I´ve got Nüvi250 in Ford Galaxy with heated windshield. Its the SirfIII version and it has no problems with reception.

Could it be those specially coated windshields that some cars have to help reduce heat from the sun? I know that the electronic "Fastrak" transponders used to pay toll on SF Bay Area bridges will not work properly on those cars. The Fastrak website spells that out and they provide a special external transponder for those cars. They say you can tell if you have one of these windshields if you look at it from the outside with polarized sunglasses and the windshield looks purple. I have seen this before.

I have a Nuvi 750 about six weeks and have intermittant problems with locating satellites in my Nissan Murano. Sometimes I get satellite acquisition in less than a minute and other times it's taken more than 10 minutes. I contacted Garmin support and they had me download/reload the software. This seem to cure the problem for a couple of days, but locating satellites still seems to be erratic.

Have a Nuvi 260 in a 2007 Camry and it works fine, no problems with reception

My old GPS used to have problems with Corvette ZR-1 windshield, but Garmin Streetpilot C550 has work great with it.

I noticed that when I used the Nuvi 200 in my Toyota FJ Cruiser, it took a good 10 minutes to get a satellite fix, and the route recalculations were much slower than when I drive my Subaru Outback. So bad were these problems on a recent trip I took that I thought the unit was malfunctioning.

I have Toyota Camry 2008 and I own TMTOM 920 .
it works better and cach the satelits much faster then Magellan 760 in Toyota Camry 2002.
Its working perfect, SirfIII version, with no problems with reception

I have garmin nuvi 650 and i have observed a weird thing. If i mount the GPS unit near my CD player it does not work. The work around is to switch off the CD player or to mount the GPS little far from the CD player.

For any one if this is the case, try switching off your CD player.

I have two Toyotas, 2 Garmins...I have operated my Garmins in numerous vehicles and noticed no differences specific to the vehicles. I suspect an Urban Myth is behind this story.

Sounds like an Urban Myth has begun.

Folks

This is not an Urban Myth.

and FYI, if the package you received your Nuvi in does not have a SiRF reciver logo on it, chances are you DO NOT have a SiRF receiver.

Garmin Nuvi 2xx line is one of the most popular line due to price and if you would read this SiRF article it clearly reflects Garmin moving away from buying SiRF receivers.
You will find if a Garmin product includes a SiRF receiver, it will include a SiRF logo on the box.
Garmin has been trying to cut cost to compete with Magellan and Garmin lower end offering.

http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-electronics/20080325/AQTU07125032008-1.html

Also, when testing the Garmin GPS receiver limitatioins, make sure you own a 2008 vehicle.

The GPS antenna is located on the back of the unit unlike the Nuvi 3xx which antenna can be flipped up for best receiption. This is not possible on the newer Nuvi 2xx and 7xx units which cause limitation issue due to the way the GPS receiver is facing and also the shielded windshield causing these receiption issues in the newer vehicles.

Don't take my word for it, just do some testing yourself

Good luck

Fletch, would it necessarily mean poorer satellite reception if the chipset was NOT sirf? Seems that some pretty impressive chips have come out from other suppliers this past year. Sirf's certainly not the only premium chip supplier to the PND market anymore.

My apologies Fletch. My question actually is to GPS4Me.

BTW, a nuvi 760 on the windshield of a 08 Tundra is certainly no problem. It's been in one showing 5 bars since Dec./07. What you likely are refering to is the "athermic windshield" problem mentioned on gpspassion and pocketgps on occasion This is not a specific problem with Garmin devices, but affects signal quality on ALL devices that rely on signal reception behind the windshield. That means TomTom, Magellan, Navigon, radar detectors, toll pmt devices, etc. Also, the nuvi 700's, since the addition of instantfixII, have FEWER issues with the effect compared to the flip up 300/600 nuvis. (The similarly featured TT920 and HP310 also have fewer reception issues with the special-coated windshields)

We were having a serious problem with our Garmin in my husband's new Volvo. It would work fine in my car, which is a Passat but not in his Volvo. So, we experimented by moving it over to the left of the dashboard and had no problem getting a signal. We then moved it back over to the middle of the dashboard and lost the signal. Needless to say, we'll keep the Garmin to the left of the dashboard, if that's what it takes to get it to work.

Hi, I cant use the Nuvi 260 in Camry hybrid as well. It cant detect the signal. The funny part is that both companies accuse each other (toyota and garmin)

It's not likely the Garmin. More than likely the windshield. I can pick up a signal inside my home. Double coated athermic windshields will block all the signal, Go figure.

Guys!!!!

I figured it out!!!
its the damn GPS not the toyota!! I change my model to nuvi 360 and i have a strong signal!!!!

get ride of nuvi 200 series and you will be ok

I am surprised that nobody knew that, I asked hundreds of people and companies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheers

Folks

This is not an Urban Myth.

I thought I was clear about this but maybe not!

GPS4ME
I agree, it's not a myth. TT and Garmin have been dealing with this for a couple of years in Europe. The cause isn't a mystery. New windshield compositions.

I am having a HUGE problem with my 200 Nüvi Unit. I rented a car in Europe and my unit sometimes work. All of a sudden it starts working and of course, STOPS working. The strange part is: It will work all the time when the car is off. I mean, when I remove the key of the ignition, it takes around 20 secs to turn of the panel and the interior lights. And all the times at this moment, I HAVE A SIGNAL. But I have faced sometimes both working at the same time, what should be the normal way. I have tried to move the unit all over the places in the car... No solutions. I am driving a VW Passat btw.

I have a Nuvi 200 that has worked in numerous rental cars & in my Mazda - but will not work in our 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid. I have tried it on the sun roof, side windows, left, right, ctr on the windshield and it can't find a satellite. I thought it was the Hybrid, but sounds like it's Toyota.

I have a Nuvi 200 that I have been using for over a year in my center console storage box on my Mazda6 with full signal. It even gets a good signal in my house. I just bought a 2008 Highlander and it will NOT get a good signal in this vehicle.

I have a Nuvi 200 that ocassionally picks up a signal in my 2008 Toyota Highlander. I purchased the car about a week after I got the GPS and no one could tell me why it didn't work in my car. When I got through to Garmin after reading this article, they just said it wasn't their fault that Toyota built cars that blocked the signal. Circuit City won't exchange it at this point either.

I have a Garmin Nuvi 200W and a Toyota Sienna minivan, and once in a while, it can take up 45 minutes for it lock on to the satellites. I could have been lost all that time. The TomTom I had NEVER took that long--it was fast.

I have a Garmin C320 which would not work when I got my 2008 Highlander. I got the Garmin GA 27C external antenna and use it inside car on the dash. Since it is an active antenna, the amplification provides enough signal boost to overcome previous reception problems. No drop-outs since I started using this.

I can vouch that it's not a myth.

I have a Garmin C330 that works fine in my Pontiac Grand Prix, but very erractically in my new 2009 Toyota Camry.

Many of the calculations are way off and the run time does not correct itself. It locks up for long periods of time and has real difficulty holding onto a satellite for periods longer than 10 minutes. As someone who drives cross country a lot this is NOT a good thing. I'll have to reinvest my money into another $5.00 map.

I have pictures of the screen (taken while stopped) that shows my top speed as being 1,023 MPH!!! That's right...in excess of one thousand miles per hour.

Sure it looks like I'm making great time, but still many hours from my destination...and can easily overshoot it by 100's of miles...based upon it's calculations.

The Garmin is practically useless in my Toyota.

Any recommendations short of getting rid of the Camry? Thanks.

I have a Garmin StreetPilot C340 - It works fine in my 2008 Mazda, but cannot pick up a signal at all in my 2007 Camry Hybrid.

I've got a 2008 Toyota Camry LE and the new windshields Toyota are using (frost free?) gives my 200 trouble intermitently. But, a new 200W seems to work fine.

A friend just purchased a 2008 Highlander Limited, they were told by Garmin that this new windshield will affect the reception of any internal antenna: GPS, Sirrius/XM, WWVB, etc.

I have a 2009 Camry SE and my garmin wont work in it at all... Any suggestions? Do they carry an external antenna?

This problem is also common with XM or Sirius radio satellite reception...if you have an add-on unit with the antenna inside the car.

The window tint on some glass has an amount of metal in it. This works great to block sun UV radiation as well as RF freqs that GPS, Sat radio use. You have two varibles, some GPS receivers just have better, more sensitve receiving circuitry. Also, some window tint has a thicker metal film in it...naturally some cars will do worse than others.
In the GPS does not work in your car, either get a different on, perhaps brand and/or use an external antenna if your GPS has a connection for one. This is not a myth and is very common.

I own a 2009 Camry and my Nuvi will only work if in the rear part of the vehicle. Hold the unit in the back seet and it functions fine.

I own a 2008 Toyota Highlander Sport and just recently purchased the Navigon 2100 Max. For 5 days that I owned the GPS, I could not get the Navigon 2100 Max to work inside my Highlander. I called Navigon about this problem but they had no clue.

I ended up returning the Navigon 2100 Max for a replacement thinking the one I had was defected.

Today I tried using a Garmin 200 and I have the same problems. This makes me thinking it has something to do with my car so I decided to google and here I am, and now I know that I'm not the only person who is facing this kind of problem.

If anyone has any luck with the Navigon 2100 Max or a Garmin gps in a 2008 Highlander, I'd like to hear from you.

Ok, just want you all to know that this just isn't an import problem, but mine goes even futher. I own a 07 Mustang and a nuvi 200 unit, and it would give me the message lost signal for days at a time, but i never took it out of the car, and when I would turn it on it went directly to the where to/ view map screen. tonight I went to google to see what information was out there before I took it back back to the store and found this site. After reading all these comments I went out to the car unpluged the unit turned it on and sure enough within 30 seconds it went through the whole load up sequance found a signal and I had all the bars. This is no urban myth! GPS4ME was spot on with his information, so now I'm going to power up before I put the unit in the Mustang and see if it keeps it's signal, I'll do a follow up post in about a week if there are any futher problems, or if the unit works as it sould each time. This is a pocket unit after all.

I just got a 08 Toyota Highlander and my TomTom One XL just doesn't work, but works great in my 05 Camry.

Hey Ron,

Base on the problems I had with my Navigon 2100 Max and the Garmin 200 in my 08 Highlander last week, even if the gps is power on outside of the vehicle and after it already acquires satellite signal, the gps will loses signal after the gps is brought inside the vehicle. At lest that was the problem I had with two of the gps. Another problem I had with the Navigon was, the gps lost signal as soon as the car charger was plugged to the gps unit. Navigon claimed the car charger was defected.

After I tested the Garmin 200 and had the same issue, I concluded that the problem is with my vehicle and not with the two gps.

Have a StreetPilot 2720 & Nuvi. Works great in 01 Toyota & 01 Audi. Neither work in 08 Toyota Camry. Put in back seat, left & right sides. Just get "acquiring satellites" message.

OK, so I thought I was either going NUTS or just had bad Garmin Karma.
My Nuvi 260w worked fine in my BMW X3 and then we got our 2008 Toyota Highlander Limited Hybrid and now the Nuvi is very unpredictable. Sometimes it will take up to 20 minutes to find a signal when the car is started. And sometimes for what seems like no reason at all, it will just lose a signal. It seems to happen at the most inappropriate times too. I would say that its just a bad unit, but it happened to another Garmin that we had which led me to purchase this Nuvi 260w. Same thing is happening on both units. I've moved the unit around and it will work best if its mounted to my driver side window. But Geez, come on! I can't be riding around with my GPS on my window!
So to those of you who think its an Urban Myth, you are so wrong! Its happening to ME!

My old Magellan 300 refused to work in my 2007 Camry Hybrid but works just fine in a 2002 Camry. After I was told that the "compas" indicator built into the rear view mirror might be inteferring with the GPS sattelite signal I moved the GPS device to the far left of the windshield. It works fine there but now I need to find a location that is not in an airbag path.

I have a 2007 Toyota Hybrid Camry and a Nuvi 200 GPS. It hardly works at all in the car. It cannot really acquire a satellite signal. When it does, it gets lost and has no clue. It basically doesn't work and I want to send it back!

I own the Garmin Nuvi 200 WS, and when I first turn the device on, it takes at least 10 minutes to acquire satellites. I own a 2005 Honda CRV. What, if anything, can be done? I purchased this NAV system, to get to where I am going quickly, but it doesn't help if I have to wait for my system to acquire a satellite before the device works for me.

Greatly appreciated.

I rented a Volvo c40 today at National Rental car in Dallas and when i tried to use my Garmin Nuvi GPS, it wouldn't pick up any satellite reception. So I returned to National Rental Car and rented their Garmin Travel Pilot GPS unit and it worked fine in the Volvo. What a head scratcher...

Not a myth as far as I'm concerned...rented a Volvo S40 (National) and brought my nuvi 260w for a trip from Philly to Washington, DC...Constant troubles acquiring satellite signals from start (20 minutes+), drops due to poor signal (every 5-10 minutes), etc...After trying a number of locations within the car, decided to open the sunroof and hold it above/outside of the car...voila, 4 bars within minutes...Safe to say that if owned a S40, my garmin would be collecting dust somewhere...

I have honda accord, 200W takes little long then usual to acquire signal. I bought 2008 highlander and it stopped working at all. I wouldnt pickup any satellite reception. I have moonroof and it worked under glass just fine but not under windshield. Any idea how can I connect external antenna to 200w?

I am so glad I found this site because I thought my unit was malfunctioning. Interesting that I found a site that questions the possibility that the car is the problem. It never occured to me that it was my car, but like many of you, I just bought a 2009 Camry and cannot get my Nuvi200 to work. I have had no trouble with the unit before in my older toyota. This morning I had the unit on in my house for 2 hours and brought it into the car; I lost reception before I got out of my driveway. The question is can anything be done about it shy of replacing the unit and how can we be certain that any new device will not suffer from the same problem.

Placement may make a difference. Two areas you might try. Up as close to the mirror area as you can, or very low towards the driver side windshield pylon. If neither works you may neede to resort to Garmin's external antenna.

I have problems with my Camry 2008,
I found out that if I use the unit without pluging it to the lighter, using it with its battery it works find, but as soon as I plug it to the lighter I get the lost sattelite signal message

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who has wasted so much time trying to get my Nuvi200 to work in my Toyota Matrix. It initially worked like a breeze, but then the wind died down and now here I sit in the doldrums! I'm lucky to have found my way home! I'm extremely disappointed in this little device that held so much promise.

I bought mini-USBs (plural) to try to reactivate it, but even the mini-USBs don't work! I'm moving on to another manufacturer!

The same complaint has been posted by European TomTom users, so I don't think it's specific to any manufacturer. Metallized windshields are going to interfere with some other devices that rely on receiving a broadcast signal behind the windshield. Better to play with the placement.

I have a Garmin i3 and I have a 2009 Camry. The i3 works fine in our 2001 Avalon and 2005 Highlander but not the 09 Camry. Then I read a comment that "some" new windshields have an area low in the center that does not have the metalized coating. So I tried getting the suction cup as far down in the front as possible. It takes long arms but eureka!, it works great now and gets the satellites locked in very quickly and reliably. The i3 is a small GPS which helps in this case but I suspect other models with larger screens can be placed far enough down front center to get a clear sat view.

I have a Nuvi 250. We use it in a 04 Toyota Sienna. The unit was working fine in the van till this summer. I did a firmware upgrade and a few weeks later we started having problems.
The unit does not find a satellite signal or it looses it every few minutes. Then it may take 10 or 15 or more minutes to get the signal again. 2 minutes later it is gone again.
Recently I was waiting outside a grocery store and took the unit outside the vehicle. Even with the Nuvi outside the car it did not find a signal.
We also do live in the Dallas area.

I've had my Garmin - nüvi 200 for 15 mos. I own a 2006 Toyota Corolla. Today, I had it plugged in and mounted on the windshield and 2 hours into my trip the Garmin shorted out, and now it does not work. I loved my Garmin - nüvi 200, I will buy another, but I don't understand why it shorted out.

Garmin Nuvi 200 letter P is now an @ sign cannot correct this are there any known issues like this and or repairs

Garmin Nuvi 200 letter P is now an @ sign cannot correct this are there any known issues like this and or repairs

Oh, it's not a myth. That's for sure.

I bought a Garmin nuvi 200W last January to use in my 2007 Toyota Camry here in Atlanta.

It worked perfectly for the first month and then started to fail gradually over the next month until it would only work perhaps 5% of the time. It would take 10-20 minutes before it could find an signal, and then IF it did find a signal, it would loose the signal within a few minutes.

Sometimes the voice would tell me "lost Satellite Signal" every 2-3 minutes as I drove down the wide open highway.

I spoke and worked with Garmin tech support for weeks trying everything they could think of and couldn't get it to work properly. They finally decided I had a lemon and sent me a brand new unit.

The new one worked for the first month and gradually failed just like the first one.

I can't tell you how many times I just wanted to throw it out of the window and watch through the rearview mirror as it hit the highway pavement and shattered into pieces.

I avoided the temptations only to discover it worked perfectly in my 2000 Honda Odyssey and in a rental 2008 Chevrolet Impala.

But back in my Camry it would work barely ever work. I thought it might be the electrical circuit in the car, but it was not any better when it was unplugged and running on batteries. Different placement on the windshield didn't help. I also thought it might be the windshield itself, but it wouldn't work when I held it out of the open sunroof.

There is something really really odd about this 2008 Camry and Garmin nuvi 200W. Really, really odd. I thought I was crazy, but am very happy that I found this website and see how many other people have the same problem. I blame Garmin, and if there's a documented problem with certain cars, they should have made that clear at the time of purchase, or offer replacements or upgrades now. I love this Garmin nuvi when it works in the van, but I need it in the car and it's a piece of junk.

I don't think the problem in certain cars has been nailed down nor verified in most cases. As for you Camry, I suspect it's not the windshield, but in fact some of the electronics interfering with the signal reception. For instance, some CD players have received blame in the past for interference with other devices. It could be the security system, audio, any number of things that have been changed but not necessarily tested by Toyota for interference.

It is no myth. I have a 2610 and 2 2720 Garmins and none will work in my new 09 Camry Hybrid. Does anyone know of a model that will? After dumping all this money on a car and neither Toyota or Garmin warning of the problem I am desperate.

Well, I was hoping NOT to find other people having the same problems as I am, but I guess I found a whole list! I have a 2007 Camry SE and a Garmin NUVI 250 w. Like others have said, it takes 5 minutes or more to acquire a signal and then it constantly drops and reacquires the signal. As soon as I take it inside my house, BANG, FULL BARS. In my girlfriend's Lincoln Aviator, FULL BARS. It's really a shame that neither Toyota nor Garmin would mention this rather obvious flaw in their design(s).

I have the garmin 2000 in my 00 Honda Civic..And it lost signal constantly. It could take a few hours for it regain service back which really sucked since i was driving all the way from nevada to florida so wasn't to sure on all the routes. But i think its a POS, dont waste your time on that one. Going back to the store ASAP.

Had a becker which stopped working. Didn't think anything of it. Had bought a 2003 Landrover Discovery around the same time. Bought a new garmin 200w. This would not work at all. Couldn't pick up a signal. Tool it back to store and got a replacement, this time a garmin 205w. same story with this one. Spent 45mins on to Garmin tech support reloading software etc. Didn't sort problem. took this one back to store also! Got yet another garmin 205W. This one wouldn't pick up a signal either. unit kept tellin me 2lost satellite reception". Puzzled? I decided to try it on foot away from vehicle. Hey presto worked no problem. If i leave in vehicle while vehicle is turned off and locked it works. once key goes in ignition it loses satellite signal.
I've a parrot Ck3100 bluetooth kit but have operated sat nav in other vehicles with same. Is it the windshield or a dodgy bluetooth system thats interfering with my reception. Sat nav does not work when held out the window either so i'm leaning towards blaming the bluetooth..........The becker i thought was broke still works perfectly in other vehicles!

I've owned 4 Nuvi 205's now. The first one had problems holding a signal. It would re-aquire satallites when the car was stopped and turned off. I exchanged it for another at the store and found no problems with it. Of course, it was stolen out of my car a couple months later. I bought another 205 a couple of weeks ago and had the same problems as the first one I owned. So, I returned it today and got a replacement. I found I have the same problems with the replacement. I have a Chevy Blazer '01 with On-Star. I was thinking maybe it was some sort of interference from that. I'm still not sure why one out of four worked though.

I am considering buying a 2008 Highlander Limited, but it appears from reading this that my Nuvi 200 GPS will NOT work in it? Has anyone gotten this GPS to work (on a certain part of the windshield?).

Does anyone with this vehicle have another model GPS that works in it?

If anyone is using another Garmin Nuvi successfully in the 2008 Highlander Limited with an external antenna, can you tell me if that antenna is mounted inside on the dash and how it's working for you?

No GPS will work well in a Toyota Camry Hybrid. The windshield is designed for noise dampening and contains a metal oxide. For my TCH I had to use an external antenna and the problem also exists for radar detectors and XM radio with internal antennas. The non hybrid has a regular windshield.

I recently got a TomTom One-S and have problems with it in a 2007 Toyota Camry SE. I also a 2007 Mazdaspeed3 and have no problems with it in that car. In the Camry I have tried various locations and finally found a spot where it works perfectly. If mounted on the windshield I will frequently lose signal and it usually incorrectly tracks my location. I tried it on the center vents above the radio with a vent mount and there was little improvement. I then moved it to the far left vent with the vent mount and now it is working perfectly.

I have a brand new Toyota Camry(2009) and a NUVI 200 which worked fine in my 2007 Camry. In my new car I cannot get a signal and My NUVI is basically worthless to me. Not sure what the difference is but the Dealer said he did not know anything about why this would happen. Could it be related to my bluetooth which is a feature built into the car?

Comments comments ... no solutions
Here is my problem, which seems to have developed in the last 3 months:
Mercedes ML 320. Had a Mio, worked fine until 3 months ago. Thought it may have died, got a TomTom 630. Worked out of the box-for 1 day. Cannot find GPS. Replaced it with a 730- same story. TomTom had me reinstall the software. Same result. Here is the odd thing: Parked, with no connection to the car, has full reception. Turn on the ignition (not engine) GPS gone ! Went to Mercedes, they are puzzled but tell me that a search for interference would result in about a 1000 bucks in labor. Tried a TomTom 910> same story after 1 day of working fine. What now ? Do I change the car to have a GPS ?
Any suggestions ?

External antennas are the solution to all these problems, you do not have to drill holes in your car, just run a tiny wire out of your passenger door, if properly done it is not noticeable. Later model imported cars (European/Japanese, 2000+) include electronic features on windshields, dashboards, etc. that severely interfere with any GPS signal. Some devices are able to acquire the signal better than others, as some cars distort the signal more than others. Which explains why certain models work better in certain cars. The only true solution is an external antenna. This is only a widespread problem in portable nav models with built-in antennas, rarely seen in in-dash hardwired models with external antennas outside the car's own interference perimeter.

I have a 2003 toyota tundra with a garmin 255w gps unit. I have sporatic satellite strength issues and it doesn't find a satellite and drops connections at least twice a day driveing to and from work. If I move it to the window while driving (not recommended) it then gets full signal and I return it to the windsheild mount and sooner or later it drops signal again. I just bought this unit and plan on returning it. It's useless to me. Great unit if it worked in my truck.

I have a 08 Tundra with no problem. A nuvi 760, TomTom 740 and Navigon 7200 all stuck to the windshield, four to five bars on each consistently. But I have a neighbor with an 05 Tundra who gave away his TomTom XL-S because he thought it didn't work. His son-in-law said it works fine for him. Something about certain Toyota models and years creates reception problems for some.

For me, it's not the windshield, it's the car electronics.

I'm a long time GPS user, in recent years a Garmin Quest stuck to the windshield of my 1997 Toyota Avalon. I just bought a 2009 Toyota Highlander Sport, and I immediately noticed signal dropouts during my normally successful driving treks around town. After reading this posting, I parked in an open field and confirmed the following. GPS running on batteries, stuck to the center of the windshield above the center console, ignition off, watching the GPS setup of the Garmin: beautiful signals on many satellites, capturing WAAS differential data as well.

Switch ignition on (without necessarily turning over the engine): loss of differential signals and many of the satellites, with markedly diminished signal in the remaining satellites. Would generally fall back to 2D localization at best.

Finally found that sticking the unit to the windshield in the upper left corner (just beside my face!) was far enough away from the dash to keep signal integrity, with ignition either on and off. Disabling BlueTooth on my phone did not seem to make a difference, so I don't know what EM interference is arising out of the console to effectively jam the Quest. I have the upgraded JBL system with BlueTooth and pre-wire for XM radio, below the 3.5inch multi-function display.

I want to upgrade my old Quest anyway, so now I'm looking for advice on a new unit that has excellent noise rejection and/or an external antenna input. The Garmin 265WT does not have the external input, the Garmin 760 does, for example. I'm working on the assumption that I may need to attach an external antenna somewhere else, either inside or outside, such as the moon roof, just to keep away from the electronics and boost the signal, while mounting the unit somewhere more convenient. Not looking forward to all of the dangling wires, however.

Recommendations, anyone?

Have nuvi 660. In georgia USA we lost signal. We are in a car traveling and ha ve passed many cars with gps off and experiencing satellite problems also

Have nuvi 660. In georgia USA we lost signal. We are in a car traveling and ha ve passed many cars with gps off and experiencing satellite problems also

I have a Garmin Nuvi 265WT and a 2002 Toyota Camry. I tried to use it tonight and it was so messed up. It only showed major highways, no street names. It kept telling me to go "Off Road", the clock was off, it showed movement of my vehicle when I was standing still, turned me around facing the opposite direction and then back again. It did not acknowledge any of the streets I was driving on. On the map, my vehicle was shown to the side of the magenta line most of the trip. It was just nuts! When I first got it and for a few weeks it worked better, although it seemed to take me off of major highways (not sure if the settings were correct, though). Tonight is the 4th of July and I thought maybe there was some atmospheric problems due to the fireworks, but after reading these comments I think I may have a major problem with this. This is my second unit. The first one was messed up as well. I took it back and replaced it with this new one. Has anyone out there expericned these kinds of problems? Most of you seem to not be able to acquire a signal.

If this happens to you on a third unit, check to see if it's your vehicle or the nuvi (or other gps device). Step out of the car and hold the gps in your hand for a minute or so, not connected to any car power source. Still have a signal problem? Look in the upper right hand corner to see how many reception bars you have. Now step back into your car and look at the reception again. If it's significantly worse, it's your car and not the gps.

FWIW, some owners have seen a big change between when the vehicle is running and when it's turned off. For those, there appears to be some electrically-generated signal interference, which again is a car manufacturer issue/flaw. Properly installed and shielded electrical components should not be interfering with any signal reception by your gps.

Not weird at all. You were likely getting very little signal standing by your front door, particularly if you hadn't used your gps for a couple of days. Not sure what device you are using, but if it's a nuvi with HotFix or QuickFix, use it for a couple of hours, turn it off, THEN bring it inside and see if you have sat lock. Most users in single-story homes will. HotFix/Quickfix allows your nuvi to calculate where to look for the satellites, giving you a much quicker and stronger signal fix.

I have a Nuvi 255W (just bought it day before yesterday) and I think I've figured out that my 2006 Volvo S40 is what's causing the problem with it receiving satellite signal! So frustrating! Any recommendations of a unit that will work in my car??

I've had my TomTom One for quite a while now. It's always worked perfectly... Until I put it in my Volvo 670 (Big truck). Now it rarely works.

The truck is also equipped with PeopleNet which also has gps... It doesn't work all the time either--and that has an external antenna!

Glad I found this site, just bought a 2009 Toyota Highlander Limited, have Garmin Nuvi 200W and it rarely gets a signal in the Highlander. It worked liked a charm in the 2007 Toyota Avalon I traded in.

Just today I started wondering about he vehicle, I sat in the car as GPS had been searching for satellites all morning with no success. Opened the driver door and held it outside, and wow all bars went green, put back on dash and instantly, no bars!

Wehre is the best place to get external antenna?

I'm SO glad I found this discussion page! Our Garmin 200 worked okay in our Nissan Altima, although I never thought it worked as well as I thought it should. When we moved to the forested hills of Arkansas, Garmin would sometimes not connect at all in the Altima, or would connect after twenty minutes or so, then would lose satellite connection in a few minutes. Since then, we bought a late model Chrysler Pacifica. The Pacifica has no external radio antenna...it is instead embedded in the rear passenger side window. I had to find that out by searching high and low on the internet, because there's not a word about it in the manual. It's rare for the Garmin to find its satellite, and if it does, it happens about a half hour after starting the car. Suddenly, Garmin starts talking and telling me where to go, usually when I'm just about there. Garmin's site gives absolutely no information about there being a problem with using their units in certain car models or makes. It suggests taking your Garmin out to a field with nothing between you and the horizon on all sides, and holding it up and out for between 10 and 40 minutes while it tries to find the satellites it requires to point you where you need to go. When my car had a sun-roof, I even tried holding it through there without results. Any suggestions from other Garmin 200-series owners--other than buying a new one?

My daughter has a 2003 Chevrolet Impala and consistently has problems with her Garmin 200W receives the message "Acquiring Satellite" At first I was convinced it was the area that she lives in but now wonder if it's the car. Although it's odd that sometimes it works. Maybe it's the placement. Thanks for all of the information, I will suggest that she try a different placement on her windshield.

Just purchased nuvi256wt tried using it for the first time tonight. No reception center window, great reception front passenger window. Just like all of you. Now what?

I have a Toyota Camry SE with the JBL 6 disc and mutaple GPS devices. I've found that the GPS proximity to the stereo is the key. If place my Nuvi 260, iPhone, Tom Tom iphone mount, or Garmin Bluetooth GPS antenna directly in front or above the stereo, I get no sat reception. If I move any of them 4 inches away, everything works fine. I get the same results every time. It happens weather the stereo is on or off. The only thing that affects it is if I turn off the power (Turn the key to the off position). This has caused me a lot of grief before figuring it out. I originally had only the blue-tooth antenna used with my windows mobile cell phone. When I bought the Camry, it stopped working. Thinking it was a coincidence, I ran out and bought the 260. After using it for a week without issue, I unknowingly mounted the suction cup to the front of the Stereo. Within minutes, I lost sat reception. I pulled it off the mount when re-booting it and it worked fine until I placed it back into the mount. Suspecting this was the issue. I placed my blue-tooth off to the side and tried it again. It worked fine. Moving it close to the stereo caused it to lose reception again. My iPhone exhibits the same behavior. If I put it too close to the stereo, i get squat. I've recently purchased the new Tom Tom mount which has a GPS chip in it to enhance reception. When mounted to the front of the stereo, again squat. Very anoying.

I have a Nuvi 660 and am having the same issue with poor reception. It doesn't appear to be the windshield in my 2009 Highlander, since I get full signal when the engine is turned off? We tried moving the Nuvi in various locations, no improvement in signal? It works great in our 2006 Tundra.. Maybe Toyota has it in for Garmin?

I have had the same GPS (Magellan Roadmate 1200) for a year in various cars and have never had a problem, until I just recently bought a 2005 Infiniti FX35, and now it will not find satellites ever. Zero. My boyfriends Garmin Nuvi 660 will not find a signal in the car either, but works with no problems in his Lincoln LS. My roommate's TomTom didn't work well in the FX either, but works fine in her car. My Blackberry's GPS won't find signal in my car either. It seems like I've ruled out everything it could be but the car. Anyone have other suggestions besides moving it 4" left or right of the dash? That doesn't seem to work in my case, not consistently anyway.