Lifetime traffic and poor reception

my 1490t also does not have reliable traffic

Mine works flawlessly in San Diego and Los Angeles counties.

I wonder if you are getting interference. Perhaps you could try running the power cord differently. It has the antenna built in.

You never noticed the traffic icon turning gray?

Mine doesn't work very well.

it worked much better than the free traffic.

Reception of the signal is no problem. The quality of the information is the problem with free or MSN.

My 660 in Chicago-land didn't receive traffic reliably at all until I ran the wire in the open from mount, up around rear view mirror, and then down to the lighter plug.. THEN it received good. So much for a neat install... I didn't figure it out myself, I learned from others here...
If your install is neat and wire out of the way, like mine was, (blocking the antenna), that could be why...

Here in Portland, I've noticed that mine is fairly accurate on my nuvi 265wt. My issue is when it tells me there is traffic ahead, frequently it is either gone before I get to it or it maybe never was really congested enough that an alert should have been posted. So, I agree, the data sent to Navteq may not be terribly accurate.
I can't say, though, that I have ever had the reception problem at all. My cable usually just hangs between my unit and the 12v socket, no special routing of my cable.
I guess, if I was to rate the free traffic on a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being excellent, I would rate it a 6.

Did you want Lifetime (free) Traffic or reliable somewhat accurate traffic?

Sorry, these two things may be mutually exclusive except in a few cities at this time.

The complimentary subscription that was included with my reciever worked well. After it expired, I purchased a lifetime subscrption through Navteq and have been less than impressed with the results.

Traffic has always been a hit-or-miss situation. The Nuvi 1690 and 1695 do a better job since they receive their info through the cellular towers

I have to do the same thing with my 660!

I just got an RMA for the traffic receiver, this is the second time it has been replaced.

I suspect the first one actually failed, it was the older type with the square two color light, it was green indicating traffic being received, one day it turned red and never went green again.

I suspect this RMA is all "wishing and hoping" on Garmin's part. There is probably nothing really wrong with the receiver, the system just sucks.

I am talking about a lack of traffic reception, not the accuracy. That's entirely another matter.

Sounds to me like you are not receiving the FM signal strong enough. Like others have already suggested try looping the power cord over the rear view mirror as the antenna is built into the cord.

I went all over the LA area a year ago with a 885T using a GTM20 FM traffic receiver and it worked great for me.

I have a lot of experience with poor traffic. I go back to the Sport pilot C580 and MSN. At first, the only option was MSN, then Clear Channel and finally NavTec. I got deep in the diagnostic screens to resolve problems. My daily route was on the fringe of top reception, but was should have been good on the secondary reception. Slowly the info deteriorated. This was MSN. What I found, when you have multiple FM stations that carry a signal, Garmin may over time "lock" into the strongest FM station and stop scanning. If that station goes "bad" (weaker), you need to reset your GPS to start rescanning. Garmin support can really help you here -each unit can be a little different. Eventually my MSN receiver dies and Garmin replaced without a problem about 6 weeks after the warranty had expired - and I got another year of MSN free.

Then I got a Nuvi 760 with Clear Channel. Based on my previous experience, everything looked good. But after 3 months, it was stolen (out of my car in my driveway). Since we now had NavTec, I got a 765t with free traffic. Worked great for about 11 months, then FM traffic died. I got the gray traffic for a few weeks before it finally died. Working with Garmin, we replaced my FM receiver and then my GPS unit. Still no traffic, but the replacement FM had the lights, so I could use them to diagnosis the problem. (I do computer problem stuff for a living.) We finally figured out it was the power/antenna connection, the only part not replaced. The 7xx has a "cradle" between the power cord and the GPS. A new cradle fixed it. Based on my research, if the mount suction cup is weak and drops your GPS off the windshield several times, the most likely thing to be damaged is the power cord/antenna connection into the GPS. And the most likely damage is to the FM pins. With the 7xx series, you replace the connector with a new cradle.

So.
1. Call Garmin and reset you FM stations.
2. Call Garmin and if in warranty, get the antenna replaced. (Even if out of warranty, if you are close Garmin will usually fix it anyway.)
3. Get to a place that should have FM reception and push on the connector to the back and see if FM comes in, then push it to the front and check. This may bring up something. If you can find another Garmin that supports traffic, connect your antenna to it and see if it works. I used my old C580 to finally figure out the problem. (Antenna works in another Garmin, working antenna from old Garmin did not work in my Garmin. Moving power connector in cradle got FM for a few seconds based on the lights.)

But regardless, call Garmin. The quicker you call, the more likely you can use the first contact date as a point for warranty support.

Its tough in my area since we have a lot of hills and valleys, but it always works even outside the map area if the hardware is right. Check during the week, many stations shutdown the FM traffic on weekends and nights.

I got my third traffic receiver. At first it seemed slightly better. Over the last week I have been noticing the traffic icon going gray periodically. Same as the old one.

Maybe I will call Garmin and see if they can suggest a way to make it scan again. It might be locked onto a station that is just marginal. I wonder if there is a way to see what station it's using?

Maybe they call it "Lifetime Traffic" because that's how long it takes to get a good signal containing accurate traffic information.

Based on my experience with Navteq and later with a lifetime (paid) subscription to Clear Channel, Clear Channel is the winner in both reception and content. Results could be different in different areas. My area is Long Island and New York City. I am very satisfied with Clear Channel.

dobs108

I have the Nuvi 765t and I find the the traffic receiver to be very unreliable.

I live in the SF Bay area, the traffic receiver on my Nuvi 360 works fine no drop outs at all.

I've found that the free NAVTEC traffic is especially spotty in the Santa Ana/OC area you mention. Here in LA/OC, the (paid) Clear Channel traffic is much better.

You go around the parkway jams such as the southern or northern state?

Not only those everyday traffic jams, but also two recent road closings which I did not expect because I thought traffic content was limited to the parkways and interstates. One was Northern Blvd. in Great Neck and the other (yesterday) Jericho Turnpike in Syosset. Clear Channel warned me in advance about them both!

dobs108

can't get any signal with brand-new 1490 So much for the traffic avoidance

Are you in an area that has FM traffic? I have to drive 125 miles south to be in my nearest geographic area with traffic. Around home, I have no signal but that's because there's no FM traffic provider.

this is not good news.

I get fairly good traffic reporting in central FL.Like others have reported the problem is sometimes cleared up before getting to the location.

One problem is the coverage area.During my cross country trips found no coverage in many areas.You would think the interstates would all be covered but that is not the case.

Recently, Garmin replaced my power cord (and traffic receiver) and I notice that the traffic is really screwy now. The traffic icon is either missing or in grey no matter what the traffic conditions.

Recently, Garmin replaced my power cord (and traffic receiver) and I notice that the traffic is really screwy now. The traffic icon is either missing or in grey no matter what the traffic conditions.

I use my iPhone and Google Maps to spot traffic, or other traffic apps that are really active and closer to real-time. And it's free and very accurate. It's gotten me around problems numerous times.

Never.

No trouble with my 885 and MSN Traffic

I got my third traffic receiver back from Garmin.
Not any better, at first.

So I sent them email.

They told me how to delete the traffic data and re acquire it. It works quite a bit better now. What I did was go to the area that I had terrible reception and reset it there. It reacquired it, likely a different FM frequency.

It's not perfect. the icon still goes gray sometimes, intermittently. But it's lots better. I will be posting the procedure in a new thread so all can find it.

The question is why Garmin wouldn't have the receiver look for better data by itself if it's not working.