Unusual routing with latest Garmin map update

[FredRydr]

I've had several weird routing incidents in both my Zumo 665 and in BaseCamp for Mac since the last quarterly map update of North America City Navigator. Routes would follow roads that are neither faster nor more direct. In BaseCamp, the route would not continue straight along a major highway near my house, as though there was a disconnect in the map, but instead route miles around a 0.1 mile section. In the Zumo, the route turned to take a miles-long triangle off another local road I was traveling, again neither faster nor more direct. These are only two representative examples of repeated incidents. The avoidance settings are all okay.

I've had glitches like this over the years attributable to map data errors, and sometimes I reported them to NavTeq, but these seem to be errors due to software.

Anyone else?

Fred

[Riteris]

All the time.

I find it incredibly frustrating that I make the effort to plan a route and the gps sends me off on loops around neighborhoods, down out of the way dirt roads and practically into people's back yards.


If I was even a bit dumber, I would not be surprised to find myself riding into a canal.

[danham]

Originally Posted by FredRydr

I've had several weird routing incidents in both my Zumo 665 and in BaseCamp for Mac since the last quarterly map update of North America City Navigator. Routes would follow roads that are neither faster nor more direct. In BaseCamp, the route would not continue straight along a major highway near my house, as though there was a disconnect in the map, but instead route miles around a 0.1 mile section. In the Zumo, the route turned to take a miles-long triangle off another local road I was traveling, again neither faster nor more direct. These are only two representative examples of repeated incidents. The avoidance settings are all okay.

I've had glitches like this over the years attributable to map data errors, and sometimes I reported them to NavTeq, but these seem to be errors due to software.

Anyone else?

Fred

Are the errors mostly in routes you created prior to the new version? New map versions can really wreck existing routes, especially ones which use shaping points.

Also, this latest version seems to treat avoidances a bit differently. I had a route that I created three years ago "blow up" on me with this latest update. After a lot of head scratching I figured out that the map now considers a very short segment of a paved county road in northern NY to be dirt and so with avoid dirt checked, it routed me 50 miles out of my way (In BaseCamp Mac).

Zoom way in on your 0.1-mile section and see if there's anything that triggers an avoidance. Try unchecking all avoidances to test this.

-dan

[FredRydr]

Neither of these were old Garmin files or data.

In the Zumo example, I had just chosen a favorite destination and let the GPS calculate. I know the route, but I like to have the arrival time displayed. I drove for two hours, getting close to arrival when I see the route deviation. As I waited at a traffic light before I reached the erroneous deviation, I chose GoTo the same favorite, let it calculate again, and the deviation was not included in the new route.

In the BaseCamp example, I did exactly what you recommended, because I could experiment from the comfort of my chair, and the only way I could force BaseCamp to follow the expected route was to precisely locate a via point within that 0.1 section. Even that took a few tries, because not just anywhere in that short section worked. Just now, I ran a route through that same section, and the error did not repeat. Perhaps I should have quit and reopened BaseCamp in my Mac the first time around.

Fred

[ezrdr55]

Three left turns do eventually equal one right turn, but I too am finding this very frustrating. And what’s even worse I paid for this “update”.

[Lazy_John]

Yep, this is getting old real fast... planning routes via known places, and it plots things very awkwardly. Used all possible profiles and such.

[FredRydr]

Here is Garmin's solution:

Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I'm happy to help. I would recommend ensuring the the software on your GPS device is up to date.

Next, you may also need to verify that there are no updates for your BaseCamp program. You can do this by clicking from the Basecamp Menu, Help > Check for software update. If you still have issues, you may need to reset your device.

I could have predicted this reply to my support request, but I understand the need to start with a clean slate to isolate the problem. Everything is up to date (I already informed them of that and I expect these are boilerplate responses). I suppose they haven't had enough complaints to see it as an issue with their product. Fair enough, I will do the reset and reinstall software and maps , and then we'll see.

Fred

[widebmw]

Thank you.
I was going to update my maps but now I will wait until next fall.

[BigDogAdventures.com]

Yeh-------I've kind of learned to deal with all the routing issues over the years. I mostly let the gps "suggest" where to go----but don't necessarily follow it.

The funniest one was when I was riding in an Indian reservation in Aneth, Utah-----------my gps autorouted me across the San Juan river-----me and my son got there and just started laughing.

We walked it. I think we could have rode across the swinging bridge---but the steps going up to it were scary.

[FredRydr]

That funny result was probably due to a map error, rather than the kind of anomalies that are repeatedly happening since the last updates. The software is now making weird choices, notwithstanding available routes.

Your walking bridge route reminds me when I first bought a Garmin, and it insisted I exit the Pennsylvania Turnpike through a locked gate behind a service plaza. I reported the error to NavTeq, and after a year or so the updates eliminated that route (as tempting as it might have been).

Fred

[Riteris]

Garmin blames it all on Navteq rather than their software for that sort of thing.