# Tesla Navigation ETA versus Google Maps



## turnem (Apr 26, 2019)

Thread disclaimer... this is a small issue. Very minor. I realize that. This thread is in the spirit of continuous improvement in all areas of the Tesla Infotainment system. 

I think the Tesla Navigation system is pretty good. It's certainly the best OEM navigation I've ever used in any car. Prior to my Model 3 I was driving a 2017 Mercedes E300 and using Android Auto via the car's screen. 

The one thing I liked best about Android Auto was the use of Google Maps for navigation. Two things I found super useful were alternate routes (displayed at the beginning of your drive and also as you went along) and the Estimate Time of Arrival (ETA). The ETA was ALWAYS within a minute or two and usually spot on. This applies to both city driving and longer drives. The longer drives were always extremely accurate. City drives were typically within a minute or two due to timing of stop lights, and general timing. And the ETA didn't jump around every time I stopped at a stop light - it just stuck with it's original projection unless something really unusual happened - and it worked very, very well!

I've found the Tesla Navigation to be quite good. But the ETA's for City driving seem to always be off by at least 5 minutes. I simply add 5 minutes to whatever it tells me when I start my commute home and that's usually spot on. The ETA also changes at every stop light which results in a lot of ping-pong back and forth (it will add minute when I stop at a stop light and then deduct a minute as I drive through another one, etc).

I've run Google Maps on my phone in parallel to using the Tesla Nav to test this out a few times. Google Maps definitely wins the ETA accuracy battle. I will still use the Tesla navigation instead of my phone - as I prioritize the integrated system WAY more than my ETA being off by 5 minutes. But it would be nice if Tesla improved this a bit.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

I usually have Google Maps Navigation running on my phone (charging) in parallel with Tesla Navigation for my commute (mostly for Google's alternative routes ability when there is an accident).

In my city, they consistently provide ETAs within a minute of each other.


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## Spiffywerks (Jul 30, 2017)

Yeah... nothing really gets it right in LA.


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## turnem (Apr 26, 2019)

Spiffywerks said:


> Yeah... nothing really gets it right in LA.


I don't envy that traffic situation. Charlotte's traffic is laughable in comparison - especially my 9.3 mile commute! Until I got my Tesla I would often run to and from work about twice a month and ride my bike a few days a week. Now I prefer to drive just because I like driving the M3 so much!


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## turnem (Apr 26, 2019)

garsh said:


> I usually have Google Maps Navigation running on my phone (charging) in parallel with Tesla Navigation for my commute (mostly for Google's alternative routes ability when there is an accident).
> 
> In my city, they consistently provide ETAs within a minute of each other.


Interesting. I also so a YT video (I think Tesla Life) where they got very similar results to what you're getting. It may be that I often chose to go a different route than what it's suggesting. But even so, once it recalculates the new route it's still wrong by 4-5 minutes each time. I'll test it out using the suggested route every single time and see what happens. I'll run Google Maps in parallel to see which one is more accurate. I've only done that twice so far. I'll do it for 10 work days (to and from work) to see what my results are.

I know that Tesla is using Google Maps as their base map so I'd assume that the traffic data is the same as well?


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## Gatornail (Apr 11, 2017)

My 3 seems to be right on most of the time - it's more often correct over any other apps I've tried, to the point I no longer bother with anything other than what my car says  Apparently, it's been training me over the last year


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## turnem (Apr 26, 2019)

Gatornail said:


> My 3 seems to be right on most of the time - it's more often correct over any other apps I've tried, to the point I no longer bother with anything other than what my car says  Apparently, it's been training me over the last year


That's great to hear! I guess I just need to play with it more and/or just rely on it completely without second guessing it.

It seems that there is one intersection right near my house that is throwing it off every time. It shows the red traffic line so it knows that it's backed up there but that's where I lose most of my time every day.


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## Johnston (Oct 12, 2018)

Perhaps Tesla's Nav uses Elon time? 

Jokes aside, I run Waze alongside Tesla's nav and they usually have ETA within 3 min of each other. Waze and Google Maps are much better updated though. There are new streets in my area the 3 isn't aware of.


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## Gatornail (Apr 11, 2017)

turnem said:


> That's great to hear! I guess I just need to play with it more and/or just rely on it completely without second guessing it.
> 
> It seems that there is one intersection right near my house that is throwing it off every time. It shows the red traffic line so it knows that it's backed up there but that's where I lose most of my time every day.


It took me a while to trust that the car knew best, but after a couple of times when it wanted to take me a different way (that made no sense at the time) and I kept with the route I had planned, I ended up stuck in the worst traffic ever. So, now I listen to it 

Now, there's one place that I don't- it tells me to take a road that intersects with another road and it's a bit of a blind right turn for me due to the curve in the road so I will take the longer way so I don't have to risk it. (But I am sure that the car is right about it being quicker, I just don't want to put myself in a risky turn if it's avoidable.)


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## turnem (Apr 26, 2019)

Good info. I'm going to follow it religiously for a while and see what happens. I'll also run Google Maps in parallel.

One other odd thing I've noticed is that my GPS gets turned around when I'm exiting my parking garage at work. It takes it a few minutes to recalibrate itself once I'm out of the garage. I mean - I KNOW why this happens but it's just that I've never seen it happen with my phone or any other car before. Makes me wonder if the GPS reception is weaker in the M3.


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## turnem (Apr 26, 2019)

I'm not sure if Tesla's navigation starts adjusting over time based on your driving habits and location or if I'm just imagining it but I must say that it's been pretty darn accurate for the last several weeks. Or at least as accurate as Google Maps/Android Auto was for me prior to getting the M3.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

garsh said:


> I usually have Google Maps Navigation running on my phone (charging) in parallel with Tesla Navigation for my commute (*mostly for Google's alternative routes ability* when there is an accident).




__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1542282713838882816


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