GPS not working properly

Discussion in 'Prius v Technical Discussion' started by benagi, Jun 10, 2012.

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  1. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    anyone had problems with their gps not showing your proper location. I did get window tinting done but with a film that is not suppose to interfere. Also got a clean air sticker I installed on my windshield up by the rearview mirror. This lets you drive in the hov lanes in UT with only one person in the car. Couple of questions, where is the gps antenna and how can I check the signal strength? couldn't find it in the manual. Thx in advance for any help. Also, the car is 3 months old and this problem just started recently.
     
    #1 benagi, Jun 10, 2012
  2. Nivonia

    Nivonia Junior Member

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    My v's GPS goes bonkers if I start the car indoors, such as in a parking garage. When I get outside the GPS has an approximate idea of where I am, but is usually off by 500 metres or so. The only way I've found to fix this issue is turn off the ignition and restart the car.
     
    #2 Nivonia, Jun 11, 2012
  3. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    On the Gen II and Gen III, the GPS antenna is under the center of the dash, pointing up through the windshield. I would expect it to be the same in the Prius v, but don't know for certain.

    Tom
     
    #3 qbee42, Jun 11, 2012
  4. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    I see that you can do a manual calibration. Is there a feature somewhere that I can let the GPS find where I am at on it's own? I have tried the reset method that says to hold the radio power button down for 5 seconds.
     
    #4 benagi, Jun 11, 2012
  5. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    GPS systems do this automatically. GPS positioning is absolute, so you don't need a relative calibration unless you are dealing with something like a ship, where you need to tell the GPS system that the antenna is located 300 feet from the bow.

    Tom
     
    #5 qbee42, Jun 11, 2012
  6. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Mine couldn't find exactly where I was. It had me in the right city but miles off. Some how something went awry in the last week. Went back to do a manual calibration today. This time I parked at a major intersection, zoomed into that location, then put in the direction the car was facing. Putting in the direction you are facing is very important. Last night I did not do that porperly. Seems to be working now. Will follow-up if any other problems. Thanks for the replies.
     
    #6 benagi, Jun 11, 2012
  7. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    The calibration you describe is for the moving map, not the GPS. I suppose it's a distinction with very little difference, unless you are an engineer.

    Tom
     
    #7 qbee42, Jun 11, 2012
  8. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Your right, didn't think about that. It would be impossible to move your gps location. thanks for the info
     
    #8 benagi, Jun 11, 2012
  9. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    I have experienced errors in GPS location, due to interference or poor satiate reception. This is particularly inconvenient on a dark, stormy night where one is trying to keep a boat off the rocks. Still, it was not a calibration issue.

    There are situations where GPS uses local calibration, but these all involve differential GPS, where a receiver at a known location generates calibration information for other nearby receivers.

    Tom
     
    #9 qbee42, Jun 11, 2012
  10. n0na

    n0na Junior Member

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    On the v3 you can check to see if your GPS can see the satellites. Press Options on the screen, then press Location and GPS Information.

    If you restart the car after it's been parked for a long period of time (maybe a day?), it will take a while (maybe as much as several minutes) for the GPS receiver to download an ephemeris with all of the data about the available satellites. So, even if your GPS antenna has a good look at the sky and the satellites, it can take some time before the GPS receiver starts working accurately. In the meantime, the map will show where you were when the car was last shut off, but that information is bogus and misleading until the GPS has acquired the necessary satellites.

    If your GPS doesn't acquire the satellites within 5 minutes after you turn it on and have a clear sky overhead, then either the GPS is defective or, more likely, the window tint you installed is blocking the signal.
     
    #10 n0na, Jun 11, 2012
  11. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Been in the car last 10 minutes and don't have an option button on the screen or beside the screen. I think I have been thru all the screens possilbe. You would think that working with computers for 30 years this would be a piece of cake.
    My car is the v5 adv package. Anyone that can give me step by step instructions to see if I am getting a good GPS signal would be great. I have tried with windows down also. by the way, may cell phone gets a great gps signal windows down or up while in the car. Oh, by the way, on the way home on the freeway no obstructions, the gps was still lost.
    Another footnote, in the manual it says the letters GPS in the upper left corner under the foot accuracy should light up. They are grayed out no matter what I do. That means no GPS signal.
    Guess it's off the to dealership tomorrow. PS: anyway to accidentally turn off the GPS?
     
    #11 benagi, Jun 11, 2012
  12. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Update to above problem. Dropped off the car at the dealer this morning and picked it up this afternoon. They couldn't get a GPS signal also. They deemed the GPS unit as bad. Said they will contact me when they get a new unit in from Toyota. Could be a week or two. Not to pleased about the wait time. Sort of glad it wasn't something simple that I missed because of all my past computer experience.
     
    #12 benagi, Jun 14, 2012
  13. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    New update. A new head unit arrived 2 days ago. They installed it and now the problem is even worse. My car is in Utah and the GPS put me in DC. The tech is going crazy. Can't figure it out. Even though his test equip. told him he was getting sat. reception, Toyota told him to order a new antenna and try that. They may know something tomorrow. Sure don't like them tearing my new car apart trying to troubleshoot. They said I am the first to have this problem and the system is so new they really don't know what they are doing and learning on my car. YIKES!
     
    #13 benagi, Jul 13, 2012
  14. JimN

    JimN Let the games begin!

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    Does a stand alone unit work in the car?
     
    #14 JimN, Jul 13, 2012
  15. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Yes, that was one of the first things I checked when I started having this problem.
     
    #15 benagi, Jul 13, 2012
  16. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Well here is the latest and I hope the last update regarding my GPS Nav system problem. After a week in the shop and swapping out parts it turns out it was the GPS antenna which is located in front of the steering wheel under the dash. The reason it took so long is because they would oder a part try it, then move on the another part that had to be ordered and try again. The did supply me with a loaner car and did not charge for the car or the gas I used. I was patient with them and they thanked me for it. So if you have a Prius v with nav that the gps letters in the upper left corner of the screen just under the number of feet the zoom is set to and the are greyed out, then you have a bad or no gps signal. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
     
    #16 benagi, Jul 17, 2012
  17. parnami

    parnami Member

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    Thanks! I've been wondering where that antenna was located.
     
    #17 parnami, Jul 17, 2012
  18. a1a1a1

    a1a1a1 Member

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    Thanks. We have a 2012 Prius v Model 5 with very similar issues. The Nav basically freezes.

    We can drive for 10 minutes and the GPS stays parked at an old location. I have video and photos at different intersections. My wife got stuck in a bad neighborhood near her school in South Central LA (where the two Chinese students sitting in their car were shot dead a few months ago), and the GPS Navigation unit was so screwy it kept sending her in circles.

    We have an appointment at the dealer later today, and I will mention this thread.
     
    #18 a1a1a1, Oct 18, 2012
  19. ProximalSuns

    ProximalSuns Senior Member

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    Most cell phones don't really use GPS but triangulate via the cell towers. You'd want to check your phone that it actually has a GPS receiver built into it. Few do.
     
    #19 ProximalSuns, Oct 18, 2012
  20. a1a1a1

    a1a1a1 Member

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    Some phones, like the iPhone, have a GPS chip, but they still triangulate through the towers or use IP addressing to get a quicker and more precise lock. This is called A-GPS (Assisted GPS). I don't know how you'd test the GPS independently of the network and cell service; however, because I'm not sure how to shut off the cell reception but keep the GPS reception.
     
    #20 a1a1a1, Oct 18, 2012
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