Car Vent Mount

That's the gist of discussions I've seen here, and in other forums. The best mounting location and device is the one that best suits your needs.

...and returned it. Why: I don't use a GPS daily, just on my longer distance trips, which may be once every few weeks at most. The vent mount, at the least the one I got, was a pain to install, and once installed was a bigger pain to remove. Plus the plastic tabs that lock it in place seemed very flimsy, and were sure to break off after just a few installation/removal cycles. If you leave it on all the time, it seemed very solid and wouldn't go flying around in sharp turns I suspect. But, it certainly blocked the vent quite well, and what it would suffer from heat or a/c blasting out of it I don't know.

I've given up on the suction cup - too many times it fell off the windshield. Seemed like eventually it would break the GPS. So, I've settled on Garmin's bean bag mount. Seems heavy, solid, and I've got it wedged between the dash and winsdshield, so it's not going anywhere soon. But, its easy to install and remove.

GC

I wouldn't want to do the vent mount because of what he said about the head blasting on it!

GC0110 - There are a lot of solutions to the suction cup mount, one being vasaline

I wonder how much the heat or cold really effects the unit. I use a windshield mount, live in So Cal and when I get back to my car after a long day in the sun I can hardly touch my Nuvi it's so hot.

Changes in climate from very hot to indoor comfort, and back to very hot again or very cold to indoor comfort to very cold again...can do funky things to electronic devices over time and may reduce their life expectancy. I avoid leaving my Nuvi in the car, in the hot sun this time of year as well as in the dead cold of an Iowa winter.

I have seen the screenshots for the friction mount on Google images, and without a doubt it seems the way to go.
Honestly, I just bought a new NUVI 360 and was reading all the forums on this site and decided not to bother with the suction cup that came with the unit. It is still in the packaging.

Most of the time my girlfriend holds the device while I drive.
I want the suction mount, but am looking for a lower price first.

Stay away from the suction mount, if you want to take car of your vehicle and treat it right.

ALSO, DO NOT LEAVE THE NUVI OR ANYTHING ELSE OF VALUE IN THE CAR.
5 SECOND OF INCONVENIENCE CAN SAVE YOU HOURS OF GRIEF.
(NATIVE NEW YORK- GLASS IS ALWAYS HALF EMPTY)

Heat is always bad for sensitive electronics. Cold won't really hurt, but it will make it do weird things.

I've got a vent mount I bought from ebay for my nuvi 350. In California, we're not allowed to use the suction cup on our windshields so we either go with the vent mount for use that disk Garmin gives you and mount in the dash using the suction cup.

Personally, I prefer the vent mount although I had to use the vent left of the steering wheel. My Accord's center vents just did not put the nuvi in a good position. Consequently, I have to drape the charger cable over my steering column. What I do like is the ability to pop out the unit when not in use. I don't mind the vent mount at all when I'm not using the gps and having on the left makes it less distracting for any passengers.

While working in an Environmental Lab for a large Aircraft Electronics Company, we ran the equipment through hot, cold, vibration, altitude, and drop tests. All will damage electronic devices, including cold .... especially when combined with vibration. Another problem with cold is the moisture that develops when the electronic device warms up.

RT

No, you are right. However, if I had to choose between being on the cool side and being on the warm side, I would take the cool.

You are right in what you are saying, I just didn't quote it right.