Jeep Garage  - Jeep Forum banner

Navigation Issues

22K views 81 replies 28 participants last post by  Lightninrod 
#1 ·
Hi all -

I've been having some issues with my 2014 JGC recently. My NAV always seems to want to take me the long way, through local streets and such. I've been through all the settings but nothing sticks out. I recently compared a route with my sisters Lexus and her NAV estimated the trip at 38 minutes, where the Jeep estimated the trip to take 1 hour and 20 minutes. I'm running the latest version of the software, 14.05... I can't seem to figure this one out.
 
#2 ·
Greetings,

I do not have the factory 2014 navigation. However, the first thing that I always have done with the various forms of navi, is to make sure in the route settings is set only to the FASTEST. I do not set anything for traffic detours or turn on the traffic. I include tolls as well. This how I test the functions to see how they work and establish base lines.

Hope this helps.

Best for now.:)
 
#3 ·
^^^^^ What he said. You probably have it set to shortest route, which can take you on all sorts of side streets, etc.
 
#4 · (Edited)
O.K. I had this problem for a long time and it was driving me crazy. I always had it set to 'Fastest' and it would take me down side streets, etc. (the scenic route) whenever I took a trip. I was using my iphone/google maps on it's little 4" screen. I was getting ready to fight with Chrysler for a refund on the NAV since it was worthless to me.

Now it seems to work perfectly!

The problem was the TMC avoidance was on for one or more items including traffic. You have to find this under nav/settings/guidance. There are a few settings that will reroute the jeep based on traffic, even if the traffic isn't really obvious. Once I turned those all off I regained control of my NAV.

This of course assumes you have this feature, otherwise see posts above.
 
#5 ·
I've definitely play with the "Fastest" and "Shortest" settings with no luck. Aqua, I have a feeling this May be the cause, the NAV might be trying to avoid traffic and sending me all over the damn place. I'm going to test turning TMC avoidance off and post back in a little bit. Hope this is it!
 
#6 ·
I believe I have read somewhere in the forums that the navigation system is Garmin. The voice and commands sound like it to me. I have always been taken by a route I did not like when using a Garmin unit

Im not thrilled with the directions from my unit in my Mercedes either. The best nav I have had to date was in my'11 Nissan Rogue.
 
#9 ·
This navigation system is certainly NOT Garmin. I have used every major Garmin release since they first had rudimentary maps on the GPS III and V and this is not it.

For me the worst of this is that when the autozoom is set to Far it still only shows about the next half mile. So I set it to Far when I need turn by turn directions and Off when I need to know if it is doing something sensible.

My experience over the years is that Garmin has been almost clairvoyant about arrival times, even half a day out. I used it to navigate from Alameda to Yellowstone, none stop, three drivers. It was only five minutes off when we left the house. Coming home is a 45 minutes to 65 minute trip, I can routinely take 20 minutes off the Jeep's estimate.

This looks much more like TomTom, but with less features. So I wouldn't be surprised to hear it's some East European software company, like the idiots Motorola used in their abortive foray in to GPS.
 
#7 ·
The NAV unit does seem to need some work. Went to visit my daughter last weekend in Atlanta. I do not know my away around up there. It got me there ok but it took me on the scenic tour of downtown when we left. At one point it told me to turn left and as soon as I did it said it was recalculating and I needed to do a U turn so I could go back and keep going the way I was just going.
 
#8 ·
Yeah, the navigation is a bit weird, but I've never had one before, so this is all new to me.

Once in a while, it wont lock onto me properly, so I will be going the wrong direction, at least according to the map. Very odd. I have to turn off the vehicle and turn it back on to get it to lock on. Can't just cancel the route and do it again.

It seems to happen the most when I'm trying to calculate a route while moving. But I've also had it happen when I was parked too.
 
#10 ·
Greetings,

I seriously doubt TomTom wrote this for Chrysler. TomTom uses their own maps which they brought form TeleAtlas a number of years ago. The maps in the OEM Uconnect system for the 2014 8.4 is from HERE, formally known as Navteq. Navteq has written GPS systems for various companies, like JVC aftermarket HU's. Garmin has a separate OEM division, so it could be them. Harman outsources their GPS systems with their own specifications to be built into the system.

Best for now.:)
 
#11 · (Edited)
I said it is like TomTom, it is always zoomed in too far to be useful. But it doesn't do as much as TomTom, so I doubt they are to blame. But it certainly isn't Garmin. Back in 2013 model year Chrysler was using Garmin and it was just like a decent Garmin unit with a bigger screen. I had it in three or four Alamo Chrysler 300s and a Durango if I remember correctly. The 2014 is not Garmin. It just isn't near as good as Garmin. The map display, route entry, and especially the auto zoom and ETA predictions, are just not near as good.

So it's now a Navteq system? Considering how long they have been making them this isn't particularly good. This is not a software A-team effort, I've been doing it for thirty years and I wouldn't be shipping customers the same faults year after year. By now they should be able to make decent ETA predictions and choose decent routes.
 
#13 · (Edited)
It's a Garmin according to the Jeep folks. :D

The Navigation systems used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a Garmin.

Thank you again for your email.Should you require additional assistance, or have any new information to provide, please reply to this email message or call 1-877-I-AM-JEEP (1-877-426-5337).

Sincerely,

Carolyn

Customer Service Representative
Jeep Customer Assistance Center
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1stJeepGC
#14 ·
Then its a very poor version of a Garmin. The logic is terrible on it, if you have avoid traffic turrned on it will reroute you 45 minutes out of your way to avoid a small fraction of yellow on your path that may have taken an extra 3 minutes to get through had you stayed on your original path.

My 8 year old garmin 7500 had traffic avoidance on it, it is nothing new and it worked perfect it judged the sevaritry of the traffic vs the time of the reroute and always came up with the fastest path. This jeep version will reroute you through Antartica if an ant crosses your path.

The answer isnt uncheck traffic avoidance(or maybe it is when it comes to jeep), the answer is once again jeep fix your software! or get your vendor to fix it. same as the other dozen or more software issues over the last year. Maybe the combination of upcoming new maps and new uconnect software we should see soon will do something wait and see as always
 
#15 ·
I had traffic avoidance on for the first 5 months with my 14 Limited and yes it was terrible, not usable. It rerouted me down every little side street to avoid a tiny bit of traffic. I completely turned live traffic off and it works pretty good now. The whole Unconnect system just doesn't work great as a functional, fluid system. The Uconnect system that was in my 2011 GC and I believe the one that is still in the Wrangler if I'm not mistaken was so bad I was embarrassed when someone came in my car. The graphics looked like my kid did a drawing on the screen. It remains the Achilles heel in what otherwise is a great vehicle.
 
#16 ·
I have always kept traffic off; never used it even with the NUVI portable from the old truck. Actually, I don't use the in dash NAV much at all, rarely need it locally and I prefer my NUVI when taking a trip as I can do all the planning and routing on my desktop and upload it to the unit. The GC's NAV doesn't allow that function, as well as other useful ones.
 
#18 ·
Everything I have read on here and my experience with Garmin units says this IS NOT GARMIN.

A high end Jeep should have a state-of-the-art GPS for highway AND off-road. It should have topo maps available, a real active log that doesn't disappear when the ignition is turned off, and a computer interface to enable two way waypoint, route, and track communication. (8.4" Garmin Montana 650)

Tom
 
#19 ·
Greetings,

I have only seen the RA4 briefly and based on the feedback from others, this could very will be Garmin's OEM B line software.

With out even a doubt Jeep should have put a state-of-the-art GPS in. The Garmin app gives many of the features you stated. In fact, Garmin does have a telematics system to interface the smartphone with the OEM HU for full touchscreen interfacing. Even IGO Primo has one. The real kicker over at Land Rover, they give you now 2 options for GPS. The factory and a smartphone full interface using a spec Sygic app. Sygic also has many of the functions you mentioned.

I just recently tried Sygic again with latest version for IOS next gen. One nice feature I saw was the terrain was moving up and down with the road, thus some topography (no ring contours visible).

The bottom line is, over at the AV department at Chrysler they show signs of being still in the 2000's with their old technology. The word "state-of-the-art" is not in their mandate or vocabulary. :(

Best for now.:)
 
#22 ·
On July 1, 2014, I wrote to Mr. Alan Amici, Head of Global Uconnect at Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler Group, LLC concerning poor voice recognition (VR) and map updates for Uconnect. He replied within two weeks, and his response concerming the map update is provided below.

Thank you for your letter. We appreciate the details you provided as customer feedback assists our teams in the continuous improvement of our Uconnect Systems and Services. There will be a Map Update available for your vehicle mid-October 2014. We apologize for the delay in providing this to our customers...

The Chrysler Uconnect Team is actively working to make Map Updates available with greater frequency to our customers and agree that with the rapidly evolving transportation infrastructure, it is crucial to make Uconnect a useful and intuitive tool for our customers. We are continuously exploring new technologies that allow greater interaction between the driver and the vehicle in order to benefit from connected vehicle technologies. Our focus remains on developing solutions that allow our drivers to keep both hands on the wheel and stay focused on driving, which is why some features on the touch screen are locked out while the vehicle is in motion. Chrysler Group, LLC conforms with voluntary industry guidelines for mitigating driver distraction.

I was very impressed with Mr. Amici's quick response and the level of detail he offered. As an example of the issue with VR, I had provided an address that gave me problems on a recent 1200 mile trip. My son and I tried so many variations over a period of many miles, it was comical. We finally had to pull over and manually enter the address, which the system picked up quickly. Mr. Amici had his staff research the address, offered suggestions for better recognition, such as "one hundred twelve" rather than "one one two", as well as providing an image to support their findings. They were able to get the VR to work with the right numeral designation.

The map data is supplied by Navteq, now named HERE.... what marketing genius came up with that stupid name??? Their automated asnswering service says "thank you for calling HERE...if you know your party's extension.... just plain stupid. Anyway, HERE also provides map data for Mapquest and other companies. It is my understanding that The Harmon Group provides the software, and it is my understanding that it is a Garmin OEM product designed to Chrysler infotainment specifications. A supervisor at HERE told me that they are merely the "reseller of Chrysler map updates".

Anyway, as indicated also by the previous post, look for updates in October.
 
#25 ·
Greetings,

The real problems is not so much of Harmon, rather, Chrysler who provides the design specifications for their contractors to follow and deliver at a certain price point. For a premium system, Chrysler should have had and now in the future, instruct Harman to integrate the full blown Garmin System into the Uconnect. The same system you find on the top of line Garmin PND and Kenwood aftermarket headunit.

It seams that other car manufactures have started to wake up in their audio divisions and responded to the consumer requests.

These days, the entire Harman Group, have been taking a finical beating and the level of their products have started to go down in their various brands over the last few years. A lot of good people have left Harman for a more secure finical future. i started to notice this in their pro division lately.

Best for now.:)
 
#24 ·
Greetings,

Just as I suspected. Finally, now that the problems have reach the top of Fiat, maybe some results will happen in the near future. :rolleyes:

I notice lately that HERE, formally know as Navteq, has been very slow in their period update over last year or so. In some of my navi apps that uses the map data from HERE, they have supplied the update map data any where from 6 to 9 months. I notice that in IGO Primo and Garmin's North America apps, the current map data is from Nov/Dec of 2013. On the flip side, TomTom supplied map data to their 3rd party navi apps, as well as their own app, is updated anywhere from 3 to 5 months.

Best for now.:)
 
#27 ·
I was a frequent renter, I rented all the time, at least every two to four weeks. So Alamo put me in a lot of different Chrysler products over the last 30 months. The navigation used to be the proper Garmin system, it changed about a year ago, to the current Harman system. I first met it in a JGC in mid November last year.

So it isn't that the Jeep designed UI is poor, the underlying navigation software has changed and it is about ten years behind the times for ETA prediction and routing quality. My $300 stand alone Garmin learns which ways I go to avoid traffic and suggests them instead of the traffic-light-at-every-corner roads it originally preferred. I live on Bay Farm Island which is part of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay, coming home up I880 Garmin tells me to take 98th to Ron Cowan Parkway, cross Oakland Airport and then take a couple of turns to arrive home. Harman tells me to take Davis much of the time and then follow Doolittle to Harbor Bay Parkway, which is much further and slower. And it doesn't learn.

So this is much more than just a change of UI.

While the voice recognition is desperately slow, it at least understands my base English English voice. The Garmin system and Android phones don't have any beginning of a clue what I am saying.

The fix for this is either several years of effort at Harman to develop a decent product, or reversion to the working Garmin software they used to have.
 
#28 ·
I was a frequent renter, I rented all the time, at least every two to four weeks. So Alamo put me in a lot of different Chrysler products over the last 30 months. The navigation used to be the proper Garmin system, it changed about a year ago, to the current Harman system. I first met it in a JGC in mid November last year.

So it isn't that the Jeep designed UI is poor, the underlying navigation software has changed and it is about ten years behind the times for ETA prediction and routing quality. My $300 stand alone Garmin learns which ways I go to avoid traffic and suggests them instead of the traffic-light-at-every-corner roads it originally preferred. I live on Bay Farm Island which is part of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay, coming home up I880 Garmin tells me to take 98th to Ron Cowan Parkway, cross Oakland Airport and then take a couple of turns to arrive home. Harman tells me to take Davis much of the time and then follow Doolittle to Harbor Bay Parkway, which is much further and slower. And it doesn't learn.

So this is much more than just a change of UI.

While the voice recognition is desperately slow, it at least understands my base English English voice. The Garmin system and Android phones don't have any beginning of a clue what I am saying.

The fix for this is either several years of effort at Harman to develop a decent product, or reversion to the working Garmin software they used to have.
Agree and its a shame because I really do like the whole uconnect concept and the way it is setup very user friendly and easy to use. the underneith logic, terrible though.
 
#32 · (Edited)
I received a phone call from UConnect support. Apparently my question found its way to them. Anyhow, and FWIW, this is the info they gave to me; the hardware head unit is a Garmin, it is sent to Harmon-Becker that configures it to Chrysler/Jeep specification and it is then sent to Jeep where the Here, the renamed Navteq folks, maps are loaded. :eek:

I think I will stick with my Garmin NUVI 750 :thumbsup: and use the UConnect nav for the weather radar :rolleyes:


Edit: Couple other things; cannot plan routes and/or POI's external to the unit and then load them, no maps other then the Here stuff are useable, no topo maps are available (this is a Jeep right?), no plans for annual map updates. :( Others here are probably aware of these, but I'm a newbie to Jeep, just 3 months in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1stJeepGC
#33 · (Edited)
I received a phone call from UConnect support. Apparently my question found its way to them. Anyhow, and FWIW, this is the info they gave to me; the hardware head unit is a Garmin, it is sent to Harmon-Becker that configures it to Chrysler/Jeep specification and it is then sent to Jeep where the Here, the renamed Navteq folks, maps are loaded. :eek:

I think I will stick with my Garmin NUVI 750 :thumbsup: and use the UConnect nav for the weather radar :rolleyes:
Greetings,

Yep, just as I said. And history repeats itself with Chrysler/Jeep.

Maybe somebody should tell Chrysler to look at the calendar and see what we are living in. I am not effected by this, those who have the Uconnect's certainly do not deserve this stupidity. Furthermore, those who have the 8.4 and want to goto an aftermarket headunit solution are still stuck at the moment. :mad:

Basiclly, the choices for a GPS work around are going with PND, a lock pick interface that allows you to hook into an external GPS module, a smartphone and a wifi interface to mirror your phone onto the big screen.

Best for now.:)
 
#39 ·
Quite frankly, when it works - that is to say when my position is shown on the actual road - the navi system works pretty spot on in Chicago metropolitan areas. Even last year, in my western US trip, I did not have guidance issues. Sure, probably didn't know any better but where I know, based on my knowledge of traffic patterns and streets, the unit would choose the same routes 95% of the time. I don't remember any requests for U-turns or silly loops or routing on residential streets.

Years ago, Garmin released a PC version of their navigation software. Our UConnect 8.4 has largely the same interface and has the same customization options.
 
#40 ·
This may be a stupid question, but is there an easy way to add way-points to a route like you can with a Garmin nuvi?
 
#41 ·
So...Is this correct regarding the different NAV components?

Hardware--Garmin
Firmware--Harmon
Software--HERE
 
#42 ·
Greetings:

It should be:

Hardware (Uconnect HU): Harmon
GPS Software: Garmin
GPS Map Data: HERE (Navteq)


Best for now.:)
 
#43 · (Edited)
I'm a little late to the thread, but here is my experience with the traffic and nav issues.

I use my 2014 GC Overland for work every day on Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. I have logged 14000 miles since April 1.

I also have a Garmin in my glove box for backup.

I occasionally experience the vehicle icon off the map and it just won't get on route. I usually have to shut the Jeep down and restart to fix that situation. It appears to have a problem getting a "fix" out east on Long Island. I have not had that issue since updating 2 days ago.

It would reroute me around traffic too often, sometimes getting me off the expressway, running me down a service road through a traffic light and back on the expressway at the next exit for a very mild delay. Often it routed me through neighborhoods. I let the traffic service service expire and tried using my garmin unit I keep in the glove box and was more pleased except for it sitting on the dash.

I decided to turn the traffic service back on and change the settings. I upped the delay time for reroute and played with some of the settings each day for a week. This seems to have eliminated the crazy rerouting issues I had been encountering. I am now happy with the traffic feature. Here's some screen shots. I think the default was like 3 minutes, but I can't remember. Sorry for the glare.





And my garmin with less options. You are shown the delay time on nav screen and can choose to reroute.



 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top