OEM Navigation - Poor Routing

savaytse66 · Feb 7, 2009

I am thoroughly frustrated with the OEM Navigation. I find that it does NOT give the shortest or fastest route. I've tested it out locally where I know the roads pretty well. There have been times when I have deliberately made a turn to deviate from the recommended route, and the time or mileage remaining has dropped drastically. And I'm not turning on to obscure dirt roads or anything. I'm talking about heavily traveled roads.

One example recently is when I was heading home, the remaining time was 28 minutes/17 miles. When I made a turn to go down a road which I know was faster, the time remaining immediately dropped to 21 minutes/13 miles.

I know these things are not perfect, but I never had a major difference like this with my hand-held Garmin Nuvi 660; maybe a difference of a minute, which I find insignificant.

I have very little confidence in the Nav right now. I've cited one specific example, but there have been many where I just KNOW the route it wants to take me is a poor choice. This is based on experience and also heavy usage of the Garmin prior to this Nav system. I have the GM lockpick installed, but I don't see why this would have any effect.

Please help!

Thanks,
Chris

Stargazer · Feb 7, 2009

Edit: Sorry, somehow I didn't see the bottom of your post where you say you own a Garmin so my original post below don't really apply, anymore :lol:.

I have a Garmin nuvi 750, and I run it together with the factory nav and I often compare routes. I agree that each will sometimes offer different "Faster" routes and I don't always agree with one or the other. That being said, for some destinations the Garmin offers a better route. But at other times, the GM one is better.

The 2009 GM nav disc even has a local Costco that my 2009 Garmin doesn't have. I still think it's the nature of the beast. Not one GPS system is going to give you the best routes all the time, and NO nav system will be better than having personal local knowledge of the roads. Routing is often based upon speed limits and distance. Of course, reality is different especially if you consider traffic volume and construction delays. That's what the newer GPS systems with real-time traffic routing are trying to improve on.

Original post:

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious, but have you used other navigation systems before? It's the nature of the beast. Not even the top-rated portable or built-in, aftermarket or factory GPS systems are going to navigate better than (or even as well as) personal local knowledge. It's just the way GPS works. It's not designed to help people go places that they already know. It's designed to help people get to places they don't know.

I've used Magellan, Tom Tom and Garmin (own right now) as well as Honda OEM and GM OEM (own right now). Each system uses slightly different routing algorithms, but to tell the truth the 2009 GM disc is pretty good and according to automotive reviews I've read, one of the better OEM systems (along with Honda/Acura).

I've used both portable and factory nav systems to travel across the US from Seattle to Washington, DC. Could I have navigated somewhere faster, better, shorter if I had local knowledge? Of course. But I didn't have local knowledge. But the GPS still did it's job, never got me lost and I always made it to my destination.

TN Tahoe · Feb 17, 2009

Stargazer said:
Edit: Sorry, somehow I didn't see the bottom of your post where you say you own a Garmin so my original post below don't really apply, anymore :lol:.

I have a Garmin nuvi 750, and I run it together with the factory nav and I often compare routes. I agree that each will sometimes offer different "Faster" routes and I don't always agree with one or the other. That being said, for some destinations the Garmin offers a better route. But at other times, the GM one is better.

The 2009 GM nav disc even has a local Costco that my 2009 Garmin doesn't have. I still think it's the nature of the beast. Not one GPS system is going to give you the best routes all the time, and NO nav system will be better than having personal local knowledge of the roads. Routing is often based upon speed limits and distance. Of course, reality is different especially if you consider traffic volume and construction delays. That's what the newer GPS systems with real-time traffic routing are trying to improve on.

Original post:

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious, but have you used other navigation systems before? It's the nature of the beast. Not even the top-rated portable or built-in, aftermarket or factory GPS systems are going to navigate better than (or even as well as) personal local knowledge. It's just the way GPS works. It's not designed to help people go places that they already know. It's designed to help people get to places they don't know.

I've used Magellan, Tom Tom and Garmin (own right now) as well as Honda OEM and GM OEM (own right now). Each system uses slightly different routing algorithms, but to tell the truth the 2009 GM disc is pretty good and according to automotive reviews I've read, one of the better OEM systems (along with Honda/Acura).

I've used both portable and factory nav systems to travel across the US from Seattle to Washington, DC. Could I have navigated somewhere faster, better, shorter if I had local knowledge? Of course. But I didn't have local knowledge. But the GPS still did it's job, never got me lost and I always made it to my destination.

I agree.. Navigation systems were never designed to outwit the driver that knows his own area like the back of his hand. It was designed to get you around in areas youâ€™re not familiar with. I'm sure you can find faster ways to get to locations sometimes but mine has really come in handy on Vacations and business trips to Cities I had no idea where hotels or companies are located. :thumbsup:

savaytse66 · Feb 17, 2009

TN Tahoe said:
I agree.. Navigation systems were never designed to outwit the driver that knows his own area like the back of his hand. It was designed to get you around in areas youâ€™re not familiar with. I'm sure you can find faster ways to get to locations sometimes but mine has really come in handy on Vacations and business trips to Cities I had no idea where hotels or companies are located. :thumbsup:

I agree, but my original point was that compared to my hand-held Garmin, the OEM GPS performs very poorly, in my opinion. My Nuvi 660, while it hiccups every once in a while, sends me on the route I would have gone without a GPS. The OEM does not. And I'm talking about main roads, not back roads.

Chris

TN Tahoe · Feb 17, 2009

savaytse66 said:
I agree, but my original point was that compared to my hand-held Garmin, the OEM GPS performs very poorly, in my opinion. My Nuvi 660, while it hiccups every once in a while, sends me on the route I would have gone without a GPS. The OEM does not. And I'm talking about main roads, not back roads.

Chris

Point taken.. I have a TOMTOM and I haven't had a chance to compare the two against each other but will do in the near future.

OEM Navigation - Poor Routing

savaytse66

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Stargazer

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TN Tahoe

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savaytse66

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TN Tahoe

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