Can TomTom US maps be this bad?

[mitcht]

I have a brand new XL 340 TM Live that tech support says is fully up to date software-wise. It has misdirected me several times in the last couple of days to wrong addresses as well as streets and locations that don't exist. I have a Garmin in my other car that has misdirected me only once in the last 2 years. I have read that TomTom's US maps are not quite as strong as Garmin's, but I'm wondering if they could really be this much worse. I prefer some of the features in this unit, so I am seeking other owner experiences before I swap this for a Garmin. How about it could it be this bad for everyone, or do you think I might just have a defective unit?

Thanks

 

[gatorguy]

Do you have any examples of the problem destinations? It's certainly possible that your region might be better mapped by Navteq, but without some sample addresses that were incorrect it's hard to say if you have a device issue or just a map that needs improvement in your area.

 

[dhn]

And have you upgraded to the latest 850 map for that model?

 

[doctormstein1]

I have a brand new XL 340 TM Live that tech support says is fully up to date software-wise. It has misdirected me several times in the last couple of days to wrong addresses as well as streets and locations that don't exist. I have a Garmin in my other car that has misdirected me only once in the last 2 years. I have read that TomTom's US maps are not quite as strong as Garmin's, but I'm wondering if they could really be this much worse. I prefer some of the features in this unit, so I am seeking other owner experiences before I swap this for a Garmin. How about it could it be this bad for everyone, or do you think I might just have a defective unit?

Thanks

with my 920 on long island , ny Its rare that their is a problem. Depending of areas around the country that you live , sometimes garmin is better and sometimes tomtom is better but I wouldn't trade tom tom in for anything when it comes to traffic and going from place A to B.

 

[mitcht]

Do you have any examples of the problem destinations? It's certainly possible that your region might be better mapped by Navteq, but without some sample addresses that were incorrect it's hard to say if you have a device issue or just a map that needs improvement in your area.

Once again, if users report this is out of the ordinary, I will assume this unit is defective and exchange it. If not, I will return it and warn others in this area to steer clear of TomTom. I doubt this will happen, as I don't think TomTom could stay in business if their products were this unreliable.

Most recent:

When planning a route from Amesbury Road, Contoocook, NH to 48 Main Street, Henniker, NH:

1 It said Amesbury Road connected to 127/103 in a place where there was no connection (no road at all there.

2. It said I had arrived at my destination almost a mile before I was there.

When navigating from Amesbury Road to Irving Warner (a gas station in Warner I let the unit pick out):

1. It took me to the non-existent turn off Amesbury.

2. Along 103 it instructed me to make a right turn that didn't exist (to reach my final destination) just after Pine Lane.

On the return from this trip the unit gave me a voice command to make an upcoming right instead of a left. The map showed it properly as a left, and when we approached the turn the coice command said 'left' correctly. This was corroborated at the time by a passenger in the car.

I have also been directed into a dead-end bog in New Boston, NH (a 2-wheel drive vehicke would have been stuck before realizing the dirt road had ended), as well as to 2 dead ended roads in that area.

All of the areas above have been unchanged since the 1970's.

BTW

I am nowgetting low battery messages, even when the unit is plugged into the charger in the car (the green light on the plug is lit and the other end is definitely securely plugged into the unit). When I plugged the unit into my computer and operated the unit from there, the battery indicator said it was initially low and then quickly went from empty to green (about 3 minutes). The unit had been plugged into a live jack in the car overnight.

 

[mitcht]

And have you upgraded to the latest 850 map for that model?

I have 850.2784

 

[mitcht]

with my 920 on long island , ny Its rare that their is a problem. Depending of areas around the country that you live , sometimes garmin is better and sometimes tomtom is better but I wouldn't trade tom tom in for anything when it comes to traffic and going from place A to B.

I doubt there could be this much of a difference. I've logged 40K miles over 2 years on my Garmnin, from NY to NH (mostly NH), and in Florida and the state of Washington. I have been misdirected once in all that time - it was .5 miles off on an address on a dirt road. My TomTom has been wrong at least 10 times in the first 3 days I've had it, often in long established unchanged suburban areas.

Still, I love many of the features of the TomTom and am hoping that this unit needs to be replaced rather than exchanged for a Garmin. That's why I'm asking TomTom users about how accurate their units are.

Thanks for taking the time to write!

 

[GarCor]

Just a thought ! Is it possible that you have your unit set to walking or bike rout?
I just tried your route on my 920 and it took me the same route as a cross reference I tried on Google maps both routs were the same. But when I tried it as a walking route it was different .

 

[mitcht]

Just a thought ! Is it possible that you have your unit set to walking or bike rout?
I just tried your route on my 920 and it took me the same route as a cross reference I tried on Google maps both routs were the same. But when I tried it as a walking route it was different .

I'm set to fastest route. Which route did you test? I just did a Google Maps to find 48 Main Street in Henniker. Google was accurate, where my TomTom was not. For example, Google showed a dead end road off Amesbury just past Knollwood that TomTom tried to use to connect me to Rt 103.

Anyway, I'm suspecting a hardware issue, as I have been getting intermittent low battery messages when the unit is connected to a power source (has not been operated off a power source yet).

 

[dhn]

Does your text to speech work on the unit and what application do you have? (tap the satellite bars and the next screen shows the app version).

 

[mitcht]

Does your text to speech work on the unit and what application do you have? (tap the satellite bars and the next screen shows the app version).

text to speech works fine (except that it once told me there was an upcoming right when it was a left, and the map showed it as a left). Tapping the sattelite bars did not show the app versionUnder the versions area I'm showing App 9.053.520930.2 os 515773 (1023, 4/19/2010) gps V1.20, bOOT 5.5138 Map: USA_Canada_and_Mexico_P 850.2784 Device AKSSE BJCPW

 

[dhn]

Yeah, app 9.053 is the application installed.

 

[BoSto]

Out of date on purchase

I have a brand new XL 340 TM Live that tech support says is fully up to date software-wise. It has misdirected me several times in the last couple of days to wrong addresses as well as streets and locations that don't exist. I have a Garmin in my other car that has misdirected me only once in the last 2 years. I have read that TomTom's US maps are not quite as strong as Garmin's, but I'm wondering if they could really be this much worse. I prefer some of the features in this unit, so I am seeking other owner experiences before I swap this for a Garmin. How about it could it be this bad for everyone, or do you think I might just have a defective unit?

Thanks

I have just returned from Ireland using recently purchased One Classic with W Euope (22 countries) software and maps were poor. The route Dublin to Cork is a no brainer M80 but its not recognised despite the motorway being established for some time. Resent having to pay for new updates when I did not get the latest from the purchase supply. I know tom tom want us to pay for more but this is a bit off having to pay so soon for something that should have been provided in any case.

 

[GarCor]

I'm set to fastest route. Which route did you test? I just did a Google Maps to find 48 Main Street in Henniker. Google was accurate, where my TomTom was not. For example, Google showed a dead end road off Amesbury just past Knollwood that TomTom tried to use to connect me to Rt 103.

Anyway, I'm suspecting a hardware issue, as I have been getting intermittent low battery messages when the unit is connected to a power source (has not been operated off a power source yet).

You are correct. When I first put Amesbury Road in as a starting point I used (22 as an address #) and the rout was fine but I tried it again from Rockwood Cir and like you said TT wanted me to connect via a dead end street. It did the same when I tried a route from Rockwood to your Irving designation.

I put a map correction on my unit blocking that exit off and tried route again an all was fine. I realize that isn't what you were looking for but just like Gamin maps the TT maps aren't perfect and no GPS can replace local knowledge