Absolutely sick of Alexa's god-awful navigation

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

If you followed the directions to the back entrance you would have been rewarded with this:

I followed Alexa once when she took me to the back entrance of a local shopping center, instead of the front. Unfortunately all that was there were lots of trash dumpsters. Your gif would've been much more rewarding.

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[Tango45]

Ha! Too funny. We love our house, but the community and city government is an absolute sh** show. Doesn't help that we're involved in a lawsuit against the City of Manassas Park over some bullsh** that existed for years before we moved here. Fun times...

Come up here to Vienna. Me and the 30 other Rivians in this town will welcome you with open arms...

I did my highschool time in Woodbridge and the Prince William County courthouse is there in Manassas, so no fond memories/feelings on my end.

 

[hyzerfool]

With one or two exceptions, navigation has worked well for me. Alexa is hit and miss but generally fine and for the tasks I know it will work with it's really handy. Most often for me that means turning on steering wheel heater or dimming screen display.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

This is true. I was showing off Alexa to a friend debating between a R1S and Cybertruck, and Alexa navigated us to a long ago permanently fenced off road at a public park.

This is an embarrassment. I'm glad I don't have to rely on in-car navigation to locate things like charging stations, but I don't know how I could trust her for anything. I love to "show off" the Rivian, but Alexa navigation would definitely not be something I'd want to show anyone.

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Just remembered another fun time. I forget exactly what it was I saw, but I asked Alexa "Call the police", and she's like "I can't find that number in your contacts". So I said "call Prince William County police" and she said "I can't find that number in your contacts."

Glad it wasn't a real emergency, but I feel like Google would've just... you know... Googled the number.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Come up here to Vienna. Me and the 30 other Rivians in this town will welcome you with open arms...

Fun story: I wasn't able to get my Rivian out this morning because our "illustrious" Manassas Park Public Works team decided specifically to block my driveway:

So had to take the wife's Toyota (which was already out). Saw a yellow R1S rolling into MP on my way out. Tried to wave to them, of course they ignored me (because I was in a Toyota instead of the Riv). But god bless you, whoever the other person in Manassas Park is driving a Rivian, haha.

 

[Sgamer]

I've had my R1S for two weeks - navigation is very poor. Doesn't recognize road closures and other issues. Also shows me one street over quite often. Please give us options as they do with CarPlay. I had that for years in another car and could toggle between Waze, Google, Apple Maps. The nav system is quite poor and disappointing.

 

[Tango45]

In all seriousness, this thread does make me wonder if there is a big difference between "alexa" navigation and accessing navigation through typing in a search or "send to Rivian" through google maps/apple maps. Between the three, I think I use them in the following proportion: 0/60/40, respectively. I haven't had a noticeable problem with navigation, but that might have to do with the method that I use and the destinations I am going to (insert dig against Manassassassasss... jeez, even autocorrect doesn't recognize the place). I think there's been one time where I've known there's a better backroads route, but it was a minor thing vs a wrong direction. Perhaps there's some hidden differences to consider...

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

insert dig against Manassassassasss... jeez, even autocorrect doesn't recognize the place

Man-Asses is a sh*hole, to be sure. But it seems like all of the places I ask, are always frustratingly wrong.

Here was another one I had saved in my Google Photos from a couple months ago:

Me: "Alexa, navigate to FedEx"

Alexa: "Go past the pond, around the Roadhouse, out onto the main road, turn right, and stop in the middle of the street":

How can she get it so wrong? I'm literally parked right in front of the destination. Ooh, I can't wait for Rivian's supposed "update to navigation feedback". Imma give them an earful.


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Again, I'm venting because this is stupid. I know how to get to my destinations. Usually just like her on to show a map or traffic. But if I had to rely on this, especially to get to something like fast charging locations, I would feel like 🫠

 

[Tango45]

I’m genuinely sorry about your nav experience, but those pictures made me fall out of my chair laughing.

 

[elatrickWheels]

In all seriousness, this thread does make me wonder if there is a big difference between "alexa" navigation and accessing navigation through typing in a search or "send to Rivian" through google maps/apple maps. Between the three, I think I use them in the following proportion: 0/60/40, respectively. I haven't had a noticeable problem with navigation, but that might have to do with the method that I use and the destinations I am going to (insert dig against Manassassassasss... jeez, even autocorrect doesn't recognize the place). I think there's been one time where I've known there's a better backroads route, but it was a minor thing vs a wrong direction. Perhaps there's some hidden differences to consider...

One might expect that Alexa is being used only as a voice interface to Rivian’s nav system, but it doesn’t seem to work that way. If you use Alexa, it uses Amazon’s mapping software to identify the location and send it to the Rivian once you confirm the destination. That’s why the behavior is often different between speaking the destination to Alexa and typing it into the nav system, even if the spoken name of the destination is correctly recognized.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Here's another gem for y'all.

Me: "Alexa, navigate to Dulles Airport."
Alexa: "There is a Dallas love field 1,158.2 miles away."

Then she starts talking back to me and says she won't translate anymore.

This is a goddamn embarrassment when we had an important flight to catch to see a sick family member, and she's coming back with this nonsense in front of my family. But I'm still kind of curious wth "Dallas love field" is.



...In case anybody's keeping score, Google Assistant got it right on the first try.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Fun story: I wasn't able to get my Rivian out this morning because our "illustrious" Manassas Park Public Works team decided specifically to block my driveway:

So had to take the wife's Toyota (which was already out). Saw a yellow R1S rolling into MP on my way out. Tried to wave to them, of course they ignored me (because I was in a Toyota instead of the Riv). But god bless you, whoever the other person in Manassas Park is driving a Rivian, haha.

I would have driven across my grass, but I guess your neighbors might like you.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Here's another gem for y'all.

Me: "Alexa, navigate to Dulles Airport."
Alexa: "There is a Dallas love field 1,158.2 miles away."

Then she starts talking back to me and says she won't translate anymore.

This is a goddamn embarrassment when we had an important flight to catch to see a sick family member, and she's coming back with this nonsense in front of my family. But I'm still kind of curious wth "Dallas love field" is.



...In case anybody's keeping score, Google Assistant got it right on the first try.

https://www.dallas-lovefield.com/

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I would have driven across my grass, but I guess your neighbors might like you.

Thought about it. But I like having the nicest lawn in the neighborhood. 7,000# truck probably would leave some pretty gauche tire tracks.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

https://www.dallas-lovefield.com/

Yes, I figured it out now. Just pointing out how google (and everyone local), know and understand it as "Dulles airport". E.g.,:

Apparently the address really is "1 Saarinen Circle". But with Alexa's accent, she sounds like "Sarumon", haha.

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