Does Garmin Really Pay Attention?

Are you referring to map updates? These are made on Navteq's website. I have had a number of change requests corrected after I had submitted them, although it took a few months from the date of submission until I saw them on a new map. I have entered a few within the past month, not sure how long those will take.

The Garmin maps have never been correct for my home address -- it says my house is in the middle of the intersection about 1/3 mile east of its actual location. I have sent numerous corrections to Garmin over the years, and I always get a reply thanking me for the update. The reply says they will pass the change on to their scouts to verify it. But, alas, the maps have never, ever been updated and I still live in the middle of an intersection according to Garmin....

3 years ago we were heading to an RV Park and the Garmin directions took us down a road that had been closed when an Interstate Highway went through and I had to back out of the road. I sent that change to Garmin, and they still show the road as open.

On a humorous note....this past week we were headed home from NC and travelling through WV on US 35. They have built a new by-pass along some river towns, which we were travelling on. The Garmin map showed that we were driving through the fields, a mile or so off the road.

It never will, either. Address locations are reported to Navteq by the local and state gov'ts. If they report that, for example, that a 1 mile stretch of road has a range of addresses from 1-100, then they will be placed on the map in 50 equal divisions. #1 at the beginning, and #100 at the other end. #50 and #51 will be at the half mile mark and #25 and # 26 at a quarter mile. Regardless of where the actual locations are.

The exceptions to this are true 911 addresses. Those addresses are the actual location of the building as a reported distance from a reference point. An intersection or the actual beginning of a road, or a central reference point in a town.

So, if your address shows in the incorrect place, it will not updated unless the local GIS authority changes the way it reports addresses.

I was referring to roads shown as dead ends that have been connected to adjoining roads for several years and voice directions that appear to identify the wrong road.

I was told by a surveyor that the addresses are figured on any given street by using two known coordinates, then they figure everything in between mathematically. He said where that screws up is every block is considered to be equal in length. I think that's similar to what phranc is saying.

On my street, every mapping software I have ever used tells me our block goes to 1972 when it actually only goes to 1958. That puts my house two or three houses east of where it really is.

That's where common sense come in, I tell people that aren't familiar with using a GPS that if someone gives me an address in a city that I've never been in, and the GPS gets me within 300 feet of the address and I still can't find it I should quite traveling.

@phranc: what is the "local GIS authority"? Is that perhaps at the county level? I suppose it varies.

@Don B: I agree with your comment on common sense! I figure a GPS helps with places where you have never been before, but once you are familiar with the landscape (and traffic), it is easier to ignore the GPS, in my opinion.

I don't know about Garmin, but I recently contacted Navteq about a map error in my area and on the new map that was just issued, it was corrected. I wish Garmin was as responsive.

Google will soon allow users to submit changes to their maps.

To the best of my knowledge, Garmin has nothing to do with map corrections. All map submissions should be done through Navteq's website, as Garmin receives the maps from them. Two days ago I received notice from Navteq that one of my submissions has been resolved.

I have found Garmin much better responding to GPS hardware issues than mapping issues.

Well I guess that makes it 50% I gave them a correction and it still hasn't been updated.

Think you may have got lucky if your error report was sent in recently. It would take Navteq at least one calendar quarter to make a correction and supply new maps for Garmin's updates, which they only buy 4 times a year. IMO the error you reported was already known by Navteq but you never know.