Explorer Navigation Tracking Problem

[R56 Ed]

At the risk of repeating my success story, may I suggest:

Try disconnecting your battery overnight... it worked for me (none of the other 'fixes' helped). Good luck!

 

[fordlimited]

Thanks Peter to show me the right direction. I appreciate. I hope Ford do take some initiative to resolve these issues.

I have been to my Ford dealer and they installed / upgrade My ford touch software. After that I went for couple of long drives and never faced any issue. Its now correctly identifying the location of my car. Thanks everyone.

 

[RedDen]

knock on the wood, tracking was perfect since day one. I've read on other thread about GPS module and its programming issues, so that makes me believe it is not an MFT issue.

 

[MikeFreas]

I started having issues with my navigation back in April. Was on a long trip with a programmed route and the system would just loose it's position on the route. This issue is now so bad the navigation system does not work at all. I get GPS lock but the system doesn't know where the car is. The map just goes in random directions. If I pull the SD card and insert it again it will regain its position for a short time then loose it.

Another issue is, when on a programmed route, the time and distance remaining does not change. Coming back from NC yesterday the distance to home changed from 30 to 90 miles by itself. Also, when selecting NAV, on the small screen in the gauge cluster all it says is "off route".

After my horrible experience with the dealer fixing my rear view camera I'm not all that keen on taking into another dealer right now.

I was thinking today of all the times I've had my truck in the shop for issues and I have to say it is fairly unreliable. I doubt I'll be buying another Ford anytime soon. Ford reps feel free to PM me. I'd also like to know why I have not been contacted by Ford after requesting it on my survey.

As you can tell I'm not a happy camper. My truck was in the shop more than two weeks of July.....

 

[sladowski]

I have had this and other related Navigation problems. Seems the system will, at times, take a very, very long time to catch satilites - 10 minutes or more. Looses the connection on occasion, causing your type of problem. Also, I find when on a lengthly trip, the Navigation may show 3 hours remaining. If I stop and restart the car, the route picks up but now the time remaining may be 7 hours. To get the correct arrival time, I need to cancle the route, and reprogram it from Previous Destination. On a few occasions, in the middle of a trip, a verbal message "Navigation Failed" is announced and the destination is discontinued. Usually, reprogramming it works.

When traveling on long trips, I have learned to carry my trusty Magellen portable navigation system with me. Just can't trust that the Explorer will work when I need it most. Interesting that a $200 Magellen works more reliably, can be programmed with address from my laptop computer, and pick up the satalites more reliably than a car I paid over $40K for. These problems never happen on any of my other Honda's that I have owned over the years.

 

[RubyRed2014]

Fixed My GPS Tracking Issue

I have 2014 Explorer with Navigation. Was having the same tracking issues that everybody else seems to have (vehicle thinks it is on next street over). Talked to a friend who is an engineer on instrument clusters and he suggested disconnecting the vehicles battery overnight. I did this and Navigation has not gone off track ever since (over 3 months).

Seems there is a capacitor in the cluster that can get and hold a high charge from the factory. This creates an electromagnetic field that interferes with the GPS Antenna. Once the battery is disconnected the capacitor does not go back so same high charged state again.

Good Luck!

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum RubyRed2014.:wavey:
Keep in mind that when you disconnect the battery that your transmission has to 'relearn' its shift points to coincide with your driving style. Also the fuel trim and idle settings will have to be 'relearned'. The Explorer can do the second part over time or you can do it as per the instructions in the Owner's Guide. See page 333 of the Guide.

Peter

 

[TRK1]

After having extremely accurate navigation tracking performance in my 2012 Explorer Limited with MFT since 3/12, I am now having issues with tracking! It all started this week when I brought my vehicle in to my dealer for minor maintenance and the TSB for the ambient lighting fix (I'm running 3.6.2). The dealer said when I picked it up that they had some issues getting the TSB to take but finally got it.

I then noticed after leaving the dealership that the navigation tracking was way off by miles. I called the dealer right away and they had me disconnect the battery. I disconnected the battery overnight but the problem continued. I then brought it in again this week and they reprogramed the GPSM. They tested it and all seemed fine. Unfortunately, on my way home the navigation tracking began misbehaving again and had me tracking about a hundred yards off course and through a lake!

I'm waiting for the dealership to get back to me as to next steps but they said they are contacting Ford to see what to do next. I'm starting to get worried that they won't be able to fix it. I'm now wishing I had not had them install that TSB ambient lighting fix! Any other suggestions?

 

[TRK1]

Latest update to my navigation issues (above post). Brought my vehicle in for a third time to the my dealer. This time they reprogramed all the modules. That did not fix the issue either so they then decided to replace the GPSM module. After that they thought the issue was fixed. Unfortunately on my way home the navigation tracking went off course and I found myself driving through lakes again! Called the dealer and they are unsure what to do next. They will contact Ford and see what the next recommendation may be.

I'm not sure how the navigation system works but when I first get into the vehicle the navigation tracker is right on and accurate. However, as soon as I start driving for a while I notice the vehicle consistently tracks behind where I actually am. So when I eventually make a turn, the system does not know what to do so tracks me off course. It's almost like the GPSM no longer communicates with the mapping program. Once I'm off course, there doesn't seem to be any correction by the GPSM.

This all started 2 weeks ago when I brought my vehicle in for tire rotation and the TSB for the ambient lighting fix. I hope they can fix the issue. Any other thoughts?

 

[peterk9]

Have you tried the procedure that RubyRed2014 did in post 323? While not a guaranteed fix, others have also reported success with it.

Peter

 

[TRK1]

Have you tried the procedure that RubyRed2014 did in post 323? While not a guaranteed fix, others have also reported success with it.

Peter

Hi, thanks for the feedback. Yes, in my first post I did mention that I had disconnected the battery overnight and was hoping that would do the trick. Unfortunately, it did not help....

I'm wondering if they would try replacing the main module (APIM) next? Not sure what else would be left??

 

[gdecamp]

Seems there is a capacitor in the cluster that can get and hold a high charge from the factory. This creates an electromagnetic field that interferes with the GPS Antenna. Once the battery is disconnected the capacitor does not go back so same high charged state again.

Good Luck!

Good thought but I don't think that is correct in all cases. I had no issues with mine for over 6 months, then boom started again in a rain storm on a recent trip to Maryland. Seems to me the car looses contact with the satellites and does not have enough signals to really know where it is. You can either stop and let it find itself or pull the nav card out and let it reboot the nav system, that sometimes works too. I have a 2011 so 3+ yrs with same problem on and off but mostly just fine. Frustrating though I must say.

 

[MikeFreas]

My system does the exact same thing. Most of the time it is good on start but loses its position in space randomly. Planned on getting it looked at when I get new tires put on the truck. Piss poor the system doesn't work when it costs so much.

 

[vfral1]

Since so many of us have this problem with no solution in over 3 years, I am surprised there is no class action suit brewing. Surely there is some lawyer out there that can get ford to listen...

And NO, I do not agree that disconnecting the battery is an acceptable fix!

 

[peterk9]

Don't forget that there have been as many or more complaints about exhaust smell, power steering failure and water leaks. These, in my opinion are a bit more of a concern than the navigation going off track, which I agree can be frustrating.

Peter

 

[RedDen]

There is an option to check your location in settings "Where Am I". I was thinking that someone with tracking problem could check it when navigation goes off track (write down coordinates and remember where you were) and compare with physical location, lets say using google maps. I would guess coordinates should be wrong when nav is off track, but who knows...

 

[RedDen]

My nav wasn't off, but I noticed its sometimes very slow on catching satellites when I start my route in downtown. I might be already 10-15 minutes driving and left downtown behind far ago and still has GPS crossed. The longest I remember was about 30 mins no GPS at all.

 

[maj24]

Nav issues aren't fixed on 2015 Explorer

So, I just put my winter tires on and my nav is all over the place. I have an 2015 Explorer Sport and went down to 245/60/R18 Blizzaks. I called the dealership here in Ottawa and was told that this isn't common and they have to recalibrate the Nav system. Based on comments here that won't help. May try the Negative battery thing tonight befre bringing it in. Does this force the Nav to retrain itself?? Otherwise I don't understand how that solves it.

On a side note, I did get TMPS installed on the winters (done at Costco) and now my TPMS light came on. So, I guess they didn't adjust them (tire pressure is ok).

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum maj24.:wavey:
I had my OEM 20" wheels replaced with the 18" Interceptor wheels yesterday at my dealer in Casselman. Went with 235/60R18 Blizzak DM-V1 tires. Never thought to check the nav system. Will do that today. I didn't have an issue when switching the 20" with 17" on the 2011 Ex. Thanks for the 'reminder'.

Peter

 

[maj24]

Ok, let me know how that goes. My dealership is in Orleans. Wish I thought about getting interceptor rims now! I have a white Sport. I went with some fast wheel rims purchased online from pmc in Mtl.

Do you just get the dealer to reset your TPMS?