Garmin GPS keeps taking us off main route

[pasusan]

I'm not sure if this just started with the latest update or if it has always done it with certain roads. We just got the new GPS (Nuvi 67) at the beginning of the year so we could add a backup camera to it.

We traveled for thousands of miles down to Mississippi & Georgia - stopped at lots of CGs and sites without a problem.

Well, for our fall trip we stayed in PA going across Rt. 6. 6 is a minor highway - yellow on Google Maps. Many times the GPS would try to take us off 6 for what one would think would be a shortcut, but actually wasn't.

Here is one example:


Click For Full-Size Image.

The blue arrows are where the GPS wanted us to go, but when we ignored it and stayed on 6 the time recalculated to 5 minutes less.

Other times it would have saved us a minute (or none) to get off our main route and take a "shortcut".

DH is getting sick of me chiming in with "ignore the GPS"

Anyone familiar with this type of problem? Doesn't Garmin know we'd like to stay on our chosen route?

[fj12ryder]

The sound makes the GPS much safer to use, taking your eyes off the road to check the GPS is not the safest move on the road. Lots easier to listen.

"never use "Shortest distance" or route. Never." If you don't use it for a route, what do you use it for? That's the only thing I use mine for, I just don't let it decide on the route. I input the route and make sure the GPS follows it exactly. No messing with the screen while driving.

[Chuck_thehammer]

a GPS has sound ? 🙂 8 plus years.. never used sound.

never use "Shortest distance" or route. Never.

my Trucker 770 has road/route changing using a finger on the screen.
so Review total route.. and press "GO". knowing its set to how you want to travel.

[whizbang]

I went to the Ronald Reagan School of GPS: "Trust, but verify."

I always have a pretty good idea where I'm going before I program the Garmin. After I program it, I preview the entire route to see if it makes sense.

Like the prior poster with the fake low bridge warning, I ignore the stupid stuff.

[jday1952]

I don't have unlimited data and using either Google Maps or the Apple Maps app on a long trip uses up all my data very quickly.

[joebedford]

Dennis12 wrote:
Put Google maps on your phone. Problem solved

The screen on my flip phone is too small.

[TenOC]

fj12ryder wrote:

TenOC wrote:
I always plan my trip with Garmin BaseCamp. This way I can check that I am following the roads I want to . I then transfer the "route I have approved" to my old Garmin Streetpilot 2720. Love it.

Yep, this is the only safe way to do it. Letting the GPS plan the route is a recipe for lousy trip planning. Even done this way you have to be alert because the maps are not always as up to date as they should be.

Remember that the GPS is only doing what some software programer in India told it to do.

On a recent trip I had my SP2720 with update maps, the TV had a built in TomTom (?) and my DD was using her smartphone with Google maps. It was very interesting to see the different directions the three GPS told us to take.

[Sam_Spade]

jday1952 wrote:
I still find that the audio instructions are sometimes wrong. For example, the route map might correctly show a right turn, but the audio will direct a left turn.

THIS is a major annoyance.

Going through downtown Atlanta on 75/85, for instance, one of my GPS units constantly tells me to "keep right". That is exactly the WRONG thing to do.

I don't actually watch the screen much but have learned (the hard way) to glance at it when approaching a manuver. I don't think the display has ever been wrong.

[Sam_Spade]

southernsky wrote:
If you travel using directions of just a GPS you will get lost.

Can't help but wonder what you mean by that statement.

I've been using a GPS for 20 years or more and don't remember a single situation where I "got lost".

Once making a manual correction for an impassible or unwise section of road, the GPS has always gotten me where I set it for.

[jday1952]

I also like to you Garmin BaseCamp to plan the route and then transfer it to my RV 770-LMT, but have found that even that doesn't always work. Although the transferred route shows correctly on the map on the 770-LMT, I still find that the audio instructions are sometimes wrong. For example, the route map might correctly show a right turn, but the audio will direct a left turn. This wouldn't be a problem if you can ignore the audio and always watch the screen, but sometimes in heavy traffic (going through cities with major exchanges) you need to keep your eyes on the road and rely on the audio.

In addition I still have an older nuvi3590 that has never had these same problems so I have gone to having both units operating and when there is a conflict, I always follow the older nuvi3590 instead of the newest, state-of-the-art RV 770-LMT. I cannot understand why Garmin cannot have the same quality of software guidance in their newer model.

[southernsky]

If you travel using directions of just a GPS you will get lost. We use google map on computer and also look at paper map to plot our routes. GPS is just a guideline. Good Sam also has a pretty good routing system for trips

[fj12ryder]

TenOC wrote:
I always plan my trip with Garmin BaseCamp. This way I can check that I am following the roads I want to . I then transfer the "route I have approved" to my old Garmin Streetpilot 2720. Love it.

Yep, this is the only safe way to do it. Letting the GPS plan the route is a recipe for lousy trip planning. Even done this way you have to be alert because the maps are not always as up to date as they should be.

[Sam_Spade]

pasusan wrote:

Since I still have the 465 I can compare routes and I never see it go off on those stupid nonsensical shortcuts.

Garmin might appreciate knowing about this strange behavior from it's unit.

[PenMan]

I don't really trust my Garmin (with most up to date maps) even on major highways. I was on I-40 going west and went thru Oklahoma City one night last fall. My Garmin had all the correct dimensions etc. programmed in for my truck with trailer. It warned me there was a bridge up ahead that I could not go under and told me to take an exit. I noticed that the 18 wheelers were not exiting so I stayed behind one that was lots taller than my rig. The Garmin kept warning me to exit and finally told me I had to push an accept button acknowledging I had seen the warnings and choose to ignore them. I stayed behind the 18 wheelers and there was never a low bridge. I stayed on I-40 all the way to NM. Now I use my Trucker's Atlas to check routes and just use the Garmin to show me what the exits look like. I won't buy another Garmin. BTW, this was just one example of bad routing. I have many more examples where it lead me astray.

[Lynnmor]

I wonder if the detour and construction in Coudersport was the issue.