Why I Hate My TomTom GPS - Comments Page 3

Only once have I questioned my TomTom's routing, and in comparing the route I expected to the one it chose, I found that per the posted speed limits TomTom's route would have been longer but faster.

I have never had a problem with finding satellites. In fact, the only problem I had turned out to be a failing USB cable. Customer service was great in trying to find the problem (I was surprised as I had heard horror stories a few years back.)

Not impressed with consumer GPS. I'm not sure, but it seems that they get their map information for topography satellites. If a dirt trail is wide enough, then it's a highway according to the map. So I found myself stuck on a gravel road through an Arkansas mountain that even the police would not venture onto. To make it worse, after paying $150-$200 for a GPS, each year I'm reminded that I should spend another $140 to upgrade to the latest maps.

I have a tomtom XL and I hate it. I have tried to use the online system several times and it is so slow I get frustrated and end up not using it. I have sent in questions to their online help system only to be sent back advice to use their online system. It's a never ending circle.

My tomtom has rerouted me off main roads onto dirt roads to get me someplace! It takes up to 5 minutes to find a signal when it is first turned on and it recalculates so slowly that you miss turns you needed to take.

The final straw was when the battery drained for lack of use, but it did not turn back on when plugged into the cigarett lighter, no that would make sense...when the battery drains (Which I found out from customer service will happen when it is not used, it has an internal drive that drains the battery) the only way to get it to work again is to connect it to your computer, not very easy to do when you are driving!

I truly hate my tomtom, I would never buy another one and hope no one ever buys one and they go out of business. they are a terrible company!

Still use my original Tom Tom One - First Generation - it is fab.... updated the OS/Firmware/Software whatever you want to call it and the maps a couple of times. I have added my own POIs that I have created from online tools and subscribe to traffic... there is only one route that it deduces which is a bit suspect, that is the route from Swansea to Bangor or Caernarfon in North Wales, but as I know the best routs to travel North/South in Wales that isn't a problem.

Never seen the need or the point for anything better than the Tom Tom One... it does EVERYTHING that you NEED a Sat Nav to do!!!

My only gripe is they do not email you when a service like Traffic has expired, you have to wait until you are on a long and important journey to turn your unit on to find the service expiration warning - not at all helpful if you have not used the unit for a couple of weeks! You would have thought that an automatic email would be a) very easy to set up, b) good to get repeat business in c) keep customers happy!

Em

PS: It links to my Nokia phone using bluetooth with absolute ease!

I have a Tomtom One third edition, bought one for my daughter who travels all over the eastern half of the country, and my wife who traverses the wiles of Chicago. All three have worked flawlessly. As the geeky guy you are I understand why you have owned several GPS units, but if you have one that works why have you not stuck with it? I know you review products and report the results. As with any GPS, they like the "main route". I find that looking at a map, like the ones you can access on your computer, will help limit from being routed down dirt roads, and dead ends. A little research PRIOR to setting out will be very helpful. I LOVE my Tomtom. Being aware of your surroundings will prove very helpful. You should use all the resources available, like mapping programs, and even Google Earth. Then set out on your adventures. After all we're all geeks of one type on another.

Wow, Bob, I don't ever remember you getting so many comments on an article! (At least one that I read)

A few years ago, when I got my first GPS, I tested all the current models at my local Circuit City, and the TomTom GO 910 was by far the fastest at calculating a route. So I got it. The only problem I had with it was the recessed reset button got worn out from all the resetting I had to do (the side effects of a hack gone wrong).

A year later, I got my wife a Lexus with a NAV system. We had never had a problem with the TomTom, but the Lexus NAV always seemed to take wanky routes. We much preferred the 910, although the map updates are MUCH too expensive.

So I recently upgraded to the GO 940 and subscribed to the quarterly updates for North America. This subscription is only $12 per quarter, which means my yearly cost is only half that of a full map. The only catch is you have to have a current map before you can subscribe, so I suggest signing up as soon as you get a new TomTom (or a new map).

Your problem, by the way, sounds like bad route preferences. You probably changed the defaults, and now the TomTom is just trying to satisfy your requests. For example, the Lexus is much better now that I turned Toll Roads back on. It got turned off somehow. My wife has no idea how. :)

I own a TomTom One which works well enough. When I upgraded my PC to Vista, the TT Home program would not work. It gave error: TomTom HOMERuntime.exe failed with error 1058: The service cannot be started.... Contacted TomTom support and they had me try various things and, after two days of non-success, told me to find a PC with XP installed and use that! Not stellar customer support.

As above, I got the cheapy Tomtom One and have never had a problem.

While taking a friend to the airport in Providence, RI, good old Tom Tom sent me down all these back roads. Having never been to the airport there before, I joked to my friend that it didn't SEEM right, and that Tom Tom would probably plop us on the runway.

Sure enough-- Tom Tom sent us to the OTHER SIDE of the runway from where the passenger terminal is, with NO way to get to the side we needed to be on. We had to drive an extra 25 minutes or so to get to the passenger terminal.

Thanks, Tom Tom!

We bought an XL to help us make a trip from Western Maryland to Boston in April. We wanted to bypass NYC , but I tried everything and the TomTom took us through Newark to 95. We spent 2 hours sitting in a traffic jam on 95 outside NYC. Needless to say, it went in the glovebox and we used the old-fashioned Atlas to return home!

I bought the 730 and am appalled by it. I've only had it six months and the maps are hopelessly out of date, it sends me round soem weird routing and although it has a wider screen, you don't see any more of the map detail.
Email to tomtom got a reply tat basically said buy new maps so instead I bought a Garmin and (fingers crossed) been excellent so far.

The first GPS I purchased was a TomTom. We had it for a week, and during that time it would continually drop into some sort of demo mode. But it didn't tell you it was in a demo mode; it just said to turn right. After many unplanned, and unneeded right turns, we took it back to the store.

They said that they'd had so many returns, they were pulling them from the shelf and would not be carrying them any longer. They gave us a Garmin to replace it, which we used for several years.

I also own the 720 model. Without a DOUBT, the worst part of the ownership experience for me is the customer "non-"service. I presume that, at this point in time, consumer level GPS products are still in the "bleeding edge" zone, and I've come to learn and adapt to the quirks of the current technology. But for those times when I can't figure out something, or I have an expectation that something should work but doesn't, customer non-service has been almost completely unhelpful.

I've not experienced the glaring issues with the basic essential functions like you have, Bob, but in my experience, the POIs are very limited, and what's really frustrating is that when you're searching for something in a category, it stops after about three screenfuls of listings. When you're in an area with 100 restaurants in a square mile, this is not helpful!

I keep getting the TT emails suggesting I get on the subscription plan for $48 per year. I've been tempted, because the update would include a feature I'd seen on another 720. Actually, I was ready to bite the bullet, and logged on to update, but it first wanted another $48 to get me to the current map. Epic Fail with truth-in-advertising!

This unit, the first and only one I've owned, was given to me, so I have no monetary investment in it. Understanding its limits, it suits my limited needs. It has been useful in that I have a better understanding about how these units work, what types of features to look for, and learning about total cost of ownership. I really appreciated seeing all the comments here, especially the one that mentioned the Verizon GPS service!

Your article is factual and accurate. I have had the same problem. If one is considering buying a
GPS unit it would be very good advice to stay away from this company. No repair service, no back up
software if a file gets corrupted in the unit. They
can try to help you do a format and replace the software on the unit but they warn it might not work and make your GPS useless. Do you want to buy a product like that?

I just bought the new TomTom ONE 140 S today. Already...I'm not happy with it. I don't know what the deal is with TomTom or "TomTom Home" but my TomTom suddenly says "No Maps Found!". I don't know where it put the maps, but we could sure use them!!! If we can't figure it out tomorrow, I'm taking it back and getting a Garmin. Never had a problem with my Garmin (that didn't stand up to getting run over accidently) or my Magellan that got stolen outa my car.

I bought a TomTom one years ago when they cost about three times what they do now. It quit one day and I called their CS line. They said "send it back" which I did, and I got a brand new unit in about ten days - remarkable since it went parcel post from Canada to the US and back. As far as daily use goes, it ain't perfect. Some of the map details are a bit goofy, some POIs aren't there, and it always tries to put me on the same side of the street as the number I entered (ten miles out of my way across two bridges in Vancouver traffic - not helpful). Other than that, I enter an address, the machine figures out where I am and where I want to go, and it takes me there. If I mess up it figures out how to put me back on track. I have few complaints and I will buy another one. If I get KelliAnn at the CS desk I'll just ask for her supervisor or I'll call back and get someone else. CS people don't make a lot of dough and some of them resent that, making their feelings known with crappy CS.

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Margaret

http://bluetoothspeakerphone.net

Bob, DON"T buy a Magelan, I have sent mine in now for the third time and not a year old yet. It took me 10 miles out of my way, took me to with in a mile of the address I needed, I had to call get directions. Magelan won't upgrade me, they keep sending back refurbished units.
I had one of the forst Garmins that came out. I'm kicking myself for not buying Garmin. I can't take much more. I need to cut my pain and go buy a garmin.

TomTom failed in NYC. Would not pick up any satellites. Buy a map or you will be sorry!

I bought a Garmin and hated it. My mom had a TomTom and it worked great, but I thought I was buying more features with the Garmin, so chose it instead. What a piece of junk. The guy in Best Buy said "there are fewer screens to go thru on the Garmin than the TomTom. But it is clear that he only demo'd them in the store - not on the road. I exchanged the Garmin for a TomTom. It cost less money and works perfectly. Also has features the Garmin didn't. I haven't had to download anything, just plugged it in and go. TomTom is the best!