Wild goose chase

[Green-ee]

Three times in the past week the Zumo XT has sent us off route - in cities it will suggest a turn off the road we know and expect is part of the route. Curious, I followed its suggestion twice and had a tour of some neighborhoods in Mexico that obviously weren't thoroughfares. The Zumo XT never appears to self-correct, sending us deeper into maze like routes, sometimes putting us back on a road we just were directed to turn off of. If I initially ignore the first bogus direction the Zumo XT will quickly return to its previous (and correct) route. This happens with routes the Zumo XT finds or imported routes .
Any idea why this happens?

[raesewell]

Just an idea but sometimes the XT thinks roads are blocked when they are not.

[Peobody]

...or the unpaved avoidance is set and the XT thinks a road, or stretch of road is unpaved when it is actually paved. What you experienced is frustrating and not uncommon. I have a several hundred yard stretch of road near me that the XT will not route over, routing through a neighborhood instead. This is a two lane, highly traveled road. There is no logic to it that I can see. Hopefully it's fixed in the new map.

[jfheath]

I haven't got a clue why this might have happened in your case. I would need a lot more information.

How did you plan your route ? What software ? Did you plan it on the XT screen, or did you use the Explore App or Website?
Is this a route that you were following - with start, end and some route points in between - Shaping Points and/or Via Points?
Or was it a track that you were following that had been converted to a trip after importing it into the XT.

[rbentnail]

Two things I've noticed of the XT choices of routing in cities, since you mention them specifically:

1) left to its own choices, the XT will do whatever it can, even violate avoidances, to go around any type of "downtown" area. I have ended up in some downright dangerous areas in cities. I carefully review every route on both my computer and my XT long before using to make sure this doesn't happen anymore.

2) in cities, even moderately small ones, the apartment and office buildings will block the satellites. Sitting at an intersection under a big tree will do the same thing. Only you don't see that right away, not until you've been sent in circles or way off where I think the route should be.

My solutions are:

1) to follow the TRACK, not the ROUTE. These are 2 different things, and they behave differently from each other. There are threads about how to display both at the same time. It took me a while to figure out tracks vs. routes but if I can do it anyone can! This 1 thing helped more than any other I think.

2) adding enough points (I use shaping points, others use via points) to force the XT to show the route exactly the way I want to go.

3) turn Recalculation OFF when in cities, to Prompted when elsewhere. I mostly just leave it Prompted now since I now have a TRACK to follow.

[Green-ee]

I haven't got a clue why this might have happened in your case. I would need a lot more information.

How did you plan your route ? What software ? Did you plan it on the XT screen, or did you use the Explore App or Website?
Is this a route that you were following - with start, end and some route points in between - Shaping Points and/or Via Points?
Or was it a track that you were following that had been converted to a trip after importing it into the XT.

Both... On the Zumo screen - select distant city, and then hotel at the distant city - and imported from myroute via Garmin Drive. One time on I-81 in Virginia (Zumo screen route) the goose chase occurred about 200 miles into a route, in Mexico (Myroute) it happened right after a gas stop 10 miles into the trip, and again in Mexico (Zumo screen) 5 miles from the start of the trip after leaving the hotel.

[jfheath]

There are a few very real possibilities if you are following a route (with via and shaping points)
1. You set off without the XT realising that you had gone past the start point. Always put the start point some way up the road. Typically in a town, beyond the ring road is best.
2. One or more of you Via points are placed inaccurately.
3. Your route recalculated at some point. After a recalc, the route changes its behaviour and if you deviate, it then spends its time trying to follow its route back to the point where it deviated. See RUT behaviour.
4. You have avoidances set in the options.
5. there are mapping errors.
6. You have two maps loaded both of which cover the same area. eg Garmin maps and OSM maps.

Be aware that the XT prefers to use faster roads. If you are riding near main roads, you may need to use shaping points to stop it from going back to them.

[Green-ee]

More problems. In Mexico using the 2nd Zumo XT . From the hotel a destination was 13 miles away. I used the Zumo XT screen to find a route. It claimed 11 miles. Following the prompts on the screen it took 90 minutes via a circuitous route which made no sense. We finally arrived at the destination. Going back to the hotel the screen directed us to turn right and then took us in a completely 180 degree wrong direction away from the city where our hotel is located.. I got Zumo #1 out and it at least led us back in the right direction but again half way back it indicated a right turn up an alley I knew was horse ---. I ignored that and kept going straight and within a few seconds the Zumo XT returned to the proper routing.
I'm losing confidence in these devices quickly.

[jfheath]

check that all your avoidances are turned off - unless you really need them to be on.
Use Faster time for routing.
Creating a two point route created on the XT screen is better than Where To ? and selecting a single destination. (I discovered that just last week).
Make your fist point a mile or two up the road. Make your second point as your final destination. Save the route then start it. Select your first point when starting the route.

[Green-ee]

Thanks, I'll try that with starting points a little up the road from where I am. Avoidances are all off, and fastest time (learned that the hard way last year)... I've had Garmin GPS units for a dozen years - always car units I used on a motorcycle, Those performed very well although the data base was limited (not a lot of hotels and restaurants or other locations on tap) and the screen was never bright enough to see in direct sunlight. I held off on the Zumo because of perceived quirks, purchase expense, and what I've heard as a short life expectancy.
So far with the Zumo XT it's been wonky. Not intuitive or confidence inspiring. I bought two, over 2 years ago just to be safe and neither one is fully reliable.
Thanks for the tips, I'll keep at it.