I bought the most recent TomTom available from Walmart in December
2009. I live in rural Iowa. I dont travel much in winter, but I did
try it out going to some relatively close destinations.

I began using it on familiar trips around our local area. I quickly
found that it was constantly trying to get me to take gravel back
roads, rather than just stay on the paved highway. My first "real"
trip was to locate a private farm where I had to go to meet a guy for
buying some hay. While I had a rough idea how to go to this farm, I
decided to let the TomTom direct me. Rather than taking three paved
roads, and one state highway thru a small town to the destination, a
total of about 28 miles, which should have taken no more than about 45
minutes, it insisted that I take all the gravel back roads, which
twist and wind and turn thru the rough terrain, past farms, and around
a forest. I was forced to drive 20 to 30mph and risked life and limb
travelling on these icy back roads, At one point, I came to a road
that split about 5 directions and is not well labelled with road
signs. The TomTom could not tell me what to do, and when I finally
decided I was on my own, I choose one of the roads and the TomTom told
me to turn around. I did, adn went right back to that intersection,
where the TomTom just silenced and did not tell me what to do. I
finally dug out a paper map and found that the road I had chosen was
the correct one (despite the TomTom telling me to turn around).
Rather than a 45 minute trip, it took me One hour and 35 minutes.

This weekend I went on a much longer trip, and I did not look at a
paper road map. I just let the TomTom direct me. (That was a big
mistake). Leaving my local area, I ignored the TomTom constantly
trying to take me on back gravel country roads and stayed on the
familiar highway. Once I got outside of my area, I let the TomTom
direct me. The problems beegan when I entered a small rural town, and
although I was on a highway, the TomTom kept telling me to turn down
the small town streets. The first one was 1 block past the main
intersection in town. I took several of these small streets, and
ended up right back at the intersection, where it decided to make me
continue going in a circle, which likely would have gone on infinitely
if I had not chosen to just stay on the highway.

Little did I know that at this point I should have been going south on
this highway, rather than north. The TomTom never told me I was going
the wrong direction, despite programming it to take me to the exact
town I was trying to go to. I continued up this highway and every few
minutes it was telling me to take a gravel back road, which I ignored.
Finally, (not knowing I had travelled 40+ miles in the wrong
direction, I saw a road sign pointing to a town, which I had already
passed an hour earlier, and it said this town was 17 miles.

I'm completely confused at this point, and there are no gas stations
anywhere to ask for directions and since I am now in a different
state, I do not have a road map. At this point I try to phone a
friend on my cell to ask them to see if they can look on googlemaps
and tell me where the f__k I am. I find out there is no cell service.
I decide that I better just do everything the TomTom tells me, even if
that means taking all the gravel back roads. I proceed up the highway
and it tells me to turn on a gravel rd. I take this very crooked,
winding and hilly gravel back road for what seems forever. Seven or
eight miles later, while driving 20mph max because of the road
condition, I come to an intersection. I can either continue going
straight on this road, but do not see a road sign name for this road,
so I assume it's the same road, since the other option road has a
different name. So I continue going straight and a half mile later I
find myself out on someone's private farm, driving between 2 barns
with cows next to me and farm dogs chasing my car. I should mention
this is at night. I proceed past the barns and find there is no
longer any road, just a cattle pasture.

I turn around and spend the next half hour going right back to the
hoghway on that winding gravel rd. All this time the TomTom does not
say a word, just shows me driving down this dead ended road and while
it shows the dead end, it does not try to assist. After all, it's the
goddamn TomTom that told me to take this road.

By this time I am very ****ed, and I shut off the TomTom. I get back
on the highway, drive the direction of that sign that tole me about a
town 17 miles away, and finally get to that town. (THE SAME TOWN I
PASSED THRU ONE AND ONE HALF HOURS EARLIER).

In this town I was able to go to a gas station and buy a paper road
map. That's when I discovered the TomTom had allowed me to go north,
and never told me to go south on the highway in that town where it
kept making me go around in a circle on the town streets.

With the paper road map, I did get to my destination, but 2 hours
late. This trip should have taken about 1 hour and 50 minutes
according to both the road map and google maps (I have since looked).
Instead, it took me just under 4 hours, wasted about 4 gallons of gas,
and caused me to miss a friends wedding ceremony.

I originally bought the TomTom to both save gas and my time, as well
as eliminate driving frustration which I have always had to cope with,
because I have always tended to get myself lost.

Well, guess what. I could have gotten to this destination in no more
than 3 hours, with no maps or anything, and when I look at the route
now on both google maps and on the paper road map, it's not all that
difficult of a trip. The problem is that I allowed the TomTom to
direct me, and that thing is completely useless garbage. I have not
turned it on since and WILL NOT turn it on ever again. I phoned
Walmart and they will not accept it as a return because I have had it
almost 4 months. I spent $130 for that useless piece of crap. I'll
take the loss as a lesson, and a hard one at that. They can take
their damn GPS and shove it up their own assholes. I'll donate this
piece of garbage to the next church auction, they will likely get ten
or twenty bucks for it, and I can use it as a tax writeoff. I just
want it out of my life forever.

My next GPS will be a $7.99 paper Road Atlas.

Not only will the paper atlas not INTENTIONALLY mislead me, but I wont
have the problem of the atlas failing in sub-zero weather, which the
TomTom did when we had extreme winter cold, and it would not stay
turned on.

This was my first GPS. I was told the TomTom was one of the best.
Apparently they meant the best at getting a person lost. This will be
my LAST GPS too.

Mark

(E-Mail Removed) wrote in news:dc68s5t2kgd42cqs9e80jqg2n1upnqjst3@
4ax.com:

> I bought the most recent TomTom available from Walmart in December
> 2009. I live in rural Iowa. I dont travel much in winter, but I did
> try it out going to some relatively close destinations.
>
> I began using it on familiar trips around our local area. I quickly
> found that it was constantly trying to get me to take gravel back
> roads, rather than just stay on the paved highway. My first "real"
> trip was to locate a private farm where I had to go to meet a guy for
> buying some hay. While I had a rough idea how to go to this farm, I
> decided to let the TomTom direct me. Rather than taking three paved
> roads, and one state highway thru a small town to the destination, a
> total of about 28 miles, which should have taken no more than about 45
> minutes, it insisted that I take all the gravel back roads, which
> twist and wind and turn thru the rough terrain, past farms, and around
> a forest. I was forced to drive 20 to 30mph and risked life and limb
> travelling on these icy back roads, At one point, I came to a road
> that split about 5 directions and is not well labelled with road
> signs. The TomTom could not tell me what to do, and when I finally
> decided I was on my own, I choose one of the roads and the TomTom told
> me to turn around. I did, adn went right back to that intersection,
> where the TomTom just silenced and did not tell me what to do. I
> finally dug out a paper map and found that the road I had chosen was
> the correct one (despite the TomTom telling me to turn around).
> Rather than a 45 minute trip, it took me One hour and 35 minutes.
>
> This weekend I went on a much longer trip, and I did not look at a
> paper road map. I just let the TomTom direct me. (That was a big
> mistake). Leaving my local area, I ignored the TomTom constantly
> trying to take me on back gravel country roads and stayed on the
> familiar highway. Once I got outside of my area, I let the TomTom
> direct me. The problems beegan when I entered a small rural town, and
> although I was on a highway, the TomTom kept telling me to turn down
> the small town streets. The first one was 1 block past the main
> intersection in town. I took several of these small streets, and
> ended up right back at the intersection, where it decided to make me
> continue going in a circle, which likely would have gone on infinitely
> if I had not chosen to just stay on the highway.
>
> Little did I know that at this point I should have been going south on
> this highway, rather than north. The TomTom never told me I was going
> the wrong direction, despite programming it to take me to the exact
> town I was trying to go to. I continued up this highway and every few
> minutes it was telling me to take a gravel back road, which I ignored.
> Finally, (not knowing I had travelled 40+ miles in the wrong
> direction, I saw a road sign pointing to a town, which I had already
> passed an hour earlier, and it said this town was 17 miles.
>
> I'm completely confused at this point, and there are no gas stations
> anywhere to ask for directions and since I am now in a different
> state, I do not have a road map. At this point I try to phone a
> friend on my cell to ask them to see if they can look on googlemaps
> and tell me where the f__k I am. I find out there is no cell service.
> I decide that I better just do everything the TomTom tells me, even if
> that means taking all the gravel back roads. I proceed up the highway
> and it tells me to turn on a gravel rd. I take this very crooked,
> winding and hilly gravel back road for what seems forever. Seven or
> eight miles later, while driving 20mph max because of the road
> condition, I come to an intersection. I can either continue going
> straight on this road, but do not see a road sign name for this road,
> so I assume it's the same road, since the other option road has a
> different name. So I continue going straight and a half mile later I
> find myself out on someone's private farm, driving between 2 barns
> with cows next to me and farm dogs chasing my car. I should mention
> this is at night. I proceed past the barns and find there is no
> longer any road, just a cattle pasture.
>
> I turn around and spend the next half hour going right back to the
> hoghway on that winding gravel rd. All this time the TomTom does not
> say a word, just shows me driving down this dead ended road and while
> it shows the dead end, it does not try to assist. After all, it's the
> goddamn TomTom that told me to take this road.
>
> By this time I am very ****ed, and I shut off the TomTom. I get back
> on the highway, drive the direction of that sign that tole me about a
> town 17 miles away, and finally get to that town. (THE SAME TOWN I
> PASSED THRU ONE AND ONE HALF HOURS EARLIER).
>
> In this town I was able to go to a gas station and buy a paper road
> map. That's when I discovered the TomTom had allowed me to go north,
> and never told me to go south on the highway in that town where it
> kept making me go around in a circle on the town streets.
>
> With the paper road map, I did get to my destination, but 2 hours
> late. This trip should have taken about 1 hour and 50 minutes
> according to both the road map and google maps (I have since looked).
> Instead, it took me just under 4 hours, wasted about 4 gallons of gas,
> and caused me to miss a friends wedding ceremony.
>
> I originally bought the TomTom to both save gas and my time, as well
> as eliminate driving frustration which I have always had to cope with,
> because I have always tended to get myself lost.
>
> Well, guess what. I could have gotten to this destination in no more
> than 3 hours, with no maps or anything, and when I look at the route
> now on both google maps and on the paper road map, it's not all that
> difficult of a trip. The problem is that I allowed the TomTom to
> direct me, and that thing is completely useless garbage. I have not
> turned it on since and WILL NOT turn it on ever again. I phoned
> Walmart and they will not accept it as a return because I have had it
> almost 4 months. I spent $130 for that useless piece of crap. I'll
> take the loss as a lesson, and a hard one at that. They can take
> their damn GPS and shove it up their own assholes. I'll donate this
> piece of garbage to the next church auction, they will likely get ten
> or twenty bucks for it, and I can use it as a tax writeoff. I just
> want it out of my life forever.
>
> My next GPS will be a $7.99 paper Road Atlas.
>
> Not only will the paper atlas not INTENTIONALLY mislead me, but I wont
> have the problem of the atlas failing in sub-zero weather, which the
> TomTom did when we had extreme winter cold, and it would not stay
> turned on.
>
> This was my first GPS. I was told the TomTom was one of the best.
> Apparently they meant the best at getting a person lost. This will be
> my LAST GPS too.
>
> Mark
>
>

As TomTom have sold many millions of devices
As TomTom are one of the world leaders in this market
As you do not see tens of thousands of similar complaints on this site

Do you not think for one teensy weensy moment that the faults you listed
may just be yours or pertaining to your particular device?

Engage brain before posting to a newsgroup, please.

Walt

On Tue, 13 Apr 2010 04:40:27 -0500, Walt <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>(E-Mail Removed) wrote in news:dc68s5t2kgd42cqs9e80jqg2n1upnqjst3@
>4ax.com:
>
>> I bought the most recent TomTom available from Walmart in December
>> 2009. I live in rural Iowa. I dont travel much in winter, but I did
>> try it out going to some relatively close destinations.
>>
>> I began using it on familiar trips around our local area. I quickly
>> found that it was constantly trying to get me to take gravel back
>> roads, rather than just stay on the paved highway. My first "real"
>> trip was to locate a private farm where I had to go to meet a guy for
>> buying some hay. While I had a rough idea how to go to this farm, I
>> decided to let the TomTom direct me. Rather than taking three paved
>> roads, and one state highway thru a small town to the destination, a
>> total of about 28 miles, which should have taken no more than about 45
>> minutes, it insisted that I take all the gravel back roads, which
>> twist and wind and turn thru the rough terrain, past farms, and around
>> a forest. I was forced to drive 20 to 30mph and risked life and limb
>> travelling on these icy back roads, At one point, I came to a road
>> that split about 5 directions and is not well labelled with road
>> signs. The TomTom could not tell me what to do, and when I finally
>> decided I was on my own, I choose one of the roads and the TomTom told
>> me to turn around. I did, adn went right back to that intersection,
>> where the TomTom just silenced and did not tell me what to do. I
>> finally dug out a paper map and found that the road I had chosen was
>> the correct one (despite the TomTom telling me to turn around).
>> Rather than a 45 minute trip, it took me One hour and 35 minutes.
>>
>> This weekend I went on a much longer trip, and I did not look at a
>> paper road map. I just let the TomTom direct me. (That was a big
>> mistake). Leaving my local area, I ignored the TomTom constantly
>> trying to take me on back gravel country roads and stayed on the
>> familiar highway. Once I got outside of my area, I let the TomTom
>> direct me. The problems beegan when I entered a small rural town, and
>> although I was on a highway, the TomTom kept telling me to turn down
>> the small town streets. The first one was 1 block past the main
>> intersection in town. I took several of these small streets, and
>> ended up right back at the intersection, where it decided to make me
>> continue going in a circle, which likely would have gone on infinitely
>> if I had not chosen to just stay on the highway.
>>
>> Little did I know that at this point I should have been going south on
>> this highway, rather than north. The TomTom never told me I was going
>> the wrong direction, despite programming it to take me to the exact
>> town I was trying to go to. I continued up this highway and every few
>> minutes it was telling me to take a gravel back road, which I ignored.
>> Finally, (not knowing I had travelled 40+ miles in the wrong
>> direction, I saw a road sign pointing to a town, which I had already
>> passed an hour earlier, and it said this town was 17 miles.
>>
>> I'm completely confused at this point, and there are no gas stations
>> anywhere to ask for directions and since I am now in a different
>> state, I do not have a road map. At this point I try to phone a
>> friend on my cell to ask them to see if they can look on googlemaps
>> and tell me where the f__k I am. I find out there is no cell service.
>> I decide that I better just do everything the TomTom tells me, even if
>> that means taking all the gravel back roads. I proceed up the highway
>> and it tells me to turn on a gravel rd. I take this very crooked,
>> winding and hilly gravel back road for what seems forever. Seven or
>> eight miles later, while driving 20mph max because of the road
>> condition, I come to an intersection. I can either continue going
>> straight on this road, but do not see a road sign name for this road,
>> so I assume it's the same road, since the other option road has a
>> different name. So I continue going straight and a half mile later I
>> find myself out on someone's private farm, driving between 2 barns
>> with cows next to me and farm dogs chasing my car. I should mention
>> this is at night. I proceed past the barns and find there is no
>> longer any road, just a cattle pasture.
>>
>> I turn around and spend the next half hour going right back to the
>> hoghway on that winding gravel rd. All this time the TomTom does not
>> say a word, just shows me driving down this dead ended road and while
>> it shows the dead end, it does not try to assist. After all, it's the
>> goddamn TomTom that told me to take this road.
>>
>> By this time I am very ****ed, and I shut off the TomTom. I get back
>> on the highway, drive the direction of that sign that tole me about a
>> town 17 miles away, and finally get to that town. (THE SAME TOWN I
>> PASSED THRU ONE AND ONE HALF HOURS EARLIER).
>>
>> In this town I was able to go to a gas station and buy a paper road
>> map. That's when I discovered the TomTom had allowed me to go north,
>> and never told me to go south on the highway in that town where it
>> kept making me go around in a circle on the town streets.
>>
>> With the paper road map, I did get to my destination, but 2 hours
>> late. This trip should have taken about 1 hour and 50 minutes
>> according to both the road map and google maps (I have since looked).
>> Instead, it took me just under 4 hours, wasted about 4 gallons of gas,
>> and caused me to miss a friends wedding ceremony.
>>
>> I originally bought the TomTom to both save gas and my time, as well
>> as eliminate driving frustration which I have always had to cope with,
>> because I have always tended to get myself lost.
>>
>> Well, guess what. I could have gotten to this destination in no more
>> than 3 hours, with no maps or anything, and when I look at the route
>> now on both google maps and on the paper road map, it's not all that
>> difficult of a trip. The problem is that I allowed the TomTom to
>> direct me, and that thing is completely useless garbage. I have not
>> turned it on since and WILL NOT turn it on ever again. I phoned
>> Walmart and they will not accept it as a return because I have had it
>> almost 4 months. I spent $130 for that useless piece of crap. I'll
>> take the loss as a lesson, and a hard one at that. They can take
>> their damn GPS and shove it up their own assholes. I'll donate this
>> piece of garbage to the next church auction, they will likely get ten
>> or twenty bucks for it, and I can use it as a tax writeoff. I just
>> want it out of my life forever.
>>
>> My next GPS will be a $7.99 paper Road Atlas.
>>
>> Not only will the paper atlas not INTENTIONALLY mislead me, but I wont
>> have the problem of the atlas failing in sub-zero weather, which the
>> TomTom did when we had extreme winter cold, and it would not stay
>> turned on.
>>
>> This was my first GPS. I was told the TomTom was one of the best.
>> Apparently they meant the best at getting a person lost. This will be
>> my LAST GPS too.
>>
>> Mark
>>
>>
>
>As TomTom have sold many millions of devices
>As TomTom are one of the world leaders in this market
>As you do not see tens of thousands of similar complaints on this site
>
>Do you not think for one teensy weensy moment that the faults you listed
>may just be yours or pertaining to your particular device?
>
>Engage brain before posting to a newsgroup, please.
>
>Walt

much more likely .. try setting the unit to ignore gravel roads .. and
shortest/quickest route

"Jack Simmons" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Tue, 13 Apr 2010 04:40:27 -0500, Walt <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>(E-Mail Removed) wrote in news:dc68s5t2kgd42cqs9e80jqg2n1upnqjst3@
>>4ax.com:
>>
>>> I bought the most recent TomTom available from Walmart in December
>>> 2009. I live in rural Iowa. I dont travel much in winter, but I did
>>> try it out going to some relatively close destinations.
>>>
>>> I began using it on familiar trips around our local area. I quickly
>>> found that it was constantly trying to get me to take gravel back
>>> roads, rather than just stay on the paved highway. My first "real"
>>> trip was to locate a private farm where I had to go to meet a guy for
>>> buying some hay. While I had a rough idea how to go to this farm, I
>>> decided to let the TomTom direct me. Rather than taking three paved
>>> roads, and one state highway thru a small town to the destination, a
>>> total of about 28 miles, which should have taken no more than about 45
>>> minutes, it insisted that I take all the gravel back roads, which
>>> twist and wind and turn thru the rough terrain, past farms, and around
>>> a forest. I was forced to drive 20 to 30mph and risked life and limb
>>> travelling on these icy back roads, At one point, I came to a road
>>> that split about 5 directions and is not well labelled with road
>>> signs. The TomTom could not tell me what to do, and when I finally
>>> decided I was on my own, I choose one of the roads and the TomTom told
>>> me to turn around. I did, adn went right back to that intersection,
>>> where the TomTom just silenced and did not tell me what to do. I
>>> finally dug out a paper map and found that the road I had chosen was
>>> the correct one (despite the TomTom telling me to turn around).
>>> Rather than a 45 minute trip, it took me One hour and 35 minutes.
>>>
>>> This weekend I went on a much longer trip, and I did not look at a
>>> paper road map. I just let the TomTom direct me. (That was a big
>>> mistake). Leaving my local area, I ignored the TomTom constantly
>>> trying to take me on back gravel country roads and stayed on the
>>> familiar highway. Once I got outside of my area, I let the TomTom
>>> direct me. The problems beegan when I entered a small rural town, and
>>> although I was on a highway, the TomTom kept telling me to turn down
>>> the small town streets. The first one was 1 block past the main
>>> intersection in town. I took several of these small streets, and
>>> ended up right back at the intersection, where it decided to make me
>>> continue going in a circle, which likely would have gone on infinitely
>>> if I had not chosen to just stay on the highway.
>>>
>>> Little did I know that at this point I should have been going south on
>>> this highway, rather than north. The TomTom never told me I was going
>>> the wrong direction, despite programming it to take me to the exact
>>> town I was trying to go to. I continued up this highway and every few
>>> minutes it was telling me to take a gravel back road, which I ignored.
>>> Finally, (not knowing I had travelled 40+ miles in the wrong
>>> direction, I saw a road sign pointing to a town, which I had already
>>> passed an hour earlier, and it said this town was 17 miles.
>>>
>>> I'm completely confused at this point, and there are no gas stations
>>> anywhere to ask for directions and since I am now in a different
>>> state, I do not have a road map. At this point I try to phone a
>>> friend on my cell to ask them to see if they can look on googlemaps
>>> and tell me where the f__k I am. I find out there is no cell service.
>>> I decide that I better just do everything the TomTom tells me, even if
>>> that means taking all the gravel back roads. I proceed up the highway
>>> and it tells me to turn on a gravel rd. I take this very crooked,
>>> winding and hilly gravel back road for what seems forever. Seven or
>>> eight miles later, while driving 20mph max because of the road
>>> condition, I come to an intersection. I can either continue going
>>> straight on this road, but do not see a road sign name for this road,
>>> so I assume it's the same road, since the other option road has a
>>> different name. So I continue going straight and a half mile later I
>>> find myself out on someone's private farm, driving between 2 barns
>>> with cows next to me and farm dogs chasing my car. I should mention
>>> this is at night. I proceed past the barns and find there is no
>>> longer any road, just a cattle pasture.
>>>
>>> I turn around and spend the next half hour going right back to the
>>> hoghway on that winding gravel rd. All this time the TomTom does not
>>> say a word, just shows me driving down this dead ended road and while
>>> it shows the dead end, it does not try to assist. After all, it's the
>>> goddamn TomTom that told me to take this road.
>>>
>>> By this time I am very ****ed, and I shut off the TomTom. I get back
>>> on the highway, drive the direction of that sign that tole me about a
>>> town 17 miles away, and finally get to that town. (THE SAME TOWN I
>>> PASSED THRU ONE AND ONE HALF HOURS EARLIER).
>>>
>>> In this town I was able to go to a gas station and buy a paper road
>>> map. That's when I discovered the TomTom had allowed me to go north,
>>> and never told me to go south on the highway in that town where it
>>> kept making me go around in a circle on the town streets.
>>>
>>> With the paper road map, I did get to my destination, but 2 hours
>>> late. This trip should have taken about 1 hour and 50 minutes
>>> according to both the road map and google maps (I have since looked).
>>> Instead, it took me just under 4 hours, wasted about 4 gallons of gas,
>>> and caused me to miss a friends wedding ceremony.
>>>
>>> I originally bought the TomTom to both save gas and my time, as well
>>> as eliminate driving frustration which I have always had to cope with,
>>> because I have always tended to get myself lost.
>>>
>>> Well, guess what. I could have gotten to this destination in no more
>>> than 3 hours, with no maps or anything, and when I look at the route
>>> now on both google maps and on the paper road map, it's not all that
>>> difficult of a trip. The problem is that I allowed the TomTom to
>>> direct me, and that thing is completely useless garbage. I have not
>>> turned it on since and WILL NOT turn it on ever again. I phoned
>>> Walmart and they will not accept it as a return because I have had it
>>> almost 4 months. I spent $130 for that useless piece of crap. I'll
>>> take the loss as a lesson, and a hard one at that. They can take
>>> their damn GPS and shove it up their own assholes. I'll donate this
>>> piece of garbage to the next church auction, they will likely get ten
>>> or twenty bucks for it, and I can use it as a tax writeoff. I just
>>> want it out of my life forever.
>>>
>>> My next GPS will be a $7.99 paper Road Atlas.
>>>
>>> Not only will the paper atlas not INTENTIONALLY mislead me, but I wont
>>> have the problem of the atlas failing in sub-zero weather, which the
>>> TomTom did when we had extreme winter cold, and it would not stay
>>> turned on.
>>>
>>> This was my first GPS. I was told the TomTom was one of the best.
>>> Apparently they meant the best at getting a person lost. This will be
>>> my LAST GPS too.
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>>
>>
>>As TomTom have sold many millions of devices
>>As TomTom are one of the world leaders in this market
>>As you do not see tens of thousands of similar complaints on this site
>>
>>Do you not think for one teensy weensy moment that the faults you listed
>>may just be yours or pertaining to your particular device?
>>
>>Engage brain before posting to a newsgroup, please.
>>
>>Walt
>
> much more likely .. try setting the unit to ignore gravel roads .. and
> shortest/quickest route

Hi Mark,
You certainly have had a bad experience with Tom tom. I can understand your
frustration. I have had a couple of bad experiences also, but then I have
had many good experiences and outcomes with Tom tom also. I have learned to
use Tom tom in conjunction with paper maps and/or Google maps. I look up the
route on Google, run a demo on Tom tom, check its passage on google, and
then take advantage of its informing me when turns are coming up. Using that
method, I have never had a problem. I never use the "shortest route" option
any more.
I suggest you give Tom tom another go, as it does not have to be all crap.
Cheers,
Dan

Jack Simmons wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Apr 2010 04:40:27 -0500, Walt <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
>> news:dc68s5t2kgd42cqs9e80jqg2n1upnqjst3@ 4ax.com:
>>
>>> I bought the most recent TomTom available from Walmart in December
>>> 2009. I live in rural Iowa. I dont travel much in winter, but I
>>> did try it out going to some relatively close destinations.
>>>
>>> I began using it on familiar trips around our local area. I quickly
>>> found that it was constantly trying to get me to take gravel back
>>> roads, rather than just stay on the paved highway. My first "real"
>>> trip was to locate a private farm where I had to go to meet a guy
>>> for buying some hay. While I had a rough idea how to go to this
>>> farm, I decided to let the TomTom direct me. Rather than taking
>>> three paved roads, and one state highway thru a small town to the
>>> destination, a total of about 28 miles, which should have taken no
>>> more than about 45 minutes, it insisted that I take all the gravel
>>> back roads, which twist and wind and turn thru the rough terrain,
>>> past farms, and around a forest. I was forced to drive 20 to 30mph
>>> and risked life and limb travelling on these icy back roads, At
>>> one point, I came to a road that split about 5 directions and is
>>> not well labelled with road signs. The TomTom could not tell me
>>> what to do, and when I finally decided I was on my own, I choose
>>> one of the roads and the TomTom told me to turn around. I did, adn
>>> went right back to that intersection, where the TomTom just
>>> silenced and did not tell me what to do. I finally dug out a paper
>>> map and found that the road I had chosen was the correct one
>>> (despite the TomTom telling me to turn around). Rather than a 45
>>> minute trip, it took me One hour and 35 minutes.
>>>
>>> This weekend I went on a much longer trip, and I did not look at a
>>> paper road map. I just let the TomTom direct me. (That was a big
>>> mistake). Leaving my local area, I ignored the TomTom constantly
>>> trying to take me on back gravel country roads and stayed on the
>>> familiar highway. Once I got outside of my area, I let the TomTom
>>> direct me. The problems beegan when I entered a small rural town,
>>> and although I was on a highway, the TomTom kept telling me to turn
>>> down the small town streets. The first one was 1 block past the
>>> main intersection in town. I took several of these small streets,
>>> and ended up right back at the intersection, where it decided to
>>> make me continue going in a circle, which likely would have gone on
>>> infinitely if I had not chosen to just stay on the highway.
>>>
>>> Little did I know that at this point I should have been going south
>>> on this highway, rather than north. The TomTom never told me I was
>>> going the wrong direction, despite programming it to take me to the
>>> exact town I was trying to go to. I continued up this highway and
>>> every few minutes it was telling me to take a gravel back road,
>>> which I ignored. Finally, (not knowing I had travelled 40+ miles in
>>> the wrong direction, I saw a road sign pointing to a town, which I
>>> had already passed an hour earlier, and it said this town was 17
>>> miles.
>>>
>>> I'm completely confused at this point, and there are no gas stations
>>> anywhere to ask for directions and since I am now in a different
>>> state, I do not have a road map. At this point I try to phone a
>>> friend on my cell to ask them to see if they can look on googlemaps
>>> and tell me where the f__k I am. I find out there is no cell
>>> service. I decide that I better just do everything the TomTom tells
>>> me, even if that means taking all the gravel back roads. I proceed
>>> up the highway and it tells me to turn on a gravel rd. I take this
>>> very crooked, winding and hilly gravel back road for what seems
>>> forever. Seven or eight miles later, while driving 20mph max
>>> because of the road condition, I come to an intersection. I can
>>> either continue going straight on this road, but do not see a road
>>> sign name for this road, so I assume it's the same road, since the
>>> other option road has a different name. So I continue going
>>> straight and a half mile later I find myself out on someone's
>>> private farm, driving between 2 barns with cows next to me and farm
>>> dogs chasing my car. I should mention this is at night. I proceed
>>> past the barns and find there is no longer any road, just a cattle
>>> pasture.
>>>
>>> I turn around and spend the next half hour going right back to the
>>> hoghway on that winding gravel rd. All this time the TomTom does
>>> not say a word, just shows me driving down this dead ended road and
>>> while it shows the dead end, it does not try to assist. After all,
>>> it's the goddamn TomTom that told me to take this road.
>>>
>>> By this time I am very ****ed, and I shut off the TomTom. I get
>>> back on the highway, drive the direction of that sign that tole me
>>> about a town 17 miles away, and finally get to that town. (THE
>>> SAME TOWN I PASSED THRU ONE AND ONE HALF HOURS EARLIER).
>>>
>>> In this town I was able to go to a gas station and buy a paper road
>>> map. That's when I discovered the TomTom had allowed me to go
>>> north, and never told me to go south on the highway in that town
>>> where it kept making me go around in a circle on the town streets.
>>>
>>> With the paper road map, I did get to my destination, but 2 hours
>>> late. This trip should have taken about 1 hour and 50 minutes
>>> according to both the road map and google maps (I have since
>>> looked). Instead, it took me just under 4 hours, wasted about 4
>>> gallons of gas, and caused me to miss a friends wedding ceremony.
>>>
>>> I originally bought the TomTom to both save gas and my time, as well
>>> as eliminate driving frustration which I have always had to cope
>>> with, because I have always tended to get myself lost.
>>>
>>> Well, guess what. I could have gotten to this destination in no
>>> more than 3 hours, with no maps or anything, and when I look at the
>>> route now on both google maps and on the paper road map, it's not
>>> all that difficult of a trip. The problem is that I allowed the
>>> TomTom to direct me, and that thing is completely useless garbage.
>>> I have not turned it on since and WILL NOT turn it on ever again.
>>> I phoned Walmart and they will not accept it as a return because I
>>> have had it almost 4 months. I spent $130 for that useless piece
>>> of crap. I'll take the loss as a lesson, and a hard one at that.
>>> They can take their damn GPS and shove it up their own assholes.
>>> I'll donate this piece of garbage to the next church auction, they
>>> will likely get ten or twenty bucks for it, and I can use it as a
>>> tax writeoff. I just want it out of my life forever.
>>>
>>> My next GPS will be a $7.99 paper Road Atlas.
>>>
>>> Not only will the paper atlas not INTENTIONALLY mislead me, but I
>>> wont have the problem of the atlas failing in sub-zero weather,
>>> which the TomTom did when we had extreme winter cold, and it would
>>> not stay turned on.
>>>
>>> This was my first GPS. I was told the TomTom was one of the best.
>>> Apparently they meant the best at getting a person lost. This will
>>> be my LAST GPS too.
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>>
>>
>> As TomTom have sold many millions of devices
>> As TomTom are one of the world leaders in this market
>> As you do not see tens of thousands of similar complaints on this
>> site
>>
>> Do you not think for one teensy weensy moment that the faults you
>> listed may just be yours or pertaining to your particular device?
>>
>> Engage brain before posting to a newsgroup, please.
>>
>> Walt
>
> much more likely .. try setting the unit to ignore gravel roads .. and
> shortest/quickest route

Its MUCH more likely to be just a pathetic excuse for a troll.

On Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:33:08 GMT, " Dan" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote (with clarity & insight):

>Hi Mark,
>You certainly have had a bad experience with Tom tom. I can understand your
>frustration. I have had a couple of bad experiences also, but then I have
>had many good experiences and outcomes with Tom tom also. I have learned to
>use Tom tom in conjunction with paper maps and/or Google maps. I look up the
>route on Google, run a demo on Tom tom, check its passage on google, and
>then take advantage of its informing me when turns are coming up. Using that
>method, I have never had a problem. I never use the "shortest route" option
>any more.
>I suggest you give Tom tom another go, as it does not have to be all crap.
>Cheers,
>Dan

Huh? My Garmins have never caused me to need a paper map, check other
maps, etc. Yes, sometimes the data is missing something otherwise
important, and sometimes the current one I'm using reboots at an
inopportune moment, but I always get directly to where I'm going.

I do use Acme Mapper to refine coordinates sometimes. That's pretty
useful and doesn't point to a deficiency in the Garmin unit or its
data. Maybe to a clunky aspect of the search mechanism, but even then,
that's rare.

All that dickin' around with Tom Toms is unnecessary with Garmins.

Wayne R. wrote
> Dan <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote

>> You certainly have had a bad experience with Tom tom. I can
>> understand your frustration. I have had a couple of bad experiences
>> also, but then I have had many good experiences and outcomes with
>> Tom tom also. I have learned to use Tom tom in conjunction with
>> paper maps and/or Google maps. I look up the route on Google, run a
>> demo on Tom tom, check its passage on google, and then take
>> advantage of its informing me when turns are coming up. Using that
>> method, I have never had a problem. I never use the "shortest route"
>> option any more.

>> I suggest you give Tom tom another go, as it does not have to be all crap.

> Huh? My Garmins have never caused me to need a paper map, check
> other maps, etc. Yes, sometimes the data is missing something otherwise
> important, and sometimes the current one I'm using reboots at an
> inopportune moment, but I always get directly to where I'm going.

> I do use Acme Mapper to refine coordinates sometimes. That's pretty
> useful and doesn't point to a deficiency in the Garmin unit or its data.
> Maybe to a clunky aspect of the search mechanism, but even then, that's rare.

> All that dickin' around with Tom Toms

Is a lie.

> is unnecessary with Garmins.

Pity about giving the turn by turn directions too late, after you have passed the turn.

You dont get that with a tomtom.

["Followup-To:" header set to alt.satellite.gps.] On Thu, 15 Apr 2010
19:53:03 +1000, Rod Speed wrote:

> Wayne R. wrote
>
>> All that dickin' around with Tom Toms
>
> Is a lie.
>
>> is unnecessary with Garmins.
>
> Pity about giving the turn by turn directions too late, after you have
> passed the turn.
>
> You dont get that with a tomtom.

It's a preference thing. Tomtom owners are "go it your own way"
adventurers, listening carefully to the machine's spoken directions,
while Garmin owners are looking at the displayed map occasionally and
establishing that the thing is not about to have them merge into a
river. That's a little tongue-in-cheek, but 90% of the stories involving
"lost traveller drives caravan into lake" situations that have mentioned
what brand was being used were TomToms of some kind. I suspect that's
more a market-share thing than just that anyone with two braincells to
rub together buys something else.

And seriously, there's few ways for a Garmin to give directions too
late, since it announces the turn at three different points: right after
the prior turn, it announces how far to the next turn. About 30 seconds
before that next turn, it says which direction to turn and (optionally)
onto what road. Right before the turn, it tries to announce the turn
one last time. That's the only one that could miss (because it's trying
to make sure it starts when the road you want is the very next cross or
exit, but the only way you would think it too little warning is if you'd
forgotten about the two prior announcements. People that dim probably
should get a different product. Preferably before they drive into a
river and then claim it was the GPS that told them to instead of the
little voices that come in the night.

--
50. My main computers will have their own special operating system that
will be completely incompatible with standard IBM and Macintosh
powerbooks.
--Peter Anspach's list of things to do as an Evil Overlord

<(E-Mail Removed)> schreef in bericht
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I bought the most recent TomTom available from Walmart in December
> 2009. I live in rural Iowa. I dont travel much in winter, but I did
> try it out going to some relatively close destinations.
>
> I began using it on familiar trips around our local area. I quickly
> found that it was constantly trying to get me to take gravel back
> roads, rather than just stay on the paved highway. My first "real"
> trip was to locate a private farm where I had to go to meet a guy for
> buying some hay. While I had a rough idea how to go to this farm, I
> decided to let the TomTom direct me. Rather than taking three paved
> roads, and one state highway thru a small town to the destination, a
> total of about 28 miles, which should have taken no more than about 45
> minutes, it insisted that I take all the gravel back roads, which
> twist and wind and turn thru the rough terrain, past farms, and around
> a forest. I was forced to drive 20 to 30mph and risked life and limb
> travelling on these icy back roads, At one point, I came to a road
> that split about 5 directions and is not well labelled with road
> signs. The TomTom could not tell me what to do, and when I finally
> decided I was on my own, I choose one of the roads and the TomTom told
> me to turn around. I did, adn went right back to that intersection,
> where the TomTom just silenced and did not tell me what to do. I
> finally dug out a paper map and found that the road I had chosen was
> the correct one (despite the TomTom telling me to turn around).
> Rather than a 45 minute trip, it took me One hour and 35 minutes.
>
> This weekend I went on a much longer trip, and I did not look at a
> paper road map. I just let the TomTom direct me. (That was a big
> mistake). Leaving my local area, I ignored the TomTom constantly
> trying to take me on back gravel country roads and stayed on the
> familiar highway. Once I got outside of my area, I let the TomTom
> direct me. The problems beegan when I entered a small rural town, and
> although I was on a highway, the TomTom kept telling me to turn down
> the small town streets. The first one was 1 block past the main
> intersection in town. I took several of these small streets, and
> ended up right back at the intersection, where it decided to make me
> continue going in a circle, which likely would have gone on infinitely
> if I had not chosen to just stay on the highway.
>
> Little did I know that at this point I should have been going south on
> this highway, rather than north. The TomTom never told me I was going
> the wrong direction, despite programming it to take me to the exact
> town I was trying to go to. I continued up this highway and every few
> minutes it was telling me to take a gravel back road, which I ignored.
> Finally, (not knowing I had travelled 40+ miles in the wrong
> direction, I saw a road sign pointing to a town, which I had already
> passed an hour earlier, and it said this town was 17 miles.
>
> I'm completely confused at this point, and there are no gas stations
> anywhere to ask for directions and since I am now in a different
> state, I do not have a road map. At this point I try to phone a
> friend on my cell to ask them to see if they can look on googlemaps
> and tell me where the f__k I am. I find out there is no cell service.
> I decide that I better just do everything the TomTom tells me, even if
> that means taking all the gravel back roads. I proceed up the highway
> and it tells me to turn on a gravel rd. I take this very crooked,
> winding and hilly gravel back road for what seems forever. Seven or
> eight miles later, while driving 20mph max because of the road
> condition, I come to an intersection. I can either continue going
> straight on this road, but do not see a road sign name for this road,
> so I assume it's the same road, since the other option road has a
> different name. So I continue going straight and a half mile later I
> find myself out on someone's private farm, driving between 2 barns
> with cows next to me and farm dogs chasing my car. I should mention
> this is at night. I proceed past the barns and find there is no
> longer any road, just a cattle pasture.
>
> I turn around and spend the next half hour going right back to the
> hoghway on that winding gravel rd. All this time the TomTom does not
> say a word, just shows me driving down this dead ended road and while
> it shows the dead end, it does not try to assist. After all, it's the
> goddamn TomTom that told me to take this road.
>
> By this time I am very ****ed, and I shut off the TomTom. I get back
> on the highway, drive the direction of that sign that tole me about a
> town 17 miles away, and finally get to that town. (THE SAME TOWN I
> PASSED THRU ONE AND ONE HALF HOURS EARLIER).
>
> In this town I was able to go to a gas station and buy a paper road
> map. That's when I discovered the TomTom had allowed me to go north,
> and never told me to go south on the highway in that town where it
> kept making me go around in a circle on the town streets.
>
> With the paper road map, I did get to my destination, but 2 hours
> late. This trip should have taken about 1 hour and 50 minutes
> according to both the road map and google maps (I have since looked).
> Instead, it took me just under 4 hours, wasted about 4 gallons of gas,
> and caused me to miss a friends wedding ceremony.
>
> I originally bought the TomTom to both save gas and my time, as well
> as eliminate driving frustration which I have always had to cope with,
> because I have always tended to get myself lost.
>
> Well, guess what. I could have gotten to this destination in no more
> than 3 hours, with no maps or anything, and when I look at the route
> now on both google maps and on the paper road map, it's not all that
> difficult of a trip. The problem is that I allowed the TomTom to
> direct me, and that thing is completely useless garbage. I have not
> turned it on since and WILL NOT turn it on ever again. I phoned
> Walmart and they will not accept it as a return because I have had it
> almost 4 months. I spent $130 for that useless piece of crap. I'll
> take the loss as a lesson, and a hard one at that. They can take
> their damn GPS and shove it up their own assholes. I'll donate this
> piece of garbage to the next church auction, they will likely get ten
> or twenty bucks for it, and I can use it as a tax writeoff. I just
> want it out of my life forever.
>
> My next GPS will be a $7.99 paper Road Atlas.
>
> Not only will the paper atlas not INTENTIONALLY mislead me, but I wont
> have the problem of the atlas failing in sub-zero weather, which the
> TomTom did when we had extreme winter cold, and it would not stay
> turned on.
>
> This was my first GPS. I was told the TomTom was one of the best.
> Apparently they meant the best at getting a person lost. This will be
> my LAST GPS too.
>
> Mark
>



Reading your postings above I suppose you bought two TomToms...



--
regards,

|\ /|
| \/ |@rk
\../
\/os