Windshield mount falling off

Sounds as if you need to find another way/method of mounting the unit. An extremely light touch of oil/glycerine to the suction cup may be of help, but it will leave rings.

Just put a little saliva on the suction cup to make it stick better, but I would always remove the mount anyway even though you have removed the GPS when the car is parked in a place where people can see it.

Leaving the mount on the windshield is one of the signs that you have a GPS in the car that thieves use to decide if it might be worth breaking into your car.

That may have been true a few years ago but with GPS units now selling for under $100 and a thief getting less than ten cents on the dollar, it just isn't worth it any more.

Spit works pretty good for a while. I bought bean bag mounts when Amazon sold them for 16 bucks. Those might not work for you though. One other solution is glue the disc to the dash. I have noticed several of those in vans.

Mine comes loose from the bean bag every so often but I don't find it a problem, figuring that is the price to pay for a temp solution. I just clean off the rubber with some Fantastik, moisten it, and re-apply. If this doesn't work for you, then glue the suction cup/ball mount onto a bean bag.

Mine did the same thing. I just clean the suction cup with alcohol and it seems to be a lot better. Now it stays on for about 10-14 days.

I use the drop of liquid dish soap spread around the suction cup rim. When the soap when dries, it forms a pretty strong seal and holds for a much longer period of time. After applying the soap and securing the mount to the window (or otherwise), the unit will slide around because of the soap which makes it easy to fine-tune the position. You do need to wait for a few hours (depending on the temperature) or so for the liquid component of the soap to evaporate before mounting the unit (which may be sliding around). Works great for me.

I had the same problem as you - hot summer temps were rendering anything suction-cup based to failure. Garmin's latest version of their friction mount is what I like the best and takes care of the problem completely since there is no suction cup inherent in the design. You can get the genuine Garmin article at http://preview.tinyurl.com/kw8stsv discounted because it comes in bulk packaging instead of retail, but for $14.50, shipping included, you can't beat it!

The main concerns/complaints people have about this kind of mount is 1) the bottom, tacky surface of the mount can leave a residue on your dash, and 2) it can and most likely will vibrate somewhat depending on the road condition. As for #1, my wife and I don't care b/c we have older vehicles and it just doesn't matter to us. As for vibration, I've discovered after reading some Amazon reviews that making sure that the narrower, *back* part of the mount is pressed down tightly that this helps the vibration problem a lot.

One last tip - if you get one of these, save the clear piece of plastic that attaches to the bottom tacky surface, and re-stick it on there when you're not using the mount. It will help keep the surface nice and sticky. If the bottom gets too dusty, cleaning with soap and water will restore the tacky quality nicely (speaking from experience).

Spit on your stuff. Throw up on it. Or you could try to actually understand what the problem is. When my Garmin mount, that used to work fine, started releasing from the windshield for no apparent reason, I actually looked at it. I found that the rubber was tearing away from the plastic, causing it to not get a good suction. No amount of spit or other body fluids is going to fix that. I learned the hard way also that you just can't sneak glue in without taking it all apart. The good news is that taking it apart isn't all that hard. Remove the round metal pin that goes through the arm that you rotate to create suction and it will come apart nicely (a pin punch is handy here, but a right size nail with the point ground flat should also work). Then you can get access to where the rubber meets the metal and plastic and use a good grade of glue to make a repair all around the joint. Let it set for 24-48 hours or whatever is specified by the adhesive that you used, then reassemble and reinsert the pin. Mine works as good as it ever did.

try cleaning the suction cup itself with alcohol prep

I only tried spit.

There have been quite a few auto break-ins at my work place. They steal CD music or CD/radio players or the whole damn car. Thieves steal. Period. The value of the stolen items doesn't have any correlation whatsoever. I wouldn't give them a reason to break in my car.

Not surprisingly, many GPS users don't care leaving their GPS unit (or just the mount) in the car. I don't even leave a $20 sweatshirt in my car. I don't mind losing $20 sweatshirt. I just don't want to spend hundreds to repair my window.

The same thing happens to me, but it's usually on hot days.

You usually have to wet it first and the sun dries out the moisture. However, I agree that it's best not to leave it there, because it does become an invitation to have it stolen.

I've always been concerned about the potential for theft of anything left out/in view in the vehicle.

But it seems that there are a lot less thefts of GPS devices even though more and more people leave them in their vehicles.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Vent mount makes more sense. Depends on model, some can got scotching hot.

especially in Summer and heat waves like one around here in NJ they certainly fall off every few weeks (months in colder part of year).

just a word of advice if you want to use it still this way, my wife does (it still falls off once or twice a year, on its own without weight attached).

1. clean the windshield with isopropyl alcohol until it's clean, you will be surprised what is on it once you see that paper towel
2. clean the suction cup mating surface with alcohol
3. wait until it all dries out
4. unlock the suction cup (latch loose), press against the windshield, not too forceful or you will damage windshield
5. lock the suction cup's latch (tight position) so it stays there

that's what I do and considering the amount of temperatures swings and potholes in roads around here it lasts pretty darn long!
However expect it to fall off the next year with the first heat wave, in some morning you will just find it on the floor carpet so think about re-applying above steps BEFORE Summer starts (I always forget) and you might be all right!

Clean BOTH the suction cup & the windshield with rubbing and you should have a strong hold

I would suggest throwing the suction cup out and getting the garmin bean bag...works great...has never fallen off the dash!!!

As what was suggested above. A little bit of saliva works wonders.

if you're not worried about the "look" I velcroed the disk to the dash, then some good old spit on the suction cup and it works great. Hanging from the windshield the weight of the unit works against it, standing on the dash, not so much. When I take the GPS off the dash the disk stays attached to the GPS.

One tip, use black velcro so the reflection of the normally white stuff on the windshield when the GPS is not there won't drive ya nuts.

Mine falls off, but very rarely. I have the power cord looped over the mirror for better traffic reception and to keep the GPSr from hitting the floor when it does fall off.

Mine fell off so many times, I ended up going to the bean bag . Works Better!

Garmin has used this exact same suction cup design/material (black rubber/composite) since way back with my GPS V (at least). It's never been known to stay stuck *reliably*, either to the windshield or the dash disc. I've had numerous other devices mounted to the windshield (currently my Valentine One Radar Locator) for many years with no sign of releasing on their own, even in the hot sun. And when you want them to release, they just do and will stick the same way again and again. All these devices that stay stuck seem to use the clear silicone-type suction cup material.

Garmin really needs to redesign this suction cup design to be more robust and reliable. I think one reason for the cup not staying stuck is the black material used, which of course absorbs heat and expands, losing the vacuum/breaking the seal created by the suction cup. The rigidity of the material may also be a contributing factor...the clear silicone cups are very flexible and conform better to the surface it's used on while the material that Garmin uses is quite rigid in comparison.

I can't tell you how many times I've had the Garmin suction cup release on it's own, mostly in the heat of summer, even with using some type of enhancement on the cup surface (in my case, liquid dish soap). As it is now, I un-stick the cup from the dash disc, tilt it slightly to release the suction and re-stick it in the same position on pretty much a weekly basis (in the summer), mostly for peace of mind.

I switched to vent mounts 5 years ago. I think it's the best way to go.

When I was using the suction cup mount I didn't rely on the mount holding the full weight of the GPS. I folded a small rag, laid that on the dash, and adjusted the arm so the weight of the GPS was on the rag. The only thing the suction cup did was stop the GPS from sliding across the dash. Even if you wet the suction cup it will most likely come loose when the sun drys it out. I read a tip about using vegetable oil to wet the cup instead of water, but I never got around to trying that because I bought the beanbag mount.

Or dishwashing liquid (like Madge uses).

Just get a beanbag mount. It's a lot better than the windshield one.

I echo DorkusNimrod's statement regarding the color of the cup should be clear and not black for heat reasons.

Another factor to consider, one size does NOT fit all,
some Nuvi's are heavier than others and need a larger cup.

I personally use a bean bag and am very happy with it. I can transfer to another vehicle easy, and when not in use I just put it under my seat to prevent potential thieves looking for suction cups to break into the car. Why risk a broken window even if the GPS is not in the car.

I rather not use a vent mount since vents are usually flimsy and can break as well as having the vent blocked.

Windsheild mount are a back practice, more trouble than they are worth.

+1 This is what I do to make sure that it isn't fully known that there is a GPS in the car.

This one is fairly inexpensive.

http://www.amazon.com/Arkon-GN047-Removable-Swivel-Garmin/dp...

Like dorkus said a clear silicone rubber is better than the black rubber material.

I'm running into the exact same problem with my windshield mount for my phone. I had to exchange one a month ago and darned if the new one isn't already doing the same thing. Another 4 months from now and the heat will be all gone and we can get back to normal.

As been happening to me too so many times the only solution is keep a bottle of water with you all the time inside the car when it fall off again just use the water and use it on the back side and it should last for about 4 or 5 days .

Just remember not to drink that water lol

As I mentioned, the Magellan mount stayed on the windshield indefinitely.

The newer Garmin, even though I lick it before I install it still falls off. After a while it's every couple days.

I think you're right, it does seem worse in warm weather.

But heck, they could fix that. The Magellan mount from 5 or 6 years ago didn't fall off. It was larger, maybe 1/2" larger. Not a big difference. Garmin is just being cheap.

Garmin isn't cheap, necessarily. Heat expands, cold contracts.

A suction cup has limitations under these conditions, and loses it vacuum.

Pure physics, dude.

Make sure to thoroughly clean your windshield. I have found this helps.

I think we all have had that problem from time to time. Suggest been bag for dashboard. Never had a moments problem with it.

My suction cup is still brand new in the box as I have never used it. Many other options available that are relatively cheap that worked better such as sticky mount, visor mount, etc. or the bean bag which is more expensive.

Generally, the other mounting options are better choices than the suction mount.

Accordingly, I use a third-party mount that goes into the cup holder of my car. This would not work for everyone because the cup holder locations vary between cars.

It works very well in my car and in my wife's car, where the cup holder is in the center of the dash in each case. However, in my son's car the cup holder is in the center console aft of the shift lever, and that places the GPS where it would very hard to see.

(Possibly this would be acceptable if you choose to control the GPS strictly with verbal instructions, and depend entirely upon spoken directions, but I don't do either one.)

With best wishes,
- Tom -

I found the windshield mounts to be useless. Not affiliated with them but I've found that RAM Mounts has a variety of mounts, some of which are or specific cars and others are more general.

My personal feeling it this...Garmin has included windshield mounts with automotive (and other) units for many years now. Their suction cup design has been the same for approx the same amount of time...a very long time. Larger, heavier units use the exact same suction cup design as the smallest, lightest units. If a mount is to be included with an automotive GPS unit prone to high in-vehicle temps and vibration, it should be reliable and hold the GPS without releasing it and not just drop it unexpectedly to it's potential doom.

Other non-Garmin devices have shown that it's entirely possible to provide a reliable suction cup design/mounting system (Magellan, Valentine One Radar locators & even cheap third-party designs provide a more robust suction cup design). It really makes me wonder if Garmin actually tests these designs in the real-world rather than just a temperature controlled lab.

Going to own a GPS that cost over a $100, Invest in a GPS bean bag mount for around $25. Problem solve. As long as you will use the suction mount you will have the problem. Garmin is in the business of providing a product to the public.

Why not tell everyone how much better Scientology or whatever your particular religion is than their religion? The original question was about a problem with suction cups, not a request for alternatives. Maybe some people don't want to use a harder to reach, harder to see, bean bag mount and would rather have the GPS mounted high (near the rear view mirror), easier to reach, and closer and easier to see.

You bringing religion into this? This is about GPS Suction cup.

Then how about using a couple thick rubber bands on the vehicle sun visor.

One thing I don't believe anyone is taking into account regarding the windshield mount is that it is not a permanent attachment. While everyone seems to have a favorite location to mount a GPS, the reality is that after the trip is done the user is supposed to be removing the mount from the windshield, just as the bean bag users stow their mount in the trunk when not in use. So is the windshield mount as bad as some believe it to be, or is it that the end users aren't using the product properly?

Thick rubber bands would either have to dangerously be at the extreme edges of the receiver or would overlap the screen somewhat. And the power connection sticking out from the back would not lie against the visor cleanly. However, I actually have considered getting a matching visor from a junk yard and retrofitting it to hold a GPS, and then running wires permanently to it. It could be a clean install and could just flip out of sight when you parked. The reason that I decided not to do this is it would be more cumbersome to remove. While it would be pretty effective at hiding the GPS, I strongly believe that leaving the GPS in the car during periods of extreme heat or extreme cold is a bad idea that will shorten the battery life and possibly damage other components.