I have a D3 that I installed about 3 months ago. I had a little cheapo Windshield mount GPS, which i continued to use. (IT was $150 new)

The problem i have is with how the D3 routes. If I tell it shortest on a common route, it takes me say,, 35 miles, whereas the little cheapo GPS takes me 28 miles. The road are not newer that the cheapo is taking me on.

Any comments? That happens every time, they never both agree and the little cheap one is always shorter, and have yet to figure it out.

It's a known problem with the D3. The only thing that helps is setting it to find multiple routes instead of a single route. Other than that, there's nothing much you can do.

Hopefully the updated maps coming will repair the routing issues. Although for me it's pretty good.

any navi is going to give you some oddball routes. none of them are perfect, but they do get you where your going, eventually

I don't mind going a longer route on a short trip as long as the Nav gets you there. I'd rather enjoy the ride than running to my computer to print out directions.

On longer trips, I always look up directions first on mapquest before setting off. And if the directions are different, I just take the shortest route and force the nav to re-calculate to the route I want.

What would piss me off is if I put in an address and it completely gets me lost.

Well the D1/D2's don't have this problem until updating to the D3 maps. So I blame it on the mapping software.

when will the new d 3 maps come out?

when will the new d 3 maps come out?

Probably now and May... probably.... Not sure why they release the products so late.

I spoke with the Nav group @ pioneer regarding this. He suggested i changed the setting to give me 6 options, I didn't even know it had this feature.

It still doesn't match the short distance of my standalone, but at least I have options.

He said the new maps may fix this, and to expect Spring release of them. (April/May). I wonder how much they charge for them?

$250

The smaller GPS takes into consent the streets. How many lanes does it have? What is the speed limit. I get questions like these at work all day. which one is best either it be the in dash navi or portable. On a constant basis i call the manufacturers to figure how they calculate the routes, and sometime customer service has no clue. SO tech support helps out. This is an issue i have seen, but just like Misfit said "as long it gets you to your destination, why care." Thats why you got it, if you knew the short cuts why use it.

well, I was driving to a furniture store in Ottawa...had no idea where it was, actually I did, but I decided to check if the NAV unit Shortest route selection would provide a shorter route. It mentioned to take a left at an intersection, so I did and thought, hmm...seems to be smart enough as it allowed me to cut through a residential area to get to another main street that was 1 mile south. Anyway, I turn "left" onto this particular street. One mile later, when it tells me to make a left, I find out it is a dead end. I guess, the city must have modified the intersection after the mapping software was applied because I had to take an alternative route to get to my furniture store....

Paul