Hi Everyone!

Vehicle is a 2008 STS, had it about 2 weeks. Our 2002 didn't have a Nav System so we have always used a Garmin. I thought the "built in" Nav System would be cool so opted for it. Tried it today for something other than "get me home" and got some really bizarre results. Going from my home to St. Augustine the Garmin units (we have several) always route me via the way I've found to be both shortest and quickest. To keep it simple that route goes east to U.S. 1 then south about 13 miles to St. Augustine. The STS system wanted me to cross U.S. 1 and continue east another 8 miles or so to A1A then go south 18 miles to St. Augustine. Since we were headed to an address neither of us were familiar with I really needed that thing. Now here's the strange thing... I turned south on U.S. 1 and the system digested that then gave me instructions to continue 5.2 miles and make a "U" turn and go back to the original route. Sheesh! So I kept going figgering that sooner or later it would abandon that idea and catch up to where the car actually was in relation to the destination. I finally stopped paying any attention to it when we got into downtown St. Augustine (anybody who has driven in St. A knows why!) and we found the destination the old fashioned way. But, until that time, it still wanted me to go back to the original suggested route. We have come to depend on the Garmin units (in our cars and airplane) but now I have no faith in the DVD Nav System to get me where I need to go in an efficient manner. After I made my first trip (to a Corvette show in Joplin, MO years ago) with a Garmin Street Pilot III I never bothered with paper maps again because the Garmin performed flawlessly and they have continued to do so.

Is this "normal behavior" for this system? Are there simply abberations that occasionally show up, or does this unit need service? It's gotta go back sometime in the next few days to have the garage door opener unit replaced so it won't be a problem if y'all think it needs professional attention.

Thanks!

No, the factory system is horrible. Sounds like it is working to spec. Rip it out and glue the Garmin in its place.

Gunner,

Recently, after putting in my new 2008 update dvd in my NAV system, it was acting stupid also. It had turned "OFF" the options for using Toll Roads and Interstates. But I didn't know that at the time.

The first time I told it "HOME", I was on a toll road. As I approched the next exit, it told me to get off and take another street. I knew where I was going, so I ignored it. The next exit it did it again. It wanted me OFF of the toll road. A half hour later I was on the Interstate. At every exit, it kept telling me to get off.

I poked around in the options screen and turned on "ALLOW TOLL ROADS AND FREEWAYS." It has been great since then.

Jim from Texas

I can't say too much about the new nav disc other than your not the first person I've read on this forum complaining about them. I was going to spend the $200 on a new one for me (I have an 05' so their not free) but read where several have done this and the new directions that were given as compaired to the older nav disc were crazy to say the least. That being said, I really hope that the new disc's actually go in and reset all of your personal settings (such as like superjim wrote about) which will make them seem inferior..... But needless to say I have not sent in my request for an update yet either until I start to hear more positive feedback for them....