Never ever use gps for mount dandenong!!!!

[SV6SidiUTE]

Yo..... lucky to be here? Yeah I'd say so. Just a word of advice...... Do not even think about using your GPS if your destination may be Mount Dandenong Tourist Road.

The Gps will take you onto the road alright, but for some reason at a fork in the road instead of continuing straight it will take you to a dirt road and drive you up the mountain..... I am not kidding you do not go up that road, ignore those directions.

last night while driving up there for a meeting with a wedding reception rep. with my fiance, i followed those directions thinking it is obviously set for faster travel time so it must be right. I was driving my ute which is lowered mind you. My doubts were raised when the road started to narrow and become steeper and steeper with large ditches in the road and even fallen tree branches. At that point my exhaust had started to scrape, we were stuck, and had no room to even turn around....I got out of the car took a run to see what is around the corner... and there was literally NOTHING, a closed gate with access for rangers only, and a small path that not even a four wheel drive could go up with a very very large incline. It took me around 10 minutes just to get unstuck with hardly any traction and literally cm's from the edge, luckily there was a small clearing at which i could "spin" the car into at which point my front spoiler started scraping... I was aching inside hearing the rocks grinding up against the body and the exhaust. Lucky there was no rain and that we stopped when we did, even though that was too far. The damage was not as bad as I thought, but the nerves were being tested.

When we finally got to the reception about 45 minutes late, we were told that we are not the first ones, every sat nav will try to take you up that road for a strange reason.

And mind you... we have a wedding up there soon with most of the guests not being from the area..... that will be fun....

So next time you are in the ranges, do not rely on the sat nav.

[Tasmaniak]

Strange, my GPS performs flawlessly around there...I live in the Dandys. That sucks to hear dude.

[Tim Smtih]

I've shared a similar story before, i ended up taking the short route which involved 30kms of often unsealed road, then it took me down a sandy one lane road in the back of no where. If i had had mechanical problems i would have been stuffed. GPS is out to get you!

[Stressball]

My GPS insists on taking me 45km north to get on a motorway to drive 46km south again lol. Not that useful

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

GPS maps are two or three years out of date before you even turn it on for the first time. Also, they rely on human input for all the calculations it does, and on paper, that road may be gazetted so the Chinese guy that is inputting the info looks at it and thinks it is the shortest way to your destination.

I've almost been caught out at the Canning Hwy exit on the freeway over here, the GPS tells you to turn left because the intersection wasn't a right turn when the GPS was loaded.

[vy_storm]

And not all GPS' are made equal What brand and model?

I find it always pays before you head anywhere new to look up on google maps and even use the "navigate to point on map" feature as addresses sometimes are poorly translated into GPS maps.

[Jezza]

i have a google maps app i have been using on different phones for a while now and never have had a problem with it

[SV6SidiUTE]

Its garmin nuvi, with latest map edition. they use whereis maps, even though at times they do not pick up certain streets. I think I will be having a copy of Melways in the back of the car, just in case i run into a dirt road again.
And google maps? lol that's another culprit that took us to a dirt road, and to a direction where it said to turn onto a third street on the right named bla bla which never came up.... Maybe it's where we live.
Usually the directions within city/inner suburbs are spot on, but yeah for some reason (maybe to the lack of that Chinese dudes perception) when it comes to outer suburbs it tends to pick dirt roads over proper roads.....

[vy_storm]

And google maps? lol that's another culprit that took us to a dirt road, and to a direction where it said to turn onto a third street on the right named bla bla which never came up.... Maybe it's where we live.

Lol, I don't mean trust google maps, I mean check google maps that the place you are heading to actually has an address and the satellite view doesn't show some dodgy destination.

It's like saying that you drove off the cliff because the GPS directed you there. Ultimately it's up to you to check where you are heading as these things are not guaranteed mission critical navigation devices.

A street directory is a must in any car regardless of where you travel to.

[Reaper]

Lol - I had a similar experience about 3 years ago. Haven't checked with the new updated maps. Just be careful

Reaper

[thewheeldeal com au]

Have you turned off the 'dirt road' settings? I don't knoiw about yours but my Garmin GPS came with 'fastest route' settings which would always take me down dodgy back roads. There was a setting like 'take main roads wherever possible' or something like that which then stopped the thing taking me on dirt roads. Play around with the settings you'll get it to work much better for you.

[the_trademarc]

This happened to me when I went up to SkyHigh for the first time to check it out for my 21st. My car actually got bogged up the road because it was wet, got quite badly stuck. Luckily a guy coming down the other way in a LandCruiser pulled me out.

What I do now is just look in the Melway for a route, and use the GPS a guider, but I dont follow it. It's too unreliable in my opinion.

[Bravotwozero]

My Navman has a feature where you can be warned if your route containds dirt roads. Never actually warns me though....

[sik_dose]

i use my gps for pizza delivey and it tried to send me into a public housing slum where i would most likley get mugged or shot.

[HSVchixy]

gps... bleh go oldschool you won't get lost. or maybe that's just my female arrogance?

[greenfoam]

If you have them set on shortest distance you always end up on dirt roads in the middle of a forest if you have them set to stay on large roads then apart from roads that have changed a bit it's all good

[ClairBear]

My doubts were raised when the road started to narrow and become steeper and steeper with large ditches in the road and even fallen tree branches.

Can I ask why at this point you didn't turn around rather than continue on to the point you got stuck? I know I would have done so and told the GPS to pick the alternative route.

[the_trademarc]

Can I ask why at this point you didn't turn around rather than continue on to the point you got stuck? I know I would have done so and told the GPS to pick the alternative route.

It's a one way road and very narrow, and one side is a mountain, and the other side is a steep cliff and bushes, and houses down steep driveways. These houses have gates, so its really hard, especially in a Commodore, to do a 3-point turn.

[TheForgotten]

gps... bleh go oldschool you won't get lost. or maybe that's just my female arrogance?

nah that's not female arrogance. i've used GPS twice in my life and both times it tried to send me MILES in the wrong direction.
i'm on the road near all day 5 days a week, i totally agree go oldschool

[Lumps of cheese]

Hmmm, my tomtom has been good to me so far, the navman before that was shit though, kept trying to drive me through paddocks.

[greenfoam]

lol you sound like my dad, all about the tom tom (this is why I have the hand me down paddock loving, rally spec, cliff drifting navman).

We find it best to use a map and road signs 1st and if we get lost then let the navman get us out via a paddock

[SV6SidiUTE]

LOL! Had a laugh reading a few of these comments

Can I ask why at this point you didn't turn around rather than continue on to the point you got stuck? I know I would have done so and told the GPS to pick the alternative route.

As trademark said, very narrow dirt path barely able to fit one vehicle in, your car is almost at the edge or scraping through the branches on the other side.


I have that off road option which isn't enabled, although the fastest travel time is selected.... I love the fact how they say they are not responsible on terms and conditions for wrong directions..... it's meant to instruct you which way to go....i wonder if anyone has ever went missing because of sat nav LOL!

[Reaper]

Have you turned off the 'dirt road' settings? I don't knoiw about yours but my Garmin GPS came with 'fastest route' settings which would always take me down dodgy back roads. There was a setting like 'take main roads wherever possible' or something like that which then stopped the thing taking me on dirt roads. Play around with the settings you'll get it to work much better for you.

I found it to be a glitch in some of the early TomTom map versions. Some of the cart tracks on MtDandenong were earmarked as main roads. Doesn't happen on the latest version.

Reaper

[Reaper]

nah that's not female arrogance. i've used GPS twice in my life and both times it tried to send me MILES in the wrong direction.
i'm on the road near all day 5 days a week, i totally agree go oldschool

ROFL - you were either using a crappy GPS or doing it way wrong.

Reaper

[Cobez]

Hate to sound like a GPS hater here, but **** GPS's. I cannot stand those stupid annoying things. I'd rather look up my directions in a good ol' Melways, memorise it and remember it. Then next time i don't have to rely on a talking box.

I know the tourist road like the back of my hand though, as i live in Upper Ferntree Gully and go for long drives up there 2 or 3 times a week.