1490LMT wants me to take local routes instead of hwy?

The inner loop is clockwise, coming from Alexandria toward the 270 Spur. The outer loop is the one used to go from Rockville to Alexandria. Now, depending on where you are in Alexandria there may be other options to using the Beltway but the options in your unit are such that they are not considered.

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Hi folks, i am new to this site, and have just returned from a trip to Florida where I drove from Orlando to Naples. Followed my GPS instructions which prompted me to get off Interstate 75 (70mph speed limit) and take a State Road SR 17 which has one traffic light after another for over 100 miles. In hindsight, I could have stayed on the 75 all the way to Naples.

Like others here, I had all avoidances turned off, set to car and no ecoRoute option. I have tried both fastest Route as well as shortest Route and getting the same recommendation.

My Garmin is a Nuvii 2350 and using 2013.40 CN North America NT.

Has there been any update?

Much appreciated in advance.

Garmin has become "this is your GPS on drugs"...switched over to Tom Tom (save for my POS 1490) and really have been satisfied...the 340, 540, and two 1605s we use have been dead on performers...yes, they have their quirks and foibles...but overall, unlike Garmin, I haven't wanted to throw one from a speeding automobile or truck...

Trends on turn them off.

i updated the map from 2013.10 to either 2013.20 or .30 and that fixed the problem about going local route from NJ to Verazono bridge in NYC.

i just updated to 2013.40.
then i read gabrra's comment about his 2013.40 maps routing him local.

hopefully i didnt break my nuvi

Coming from Rockville he must mean the *Outer Loop* of 495. That's the way I always go From Germantown down 270 to 495 outer loop, to GW PKWY into Alex. (270 which goes through Rockville)

So far the 1450 takes me the right way, 270 - 495. Tho instead of having me get on GW PKWY, it wants me to get on 66 E, which is longer at faster speeds, but almost always has more traffic.

I think our GPS's are training us, or at the very least keeping us on our toes about their quirks.

When I drove north on I270, it routed me to 270 local.

I too had a similar experience where the GPS had me exit a fast Interstate and redirect me to take a "loop road" going through a town and then re-entering the Interstate. After the 1st time it happened 4 more times though I just ignored the GPS's directing me to exit the Interstate.

GPS set for "Fastest route".

A few days ago, I was driving on I270 from Fairfax VA to Breezewood, PA, my garmin 1350T with a CNNA 1240 map kept asking me to drive on I270 local instead of I270 express. Very disappointed with the route selection as there were so many autos in and out on I270 local.

Welcome to the site. What you note is pretty common among many units. It has to o with the routing calculated by the unit and the classification of the road. As far as the unit is concerned, the local and express lanes are both Interstate with the same speed limit so, the inside lane on a curving route is shorter, therefore it will have a shorter travel time and it will invariably pick the shortest distance. Your unit also has no clue there are such things as traffic lights and stop signs, so it will route you off an Interstate to go through town again, because it's shorter so it must be faster. That's where you need to think about your route and look at it before you turn off.

... on most units it usually reads: "Use Mapquest for all your Urban/Metropolitan routing needs - it's free!"

(Seriously: One can get into a lively discussion as to which is a more dubious Nuvi feature: traffic, routing or lifetime maps. Routing 50 miles into NYC is absurd regardless of which which direction you are approaching the City, and I have found Chicago not much better.)

I am learning that if my Nuvi 360 seems to be calculating a route that doesn't make sense at a certain point in the process, I simply continue driving in the basic direction of my destination without minding the Nuvi, and after some time has progressed or some meaningful distance covered, I work with the Nuvi re calculating the route at that point and the Nuvi seems to produce a sensible routing at that point.

From Virginia does the same thing - my 1490 wanted me to take the bypass roads and drive parallel to the highway.
The first time I didn't know what it was trying to do so I did what it wanted. And was left scratching my head.
It also freaks out going I-66 west. At one point it wants to take me off the Interstate, drive through a town, and then get back on the Interstate.