TomTom reliability / lifetime
Discussion
Just had our second Go530 fail after 18 months, exactly the same length of time the first one lasted. It probably only gets used 6 times a year. Is this lifetime pretty typical for TomTom?
Emailed them, and they took the trouble to call back, which is impressive. Less impressive was they basically said it's my problem, not theirs! Their argument seems to be that we've done pretty well to get 3yrs out of them.
Emailed them, and they took the trouble to call back, which is impressive. Less impressive was they basically said it's my problem, not theirs! Their argument seems to be that we've done pretty well to get 3yrs out of them.
I've had a 700, 740 and now a 1005.
I swap mine out every 3 years and don't buy any map updates, but I haven't had any fail in the 3 years I've had them, and I've not had any reports from the people I passed them on to (for free) that they've ceased working.
The batteries are only useful for about 18 months though, and then they seem to last 30-60 minutes before dying.
I swap mine out every 3 years and don't buy any map updates, but I haven't had any fail in the 3 years I've had them, and I've not had any reports from the people I passed them on to (for free) that they've ceased working.
The batteries are only useful for about 18 months though, and then they seem to last 30-60 minutes before dying.
Thanks. I thought the second failure might be battery related but even with power attached it's doing random things - not starting, stopping at the splash screen, sometimes booting fully, working for a bit, then just turning off.
It's frustrating as it so nearly works, but that's not a lot of use!
It's frustrating as it so nearly works, but that's not a lot of use!
Deva Link said:
Thanks. I thought the second failure might be battery related but even with power attached it's doing random things - not starting, stopping at the splash screen, sometimes booting fully, working for a bit, then just turning off.
It's frustrating as it so nearly works, but that's not a lot of use!
I have 'One' Series One from 2006 and as others say the battery is little use. I got another battery from an internet source and that was worse! The answer can be leave it plugged in as stated, but when the battery gets really stuffed, the only answer I find is to take the battery out of circuit. The charging circuit cannot supply sufficient current to run the TomTom and pour ever increasing charge current into the dying battery.It's frustrating as it so nearly works, but that's not a lot of use!
markmullen said:
My Via125 has just died at 8 months old, TT support says they will swap it under warranty at a Halfords but I have to prove date of purchase which, 8 months on, is difficult.
When I went through the online support process, they said "Attach a scanned copy of purchase receipt of your device or the date of purchase of your TomTom device" so that implies they don't need the receipt.Many must be bought as gifts and they can obviously pick the age up from the serial number anyway.
markmullen said:
My Via125 has just died at 8 months old, TT support says they will swap it under warranty at a Halfords but I have to prove date of purchase which, 8 months on, is difficult.
Did you pay by card? Bank statement?Or buy a new one the same, take old one back and say it was faulty, get refund, or would serial numbers stop that?
Brite spark said:
Did you pay by card? Bank statement?
Or buy a new one the same, take old one back and say it was faulty, get refund, or would serial numbers stop that?
I wanted to do the same with a Play Station 2 but it has the same serial number in the box too, so it is "impossible" to get success. Or buy a new one the same, take old one back and say it was faulty, get refund, or would serial numbers stop that?
I think it is the same thing for sat navs.
In the interests of fairness, I should update this.
Someone on TomTom's own forum suggested pinging an email to TomTom's CEO. Obviously he wouldn't deal with it himself, but the suggestion was that once it gets to "the office of the CEO" it gets a bit of attention.
So I sent a very simple email saying I was unhappy with their policy of refusing to even consider a replacement and that they'd turned a happy customer into an unhappy one.
Couple of days later I got an email from a different customer services manager to the one I'd dealt with previously and she asked for some details - she hadn't been able to tie my email address to my earlier exchange with them as that had been done in my daughter's name. By now I'd also discovered a known issues - a firmware bug on a certain serial number range that crashes the device when connected to a PC, and we certainly have had that problem for a while.
Anyway, without further query they agreed to replace the device and a refurb'd one arrived yeaterday. So some faith in TomTom restored.
I had also started off a pursuit of Halfords under SOGA but they were completely hard-faced. They stopped responding when I pointed out that flat denial of their responsibilities is a criminal offence. I've passed the details to Consumer Direct (not that I expect them to do anything).
Someone on TomTom's own forum suggested pinging an email to TomTom's CEO. Obviously he wouldn't deal with it himself, but the suggestion was that once it gets to "the office of the CEO" it gets a bit of attention.
So I sent a very simple email saying I was unhappy with their policy of refusing to even consider a replacement and that they'd turned a happy customer into an unhappy one.
Couple of days later I got an email from a different customer services manager to the one I'd dealt with previously and she asked for some details - she hadn't been able to tie my email address to my earlier exchange with them as that had been done in my daughter's name. By now I'd also discovered a known issues - a firmware bug on a certain serial number range that crashes the device when connected to a PC, and we certainly have had that problem for a while.
Anyway, without further query they agreed to replace the device and a refurb'd one arrived yeaterday. So some faith in TomTom restored.
I had also started off a pursuit of Halfords under SOGA but they were completely hard-faced. They stopped responding when I pointed out that flat denial of their responsibilities is a criminal offence. I've passed the details to Consumer Direct (not that I expect them to do anything).
James_N said:
I also have an origional tomtom go thats about 8 years old. Battery isn't amazing, but its been dropped, fell off the dash numerous times, and its still going strong. I just download new maps for it every so often 
May I ask where from at reasonable cost? Thanks. BTW I too have a TomTom One 1st EditionMy tom tom one (2003 model) died last weekend.
Quite often when it's in the glove box it would be accidentally turned on running the battery flat. On connecting to the car socket, it would take about 20-40 minutes to gather enough power to turn back on.
Last weekend, even after a 3hr drive, it failed to respond. The green 'power' light is illuminating, so I know power is getting in there, it's just not switching on.
Any tips?
I'd also be interested in the map updates options, mine hasn't been updated since 2006.
Quite often when it's in the glove box it would be accidentally turned on running the battery flat. On connecting to the car socket, it would take about 20-40 minutes to gather enough power to turn back on.
Last weekend, even after a 3hr drive, it failed to respond. The green 'power' light is illuminating, so I know power is getting in there, it's just not switching on.
Any tips?
I'd also be interested in the map updates options, mine hasn't been updated since 2006.
Stu 9-5 said:
My tom tom one (2003 model) died last weekend.
Quite often when it's in the glove box it would be accidentally turned on running the battery flat. On connecting to the car socket, it would take about 20-40 minutes to gather enough power to turn back on.
Last weekend, even after a 3hr drive, it failed to respond. The green 'power' light is illuminating, so I know power is getting in there, it's just not switching on.
Any tips?
I'd also be interested in the map updates options, mine hasn't been updated since 2006.
Disconnect the battery and it should be fine.Quite often when it's in the glove box it would be accidentally turned on running the battery flat. On connecting to the car socket, it would take about 20-40 minutes to gather enough power to turn back on.
Last weekend, even after a 3hr drive, it failed to respond. The green 'power' light is illuminating, so I know power is getting in there, it's just not switching on.
Any tips?
I'd also be interested in the map updates options, mine hasn't been updated since 2006.
Stu 9-5 said:
My tom tom one (2003 model) died last weekend.
Quite often when it's in the glove box it would be accidentally turned on running the battery flat. On connecting to the car socket, it would take about 20-40 minutes to gather enough power to turn back on.
Last weekend, even after a 3hr drive, it failed to respond. The green 'power' light is illuminating, so I know power is getting in there, it's just not switching on.
Any tips?
I'd also be interested in the map updates options, mine hasn't been updated since 2006.
They run the battery down when left anyway as the on/off button is a soft start - the device is always consuming some power.Quite often when it's in the glove box it would be accidentally turned on running the battery flat. On connecting to the car socket, it would take about 20-40 minutes to gather enough power to turn back on.
Last weekend, even after a 3hr drive, it failed to respond. The green 'power' light is illuminating, so I know power is getting in there, it's just not switching on.
Any tips?
I'd also be interested in the map updates options, mine hasn't been updated since 2006.
Before you open it up, try resetting the unit while it's connected to a charger - hold the power button for 15 seconds.
Gassing Station | In-Car Electronics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff