On my ancient TomTom, updates were done by bringing the unit to my PC,
then connecting the TomTom to the PC with a USB cable,
then going to the TomTom website,
then to Support,
then to look for Updates.
My model is no longer supported, or I’d still be doing it.
Hard to bring a built-in GPS inside the house to connect to a PC, though, huh. Can a laptop be brought to the car?
Sometimes, here in always changing San Antonio, my not-updated-for-years TomTom is lost in space.
Mazda used sd. Cards back around 2014 when i was shipping. Could get updates on your pc and load onto the SD.
My 2022 Chevy Colorado uses an SD card but I can’t see updating it as our phones are much more capable than this particular nav system.
There are several different ways for vehicle GPS to work . But George is not going to have a vehicle with one of these Gadgets so why does he even care ?
The only time I’ve ever updated on the Acura, you get the cd, put it in, start the car, plug in the secret code, and let it go. Car runs in the garage for about four hours while it updates. Who knows where the signal comes from.
To answer your question, George, this is how I updated my built-in Garmin in a 2017 Accord.
The instructions can be found at: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=inanOmVBKU3Z1MQVDmIUG8&identifier=518519&tab=topics
Does this happen at other locations than your home? There could be interference or maybe one of the satellites died. Just Google and Youtube it to see how it works.
When the location is shown incorrectly, does the clock also read incorrectly?
There is a service bulletin with instruction to diagnose a faulty navigation unit.
The problem is likely to be a failing navigation unit, but they want the technician to rule out a failed antenna.
Clock Resets and Navigation Does Not Acquire Satellites (nhtsa.gov)
Navigation systems can use gyros to keep track of where they are when the satellite signal is temporarily blocked for some reason. I wonder if the Honda gps does that?
Gyroscopes alone couldn’t do it well. You’d need 3 axis accelerometers too to do it right - unless the GPS unit assumes your speed doesn’t change. Unless things have changed a lot since the last time I used a system with an internal inertial navigation system, adding 3 axis gyroscopes and 3 axis accelerometers could substantially increase the cost.
I don’t know anything about your specific GPS unit. But is it possible it has an internal battery? It is common for GPS units not built into cars, including Garmin GPS units, to start messing up when the battery goes bad. Because the charger is unable to bring the bad battery up to voltage. Everything overheats, because of the unsuccessful attempt to recharge the battery. I’ve had that happen. In my case, the touchscreen started to malfunction, creating extra false touches, the voice capability somehow got turned off, and the unit keeps trying to reset itself. They hide the battery inside, and make it hard to open the case - effectively planned opalescence, perhaps to persuade you to replace the entire unit after as little as a few years.
I used to love Garmin GPS units, but will never buy another, for that and other reasons. Though in fairness, I had a somewhat similar problem with the touchscreen on a Lowrance GPS.
The right thing would be for the GPS unit to inform the user the battery was bad, so you could diagnose the problem. And for internal batteries to be easy to access. But making things easy for the user to repair isn’t a high priority for some companies.
It is possible that a built-in GPS unit doesn’t have an internal battery. But maybe it does, so it gets power to run the clock, even if it loses power when the car is switched off? Look for evidence, that the GPS unit gets hot.
The first car I owned with an in-dash SatNav/GPS was a 2011 Outback, and it used DVDs. A set of 3 DVDs–dealing with different regions of The US–came with the car. After a few years, new exits/exit numbers/streets/highways didn’t appear in the directions, and this was a minor distraction.
I assumed that Subaru would try to sell me a new–updated–set of DVDs after a few years, but they never did. If I was going to a place that wasn’t known to my car’s SatNav/GPS, I just used the Waze app on my phone.
My current car gets its updates over the air, so it retains its accuracy. After the latest update, I noted a slightly different format for the SatNav/GPS, and it was a nice little improvement.
On the Acura, I’m still driving through a corn field on the new road that was finished a few years ago. So ibviously does not do auto updates. No problem though, I know if I’m on the road or driving into a lake.
That’s not a problem for you, or for me, or for (I hope…) most of the people in this forum, but some people seem to trust their GPS app a bit too much:
When I first got my Smartphone, I decided to use Google Maps, and it directed me to cross a set of RR tracks where there is no crossing, and there had never been a crossing–according to the locals. Because there is a barrier, I knew that Google Maps was wrong, but some folks might have assumed that the barrier was a mirage.
Your Acura is too old for subscription-based navigation service, you already told us you performed a map update with a disc.
Different car my man, different car. I’ve had three acuras.
Still too old, if you had a subscription-based navigation service, you would have auto updates (cloud data).
I love this GPS giving wrong directions commercial… 
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Not sure how many axis’s they monitor, but even some smart phones use gyros. Google semi-conductor gyroscope.
Yes, it happens at other locations.
Wherever I am when I start the car, It takes about 5 minutes to figure out where I am.
Alan
Things have indeed changed substantially. A typical phone today has 3 axis accelerometers, a compass and a MEMS based gyroscope. Here’s a look at the gyro-
