My BMW Navigator VI is possessed

[Grumpy Goat]

I have finally had it with my BMW Navigator VI GPS and will be making a report to Customer Support soon, with the expectation that the unit be replaced.

This thread is to do 2 things: (1) document the problem with my unit, and (2) encourage any others with the same GPS unit who have had issues similar to this to also make their experiences known.

In a nutshell this is the problem, which appears to happen when the temperature is cooler. I live in Houston TX so it rarely gets to freezing. When the problem manifests itself, this happens.

I start the bike and soon after, the GPS starts "pressing various buttons" by itself. I am usually putting on my gloves at this time so am not touching anything on the bike, but screens start changing, you can see random buttons being depressed, etc.

When this is going on, I can try to tap certain buttons and the unit may respond. Other times there is no response to my screen tap. Gloves or no gloves makes no difference. If a dialog box pops up on its own and the screen is in one of its unresponsive modes, there is no way to dismiss the dialog box.

Using the job wheel I am able to flip through the usual screens, but at every screen it presses buttons, flashing up other screens in the process ... except for the compass screem, which since there are no buttons (other than "Back") stays stable.

Yesterday a new thing occurred ... while doing its devil dance, it decided to define a route to who-knows-where, and then started to tell me directions in my headset. Very irritating because I cannot intervene to cancel this route ... the screen does not respond to touch! So I am forced to turn the volume down on the headset or turn it off, thereby rendering that piece of equipment useless.

The unit has never been dropped, bumped, damaged in any way or anything of that nature. I am VERY careful handling this unit having paid over $900 for it. The electrical contacts on the back and on the cradle are clean, and have been re-cleaned in response to this behaviour.

I have rebooted the unit several times with mixed results, and initailly it seemed as though that helped but, progressively, it seems that that is no longer helping. I even (once) removed the battery to simulate a cold boot, and that seemed to work for a few days and then the behaviour resumed happening.

I reset the GPS back to factory settings and that seemed to work for a couple of days also, but then the problem came back.

The unit has the latest firmware and maps installed, and when it worked normally all functions worked as designed.

One of the videos I watched suggested that cleaning the screen helped the person in the video so I did that (not that it was dirty; ponly had a couple of smudges) and that helped for 5 minutes.

Suspecting the screen unit was the problem, I tried to recalibrate the screen and got as far as the dot in the lower left corner, but when I pressed it nothing happened - the screen was locked, and a reboot had to happen. then the recalibration screen with lower left dot was again presented on restart, requiring more reboots. That was when I removed the battery. Didn't try screen recalibration again.

I will be making a YouTube video of this behaviour to support my case, and when that is done will be making by report to Garmin Support.

I do note that a Google Search for BMW Navigator VI Problems returns a few hits but I have not [yet] found an answer to this, and I do not believe I should have to resolve this on my own.

The unit is defective.

[Lee]

Give Garmin a call and they will replace it.
I saw a post on the MOA forum where a person was having a problem with the screen.
Garmin was aware of the problem and told him to send it in for a replacement.

[darrell]

I still have 3 old Garmin street pilot series model 2730 GPS units I use on my GSA bike and in the pickup. I purchased the first one in 2004 and later a couple of used ones when I found them for $75 or less. I have the same issues you are having with these. It is usually moisture getting under the screen which causes the issues you are experiencing. I just stick them in a bag of rice and put another one on the bike or in the truck letting the one dry out. I’ve replaced the screens on 2 of them for $25 each and the issue comes back over time.

And yes asking Garmin to resolve with a replacement is the best solution vs buying 50# of rice to continually dry them out.

And why would I be using a 15 year old GPS than can only hold the newest maps from 2012? Because the XM radio runs through these GPS units and I have a lifetime subscription.[attachment=323]

[Grumpy Goat]

I still have 3 old Garmin street pilot series model 2730 GPS units I use on my GSA bike and in the pickup. I purchased the first one in 2004 and later a couple of used ones when I found them for $75 or less. I have the same issues you are having within these. It is usually moisture getting under the screen which causes the issues you are experiencing. I just stick them in a bag of rice and put another one on the bike or in the truck letting the one dry out. I’ve replaced the screens on 2 of them for $25 each and the issue comes back over time.
....

Hmmmm ... if this is the same issue then shame on Garmin for not making units that are truly waterproof even after all this time. Most mine ever gets wet is when I wash the bike.

Thanks for the tip! I will still report it to Garmin, of course. Nice picture, by the way.

[Duccrazydave]

Alright Wayne, I confess. When we were in Helen I managed to source your GPS address. I've waited til recently to start messing around with it. I apologize if this has caused any frustration on your end

[Ray]

Cool.

Agree with all. Garmin would love to replace it. If you bought through a dealership, they should offer to handle communication and shipping.

If all fails, I note that my current institution (Saint Louis University) was the site of the exorcism that inspired the movie, The Exorcist.

Looking forward to the story that culminates in a life-time subscription to satellite radio....

[Grumpy Goat]

Alright Wayne, I confess. When we were in Helen I managed to source your GPS address. I've waited til recently to start messing around with it. I apologize if this has caused any frustration on your end

Hahahaha .... I knew that there was a good reason for this behaviour.

[Liteitup]

I couldn't get to the main screen without rebooting. Updated everything, tried to re-calibrate the screen...nothing. Online chat with Garmin rep, I had a new one on the way in just a few minutes, they obviously know about the problems. Telling him that I had tried to calibrate the screen seemed to be what he needed to hear to send me a new one. To expedite I paid a $300something deposit which was promptly refunded when they received the faulty unit I shipped back in the same box they shipped the new one in, about a week/ten days for the whole process. I did have to pay shipping for the returned unit.
Overall it was a positive experience, I wasn't expecting that level of service.

[Grumpy Goat]

I couldn't get to the main screen without rebooting. Updated everything, tried to re-calibrate the screen...nothing. Online chat with Garmin rep, I had a new one on the way in just a few minutes, they obviously know about the problems. Telling him that I had tried to calibrate the screen seemed to be what he needed to hear to send me a new one. To expedite I paid a $300something deposit which was promptly refunded when they received the faulty unit I shipped back in the same box they shipped the new one in, about a week/ten days for the whole process. I did have to pay shipping for the returned unit.
Overall it was a positive experience, I wasn't expecting that level of service.

Thanks for the report.

I just finished video recording the ride to work (in the dark) and while it is not the best, it shows the behaviour I was referring to in my post, albeit not as badly as I have seen the "possession". But, it was doing things by itself, all right. I will edit that video and may upload it at lunch-time, definitely by tonight. Then I will call them.

[Lee]

Hmmmm ... if this is the same issue then shame on Garmin for not making units that are truly waterproof even after all this time. Most mine ever gets wet is when I wash the bike.

I'm impressed a 16 year old GPS still works
Our Navigator Vs have been in long hard rains without any issues.
Same thing for my BMW Zumo and Nuvi 550.

   


   

[Ray]

I'm impressed a 16 year old GPS still works
Our Navigator Vs have been in long hard rains without any issues.
Same thing for my BMW Zumo and Nuvi 550.

Garmins have always been good to me in longevity. I have a 10 year old ruggedized topographic map version that I've beat up on the bicycle mountain biking with a few drops and crashes along the way. Still waterproof and functional.

Now, if they could only solve all their compatibility problems with Google Maps, we'd be set....

[TOM1911]

I have finally had it with my BMW Navigator VI GPS and will be making a report to Customer Support soon, with the expectation that the unit be replaced.
....
The unit is defective.

I’m having similar issues with my NavVI.. got with Garmin on the chat line, Now have an RMA# with an anticipated two week turn time for a replacement unit.. this makes the second unit to go bad since the original purchase. Never had these issues with the old NavV..

[Grumpy Goat]

I’m having similar issues with my NavVI.. got with Garmin on the chat line, Now have an RMA# with an anticipated two week turn time for a replacement unit.. this makes the second unit to go bad since the original purchase. Never had these issues with the old NavV..

That certainly makes me feel better ... that there is someone else with the same issues and not that this is the second unit to go bad since the purchase of the original Nav VI.

Clearly whoever is making these units have not got to the root cause of the problem since it is not yet resolved and people have to waste time getting Support to send out replacement units. If it was cheap stuff one could understand, but this is premium equipment for a premium bike, and is totally unacceptable.

[Lee]

Here's the MOA thread I mentioned earlier about Nav VIs being replaced.
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php...VI-problem

[Grumpy Goat]

Here's the MOA thread I mentioned earlier about Nav VIs being replaced.
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php...VI-problem

Thanks Lee. Sounds like my issue.

The recurring theme in all of the posts is that these end-users are on their second or third unit, but they are all complimentary of Garmin on how they are providing support.

I have difficulty with that.

IMO, they should only be on their second and final unit, and that should be the end of that; and no compliment is needed for a >$900 GPS unit. Garmin needs to do their job and provide adequate and reasoable support if this was indeed a case of a bad batch. They should select replacement units from a known good set so that the consumer does not have to waste time sending back the unit more than once.

[Grumpy Goat]

The video so far, created to give to Garmin as objective evidence if needed. This is "unlisted" on YouTube since I don't want full publicity at this time. Yes I know that it is dark and the GPS was initially too low for easy viewing.

[TOM1911]

I’m having similar issues with my NavVI.. got with Garmin on the chat line, Now have an RMA# with an anticipated two week turn time for a replacement unit.. this makes the second unit to go bad since the original purchase. Never had these issues with the old NavV..

That certainly makes me feel better ... that there is someone else with the same issues and not that this is the second unit to go bad since the purchase of the original Nav VI.

Clearly whoever is making these units have not got to the root cause of the problem since it is not yet resolved and people have to waste time getting Support to send out replacement units. If it was cheap stuff one could understand, but this is premium equipment for a premium bike, and is totally unacceptable.

GG.. it’s a pretty good chance that it’s got something to do with the screen digitizer.. It acts as though the construction is of polymer, instead of glass.. never had touch screen issues with the phone, due to its all glass construction.. thermal expansion/contraction is tearing the display up.

[Grumpy Goat]

GG.. it’s a pretty good chance that it’s got something to do with the screen digitizer.. It acts as though the construction is of polymer, instead of glass.. never had touch screen issues with the phone, due to its all glass construction.. thermal expansion/contraction is tearing the display up.

I don't know ... I had a Nav IV and that had some sort of plastic screen also but never had this problem. The Nav VI has the best screen ever for a BMW Navigator but these screen problems certainly casts a dark cloud over the unit as a value added piece of kit.

Just made an email report to Garmin, since their support was just about to close at 7 PM CST.

[Lee]

I checked the ADV site to see if there was a thread about this problem.
It's a long thread, started 2 years ago with 100 posts.
Same problem as Wayne's Nav VI.
Everyone has been getting new replacements and some more than one replacement.

https://advrider.com/f/threads/problems-...i.1273007/

[Grumpy Goat]

Imagine ... this has been going on for 2 years ...