Why I Hate My TomTom GPS
I've had nothing but trouble with my TomTom GO 720 GPS. And the TomTom customer service rep basically told me to go buy a Garmin. Read on! |
My TomTom GPS Doesn't Work...
I bought a TomTom GO 720 GPS almost a year ago. It wasn't my first GPS. But it will be my last TomTom. At the time, it cost about $400, and was supposed to be a top-of-the-line GPS, with a 4.3-inch screen, nice user interface, and text-to-speech pronunciation of street names. Yes, it has a nice touchscreen, many advanced features, and can connect to my cell phone via Bluetooth. Sexy but stupid.
I'm no stranger to electronic devices, and I've owned a few other GPS units. They all could tell me how to get to Philadelphia, or where the nearest coffee shop was located. But not this one. On a recent trip from NYC to Phildelphia, it unexpectedly directed me off the highway. A shortcut, I assumed. Wrong -- it took me through 30 miles of cow town back roads, and ultimately into the very WORST section of Camden, NJ. If you've never been to Camden, suffice it to say that it's ranked as one of the most dangerous US cities, based on crime statistics for murder, rape, robbery, assault, and auto theft. You don't want to go there, and you should be able to count on your GPS to keep you on major highways that run between two large cities.
If that was the only glitch in my travels with the TomTom GO 720, I might have chalked it up to a software error, or an outdated map. But on many occasions, it has picked bizarre detours when I can see on an old-fashioned paper map that better routes are available. I don't subscribe to the real-time traffic feature, so I know it wasn't trying to route me around a jam, and I always double checked the settings to make sure that it wasn't a problem of avoiding toll roads or highways, or a "shortest versus fastest" problem.
In addition to picking what often seem like the longest, most complicated routes, the thing can't get a signal on a cloudy day, and it just can't find the POIs (points of interest) my wife and I are looking for. I'm next to a Sunoco station that's been there for years, but the GO 720 knows nothing about it. Starbucks in my neighborhood? Nope, never heard of 'em. National parks in Maine... what are those? Sure, it has the Podunk Pizza joint in its database, but there's no excuse for not having a listing for every large established business in towns with population over 50,000.
I've updated the software. I've downloaded POI updates from the TomTom website. I even paid close to $100 for an "updated" North American map with 4 million POIs that the TomTom rep said would solve all our problems. A week later, we started getting "map out of date" errors on the GPS.
...and TomTom Doesn't Care
So today we finally decided we'd had enough, and called TomTom customer service again. Maybe there was something they could do to help us. We explained to KelliAnn (name changed to protect the guilty) that a couple years ago, we had a TomTom that we loved. It seemed to have every imaginable POI in its database, and it faithfully took us from Point A to Point B. Unfortunately, we gave that unit to a friend, and upgraded to the newer GO 720.
Remember that scene from the movie Airplane, where all the passengers on the plane are lining up to slap the hysterical woman? That came to mind during my conversation with KelliAnn, because she kept repeating a mantra until I wanted to reach out and touch someone. "Your unit does not have unlimited points of interest in the database." Okay, I figured that out -- it's LIMITED -- and that's the problem. So what can be done to fix the problem and make me a happy TomTom customer?
"Well," KelliAnne said, "You can go to Google Maps and download the address of any POI that's missing from your GPS." Epic Fail, I informed her. If I was stuck in Camden, I'm not very likely to ask some scary looking dude if I could pop into his condemned rowhouse and borrow his computer for a quick visit to Google.
KelliAnn then shared something surprising. "You know, I have problems with my TomTom also. There's a bank and a grocery store in my town that have been there since forever, but they don't show up in my GPS either." Encouraged by that admission, I asked if I could get a refund on that $100 map update that went out of date faster than heavy cream in Brooklyn. "Nope, no refunds on maps," she chirped. "So is there ANYTHING you can suggest to make this thing work better?," I asked. "I'm sorry, but your unit does not have unlimited points of interest in the database." Sigh.
I finally reached a point of frustration and said "It sounds like you're telling me I need to buy a Garmin or Magellan to solve my problem." KelliAnn's reply: "If that's what you think you need to do, then go ahead." I was rather surprised that the TomTom rep was unwilling to offer anything to keep me as a customer. Maybe a discount on a new TomTom? A partial refund on the worthless map? A set of free steak knives? Nope... Nothing... Bzzzzzzt.
Have you had similar problems with a TomTom GPS? Post your rant below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on 6 Jul 2009
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Most recent comments on "Why I Hate My TomTom GPS"
(See all 88 comments for this article.)Posted by:
Charles
13 May 2011
Ours directed us thru little one-way streets and two lane roads and thru a "BAD" unfamiliar area instead of sending us to the Interstate Highway. Four hours there by TomTom two hours back by paper map and intuition.
Posted by:
Dan
02 Jun 2011
Got a TomTom550XL for Christmas with free lifetime map upgrades. 2 failed upgrades =1 in March with hours of waiting for customer service and tech support and one this month - June I have a lump of plastic with no usable maps again, and no room on it to reload. The tech tips from the first go round did nothing. I will stick to paper maps and a plain GPS, much easier to use.
Posted by:
David
25 Jun 2011
I had trouble downloading Western Europe maps after I bought my Tom Tom One. Tom Tom were not helpful and when I saw a Trade In deal when buying a new Tom Tom at Halfords I went for it. Stupid move! Tom Tom's trade in web page would not accept the serial number on the item I bought, which they asked for. Tom Tom is so bad two members of staff at Halfords told me they try not to sell any Tom Tom because they go wrong and Tom Tom are so difficult to deal with. I totally agree and wish I had never heard of the company.
Posted by:
Russ
10 Jul 2011
Their devices haven't gotten any better.
I thought my Magellan GPS was bad so I bought a Tomtom XXL 550. It will not connect to the website necessary to download maps. The primary reason I purchased this unit is for lifetime maps. I have to use a borrowed computer in order to connect. I'm told by support that the unit doesn't work with 64 bit computers.
I put a lot of effort into saving favorite destinations into the device. It turns out I was actually saving random locations because when you save a point on a map - it is not your current location but rather some random point where youve never been.
The bracket is the worst part. I can't get the suction cup to hold for more than 5 minutes.
There should be a law against selling such a poor product.
Posted by:
Mr Mike
15 Jul 2011
Let me start with....I F***ing H8 Tomtom. Okay, so im a courier, i go to relatively simple addresses around towns cities villages and what not. So i type in the postcode, it then comes up with the corresponding street, (to that postcode) but, but, heres the catch, it will actually take you to that street name in a different town alltogether!! that has a different postcode!!! i mean, c'mon WTF? If it cant find where i want to go, it could atleast tell me instead of taking me 10miles through busy traffic. Lowsy piece of sh*t, my nephew could write better software. Oh and the battery life is sh*t, not to mention the touch screen that often clicks a random spot on the screen. Never again, my garmin was way better
Posted by:
Howard
26 Aug 2011
I am a paratransit bus driver. I have a TomTom XXL. This device has been one of the best advances for taxi types of folks, ever. Tomtom gives you a female computer voice that puts you on the right tract. You ahve to listen and trust her. She speaks american (Note lower case a) You can get what ever accent. There is a learning curve in that you must make your tomtom up to date daily. My experience is in a large metro area. It could change on an over the road exparience. For now, paratransit drivers ar 60 for TomTom and 20 for Garmin. The Garmin people are like Apple uses vocal, devoted and uninformed.
Posted by:
Fran
18 Oct 2011
My TomTom XL wants to take me strictly on backroads and avoid highways at all costs. It took me down a backroad which ended at a T intersection yet kept insisting I go straight. If I had gone straight I'd have ended up in the bush! At one point if wanted me to turn South onto a one way street that went North. I went to the city next to mine, which is easily accessible via a major highway, yet the GPS wanted me to take the backroads. I need to know how to change it so it will take me down major roads. I've updated the maps but that hasn't seemed to help at all. I'm frustrated and hardly use the GPS due to it's lack of knowledge. I use google maps or mapquest a lot more than my GPS.
Posted by:
Pen
01 Nov 2011
I have a TOMTOM 350 with unlimited maps. I have not been able to get any maps for free. Also same problem as everyone else my GPS wants to take me to the country, one lane, most backwards areas in any city. Which is really scary as I travel alone in areas I don't know & this is not a safe feeling for a lady. Plus I have a problem with my battery not staying charged!
I really need a good reliable GPS (hard to read a paper map when alone & driving) can you suggest a good one?
Right now I use my phone & it much more reliable that this TOMTOM.
EDITOR'S NOTE: My preferred GPS is now my Android phone with free Google Maps.
Posted by:
Godfrey Williams
02 Jan 2012
My Tom-Tom always chooses the longest routes just because it wants you to be "in-front" (not across the street) of the address that you are going to. This is,, very time wasting,,especially if you are visiting multiple addresses in a day.!!!! You end up losing hours of time that is spent in those longest routes. Very irritating and very silly. This device was a rip off when I bought it...I regret it.
Posted by:
don
17 Jan 2012
Garbage,garbage,garbage...... that's all it is.Too many steets missing that have been there for years although the 1 free update done.
Good only for telling me the time of day and so can my parrot!