Navigation system problems
#1
CEO of IMHO
Thread Starter
![Exclamation](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/icons/icon4.gif)
I've only had my car for 5 days now, but in the last 2 days, the navigation system seems to be "off" and I find myself needed to manually adjust my position almost constantly. Since it went "off" 2 days ago, it consistently doesn't realize that I'm on an exit ramp until well after I make a sharp turn (then it jumps me from the highway to the exit ramp), and it also seems to be "behind" reality by about 100 feet or so, even when I try to manually adjust myself back up to reality.
I know for a fact that this thing worked perfectly the first 3 days. I watched it constantly (no cops on this board, right?
), and I was fascinated, amazed, and impressed with its accuracy.
I heard that there's a way to see how the sat. reception is, and I wonder if that's something I should look at. The reason why I say this is that I'm almost convinced that the NAVI is working off my wheels and not the sat's the way it's acting lately. But that could be a false assumption. I'm too new to really know what's going on yet.
Can anyone else chime in on similar experiences and solutions?
Thanks,
Jon
I know for a fact that this thing worked perfectly the first 3 days. I watched it constantly (no cops on this board, right?
![Smile](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
I heard that there's a way to see how the sat. reception is, and I wonder if that's something I should look at. The reason why I say this is that I'm almost convinced that the NAVI is working off my wheels and not the sat's the way it's acting lately. But that could be a false assumption. I'm too new to really know what's going on yet.
Can anyone else chime in on similar experiences and solutions?
Thanks,
Jon
#2
Go Giants
There is a way to hack into the configuration. But if it was me, I would just go back to the dealer to have them fix it.
#4
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If it's been rainy/cloudy in your area for the past 2 days then the sitation you describe is somewhat typical. During heavy thunderstorms I've had my navi go completely ape and be off by a mile or so.
Also, this may be total BS but i've heard that during wartime the dept of defense purposely worsens the accuracy of their GPS satelites.
Also, this may be total BS but i've heard that during wartime the dept of defense purposely worsens the accuracy of their GPS satelites.
#6
My Garage
Originally Posted by phirenze
If it's been rainy/cloudy in your area for the past 2 days then the sitation you describe is somewhat typical. During heavy thunderstorms I've had my navi go completely ape and be off by a mile or so.
Also, this may be total BS but i've heard that during wartime the dept of defense purposely worsens the accuracy of their GPS satelites.
Also, this may be total BS but i've heard that during wartime the dept of defense purposely worsens the accuracy of their GPS satelites.
I think this is true as well. Our GPS cannot be completely accurate for military reasons. I'm not sure what the reasons are, but thats what Acura told me when I asked them why it says my car is parked at my neighbors house when it is parked at mine.
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#8
My Garage
Originally Posted by faston
So your neighbour will get hit by a cruise missile instead of you!
Yes, if it is amied at me. I just hope it's not aimed at my other neighbor
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#10
Happened to me a few times too but, it's only been a few times and I haven't really worried about it since it corrects itself fairly fast (by the time I'm actually off the offramp for example).
I've heard that metallic window tint on the rear window 'might' affect nav's accuracy but, have never pursued or confirmed this.
I've heard that metallic window tint on the rear window 'might' affect nav's accuracy but, have never pursued or confirmed this.
#11
The military does control the accuracy of GPS system for civilians. They don't want to give an unfair edge to people who might use the system for non-friendly actions.
"selective availability (SA), a process that altered the signals received by civilian GPS users, making positioning accurate only to within 100 metres, while the military still had access to the undegraded signal accurate to within 20 or 30 metres."
"selective availability (SA), a process that altered the signals received by civilian GPS users, making positioning accurate only to within 100 metres, while the military still had access to the undegraded signal accurate to within 20 or 30 metres."
#12
CEO of IMHO
Thread Starter
Thanks for the info, guys! I'm getting conflicting info, though. Seems like some people have NAIV accuracy problems, and some have never had any? Is this the synopsys?
I wonder if this is due to bad weather (it has been cloudy the past 2 days)?
I know the .mil system reduces accuracy, but the GPS system is supposed to triangulate accurately despite this built-in limitation through other tricks.
Thanks,
Jon
I wonder if this is due to bad weather (it has been cloudy the past 2 days)?
I know the .mil system reduces accuracy, but the GPS system is supposed to triangulate accurately despite this built-in limitation through other tricks.
Thanks,
Jon
#13
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Got my TSX a few days ago
Today I was driving on an unmapped road that I had driven on a few days ago, the GPS had my vehicle located about a quarter of an inch (on the screen in 1/8th scale) from the breadcrumbs left in the system by my last trip.
#14
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Wikipedia
In the past, the civilian signal was degraded, and a more accurate Precise Positioning Service was available only to the United States military, its allies and other, mostly government users. However, on May 1, 2000, then US President Bill Clinton announced that this "Selective Availability" would be turned off, and so now all users enjoy nearly the same level of access, allowing a precision of position determination of less than 20 meters.
"On May 1, 2000, US President Bill Clinton announced that this "Selective Availability" would be turned off. However, for military purposes, "Selective Deniability" may still be used to, in effect, jam civilian GPS units in a war zone or global alert while still allowing military units to have full functionality. European concern about this and commercial issues has resulted in the planned GALILEO positioning system. Russia already operates an independent system called GLONASS (global navigation system), although with only 12 active satellites as of 2004, the system is of limited usefulness.
Military (and selected civilian) users still enjoy some technical advantages which can give quicker satellite lock and increased accuracy. The increased accuracy comes mostly from being able to use both the L1 and L2 frequencies and thus better compensate for the varying signal delay in the ionosphere (see above). Commercial GPS receivers are also required to have limits on the velocities and altitudes at which they will report fix coordinates; this is to prevent them from being used to create improvised cruise or ballistic missiles.
Military (and selected civilian) users still enjoy some technical advantages which can give quicker satellite lock and increased accuracy. The increased accuracy comes mostly from being able to use both the L1 and L2 frequencies and thus better compensate for the varying signal delay in the ionosphere (see above). Commercial GPS receivers are also required to have limits on the velocities and altitudes at which they will report fix coordinates; this is to prevent them from being used to create improvised cruise or ballistic missiles.
#15
2004 TSX NAV 5AT MSM
Originally Posted by JonDeutsch
Thanks for the info, guys! I'm getting conflicting info, though. Seems like some people have NAIV accuracy problems, and some have never had any? Is this the synopsys?
I wonder if this is due to bad weather (it has been cloudy the past 2 days)?
I know the .mil system reduces accuracy, but the GPS system is supposed to triangulate accurately despite this built-in limitation through other tricks.
I wonder if this is due to bad weather (it has been cloudy the past 2 days)?
I know the .mil system reduces accuracy, but the GPS system is supposed to triangulate accurately despite this built-in limitation through other tricks.
I have been using the NAV on my TSX since April 2003. The only time mine goes a little wacky is just after I pull out of my parking garage and leave work here in downtown Columbus Ohio where there are tall buildings. It will be out of sync for about 3 minutes with the map but after that it is ok. This is due to the fact that it needs time to sync up with the satellites. it has been cloudy here in Columbus too but I haven't had any issues like that.
If you are driving on open road and the GPS antenna has a clear shot at the sky and it doesn't sync up within say 5 minutes then you might have another problem. You didn't get your rear window tinted did you? Is there anything that might be interfereing with the anntenna maybe on the back window?
Another thing you might do is go into the diagnostic menu and look and see how many satellites it can see when you are having problems.
#16
2004 TSX NAV 5AT MSM
For some reason I can't edit my previous post. But after you get to the Diagnotics screen press GPS Information and you will get this screen...
http://www.cifrancis.com/tsxnavi/res...931Resized.jpg
here are some more TSX NAV display pics for those interested. I posted these some time ago on here...
http://www.cifrancis.com/tsxnavi/
http://www.cifrancis.com/tsxnavi/res...931Resized.jpg
here are some more TSX NAV display pics for those interested. I posted these some time ago on here...
http://www.cifrancis.com/tsxnavi/
#19
CEO of IMHO
Thread Starter
I haven't had a chance to test the GPS reception yet, but I wanted to add some details around my problem:
- It seems that my icon lags behind "reality"
- What's the difference between the red acura logo and the circle surrounding it? When I first got the car, I just assumed the little red arrow/acura symbol was my car, and it seemed to match up to things perfectly. Now, it seems like the circle is my car, but that doesn't seem right.
- The location where I work has "mis-mapped" roads. They are either mapped in the wrong place or my system is so screwed up that it just seems that way. Similarly, a road right across from my house also seems mismapped. Does that seem right?
- When I go to work, my NAVI gets all confused, and doesn't sync back up by itself until I get onto the highway after about 2 miles of back roads. Frustrating.
- I've manually adjusted my NAVI twice after leaving work to see if that would help, but it doesn't seem to.
Jon
- It seems that my icon lags behind "reality"
- What's the difference between the red acura logo and the circle surrounding it? When I first got the car, I just assumed the little red arrow/acura symbol was my car, and it seemed to match up to things perfectly. Now, it seems like the circle is my car, but that doesn't seem right.
- The location where I work has "mis-mapped" roads. They are either mapped in the wrong place or my system is so screwed up that it just seems that way. Similarly, a road right across from my house also seems mismapped. Does that seem right?
- When I go to work, my NAVI gets all confused, and doesn't sync back up by itself until I get onto the highway after about 2 miles of back roads. Frustrating.
- I've manually adjusted my NAVI twice after leaving work to see if that would help, but it doesn't seem to.
Jon
#20
2004 TSX NAV 5AT MSM
I would definately take it to the dealer then and have them look at it.
I have always assumed the arrow was your car and the circle represented the scale of the map. For example if you had the map set to 5 mile scale, the circle would be the 5 mile radius.
I have always assumed the arrow was your car and the circle represented the scale of the map. For example if you had the map set to 5 mile scale, the circle would be the 5 mile radius.
#21
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No the circle is just...a circle. The distance key down on the bottom left of the screen changes to reflect the new zoom.
The nav will switch from using the satellites to the gyros if it can't get a signal. You can tell if it's using the satellites by the color of the GPS text under the compass in the top left. If it is green you have good satellite lock, if it's white you don't.
So the million dollar question:
Does the GPS show up as green (satellite lock)? If not, it makes a lot of sense that it would get easily confused by the maps/roads using just the gyro. So there might be something wrong with the GPS receiver or the unit itself communicating with it. If it has satellite lock and is still getting confused - something more serious is wrong.
Run the diagnostics on it (Map+Menu+Cancel) and see if it's even getting a signal most of the time, and how many satellites it can see.
You don't have tinted windows do you?
The nav will switch from using the satellites to the gyros if it can't get a signal. You can tell if it's using the satellites by the color of the GPS text under the compass in the top left. If it is green you have good satellite lock, if it's white you don't.
So the million dollar question:
Does the GPS show up as green (satellite lock)? If not, it makes a lot of sense that it would get easily confused by the maps/roads using just the gyro. So there might be something wrong with the GPS receiver or the unit itself communicating with it. If it has satellite lock and is still getting confused - something more serious is wrong.
Run the diagnostics on it (Map+Menu+Cancel) and see if it's even getting a signal most of the time, and how many satellites it can see.
You don't have tinted windows do you?
#22
CEO of IMHO
Thread Starter
Hey guys, thanks a lot so far with your comments and suggestions.
On the way to work today, I did go into DIAG mode and saw the sat. reception screen. It looked really good. I think it varied from 4-12 sats that were "green" depending on where I was.
So, the good news is that my antenna seems to be fine. The bad news is that:
a. My expectations for accuracy are too high, and my current nav accuracy is all that I should expect.
b. Something more troubling is wrong, since the reception is fine, since my little arrow on my GPS seems to consistently be 50-100 feet "behind" (and sometimes to the right or left) of "reality" which makes the NAVI think I'm on a highway when in fact, I'm on an offramp for a few moments, after which it jumps to the appropriate road.
Can someone confirm exactly what the circle vs. the acura/arrow represents on the NAVI screen? Also, does anyone have any tips on how I can work with Acura service to ensure they're looking at the right thing?
I already know for a fact that they're going to tell me it's fine, and that the inaccuracy is built into the public sat. system. And that's already pissing me off before it even happened!![Smile](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Jon
On the way to work today, I did go into DIAG mode and saw the sat. reception screen. It looked really good. I think it varied from 4-12 sats that were "green" depending on where I was.
So, the good news is that my antenna seems to be fine. The bad news is that:
a. My expectations for accuracy are too high, and my current nav accuracy is all that I should expect.
b. Something more troubling is wrong, since the reception is fine, since my little arrow on my GPS seems to consistently be 50-100 feet "behind" (and sometimes to the right or left) of "reality" which makes the NAVI think I'm on a highway when in fact, I'm on an offramp for a few moments, after which it jumps to the appropriate road.
Can someone confirm exactly what the circle vs. the acura/arrow represents on the NAVI screen? Also, does anyone have any tips on how I can work with Acura service to ensure they're looking at the right thing?
I already know for a fact that they're going to tell me it's fine, and that the inaccuracy is built into the public sat. system. And that's already pissing me off before it even happened!
![Smile](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Jon
#24
Go Giants
The Acura arrow = the car.
#25
CEO of IMHO
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by wsklar
The Acura arrow = the car.
The reason why I ask is because I could honestly say that my NAVI's accuracy is within the circle, but no longer with the Acura arrow. I don't think this is right, but when the service guys tell me that it is (assumption), I want to have some data to back up the fact that that's not an acceptable answer.
![Smile](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
Thanks,
Jon
#26
Go Giants
I think the circle is just your radius.
#27
i can honestly say that my car is usually, if not always, exactly where the arrow is. If im passing a road, the navi screen is in perfect tandum with the car. this always impressed me because i wasnt aware how acurate and to the point it was.
#28
CEO of IMHO
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by wsklar
I think the circle is just your radius.
A radius is 1/2 the diameter of a circle. That doesn't tell me what the circle is actually representing.
mrcenzo, thanks for the confirmation. This is what I experienced the first two days of owning my car, and I'm glad to hear confirmation that this is what I should expect moving forward as well.
Thanks,
Jon
#29
i think the circle is just there to 'circle' the arrow representing your car. I think your looking too far into it. Ive seen other cars navi systems with the arrow and at the same distance and they show different size circles (based on their arrow being larger or smaller. I could be wrong but never really cared much to know, so just assume its aesthetic...? Does the navi book say anything?
#31
2004 TSX NAV 5AT MSM
Originally Posted by G36
Did you tint your rear window???
If the tint you use has any metallic matter in the film, it WILL recat with the GPS.
If the tint you use has any metallic matter in the film, it WILL recat with the GPS.
#33
Go Giants
Originally Posted by Dan Martin
Did you tint your windows? Because if you di...a....a.sdr...ea.ew.r...<and Dan's been sacked> ![rofl](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/rofl.gif)
![rofl](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/rofl.gif)
Oh, youre a dead man Martin....dead.....
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#34
CEO of IMHO
Thread Starter
Quick update...
I do have an appointment with Acura service next week, but they advised that I try to "reboot" my car this weekend and see if that fixes the problem.
So, I disconnected the battery for 10 minutes and tried to re-sync with the satellites.
It really didn't change anything, but I do have some additional info that confused the heck out of me:
My car definitely seems to be ahead of where the NAVI thinks I am. If I am right in the middle of an intersection, the adjacent road on the NAVI map shows it just ahead of the tip of the acura arrow.
However, when I'm in guidance mode, at an intersection, where the right side of the screen shows the car coming up to the next turn, the accuracy is essentially perfect.
So, in guidance mode, accuracy good. In regular map mode (full zoom), accuracy behind (and sometimes to the left or right of) reality by 100 ft or so. Doesn't make any sense to me at all.
Jon
I do have an appointment with Acura service next week, but they advised that I try to "reboot" my car this weekend and see if that fixes the problem.
So, I disconnected the battery for 10 minutes and tried to re-sync with the satellites.
It really didn't change anything, but I do have some additional info that confused the heck out of me:
My car definitely seems to be ahead of where the NAVI thinks I am. If I am right in the middle of an intersection, the adjacent road on the NAVI map shows it just ahead of the tip of the acura arrow.
However, when I'm in guidance mode, at an intersection, where the right side of the screen shows the car coming up to the next turn, the accuracy is essentially perfect.
So, in guidance mode, accuracy good. In regular map mode (full zoom), accuracy behind (and sometimes to the left or right of) reality by 100 ft or so. Doesn't make any sense to me at all.
Jon
#35
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My car seems to be a little a head of the point all the time to. I don't pay that much attention to it, and I never have it at full zoom (always on back). When I tinted my windows it didn't seem to affect the Navi.
#36
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The circle DOES represent the scale of the map: if you look at the scale mark at the bottom of the screen, its length is the same as the diameter of the circle. So if you're on 1/8 mile scale, the circle diameter is 1/8 mile. At least it looks that way to me.
#37
CEO of IMHO
Thread Starter
Does anyone get on an exit ramp from a highway, but the NAVI still thinks you're on the highway for a few hundred feet, and then the car finally "jerks" to the exit ramp on the NAVI screen?
#38
2004 TSX NAV 5AT MSM
Originally Posted by JonDeutsch
Does anyone get on an exit ramp from a highway, but the NAVI still thinks you're on the highway for a few hundred feet, and then the car finally "jerks" to the exit ramp on the NAVI screen?
#39
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Originally Posted by GeorgeTSX
Yes that sometimes happens for me as well. I think that is normal. I believe the manual mentioned something about the NAV having issues with roads that are very close because the GPS is only accurate within so many feet.
#40
Originally Posted by JonDeutsch
Quick update...
I do have an appointment with Acura service next week, but they advised that I try to "reboot" my car this weekend and see if that fixes the problem.
I do have an appointment with Acura service next week, but they advised that I try to "reboot" my car this weekend and see if that fixes the problem.
So what were the results from Acura service?