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Explorer Navigation Tracking Problem

My tracking problem was fixed by the TSB in March. The Nav system worked perfectly for more than seven months. I used it extensively without problem just two weeks ago. On Friday, the fuel delivery module was replaced under the recall. On Saturday, I noticed that Nav has reverted to it original state, which frequently shows the vehicle off-road or on the wrong street. Has anyone else had their system fixed with the TSB and then fail again later? Does redoing the TSB fix it a second time? The dealer is calling Ford, which may be closed today for the holiday.
 



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2014 Expolorer Ltd same NAV issue!

Folks - I picked up a 2014 Limited a week ago and have the exact same NAV issues driving on the main highways (e.g. 401) in Toronto. I am very upset that users on this forum have been complaining for years and FORD still hasnt been able to address this on their "brand new" models. I did a reset yesterday and no benefit. For me over 50% of the time, the indicator that tracks my current position is off making the NAV directions wrong. Can someone who has had a similar issue tell me what I can do (if anything) to resolved this issue? Sounds like removing the negative battery terminal for over 15 mins has helped a few users on this forum? Was that a permanent or temporary fix? I will try that tomorrow.
 






My tracking problem seems to have been solved. It was apparently caused by the switch to winter wheels and tires. The Nav system uses inputs from the vehicle as well as satellites to get its position. Changing the tire size can throw it off as happened when I went from 20-inch all-seasons to 18-inch winter tires. In theory, it will recalibrate in 200 miles if the sizes are close enough. You can also disconnect power to the GPS unit by pulling the fuse or disconnecting the battery to force a recalibration. I pulled the negative battery cable for hour, and the vehicle in no longer parked in a lake.
 






My tracking problem seems to have been solved. It was apparently caused by the switch to winter wheels and tires. The Nav system uses inputs from the vehicle as well as satellites to get its position. Changing the tire size can throw it off as happened when I went from 20-inch all-seasons to 18-inch winter tires. In theory, it will recalibrate in 200 miles if the sizes are close enough. You can also disconnect power to the GPS unit by pulling the fuse or disconnecting the battery to force a recalibration. I pulled the negative battery cable for hour, and the vehicle in no longer parked in a lake.
This is the 3rd time I've installed the 17" Winter wheels on my Limited and never had an issue with the navigation being off because of it. Winter tires are 245/65R17.

Peter
 






This is the 3rd time I've installed the 17" Winter wheels on my Limited and never had an issue with the navigation being off because of it. Winter tires are 245/65R17.

Peter

I don't know why this doesn't seem to affect everyone who changes tire sizes. I would not have believed it if it hadn't happened twice on my vehicle and resulted in a lot of communication between my dealer's service department and the Ford engineers. F-150 owners have also reported the issue, but they tend to make bigger changes in their tire sizes.

My Ex was delivered last November so winter tires went on within the first week. I struggled with nav issues all last winter. In March, Ford issued a TSB for the problem and, of course, I had it done at the same time the all-seasons went back on. I thought the TSB fixed the problem until my winter tires went on Friday and it reappeared.
 






I don't know why this doesn't seem to affect everyone who changes tire sizes. I would not have believed it if it hadn't happened twice on my vehicle and resulted in a lot of communication between my dealer's service department and the Ford engineers. F-150 owners have also reported the issue, but they tend to make bigger changes in their tire sizes.

My Ex was delivered last November so winter tires went on within the first week. I struggled with nav issues all last winter. In March, Ford issued a TSB for the problem and, of course, I had it done at the same time the all-seasons went back on. I thought the TSB fixed the problem until my winter tires went on Friday and it reappeared.
Well I guess whatever it takes to fix the issue is the main thing. I replied to your other post in the "winter Tires" thread that my diameter variance is -1.66% and your is -1.55% assuming you have the 255/50R20 on the Sport.
The rivers should be freezing over soon so that may help if it goes off course again. :D:thumbsup:

Peter
 






Is there a way to put lat/lon as a go to point in the nav system? Is there anyway to find the altitude of your current location on the display?
 






My tracking problem seems to have been solved. It was apparently caused by the switch to winter wheels and tires. The Nav system uses inputs from the vehicle as well as satellites to get its position. Changing the tire size can throw it off as happened when I went from 20-inch all-seasons to 18-inch winter tires. In theory, it will recalibrate in 200 miles if the sizes are close enough. You can also disconnect power to the GPS unit by pulling the fuse or disconnecting the battery to force a recalibration. I pulled the negative battery cable for hour, and the vehicle in no longer parked in a lake.

Interesting. I'd never seen this issue in the last 12k miles. I put snow tires on 2 weeks ago and i now see this issue with my nav. I also put 18" wheels/tires that are slightly different size than stock.
 






mine is the biggest pos of all explorers...............major interstate highway travel and according to nav I was sailing in the pacific ocean for 90 miles.

I want my money back for this pos ford nav system.
 






mine is the biggest pos of all explorers...............major interstate highway travel and according to nav I was sailing in the pacific ocean for 90 miles.

I want my money back for this pos ford nav system.
Not to make light of your problem, but if it was the Nav system then why isn't everyone with this product having issues? Mine has worked fine since I got the EX 2 1/2+ years ago.

Peter
 






Not to make light of your problem, but if it was the Nav system then why isn't everyone with this product having issues? Mine has worked fine since I got the EX 2 1/2+ years ago.

Peter

If it walks like a duck, etc... Clearly, SOME of the OEM nav systems do not work reliably. Mine is one of them. Twice I have tried to rely on it to find an address, and neither time did it work. The last time I was trying to find a hospital. Thank goodness nobody died.

Sure, much of the time the GPS knows where it is, but it will randomly 'get lost' on a straight, flat highway out in the country with no buildings, and no apparent sources of interference.

Intermittent electrical problems are by far the hardest to diagnose. Most of us understand that. And that's what this is... an intermittent electrical problem. But if one unit works and another one doesn't, then the first step should be to replace the defective unit with another one until one actually works, EVEN IF the techs don't know why.

We all spent a significant amount of money for this feature, and NONE of us were told by the dealers when we bought our vehicles that the GPS was a hit or miss proposition. Even though this is a known problem, there was no good faith disclosure. I think it would be fair to expect FORD to either fix the problem, or refund the $795 they charged us for a defective unit. To put it in perspective, the GPS is 1/4 of the MFT display screen. If ANY of the other 3/4 of the functions on the display didn't work, Ford would be forced to fix them immediately. Why is it that they feel it's okay to ignore this one?
 






I agree with this one 100%; well said.

Seems like the nav always goes bad when I need it most.


If it walks like a duck, etc... Clearly, SOME of the OEM nav systems do not work reliably. Mine is one of them. Twice I have tried to rely on it to find an address, and neither time did it work. The last time I was trying to find a hospital. Thank goodness nobody died.

Sure, much of the time the GPS knows where it is, but it will randomly 'get lost' on a straight, flat highway out in the country with no buildings, and no apparent sources of interference.

Intermittent electrical problems are by far the hardest to diagnose. Most of us understand that. And that's what this is... an intermittent electrical problem. But if one unit works and another one doesn't, then the first step should be to replace the defective unit with another one until one actually works, EVEN IF the techs don't know why.

We all spent a significant amount of money for this feature, and NONE of us were told by the dealers when we bought our vehicles that the GPS was a hit or miss proposition. Even though this is a known problem, there was no good faith disclosure. I think it would be fair to expect FORD to either fix the problem, or refund the $795 they charged us for a defective unit. To put it in perspective, the GPS is 1/4 of the MFT display screen. If ANY of the other 3/4 of the functions on the display didn't work, Ford would be forced to fix them immediately. Why is it that they feel it's okay to ignore this one?
 






I remember when a sales droid tried to convince me that it would be foolish to buy a car now without a built-in navigation system. Went so far as to try and tell me that not having it would hurt the resale value of the car later on. He assured me that it would more than pay for its upfront cost on resale!! Double actually! Sorry but what a load of horsepucky!!

I had several reasons for not buying the built-in navigation, and the embedded nature of it, should it fail, was one of them. It's the same reason why I'd rather by the TV and Blu-ray separately rather than get the TV/Blu-ray combo. It would be silly to have to replace the Blu-ray also just because the TV part goes on the fritz.

I agree with the posting above. Ford sold the Navigation unit as a capability to the end user, and if it's not working, and/or cannot be made to work to the satisfaction of the purchaser they should refund the customers money. This is especially true if you're within the warranty period. You can get one heck of an aftermarket GPS for $795. Oh.. I'm sorry.. I mean for only $15/month amortized of the length of your loan!!
 






To Mr. Know It All PeterK9

Are you working for Ford or why is it you are sticking that deep up their a..es?

In every other post you tell people how great your system works and that you can't understand why other owners have problems. Why are you still participating in this thread when the problem doesn't apply to you?

I can assure you the problem does exist, I have dozens of pictures and videos to prove it.

Because I can't stand it anymore, I am in the process of getting rid of the car. After countless shop visits and conversations with ignorant Ford employees on all levels, I'm just not willing to waste any more energy to deal with issue any further.

Because of Ford being unable to remedy this problem, I am about to lose thousands of dollars of my hard earned money.

I am participating in the pending MFT class action law suit. Maybe I can recoup a portion of my loss and I would strongly recommend everybody on this forum with MFT problems to sign up too.

http://www.currentlegalcases.com/cases/myford-touch-lawsuit.html
 






To Mr. Know It All PeterK9

Are you working for Ford or why is it you are sticking that deep up their a..es?

In every other post you tell people how great your system works and that you can't understand why other owners have problems. Why are you still participating in this thread when the problem doesn't apply to you?

I can assure you the problem does exist, I have dozens of pictures and videos to prove it.

Because I can't stand it anymore, I am in the process of getting rid of the car. After countless shop visits and conversations with ignorant Ford employees on all levels, I'm just not willing to waste any more energy to deal with issue any further.

Because of Ford being unable to remedy this problem, I am about to lose thousands of dollars of my hard earned money.

I am participating in the pending MFT class action law suit. Maybe I can recoup a portion of my loss and I would strongly recommend everybody on this forum with MFT problems to sign up too.

http://www.currentlegalcases.com/cases/myford-touch-lawsuit.html
First of all, I do not 'know it all' nor have I ever said or pretended I did. I have been a member here for over 2 1/2 years so I have read many, many posts on different issues and do my best to pass along what I've learned over that period of time. Also as a moderator on the 2011 - 2014 Ford Explorer Forum, I am constantly viewing these forums several times a day. I do not work for Ford and have posted several times where I think they should/could improve certain things.
This is an open forum whereby all members can participate in all threads, whether they have the issue the thread is opened on or not. Also, I am fully aware that there are problems with certain aspects of the Explorer and I and other members who post in various threads to say 'we' don't have that particular problem are just pointing out to other readers, whether they have an Explorer or not, or are thinking about buying one, that not all of them are affected by these issues.
It is also quite apparent that owners have different levels of tolerances when it comes to certain issues. Some will accept certain deficiencies while others will not. You have put out good money for your vehicle and should expect the features to work as they were intended to. That is your right, just as it is your right to criticize me. If I had a feature that could not be fixed I would also be very upset and frustrated. I sincerely hope that all works out for you.
Good luck.

Peter
 






I have been a Ford owner for most of my life beginning with a 1931 Model A that I got in 1951. When I went out to buy an Explorer there were things that I did not want, one of those was Navigation. Having owned a 2010 Taurus Limited, I had monitored the Sync My Ride site for 4 years and saw the problems that folks had with their Navigation. Of course Sync on my Taurus had its own problems that Ford never addressed. Sync certainly was not a priority when going to an Explorer and I still don't use it. The only items that I really wanted were a backup camera, blind spot monitor, powered rear door, and in a Texas color (white). These are what I got on the XLT. So far I have had no problems with MFT and I hope it stays that way.
 






I am a new ford owner (only 2 months) and I did run into the GPS issue where the directions were off and the GPS would think I missed a turn when the turn was just coming up etc. Coming on this forum and reading through other's comments, I did the negative battery terminal disconnect/reset for over an hour and that solved my problem instantly. It has been working great for the last 4 weeks and like Jen said I hope it stays that way!
 






Navigation issue after installing smaller winter tires

Interesting. I'd never seen this issue in the last 12k miles. I put snow tires on 2 weeks ago and i now see this issue with my nav. I also put 18" wheels/tires that are slightly different size than stock.

Same issue here.... After installing my winter tires that are 1.8% smaller in size....now my explorer nav system is always projecting my position way ahead of where I'm actually am.... Of course the longer I drive the greather the gap is....up untill after 20 minutes or so the GPS finally make another reading and find my real position

So my 2 cents is that the GPS take a reading and then rely on speed and compass to indicate your position...and then every 20 minutes or so it takes another reading and correct your position....but this method is far from being accurate.... My celll phone is probably reading my GPS position every 30 seconds or so


This is my theory
 






Same issue here.... After installing my winter tires that are 1.8% smaller in size....now my explorer nav system is always projecting my position way ahead of where I'm actually am

The mystery is why this happens on some of the vehicles and not others. All three of us who have reported having the problem when switching to winter tires drive 2013 Sports. That could be a coincidence or something unique about the vehicle.
 



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Same issue here.... After installing my winter tires that are 1.8% smaller in size....now my explorer nav system is always projecting my position way ahead of where I'm actually am.... Of course the longer I drive the greather the gap is....up untill after 20 minutes or so the GPS finally make another reading and find my real position

So my 2 cents is that the GPS take a reading and then rely on speed and compass to indicate your position...and then every 20 minutes or so it takes another reading and correct your position....but this method is far from being accurate.... My celll phone is probably reading my GPS position every 30 seconds or so


This is my theory
I'm now using my 17" Winter wheels for the third Winter and have not noticed any difference in the operation of the navigation system. The diameter variance compared to my 20" wheels is -1.66%.

Here is an interesting article on how the GPS works and may explain why sometimes there is a delay in pin pointing your location if you are moving. From what I understand, the timing of the signal is determined by the satellite and not the receiver.


http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/howgpsworks.php

Peter
 






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