Upset with Nuvi 200W.. what to do??

Download some of the poi files off this site. They are user created and should be more accurate than Garmin's.

The examples you gave are not examples of GPS inaccuracy -- the addresses in the database (part of the maps) is wrong. There are only a couple map providers and I think you will find that the Tom Tom maps have their problems as well.

I think most people here will agree with you that the maps should be better insofar as getting such errors corrected, but we've heard of no drastic plans to make things better fast.

Garbage in, Garbage out. The Nuvi is only as good as the mapping dats programmed into it. Unfortunately, you live in an area that sucks for accurate mapping data supplied by Navteq.

I learned VERY quickly that even with a GPS, you still need to be aware of what is going on around you. While large errors are pretty rare, in my experience, being off by half a block or on the wrong side of the street are fairly common.....with all models.

Upon careful consideration, about 95% of the gross errors I've encountered have been input (operator!) errors.

I think you should do a little more testing before you take it back.

Having said all that, some individual units are just defective and will do almost everything wrong. Those should go back.

I normally use my gps to find places or addresses I am not familiar with. Until I purchased a c550 I would type in the address I wanted to go to and it would guide there, I'm not sure it was always the best way, but it got me there without fail. If I'm going to a local store I know the quickest way to get there so what is the point in having it guide me. My new unit will alert me about a red-light camera though...

Besides it's a fun toy to play with

Thanks for all the comments, I feel better about it now. I just looked at the locations on Google maps and they are indeed in the wrong location.

Also, they actually list 2 Applebee's locations in my city and we only have one. What's weird is that the second location is the correct, while the first one is not. I guess my unit isn't fully to blame afterall.

Is there anyway to edit/correct the addresses?

You cannot edit the internal POIs.

If your in Europe, then by all means get a TomTom,
Especially if your in Holland NL.
You will Find all GPSr's have their own quirks. You will find that the mapping software is weak at best with poi's, all 6 million of them. Download some custom POI's and give that Nuvi another try, before you trade it in for that TomTom.

Bob

I live in a small town we have a Wendys that was built in 1978 and it's not on the 2008 map nor the new 2009 update. I downloaded the wendys POI from this site and BAM it was there.

Welcome Jstafford. This is a great site !!!

Once you start adding/creating custom POI's on your 200W you will love it. This thread explains how to add custom audio alerts that can be associated with custom POI's on your unit.

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/13429

I had the same feeling when I first got mine. Then I noticed what everyone else said. The address is in the nuvi wrong. Get the custom poi from here. They are way more accurate.

I have the same model and I love it... The screen is great and the size of the unit is small.

Sometimes you do get weird address quirks... but those quirks will affect all GPS's across the board. It's not 200w problem.

guess what guys??!! the earth shifts on its axis!!!! this causes the coordinates to be incorrect- research first- then ask questions and research some more. then ask more questions.

http://www.divulgence.net/

If not our military is in big trouble... BTW when does the next shift begin?? 4AM???

For the first time this weekend, My Nuvi took me down the wrong path. I was detoured heading to the race in Dover, and it told me to stay left and, in actuality, I needed to go right. Checked mapquest and it was also wrong. Oh well, like you said it is a great toy, and I find that the positives far out weigh the negatives.

Are often incorrect. Here in Old Town, Alexandria (where, some stores and restaurants have literally been around almost two hundred years...) the POIs are often wrong. Garmin has an error reporting website,
http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/errorForm.html

With this site, you can send in POI and other types of mapping errors. Since the map updates are now downloadable, it is becoming feasable to have more of them, more often. But it takes a concerted effort on the part of Garmin product owners to verify POI information. At some point, I want to walk around Old Town with my NUVI and check each POI for accuracy, but it is alot of work. It would be worth a free map update, too bad Garmin isn't running a promotion for that!

That's a good one issacjd I am totaly laughing out loud and extremely happy to see that The Flat Earth Society is alive and well.

By the way here in Sandwich Islands we are still just fine and the Tropic of Cancer is still just slightly North of us and not expected to jump around anytime soon.

If it's on the internet doesn't that make it true?

Ever listen to Art Bell? I love the guests and people that call in... I have learned all kinds of interesting things

One should beleive NONE of what you hear (read)......and only half of what you SEE !!

So by that logic, a Garmin unit works better if you are in the Cayman Islands? An LG in South Korea? Magellan in California?

Krieger

I have this same model (well a 250W) and haven't had any problems finding locations. I live in a decent size city though (Columbus,OH).

Where are you located that it's giving all these errors?

Hello all. I'm Very new to this site, just found it tonite, and I joined up. I'm Very new to GPS's. Got mine as a Fathers Day Gift, and I couldn't wait to use it. I used it locally here in Northern NJ, with much success, and today was going to be my first Looong trip(only an hour away to PA). I put in the destination (Marshall's Creek, PA), and NOTHING. There's a Flea Market there that I wanted to check out. The hour glass just keeps spinning, and it doesn't say "weak satellite, "acquiring satellite", etc. So, in order to get there I had to Google Map the directions off my PC, and print them out. How disappointing. I could not even pull up the location on my Garmin when I was in the town of Marshall's Creek! I had no problem returning, I hit Favorite Places and my home address was saved, and it took me home from Marshalls Creek. Is this normal? Is this the reason I need updates? Maybe some locations are not in the maps?
I don't know what version Nuvi I have, but when the screen comes on it says "copyright 2007". The manual doesn't tell you anything. I do like this unit a lot, simple to use, large screen, etc. But maybe I should return it and update to a better Garmin series? Any help would be appreciated. Simple text would be appreciated, I'm new to all of this, but I would like to get this straightened out. Regards, Tom C.

Tom, since you were on Google, you could have used Google's "Send to GPS" function to send the Waypoint directly to your Nuvi. And your Nuvi would have taken you right there.

As you are discovering, the map/address databases contain errors. And the same two maps are used by all the GPS units on the market. Your poor Nuvi does not understand anything about where it is sending you, it just knows satellite coordinates and sends you to the coordinates that are on the map. If the third-party map is wrong, the Nuvi has no way of knowing that

All that being said, the search function in the handheld units can sometimes be quirky. Often for the same reason - the street names provided by the municipalities are inconsistent. Is it Smith Road or East Smith Rd? Searches can fail because of that.

When going to somewhere I am not at all familiar with, I like to use Google to verify where it is. Google shows you the map and the satellite view. When what you see is where you want to go, click Send to GPS and the location is downloaded to your Nuvi as a Favorite. You just click and drive. It's pretty slick.

Traveler 210,

One that is often recommended is to simplify your searches. I just searched under Cities for "Marshall" and it is in the list as "Marshalls Creek" (no apostrophe).

If you mean software and firmware updates, they don't add any map improvements.

I come up with a Marshalls Creek, PA on my nuvi 200 with 2008 maps. It's near Oak Grove.

To check which map version you have go to tools (the wrench), map, and down the bottom you'll see map info. Hit that. If your GPS is new, it should have a 2009 map version. If it doesn't, call Garmin for a free update.

Hmmmmm, dunno if you say so on all the others,but the TomTom was originally designed for Europe, And if you have been to the Netherlands you will see nothing but TomToms.

Bob

Yes mine also shows wrong at times-- for example: I used it to guide me to my son's house-- (Only lives about 10 miles from me) when it go close it said turn -- well I knew it would not take me there-- "Recalcuating" "Turn Around" "Turn Right" I finally turned the darn thing off!

I mentioned this to my son when I got there-- He said he lives on NORTH Laural-- Not "South" Laural! I felt dumb-- The unit is smarter than me! Garmen had the last laugh!

johnc, thank you so much. I guess I have to get a plug from PC to my Nuvi, to use the Google "send to GPS" feature, which did not come with my unit. Also, I went to Garmin web site and they have a Garmin communicator plug-in, from PC to Nuvi, but I guess I have to buy a connector. my Unit says it is the Navigator version 2008, so I need the update. Thank you all so much for your help. regards, Tom

I've been practising with my nuvi 660 in my hometown. That idea makes sense to me.

I picked up a script at the oncologist's and was headed for the pharmacy. I KNOW that the Shopko pharmacy was a right turn, but "Jill" insisted that I make a LEFT turn. But, that would be the road to Sunset Memorial Gardens.

This nuvi. Thinking too far ahead, I believe. Too far ahead.

GregPaul

You might try search for the same street address in the next town over. In the area where I live, all addresses in the town of San Leon show up on Nuvi as being in the adjacent town of Dickinson. Nuvi is pretty smart with sorting out this glitch on the maps. She can tell from the house number which town's 24th street is the correct destination.

I imagine a similar situation exists for a great many small towns on the outskirts of metropolitan areas. I suspect its either the presence of a post office or a Dairy Queen that gets a town's name on the map.

BTW, who has the DQ POI file?

The subject prompted me to look up Susan Moore, Alabama, which due to a mistake by a Rand McNally cartographer back in the 1930's has been shown on almost all maps as 'Clarence' ever since. (Clarence was Susan Moore's son, but it was -her- town Happily, the cartographers at NavTec have got it right. GoogleMaps show it as Clarence Susan Moore.. go figure.

Tom, you need to download the free Garmin Communicator plugin, and all you need is the USB cable to connect the computer to your Nuvi. If one did not come with your unit, they are readily available just about anywhere. It's the same cable a camera would use - USB A to USB Mini. You don't need a map update or anything else.

There is a 2009 map update, but it is not required.