I have a TomTom which has all the maps for the USA,Canada, and Mexico.