Needing to get from Suffolk to Sussex the other day we happened upon the protest on the QE2 bridge at Dartford and so were re-routed into London.  I wasn't using the SatNav but thought I'd switch it on as it might be useful once we were in London.  On putting in my destination the machine responded that "The Route Destination failed".  I was gobsmacked ... what a pathetic response!

I then tried some recent destinations and got the same response.  Had to wait (not long!) until I could stop the car, switch off the engine, and count to ten seconds before switching it on again.  When I did the advice given verged on the lunatic.  Thank goodness my wife had her Google maps up and running on her phone.

I pay £3.49 pcm for Live Traffic ... that, it transpires, is a total, complete and absolute waste of money!! 

Interested to know if anyone else has been told "The Route Destination failed". 

If you meet a road closure, the first thing to do is turn off the satnav, because it will just route you back to the "Road Closed" sign !

I've been using sat nav for decades started with the Garmin GPSII, and eventually bought a Quest or two.  Never had a problem with routing on the Quests, always recalculating when I went the way I wanted to,

However the newer models are not so good.  If I go "Off Route" it will try and turn me round rather than recalculate a route based on where I am driving, and this will go on for miles!  It has also got in a hissy fit, and told me "Unable to calculate a route".

Something else I have noticed recently, is the reduction in Signal to noise ratio on the GPS if the dash cam (Garmin) is on, so reducing sat nav accuracy depending on the conditions.

After all, they are only "NavAids"!

 

1 hour ago, Linds said:

...I pay £3.49 pcm for Live Traffic ... that, it transpires, is a total, complete and absolute waste of money!! 

Interested to know if anyone else has been told "The Route Destination failed". 

I know it's no help, but I have a standalone Garmin, now 8 years old (it's predecessor was 12 years old!) with free lifetime maps, and traffic alerts. I have saved £320 so far compared to what you seem to be paying for alerts. I don't understand folk that pay monthly for various subscriptions, but, I'm on a fixed income, and every penny  spent is carefully scrutinised.

That error message you get sounds to me like a comms error, in that your SatNav isn't getting a correct signal, so it can't work out where it is, or where it should be going to. 

 

I have an elderly TomTom with free lifetime maps and alerts (which has always been reasonably competent) but it tends to get borrowed by my wife and daughter!  Added to which this was a journey I know well so I had not bothered to take it with me and relied on the Ford SatNav if a need for guidance arose.

The system in the car worked after I switched everything off and tried again but I was not impressed with the guidance given ... Google maps was v good in the circumstances.

I've learned my lesson on the Live Traffic.  Will cancel forthwith after just two months.

You say, "I don't understand folk that pay monthly for various subscriptions" ... I guess a case of some people having more money than sense!!

I understand this is one example of ‘live traffic’ that appears to have let user down. Is it really that bad? I pay my monthly charges but don’t get to use it much as low mileage user.

anyone else think it’s a waste of money ( because it doesn’t work)?

Is it possible that you were in a zone that you had told the satnav to avoid, like the ULEZ? If so the satnav may have found it impossible to route you out of the zone and avoid the zone at the same time. I'm only guessing here.

On 11/4/2022 at 2:05 PM, pcaouolte said:

Is it possible that you were in a zone that you had told the satnav to avoid, like the ULEZ? If so the satnav may have found it impossible to route you out of the zone and avoid the zone at the same time. I'm only guessing here.

... no, this doesn't apply in my case.

Sorry OP, I cant help with your issue but I was curious about all the comments about paying for live updates.

I purchased by Focus, second hand, in 2018.  I dont do that many miles but over the last couple of months I have made a couple of long'ish trips.  On both occasions the Sat Nav re-routed me because of Traffic congestion.

I dont, and have never, paid for any live update subscription.

I have replaced the maps SD card a couple of times with the latest version.  These have just been "cheapies" off ebay.  Is it possible these are enabling the subscription service free of charge?

 

Your 2018 Focus without a subscription to live traffic will be using TMC for traffic updates. I wouldn't expect the free TMC traffic to be as accurate as the paid for live traffic.