SatNav Thinks Car Is Somehere Esle!

[ChasW]

The SatNav on my 2019 BMW X3 shows the car being about 20 miles away from its actual location. It will accept a destination but plots the route from the phantom location which is not fixed. It's been multiple location today since I first noticed the fault whilst on a regular journey. Any thoughts welcome. Thx

[BlackTails]

GPS antenna has failed? It’s happened to me but admittedly the displayed location wasn’t that massively out.

[Mr Squarekins]

Try disconnecting the battery for a couple of mins. See if it resets the location. Worked on a z4 I used to have.

[seyre1972]

Check Shark fin for water ingress. Sorry to say I had this (thankfully under warranty). BMW leased me a Volvo XC40 for 4 months as parts availability was shocking/start of Ukraine war etc. Must have been 2-3 X3’s at my local garage with same issue/again all waiting on parts.

Hopefully lead times have come down etc.

[ChasW]

Thanks all. I tried the reset and battery disconnection. No luck. I'll speak to my trusted BMWindie tomorrow for their thoughts.

[BlackTails]

If it is failed GPS antennae, and the antennae are in an external painted fin, you may find the fix is a bit pricey.

I had this years ago with an Audi, and also an external painted antennae box. I was able to fix it for about a tenner: remove the head unit, unplug the antennae cable, plug in a new antennae sourced from eBay, and use double sided tape to stick that underneath the topside of the dash in the middle of the instrument binnacle.

Apparently this shouldn’t work because of the glass windscreen being in the way, except it worked perfectly.

Don’t know whether you can source a similar fix from eBay - I needed keys to remove the head unit and a new antennae for that model. But if that’s the problem and the solution is expensive, perhaps worth looking at.

[Mr Squarekins]

Take a look at your car on realoem. That will help you to determine if it's just a simple plug in antenna. On some bmws it's just a box about the size of a small matchbox, that will work from under the dashboard. Worth a look on realoem

https://www.realoem.com/

[Pica-Pica]

If you have (or can download) My BMW app. that will show its location. Does it say the correct location?

[ChasW]

Just accessed the app. Correctly shows the car on my drive.

[E-bmw]

ChasW said:

Just accessed the app. Correctly shows the car on my drive.

In that case the issue is almost certainly in the info-tainment system as the car's GPS is obviously working.

[ChasW]

Thanks

Is it likely to be a software issue?

[sf1969]

I had a 2019 320D which decided it lived on the outskirts of Munich. Dealer fitted a new module to cure it under warranty when it was less than 3 years old

[ChasW]

Just driven the car now and it appears to have resolved itself. Fingers crossed!

[Pica-Pica]

ChasW said:

Just driven the car now and it appears to have resolved itself. Fingers crossed!

Maybe by downloading the app you had then renewed/rejuvenated a subscription?

[Monkeylegend]

Are you sure you are inputting the correct spellings for your destinations

[ChasW]

They are all previous stored destinations. It's my wife's car. I rarely use satnav other than for eta.