3597LMTHD

Garmin have a history of supporting models for well beyond their discontinued date. I have a 1490 which had a software update as recently as July this year. Map updates of course continue provided you have lifetime maps and meet the Ts & Cs.

Your 2597 sounds like it needs a master reset, have you tried that? As for asking you if you want to take a faster route due to traffic, have you set it to do so?

I appreciate your reply. I did do a master reset on it a few times. I like the gps so I did not want to give up hope on it. Yes I did ask for it to change route for traffic. Really wish I could fix this one but it was a refurbished also and 2 years old.

Since you've done a master reset on it without success, perhaps try some of these suggestions to see if it helps.

How much free memory do you have on the Nuvi?

1> Lacking free memory sometimes causes the Nuvi to act quirky.
Give this link a look to free up memory especially removing voice files that are not needed. MAKE SURE TO DO A FULL BACKUP before removing files .
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/41876

2> Clear your trip log.

3> Since you feel traffic is just about useless, DISABLE IT.
I too feel traffic on my 2460 lacks accuracy so I've disabled it.
Far too often I was getting erroneous messages that were just the opposite of the traffic conditions I was in.

Do another hard reset then try reloading the firmware. Even if you are already running the current version, use G.E. or Webupdater to reload it again. This has helped me several times in the past.

BTW, if you do replace your 2597, the 3597 is an excellent choice!

All good advice. I'll add that if nicemann has a smartphone, adding the Garmin Smartphone link traffic (free app and one-time $20 subscription) is a way to add what is likely to be better traffic coverage, even though Phoenix is one of the two areas in Arizona where HD traffic coverage is offered.

I agree with sussamb as well that the 3597 will continue to be supported for a long time to come.

I still have a nuvi 750 I purchased as a discontinued model. It was introduced in 2008 and guess it was discontinued a year or two later. As for software, it still accepts the latest map updates although the size necessitates using an SD card for the much larger files and as recently as 2012, a firmware update was released. About 2 years ago, I replaced the battery which was never intended to be user replaceable. Last year I bought a 3597 after it became discontinued. As for buying a discontinued Garmin model, I personally don't have any concerns about that.

Do you have maps on an SD card? Some have seen performance issues if they somehow got maps divided between the base device and the SD card.

As for HD traffic, I've not found it particularly useful in my area. Maybe someone in the Phoenix area who has had experience with HD traffic could offer more info on that for you.

I did spring for the Smartphone Link app for my iPad and I have been satisfied with the traffic info it sends to the 3597 via Bluetooth and it has seamlessly rerouted me past bottlenecks on occasion if there was a reasonable alternate route available.

Your 2597 has 8gb memory so lack of memory should not be an issue unless you have orphaned files.

Good suggestion by bdhsfz6 to reload firmware making sure it's the latest version.

I appreciate the suggestion. I will try to delete some of the files as you suggested. When I checked the memory it does show I have space so I did not even try doing that. I really need the traffic function. In Phoenix we have too many backups and there is always another way to go but if my Garmin doesn't try to find the quickest route without traffic it is kind of useless.

I have tried reloading the firmware again and it still is taking too long to route me. Plus I can tell there are more issues because it sounds like it is stuttering when trying to say some street names.

If cleaning out some of the unused files I may just go with the 3597 and cross my fingers this refurb last more then 2 years.

I was thinking 8 GB was plenty also, that's one of the reason I went with this one. I don't use a SD card with it. I did try to reload the firmware 2 days ago and same thing. Appreciate the suggestion though.

Do you have a smartphone and if not, are you willing to buy one? If yes to either question, try the Garmin Smartphone link app with traffic which will work with both your current and proposed nuvi.

The stuttering makes me think the nuvi is being overworked so possibly the clearing of the trip log will help. From the owners manual, your 2597 may also offer myTrends and trafficTrends and disabling them may free up some processing power.

http://static.garmin.com/pumac/nuvi_24x7_OM_EN.pdf

Do you use a lot of custom POI files with alerts or TourGuides? What level of map detail is your 2597 set to? These could also add stress to the processor.

Most people feel the Traffic Trends feature is not worth the trouble, and many think it actually has an adverse affect on routing. In any case, turning it off may improve performance somewhat.

As members alandb and CraigW suggested turning off Traffic Trends and My Trends i& a good idea to troubleshoot. I have both disabled and encounter no issue on my 2460LMT.

I agree with Alandb here. I disabled Traffic Trends after only a short trial of it. It seemed to be gathering stats and setting the routes based on phantom traffic. Since the detour feature works very well when a bad traffic problem up ahead is confirmed I use that and turned off Traffic Trends. There are roads and highways that are always congested around here with no real and practical alternatives, and traffic trends seems to suggest some bizarre routes that are actually worse than dealing with the traffic. Just my 2 cents!

I like it after giving up on my 765t. Picked up a refurb on Amazon for $105.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V6VVA1K?psc=1&redirect=t...

I appreciate everyone's comments on the 2597 and fixes. Went through and deleted all the misc files that I would not use on the Garmin. Reinstalled the firmware and also disabled traffic trends. Still takes about 3 mins each time it needs to calculate a route. That is with the maps on low details.

Now I am debating if I really need the 3597lmthd or just go with a lower end model and use the Garmin app and link traffic that way. Hopefully it doesn't use much traffic. Reading the threads on here the HD traffic doesn't do much better then the standard receiver but the app does a decent job being paired with a device.

3597lmthd refurb is $195 vs another 2597 at $125. So $70 difference debating if it is worth it.

I don't use Traffic Trends either.

@nicemann ... If you want to give a sample route that takes 3 minutes to calculate on your 2597, I will calculate the same route on my 3597 and give you the results for comparison.

Funny i was going to give you a route but didn't want to post my address in the forum so I was going to see if I put it in indoor mode if I could pick a starting address and an end address. It did not allow me to put in a starting address, just where my gps last found me. The same route I have been trying 21 miles it did within 10 seconds on the indoor mode. Got all happy and wanted to try it with the gps back on it took 3 mins again. Oh well. Maybe that will narrow down the issue a little. I have tried even a 4 mile route and it still took about 2 mins.

Three thoughts:

-One advantage of the 3597 that many folks never think of is that it has a powered mount. Many folks here very strongly prefer buying models with powered mounts:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/45200

-Regarding lower end models. I suggest avoided the "Essential series" nuvis. At least some of the Essential nuvis use a less desirable voice engine with poorer audio, fewer junction view types and no ability to use the Smartphone link app. (Hmm, there used to be a Garmin comparison page where you can check boxes with the features you want and then see a list of the models with the selected features. Is it gone? I can't find it right now.)

-If you meant to write 'Hopefully it doesn't use much cellular data," you can rest easy. The smartphone link uses little data from your smartphone plan.

Using Set Location to create a new starting point other than where you are takes a bit of practice to use easily. More:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/31482

Boy, your route creation times, especially if they 1) are that long even when you remain stopped until a route is complete and 2) if you're not including time to acquire the satellites seems way too long to me. Does your 2597 turn "off" into a sleep mode? If so, do things improve after doing to full power down (maybe by holding the power switch until a popup window asks if you really want to turn it off)? If a full power down doesn't help, maybe it's time for another hard reset. You did say your 2597 has free storage available but could you tell us what your computer says about total and free space in the 2597?

If you are calculating a route indoors while the nuvi is trying unsuccessfully to find satellites, of course the processor will be overloaded. Either go outside and let the nuvi get a good position before calculating a route, or do it indoors in simulation mode.

dobs108

Most all of us agree with not putting contact info in the "Forum" but there is another way.

Go to "My Account" in the upper right corner of this screen;
CTRL-left click on it;
Click "Edit" at the top left and then note

Assuming this is satisfactory privacy (which I think most of us do), then enter your e-mail address.

Alternatively, you can e-mail someone who asks you a question that needs an e-mail reply, by a CTRL-left click on their name at the top left of a post and then clicking "Contact"

Note: I always suggest CTRL-left click so that you keep you place in case you need to look at other instructions

Click on the persons name on POI Factory and when the page opens click on "contact" tab. The info exchanged is between you two.

I'm not including the time it takes to find a satellite. That's the sad thing. It even takes that long when I need to recalculate a route because I took a wrong turn or decided to go a different way. I leave it plugged into my car charger so it turns itself off each time my car powers off. I tried another hard reset today and same issue.

It currently have 2.1 GB free. Don't think its a space issue.

There is definitely something not right with your 2597. The recalc when you miss a turn should take at most a few seconds, unless there is something really unusual about the route. Any chance you have multiple map files? What does it show for installed maps?

Only shows CN North America NT 2016.20 ALL installed

Some of these items have been covered. Look at this link and see if anything jumps out. https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.htm?ca... Have you use another GPS model in the vehicle with no problems? Have you tried the 2597 in another vehicle? Thinking on the line of coating on windshield or obstruction.

I agree, there is something certainly wrong with your 2597.
Having tried all the suggestions with no luck it's possible the hardware is failing. You said the issue appeared recently. Do you recall when and what changes you made if any that maybe made the unit malfunction?

One other thought that probably is not the cause.
You said you don't use an SD card, did you ever use one on the 2597 that had files on it? Perhaps you had something on the SD card that the Nuvi is looking for and can't find since the SD card is not present.

If you had an SD card in the past, try inserting it into the Nuvi, then check in Windows Explorer if the SD card is recognized and if there are any files on it..
If you never used an SD card disregard the suggestion.

Nope never had a SD card in this device. Was just driving one day and the device froze. Would not respond to any screen touches. Even holding down the power button for a long period didn't do anything. Had to unplug it and let the battery die. Once I plugged it back in it was extremely slow so that's when I did the first hard reset.

Tried to use it plugged and not plugged to see if the traffic receiver was causing any issues. Dame issues either way.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions. Really do thing it is a hardware issue now and not a software one. Now just have to decide which model to replace it with that has good traffic. I go out of town in 6 days so I need to get one ordered and delivered ASAP.

I have always enjoyed this forum and it's because of it's members.

Yes I have tried to use it outside of the truck also to see if that was an issue. I appreciate your suggestion though.

nicemann, getting a 3597 is sounding better with each post in this thread. A $200 refurb will resolve a lot of issues for you.

The 3597 has a much better speaker in the powered mount than the speaker in the device itself. My hearing isn't what it used to be and I really like the clarity and the volume that it delivers.

My grandson's 2597 does weird things when his battery gets low.

If you have not let it fully charge, try that. just attach it to your computer.

In searching other forums, I found several other reports of problems similar to yours.

It appears the best advice was offered by Charlesd45 when he suggested calling Garmin support @ 1-800-800-1020. They were able to resolve several of these issues.

Even though your nuvi is out of warranty, Garmin has been known to make exceptions on replacements when you call them ... but call, don't email.

Thanks I will give them a call. I did also order the 3597LMTHD for $195 last night. Figured if I can ever get the other one working it can replace my wife's very old TomTom XXL 540.

The 3597 doesn't have a speaker in the mount. It's just a great speaker in the unit compared to others. That speaker is almost as good as the ones in the 8XX units of several years ago.

The 3597 doesn't have a speaker in the mount but does in the magnetic cradle unless they changed the mount since I bought my unit 2 and half years ago. I think you'll find openings on each side of the center ball holder and that's were the sound comes from.

Here is a quote from a cnet.com review:

The integrated speaker isn't nearly loud enough to be heard over the levels of road and wind noise and car audio that you'll experience while driving, but it doesn't need to be because the 3597LM's cradle-and-suction-cup mount features a speaker of its own that is plenty loud. The cradle attaches to the Nuvi with a powerful magnet, for easy one-handed mounting and dismounting, and attaches to the windshield or other smooth, nonporous surfaces with a strong lever-activated suction cup.

See http://www.cnet.com/products/garmin-nuvi-3597lmthd/

Interesting. I had to check mine and it was quite a chore to place my ear directly over the nuvi's speaker while covering the mount's slots with my fingers, and then cover up the nuvi speaker and place my ear over the slots in the magnetic mount. I'm 99.44% sure that you are correct and the mag mount does have a built in speaker and that both speakers work all the time when powered externally. This was news to me. The mount's speaker does not work when powered only with the nuvi's internal battery and this may be a cause for the confusion.

Box Car's thought is not alone. I see a Question posted on Amazon and the answer given is that there is no speaker built into the mount. I just added my 2 cents to the Amazon Q&A.

Welcome to the 3597 club here on POI Factory ... there are quite a few of us, and most are pretty loyal to this model. I think you will love your 3597 and will not be sorry for that decision.

where did you find this at? the cheapest I found so far was at the GPS store for 199, I'm looking forward to buying one of these myself

Does $4 mean that much?

Two toonies, not so much; but 4USD a bit more.

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

http://www.gpscity.com/garmin-nuvi-3597lmthd-newly-overhaule...

Reseller Ratings rates gpscity.com 1.86/10. It rates thegpsstore.com 9.59/10. You will probably be OK with either seller, but if it was me, I would spend the additional $5

On the other hand I've bought 3 GPS units from GPScity and couldn't be more pleased with the service, price and speed of delivery. I guess the saying "your mileage may vary" hold true here.

Purchased a couple of GOD's from GPScity in the past and never lost a seconds sleep..

If I were buying something from them today, I'd close my eyes and snore loud enough to raise the roof!

Gpscity mailed out my gps today as promised. Got the tracking number and it has been picked up. So far so good.