You’ve read the news stories about people being misguided by their GPS system, ending up in the middle of nowhere, fending for their lives by eating melted snow and berries off trees. Well, that sort of happened to me, not in the Survivor-sense, but more of the frustrating-whadda-waste-of-time way!
This weekend, during a day-trip to Buffalo, I came prepared with the addresses of all the malls, grocery stores, and restaurants that I wanted to stop at. Furthermore, to save time, I pre-programmed all these addies into my Garmin. So everything should be easy-breezy, right? WRONG!
On the way to Walden Galleria, the exit to the mall was closed, due to construction. So there was a detour which was clearly marked, unlike some of its Canadian counterparts. Anyway, I followed the GPS’ instructions and after various highways/residential streets we were finally at the mall. The trip seemed roundabout, taking longer than it should’ve taken!
In between stops, I had the same feeling: Is this really the quickest route possible? Why is this thing taking me on/off the highway, through a neighbourhood, and then back onto the highway? Either Buffalo has the worst city planning or Garmin was testing my patience…big-time!
On the way back home, even after several restarts, the GPS was stating that it would take us 12 hours to get home! Sheer panic set in and the driver, pulled over at the nearest gas station, in which I jumped out of the car and asked for the directions to the border. Sure enough, it was in the complete opposite direction than what Garmin was telling us.
After seeing the price tag of $49.99, I hadn’t updated the maps in my GPS. (Has anyone updated their GPS, yielding better results?) So was this the reason why I was being mislead? Or should I just buy a new system, for just over $100?
you can buy Garmin GPS with free life time update. I think they are 150 plus I updated my tom tom GPS for 70$ for year. little bit better not much .
I’d just get a new one… or, if you have smartphone data, use Google Maps on your phone.
I still own an old TomTom, but I have updated mine with GPS fixes, and latest and greatest softwares for TomTom as well as maps. A lot of these programs are easily available online, and fairly easy to do as long as you can follow instructons. Mines works like a charm and still going strong.
“On the way to Walden Galleria, the exit to the mall was closed, due to construction. So there was a detour which was clearly marked, unlike some of its Canadian counterparts. Anyway, I followed the GPS’ instructions and after various highways/residential streets we were finally at the mall. The trip seemed roundabout, taking longer than it should’ve taken!”
“So there was a detour which was clearly marked…”
“Anyway, I followed the GPS’ instructions and after various highways/residential streets we were finally at the mall.”
This is why people get lost in the woods. Use your common sense and don’t always be so dependable on the GPS!
I’d also recommend getting a new GPS unit; if your current one is old, the battery life has likely deteriorated.
You should check if your GPS is set to avoid toll routes. I know that the interstate around the Galleria area has tolls, and so do the border crossings near buffalo.
I usually update my Garmin annually. It is annoying that they charge so much for maps, but as long as they are cheaper than a new unit, it makes more sense to update than upgrade. I have a 3-4 year old Nuvi and have no issues with it other than the maps not updating. For most years, I can update every other year, unless I am planning a trip somewhere new- then I want the latest.
I haven’t seen a new GPS unit with any relevant features that I want. and one year after buying the new unit, what will you do? Update or upgrade?
And yes, common sense is the most important factor.
Buy a GPS app for your iPhone. Or hack your garmin.
Gamin has lifetime updates for just over $100. & you get up to 4 updates yearly. I’ve had 2 already this year. Definitely worth it. I have an old Nuvi 350.
not too cool that some of the above posters are recommending software piracy. 🙁 i’m sure Garmin wouldn’t be too happy to read these comments.
If you had set up your GPS with Avoid TOLL roads, if you are in any of the cities close to the border, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, etc. The GPS will take you around the great lakes because in every border city there is a toll right at the exit of USA towards canada, of about 4 or 5 US Dollars
Ive had this same conversation with my family lately.
My GPS is in great shape, but has not had a map update since I bought it in 2008. I am far too cheap to pay for the update, when I can easily get a newer model for about the same price on sale…..
But then I think, isnt that a huge waste? What am I to do with this one???
I used third party maps/firmware (free) on my TomTom 720. Doing this even brought out a lot of unique features in the unit that TomTom didn’t even display.
Without a doubt, your had your garmin set to avoid tolls roads, its happens to us each time we got to buffalo.
and to Sean M… unless the posts have been deleted, no one has mentioned software piracy???? People have recommmended updating their GPS online, which I have done a few times with my Garmin, which are readily available at Garmin’s website.
My DH did the lifetime update a couple of years ago. I noticed the difference not only in the directions but also the software updates at the same time. Since I run the GPS plugged in most of the time, I am not that worried about battery life. He had bought me an expensive unit, so the updates were much cheaper than another unit. I lso did not want the hassles of learning, or reprogramming a new unit. I have about 50 ‘favourites’ saved on my current unit!
I actually got a free update for my gps after the stupid thing got me horribly lost in Montreal and I called the GPS company. The customer service agent let me know that there are always free update codes posted all over the internet so I did a google search and amazingly the first update code I tried worked. I have since updated it three times using this method of searching for a code.
Honestly I would update and look at what settings you had for your gps, but again I can’t afford to buy a new gps. I’ve been using the same gps for over 2 years and it was a 2 year old model when I bought it (found it in a backroom and put on clearance). I’ve been very pleased with it. Of course I do always keep a paper map of the province with me and if it is a very long trip like my trip from NS to ONT I will print out a google map as well. I like to have a back-up, as you never know when technology will fail.
I am in the market for a new gps, just because I only have one and will soon have two vehicles, one for me and one for hubby. Although I am hoping my parents upgrade their car to one with gps in it, then I will see if I can have their old GPS which is the same model as my current one. I use a Tom Tom.
Don’t buy a new one. Us North Americans always see that as the best option without realizing what that is implying. Buy the newest best thing for cheap, instead of reusing the working old one, and then just throw out the old. We may not have to deal with the e-waste and the garbage of that decision but somewhere else in the world does. We are so rich here compared to so many countries, so for goodness sakes, just pay to update what you already have.
Definitely a case of user error!
Getting the map updates are definately the way to go. My 3 year old Nuvi is still working great and accurately – with current maps.
To those recommending Google Maps – it works great if your data connection is working fine… Worthless if you go into an area with spotty data signal or none at all. Remember it’s not stored locally on the device.
If you have an Android phone, you can use Google Map navigation. It’s free updates and it works seamlessly with other apps such as Google Calendar and Urban Spoon. I’ll never go back to having a GPS again! Last week someone broke into my car to steal the crappy GPS that I haven’t updated for years. Cost me $300 to replace the window!
You should update. Reuse, REDUCE, recycle!! If everybody who owns a GPS starts trowing away their machine because the new model is 40$ more than an update, it would be outrageous. Come on people, think about the planet!
When my car broke down in St. Catherines, I needed a Canadian Tire. Entered the info into the Garmin followed…. to a Canadian Tire that did not exists. At that point I was using old maps and data. I recently up-dated and paid for the unlimited up-date option and have no problems finding destinations.
Our GPS was stolen out of our vehicle last week, so yes, we will be buying a new one. Any recommendations?
Um, why not just spend $2 (or free if you’re a CAA member) and get a paper map?
My hubby lived right near the Walden Galleria when we were dating, so I feel your pain. I became an expert in that area quite quickly because my GPS took me on strange and backward routes.
I had the 12 hour calculation before once as well, it is because of the toll roads at the border and will take you to the Quebec border because there is cheaper/no toll at that one. But at the same time there is a toll freeway in Buffalo you sometimes want to avoid, so I got into the habit of turning it on while there and turning it off when I was going home.
Anyone ever go to Minneapolis and type in Walmart on your GPS? It lead is all over the city and outskirts and EVERY address we went to did NOT have a Walmart, it was so frustrating. I find that alot of times they take you on a round about way to get to places.
YES, my GPS was set to avoid toll routes, so THANKS to everyone who figured that out. I sorta forget that that area is abundant in them which potentially lead me to the “scenic route”!
And to those others who say “Use your common sense” (not nice!), I dunno about you, but that + sense of direction sorta goes out the door when I’m in an unfamiliar city.
Get a map… Cheap and waay easy!!
I like to print out a map, or bring a regular road map/book. It’s always helpful if your GPS fails. I actually like to rely on road maps =D
Update your firmware too. My garmin changed/deleted some of my favourites. My sister’s address got changed to my home address so it kept wanting to take me home when I wanted to go to my sister’s house.
I Had the exact same thing happen to me coming home from Walden galleria but in my case i was using the phone map then it cut off so we used the GPS(that i brought just in case). We noticed it was gonna take us 5 hrs to get to the border so we stopped to see if we could figure it out. luckily we seen another fellow Canadian and just followed them lol. thankfully we got home but after we realized that we had it on “avoid all toll routes” which is why it would have taken us 5 hr to get there cause it was routing us to only city. Scary situation cause your not in a fimiliar place so i guess it’s a lesson learned there.
My Garmin was A-OK when I took it to walden galleria, and then grove city… didn’t update the maps, but I guess it didn’t change much.
The one time it said it’d take me ridiculously long to take me somewhere was because I had accidentally chosen the wrong address from the Recently Found locations. -_-‘
I have an old one with updates it has YET to let me down thus far I say get some maps and keep on truckin 🙂
I had this dilemma and decided to buy a new one with Lifetime Maps and Traffic instead of buying a new map. I LOVE my Garmin 1490LMT. The old Garmin has been demoted to our second car.
I’ve had my Garmin 260W since 08, and because I’m pretty frugal I just hack my maps hah it’s not as difficult as one may think and it’s free (besides the internet usage to download) If I could help you out and do it for you I would. I do it for anyone who asks =P I refuse to pay $70 a year or $150 for lifetime maps after I paid nearly $300 for the damn device itself.
Recently I looked for updates on the garmin website and there was a recall on our battery. They paid for shipping both ways and we got a new battery. They’re a great company they just need to not charge an arm and a leg for their maps…(for the older ones anyway, I know the newest ones can be bought with the lifetime maps) All in all, I’d say update if you can hack them. If not, then buy a new one with the lifetime maps =)
Ours is 4 years old and seems to get “confused” easily. Its suddenly reformatted and tried to take us down no winter maintenancce roads a few times in the past weeks!
I’d def say update maps or buy new if your going to be travelling in places with a lot of construction, ie Calgary. Sometimes all there was the gps arrow and no roads nothing hahahah.