Most annoying Google Maps "feature" on Android Auto

[serdar_18fr]

Hi, everyone.

Imagine you are in heavy traffic and you have 300 or 400 meters left to your destination. Traffic stops, and it's not going to move in a short time so you set the gear to P while waiting. As soon as you do that, Google Maps assumes that you have arrived & decided to park your car near your destination, tells you "Welcome" and stops navigating.

I don't know if anybody else noticed this, but I find this really uncalled-for & annoying. Don't get me wrong, I like automated features that make life easier but this is not one of them. I can stop the navigation myself, just by tapping on big X standing on the screen in front of me, I don't need any help there, and it's not helping, just interfering on the contrary.

Someone should explain Google Maps developers that setting the gear to P does not always mean that I have parked the car.

 

[Tell]

Well Google map POIs are hit and miss so I can see you might arrive before you are there or pass where you want to be. That's the problem with Google maps. Closure of the system would make getting to the last bit more tricky where you want to be.

Postcodes and the UK preoccupation with them. For residential addresses it's the postman walk so they are only a proxy. You then drive looking at house numbers. House number in the search, if digitised correctly, will always get you to the place exactly.

London I'd use the Google Maps poi for a business address in a retail park and more times it was wrong. Street view you can see where it is and the Apple version. Afraid I use old fashioned GPS techniques to get the exact locations of places before getting there. Basically checking Google Map POIs and ariel images. Entrances to hotel car parks that are away from the front door etc. That's to say plan the arrival. Always nice to know where you are going. Don't use Android Auto .

 

[Tara]

I use Radarbot in the car and its brilliant.....maps are always good and gives you speed camera information which is handy.

 

[serdar_18fr]

Well Google map POIs are hit and miss so I can see you might arrive before you are there or pass where you want to be. That's the problem with Google maps.

The destinations I was talking about are mostly not POIs, they are the exact places I had set, like home, work etc. Not that I need navigation to drive there but I don't like the way "arrival" implemented by the Google developers or software analysts:
"-Let's add a feature where we stop the navigation when "Parking" gear engaged, shall we say in a 500 m circle?"
-Oh what a wonderful idea, let's do it"

 

[Tell]

The destinations I was talking about are mostly not POIs, they are the exact places I had set, like home, work etc. Not that I need navigation to drive there but I don't like the way "arrival" implemented by the Google developers or software analysts:
"-Let's add a feature where we stop the navigation when "Parking" gear engaged, shall we say in a 500 m circle?"
-Oh what a wonderful idea, let's do it"

Designed to irritate. Probably they know that Google Maps isn't that accurate so +/- 500 metres is good enough . I'd still be looking for the location. I can see what you mean.

 

[Bahnstormer_vRS]

^^^^
1. When stationary in heavy traffic, I apply the handbrake and select N - neutral, as I would with a manual gearbox. To move off I apply footbrake, select D, release handbrake; without having to squeeze the release catch to move gear lever from P to R to N.

2. I use Waze, owned and mapping by Google, but with more Community reporting functions than Google and haven't experienced your issue, for reason at #1 above as well.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S25 Ultra using Tapatalk

 

[serdar_18fr]

^^^^
1. When stationary in heavy traffic, I apply the handbrake and select N - neutral, as I would with a manual gearbox. To move off I apply footbrake, select D, release handbrake; without having to squeeze the release catch to move gear lever from P to R to N.

Yes, using N is an option, and sometimes I just do that too.

But, it requires either a) keeping your foot on brake or b) applying the handbrake as you said.

I don't like to do either because those feel like unnecessary extra steps to me and I find putting the gear in P and back to D easier.

 

[Tell]

I can see the predicament now. Don't use Google maps. Use them as a second source but not the main. Isn't enough traffic round here for routing to be useful dur to traffic. The POIs aren't good, hit and miss. Trusty Here Maps on the mib2 high, TomTom cartography on the mib2 sstandard. No fumbling with cables, overheating devices etc.

Fantasy roads are in Google maps irrespective of Android Auto / Waze. Team are useless at QA. You tell them roads don't exist. You get your edit rejected, so they can get stuffed. A dog got killed just up the road from here, left dying after someone used a farm track that isn't a road (dogs arent kept in, in rural farming areas). Just because a Google car can rattle up and un made road that isnt a public road, but a cut through for farm vehicles, they make it a public road as car as Google is concerned. On another road, the only reason it didn't get made as a public road as far as Google is concerned, the tree branches over the road would have knocked the cameras offer. Truly amateur set up. They don't check Ordance Survey and Planning documents. Cases where Waze users use the latter and digitised fantasy estates that haven't even had the soil dug. Jokers about. They get their joker work digitised and released producing nonsense.

 

[serdar_18fr]

I can see the predicament now. Don't use Google maps. Use them as a second source but not the main. Isn't enough traffic round here for routing to be useful dur to traffic. The POIs aren't good, hit and miss. Trusty Here Maps on the mib2 high, TomTom cartography on the mib2 sstandard. No fumbling with cables, overheating devices etc.

I do have Here Maps on my built-in MIB3 navi, and its maps for Turkey are useless. It shows the old name of my home street that had changed 10 years ago. They don't update their Turkish maps and they don't accept community updates from Turkey either. It seems like they abandoned it altogether.

Google Maps uses Başarsoft maps for Turkey, which is an established Turkish cartography company and they have the most comprehensive and up-to-date data.

So, even if I don't like some of its characteristics, I don't intend to stop using it soon.

 

[Tell]

I do have Here Maps on my built-in MIB3 navi, and its maps for Turkey are useless. It shows the old name of my home street that had changed 10 years ago. They don't update their Turkish maps and they don't accept community updates from Turkey either. It seems like they abandoned it altogether.

Google Maps uses Başarsoft maps for Turkey, which is an established Turkish cartography company and they have the most comprehensive and up-to-date data.

So, even if I don't like some of its characteristics, I don't intend to stop using it soon.

I can see why. Think you might have told me that before. They probably don't see a large income in Turkey. Elsewhere it's different. Perhaps it's Waze for you without the annoying P issue.