Leaving it in the car... BBBRRRR!

Roadnurse, you might want to look at the 855; still $189 at Amazon. Over the 755, it adds voice recognition, replaceable battery, custom road avoids on routing.

I leave mine in the car since I park it in either my garage or in the secured parking lot at work.

As for the screen, yes it does become sluggish but after a few mins, it starts to brighten up and return back to normal.

Like 777ER, I leave mine in the car also. I tuck it away and plug it in when I get back from a trip. It's pretty "Cold Soaked" after 3 or 4 days in the Chicago Winter cold. I plug it in and it's usually readable right away. My defroster takes care of the rest in just a few minutes.

Mad Dog Driver and 777 Wanna Bee

I would never leave a piece of expensive, and delicate electronics like a GPS in the vehicle. Between the heat, cold, and humidity (or lack thereof, think static), These aren't a friendly environment for these things.

I dont leave my 255WT in car. Even i do hide the suction holder under arm rest when I leave the car in parking. One of the reason is i like my unit and as a routine care taking of any unit you have do it in proper manner. Second is i don't wann to attract any thief to break my car glass for this unit. As car glass replacement it self is much more costlier than the unit

Do you take the time to wipe the suction cup ring from the glass? There was a piece in the local paper last year where cars parked at the mall were getting broken into and the ring left on the windshield from the suction cup was what the thieves were looking for.

remove it from car. likely to get stolen.

Always remove my gps and leave no traces that it was ever there -- security is my only reason. Not just losing a gps but the nuisance of repairs after a break in.

I had a pharos before. Left it in my car one night in the winter. The next day it was so cold and did not turned on when I wanted it to. Since then, I've never left my garmin in the car. It was probally the unit, but I don't want to take a chance. Want to keep it for a long time though

Ok - im guessing Pharos is a company that makes GPSs?

No matter the tolerance allowed it is never a good idea to allow a unit to experience rapid fluctuations from freezing weather to operational temperatures.

You paid a lot for some of these gadgets, take them inside!

I mounted a very small IG-PSTARA Garmin Nuvi Dash Sticky Mount on an unused space on the front of my dash. Works great. When I leave the vehicle I pull the GPS and lock it away in the console. The mount is so small that even if someone was to look inside they probably wouldn't notice it or know what it is for. Been using it for over a year now with no problems.

only if in a heavy traffic area (where many people are in the area who would spot a break-in attempt). Always bring the Nuvi back in the house after returning home or to the hotel if traveling.

The nuvi is small enough to carry with you when it’s not in use. Don’t risk a busted window, it’s not worth it. I speak from experience and no, my nuvi and bean bag were not stolen as I leave nothing of value over night in my town car.

I have never taken mine (Nuvi 260) out of the car. I do leave it locked securely in a center console. But it has been in the extreme heat & extreme cold for the last 2 years and other than the battery not really holding a charge I have not seen any issues at all. I guess this is a good case study.

I have never taken mine (Nuvi 260) out of the car. I do leave it locked securely in a center console. But it has been in the extreme heat & extreme cold for the last 2 years and other than the battery not really holding a charge I have not seen any issues at all. I guess this is a good case study.

Maybe a good case study in how to stress a battery so that it's life will be shortened !!

Last ride was 11 degrees. I have a 500 so it is watertight. I didn't notice any slowness on the screen or using the touchscreen.

Been using it for about a year. So far so good.

I do. I have my HP laptop soft cloth cleaner in my GPS pouch. It cleans the wind glass marking nicely in seconds. Its some kind of rubber cloth. works beautifully.

What's Garmin's recommendation for leaving it in the car or not?

It dont say anything on leaving it in the car BUT it does give the temp range for the battery, The operating range and the Charging range, I suspect that they are the same for all the units/batteries.

Cold doesn't damage it and I'm sure any screen sluggishness goes away quickly as the car warms up. Batteries may need replacing slightly sooner if it gets extremely cold (well below zero) but other than that, it should take the cold just fine.

Only high heat damages or permanently reduces the battery capacity. Cold TEMPORARILY reduces the battery capacity but it bounces back immediately when it warms up. Battery life in the cold is a moot issue if it's going to be used on the car charger.

Some interesting comments on this thread.
Some mentions of electronics being sensitive and not to be left in the cold.
I guess the ECUs and LCDs used in today's cars are rugged.
I've noticed that when it's cold, the LCD of the car stereo changes segments of the digits in the display more slowly than after it warms up a little.

Maybe I'll try the one I was going to give my wife to see if it's screen is any more accurate to touch, and if it gets a sat fix faster. If it does, then it will stay and mine will go back to Costco.

RN

If you buy a car with a built in GPS, how do you take it out of the car on cold nights to protect it from the cold?

Prybar??

I could care less how much it will cost to replace it if it fails due to the heat or cold. I will take my nuvi with me, though.

It was Pharos 150. I believe it is China Company. Yeah, I know.

Like 'pkdmslf' stated, I use the adhesive disc and have it applied to my dashboard, I simply remove the GPS from the cradle and take it with me. Winters here in Montreal can be pretty cold and leaving it outside in sub freezing temperatures can't possibly be that good for the unit.

I plan on keeping my unit until it dies.

I suspect there will be fewer car breakins as these devices are getting cheaper and cheaper?

A common way to preserve electronic devices is to put them in the freezer. Heat is another story. If you live in a hot climate, you must take it out of the car.

Putting a device in a freezer and then taking it out almost always results in condensation - water - which will utterly destroy an electronic device. Many devices are very susceptible to corrosion and introducing water other than vapor into a device will speed corrosion and failure.

How much difference is there between the sticky mount and normal mount with the cradle attached?

Condensation occurs when there is humidity in the air and a cold object gets exposed to that warmer humid air. I don't think this is going to happen inside of a car that is gradually warmed by a heater, primarily since the humidity is generally so low anyway during the winter. Many of us have LCD displays on our car radios, and they don't show condensation do they?.

On the other hand, if you bring your Nuvi indoors after it has been left in a cold car, you are more likely going to see condensation, especially in homes that have humidifiers attached to the furnace. Even then, even if the screen develops some condensation, I am not sure how much would occur internally since, except for the exposed speaker, most of the unit is closed up.

C330, C530 and a Nuvi750...no problems other than maybe a bit sluggish...

When ever I leave my 885 in the car I have trouble trying to enter the lock code

I never leave my GPS in the car. Hot or cold weather. In fact, I even remove the vent mount when I get to a clients office and put everything in my briefcase.
Why tempt a breakin.

Extreme heat can be damaging. However, normal temperatures, or even the heat build up inside of a closed and locked car on a hot day in Phoenix will not hurt the GPS.

You will probably want to purchase a replacement long before the damage that is done by heat and cold make your GPS unusable.

I always remove my GPS for 2 reasons:1)It might get stolen and 2)to keep the unit in an environment that maintains its operating temperature range (32 F to 140 F).

Devices are small and so easily transported that I see no reason to leave them in the car. Slip them in a pocket and No Worries!

Double Post

Guess I'll have to get used to Google Chrome instead of Firefox!

Leave my GPS in the car all the time. Just remove and place in the console storage - and have never had a problem.

The post I answered was about storing an electronic device in a freezer and not about leaving it in a car during an Alaskan (or Canadian) winter. Even so, condensation is present in even the coldest and driest climes because we introduce the moisture into the interior of the vehicle when we climb in and start generating heat from our bodies. In the coldest of winters, and I've been in weather that has been -40 and colder, moisture in the form of condensation does form on windows from body heat and moisture.

Granted, as temps get more frigid the relative humidity drops until it gets cold enough the very vapor in the air freezes and ice fog forms. For the majority, they don't experience those types of extremes and it is when the temperature gets between 10 and 30 Fahrenheit that most of the problems will occur. Most home freezers are in the 10-15 degree range and taking something from that cold into a warm environment will cause condensation.

That is why I picked up a bean bag mount as it leaves no tell tail marks on the window. You can have it off the dash before anyone see you messing with it.

ohwogo nuvi 750

I've had my GPS for two years and it rarely leaves my car. As others have pointed out, I don't think the cold is a real problem (winters here are REALLY cold ).

I think the real concern is theft. Even though we live in a small town, we still have "convenience thefts". Thieves check for unlocked cars and then just grab whatever is available. Two weeks ago our friend had her curling equipment stolen from her unlocked car; another person had a first aid kit stolen from the front seat.

My point is that the physical environment is not as dangerous to electronic equipment as human predators.

I have a nuvi 760. I downloaded and read the owner's manual. I never leave my unit in the car.

"Protecting your nuvi

Do not store the nuvi where prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures can occur, because it can cause permanent damage."

That pretty much sums up a car, any time of year. It also recommends not leaving the nuvi in the glove compartment to avoid theft.

I leave the mount in the car hidden, but bring the unit with me. It's so small that it doesn't cause any problems. It fits in a pocket or purse, and I feel much better not leaving it unattended. I've invested a lot of money, not only on the unit itself, but on its upgrades as well. I don't want it to get stolen or damaged.

you read the manual ...pretty much 98.98234% of the guys on here never bothered (raising hand)...not that it really matters as exceeding the operating temperature range would be pretty difficult. I guess the bottom line for me is this: if I was using the Garmin to direct tactical nukes into Scumbagistan I'd be a tad more concerned about leaving it in extreme temperatures...but being off 50 feet on a pizza run is not going to get my shorts in a bunch...I'd rather have it exposed to the temps than forget it and have it sitting in the house the few times a month I *really* need the thing.

Regards, Ted

I go a step further when I travel: I put a paper map on the front seat or dash, to make it look like I'm using a map, not a gps. I either hide the gps completely, or take it with me.

My car is in the garage, but it has been in the 20s for several nights. I have started keeping my gps in the glove box under the seat. I turned on my GPS and within less than a minute I had resecption.

Never before have I had reception that fast.