Honda e Sat Nav persistent issues

[AndR]

My Honda E Sat Nav is working very unreliably. I often see the red satellite icon in a top menu (and "your vehicle is not connected to GPS message" if you look into the details) and I can't deduce any logic: sometimes it finds satellites and it goes away in minutes, sometimes you can drive for more than 2 hours without it finding the satellites. Does anyone else get this error? it results in map position being displayed inaccurate: it would not show the right position at all or it would be very inaccurate (from hundred meters to a couple of miles). Worst part - it can loose signal/start displaying inaccurate position at any point . Had it both navigating in central London and driving on the motorway. The only thing done by the dealership so far - "reset to there factory settings" twice, which seems to be solving the problem for a couple of hours, but it always comes back. on that note: would appreciate any recommendations for the Honda service that proved to be good with electronics and focused on solving the issue, not just formally closing the work order. thank you!

[EEEE]

Are you using android auto or apple car play?

You can try resetting the infotainment by removing the fuse, this is quicker than doing a factory reset each time.

GPS can take a while to lock on if you are in a built up area (eg near high rise buildings).

[AndR]

thanks for the fuse idea, need to check with one I need. btw the issue impacts both built-in Garmin nav system and Apple Car Play. All that happens in the areas without a single high-rise

[EEEE]

The navigation manual states that the GPS antenna is in the dashboard area (from https://www.honda.co.uk/cars/owners/man ... 20Book.pdf )

The vehicle position icon is not following the road. ● Check that the GPS antenna (located in the dashboard) is not blocked. For best
reception, remove items from the dashboard, such as radar detectors, mobile
phones, or loose articles.
● Metallic tinting or other aftermarket devices can interfere with GPS reception.
Please consult your dealer

not entirely clear which fuse is for the infotainment exactly. but I believe its in the under bonnet fusebox rather than cabin (page 658 onwards)

https://www.honda.co.uk/cars/owners/man ... ressed.pdf

[SadHondaEOwner]

Hi, there is another thread on the Honda E Forum with around 30 posts on this same issue.
I've had a running battle with Honda Customer Support for 12 months and they refuse to speak to me any further. No one in their management chain is interested and I will never buy another Honda again. However, on to the issue. I'm fairly sure I know what the problem is and have run extensive tests.
Something about the car is obstructing the inbuilt aerial from working properly. If you use Android Auto, you are fine, as it doesn't use the inbuilt aerial, but the phones own aerial. The problem occurs with the cars own inbuilt Sat Nav or Apple devices, which use the cars aerial. Because the car has problems finding and holding on to the satellites, if you don't use the car for a few days, or there is a lot of interference from building, hills, bad weather, etc, the car can take an hour to lock on to a satellite. However, if you are using the inbuilt system, after it identifies where it is, the system will usually work OK, because the inbuilt system uses the cars speed and direction to keep the car on the map. However, if you use an Apple device with Apple CarPlay and any of the popular mapping systems (Waze, google maps, Apple Maps, Tomtom, etc), the situation is much worse, because they require the continuous ability to "see" the satellites. Honda Customer Support try to blame this on Apple and they call Apple CarPlay a "third party product" and therefore say they won't support it. In my opinion, this is as bad a the VW dieselgate issue and Honda refuses to admit there is a serious problem. The only options I can see. 1. Get a Tomtom device. 2 Use a non-Apple phone. 3. Bang you head against a brick wall for a year trying to get Honda to take responsibility. 4. Sell the car. I've spoken to the Motor Ombudsman, who admit they are unable to help. Dreadful.

[iHansz]

It is very sad to read that you are experiencing problems with the car. I have been using Apple CarPlay as well as Apple Maps since the beginning (Oct. 2020) and have never experienced any problems. I live in the Netherlands myself and have no problems with the car not being able to find sattelites for navigation, at least Apple Maps works just fine. Also had no problems during my holiday in Norway (also used the app ABRP then) and hope not to have any problems next June in Wales. Must say I don't use the built-in navigation as I find it ugly in terms of layout.

[londiniumperson]

Hi, there is another thread on the Honda E Forum with around 30 posts on this same issue.
I've had a running battle with Honda Customer Support for 12 months and they refuse to speak to me any further. No one in their management chain is interested and I will never buy another Honda again. However, on to the issue. I'm fairly sure I know what the problem is and have run extensive tests.
Something about the car is obstructing the inbuilt aerial from working properly. If you use Android Auto, you are fine, as it doesn't use the inbuilt aerial, but the phones own aerial. The problem occurs with the cars own inbuilt Sat Nav or Apple devices, which use the cars aerial. Because the car has problems finding and holding on to the satellites, if you don't use the car for a few days, or there is a lot of interference from building, hills, bad weather, etc, the car can take an hour to lock on to a satellite. However, if you are using the inbuilt system, after it identifies where it is, the system will usually work OK, because the inbuilt system uses the cars speed and direction to keep the car on the map. However, if you use an Apple device with Apple CarPlay and any of the popular mapping systems (Waze, google maps, Apple Maps, Tomtom, etc), the situation is much worse, because they require the continuous ability to "see" the satellites. Honda Customer Support try to blame this on Apple and they call Apple CarPlay a "third party product" and therefore say they won't support it. In my opinion, this is as bad a the VW dieselgate issue and Honda refuses to admit there is a serious problem. The only options I can see. 1. Get a Tomtom device. 2 Use a non-Apple phone. 3. Bang you head against a brick wall for a year trying to get Honda to take responsibility. 4. Sell the car. I've spoken to the Motor Ombudsman, who admit they are unable to help. Dreadful.

I can fully understand your pain with Honda dealers & Honda UK, they are an unethical company that propagates this trait to it's staff, who take no responsibility for issues.
I have a current Motor Ombudsman dispute open, but considering that the Motor Ombudsman service is paid for by the motor trade, then I don't hold out much hope.

It looks like your only option to obtain any financial recourse is to exercise your rights under the 'Consumer Rights Act 2015'.

A pragmatic solution could be to buy a cheap used Android phone for use only in the car, other than navigation a mobile phone is of minimal use in the car anyway.

[SadHondaEOwner]

Thank you to iHansz and londiniumperson for your replies. The fact that @iHansz has a car that does work shows that this issue doesn't affect every Honda e and it is more likely to be a component issue in some of the cars. There are lots of theories, including the heated windscreen and third party devices such as dashcam's on the window, as I am told the aerial sits under the dashboard. I took my car out with the dealer today and the car took over 30 mins to get a satellite fix, when Honda UK have stated in a letter to me that "this should be completed within a couple of minutes.". @londiniumperson, I spoke to someone at the Motor Ombudsman who admitted there is very little they can do because of how they are financed. I considered creating an email address for everyone who has experienced this problem and collectively taking this to Honda, the Motor Ombudsman or starting a group legal action. The one major disappointment is how Honda UK appears to have changed in the last decade. I owned a dozen Honda's from 2004-2016 and the customer service from the dealers and Honda UK at that time was excellent. However, whilst my local Honda dealer is very good, they seem to have to kowtow to Honda UK and can do very little without their authorisation. A Trustpilot score that is currently 75% 1-star says it all.

[miura88]

same problem.

[asjo]

In my opinion, this is as bad a the VW dieselgate issue

So Honda deliberately made your phone not work with your car when it is tested for adhering to the law by the authorities, but otherwise it works fine?!