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GPS Positioning problem

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Old Jul 30, 2006 | 05:26 PM
  #1  
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Default GPS Positioning problem

Hi...
my IS nav system has been acting up lately. at first it was locating my car about 5 miles, then 10 miles. after i recalibrated the position using the setup function, it worked fine for 30 min then reverted back to la-la land, about 30 miles away.

anyone else experiencing this problem?

thanks,
mike
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Old Jul 30, 2006 | 07:43 PM
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I had a similar problem last week -- I think it was Thursday afternoon. It was the first time I've had such a problem. It kept trying to figure out where I was, and after a few minutes did so. I felt like it was a couple hundred feet off even after figuring it out, though. I think it may have resolved itself now, but I must admit I haven't looked at it that carefully since then. I was definitely strange to turn the car on and have it think I was somewhere far from where I was.
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Old Jul 30, 2006 | 08:22 PM
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once I was going on a new freeway onramp and somehow it lost me. then started showing that I was flying through all these neighborhoods since the fwy was up in the air.

it only bugged out for a few miles and after a minute or so it corrected itself.
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Old Jul 30, 2006 | 09:03 PM
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I had a problem withe the GPS locating my correct location once before too. I got on the freeway and it apparetnly missed it and was about couple hundred feet to the right of the freeway driving along side it like Team Lexus said... Flying over neighborhoods... After a few miles it correctly itself... Other than that I havent had any HUGE problems with it... somtimes minor stuff like it being a little off.
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Old Jul 31, 2006 | 12:04 AM
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Do you have ceramic window tint that could be interferring with the GPS signal?

Have you recently modded any aspect of the electrical system in the car, perhaps the Nav Hack?


I don't know if either of the above could directly relate to your problem, but the navigation does get some information from the speed sensor, and if it loses that signal it'll become more difficult to work properly. Also, if you are only receiving a satellite signal from 3 satellites, you can't get an altitude signal, which could throw off your location, or if you're receiving less than 3 satellites, that could also do the same. I don't have an IS yet, so I'm not sure how to get to the diagnostic screen, but ever nav system should have one that will confirm the speed pulse is set up properly and how many satellites you are in contact with.
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Old Jul 31, 2006 | 12:37 AM
  #6  
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this happened to me a lot lately so whatever you find out let us know
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Old Jul 31, 2006 | 05:11 PM
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I was chasing some similar issues with the nav system on my GS a while back and some of it turned out to be related to the number of satelites the unit was getting data from. I'm not familiar with the nav on the 2006 IS but for my GS when I put the unit in diagnostic mode it will give the number of sats it is receiving from. I assume that you can probably do the same with the IS unit and if so it might be helpful to know if that is a factor.
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Old Jul 31, 2006 | 05:38 PM
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I sometimes find that my car positioning is far behind where it should be, and what it identifies as the "next" right, is two streets ahead, not the next one. Most times it's right on the money however. I never "recalibrated". The GPS seems to straighten that out.
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Old Jul 31, 2006 | 05:48 PM
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man once my nav was like 300 miles off so the dealer is going to look at it later this week
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Old Jul 31, 2006 | 07:58 PM
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If the problem is intermittant, it is likely due to loss of satellite signal. This can be due to weather conditions, sunspots, large metal structures like multilevel interchanges, etc.

I'm not precisely sure how the Lexus system operates, but in my Lincoln, when satellite signal is lost, the system uses "dead reckoning" to calculate your position. This means measuring the wheel speed, distance, etc. This is less acurate than using the satellite, but should still be in the ballpark, unless you have aftermarket wheels. The Nav system in the Lincoln works great. I'm really amazed at how accurate it is, and its never been off.
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Old Jul 31, 2006 | 08:04 PM
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wow i was just about to post about this same issue. Its really annoying when it happens when you don't know where you're going. It's been happening this past month almost every day on my nav. I told the dealer when i took it in for an oil change and they said its probably loosing signal. Of course it wasn't happening when i took it to the dealer. But it does get annoying, especially when you paid a couple thousand just to get the nav
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 05:54 AM
  #12  
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I'm having some issues with my navigation. It happened after I left a parking garage and it's still acting up. When I'm on the highway it tells me to get off at an earlier exit, like 2-3 exits, from what I really need to get off at.

I remember reading back in the instructions manual about a way to calibrate it but that you have to drive in a circle or drive around the block. But for the life of me, I can't find that again. Anybody knows what page number this is on?
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 06:45 AM
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ive only been having problems where, the icon for the car is about an inch to the right or left of the road, and snakes along with it, but it can get confusing because you dont exactly know what road you are really on...
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 06:49 AM
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Originally Posted by The Chad
Do you have ceramic window tint that could be interferring with the GPS signal?

Have you recently modded any aspect of the electrical system in the car, perhaps the Nav Hack?


I don't know if either of the above could directly relate to your problem, but the navigation does get some information from the speed sensor, and if it loses that signal it'll become more difficult to work properly. Also, if you are only receiving a satellite signal from 3 satellites, you can't get an altitude signal, which could throw off your location, or if you're receiving less than 3 satellites, that could also do the same. I don't have an IS yet, so I'm not sure how to get to the diagnostic screen, but ever nav system should have one that will confirm the speed pulse is set up properly and how many satellites you are in contact with.
the window tint blocking the signal myth has been disproven...
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 08:57 AM
  #15  
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Originally Posted by james6290
the window tint blocking the signal myth has been disproven...
I stand corrected on that statement then...

I know that the system usings the VSS to help detirmine location (all nav systems do), especially during a loss of satellite signal, so if anything got cut behind the nav unit improperly, it's possible that that could throw it off.
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