Kansas City MINI Enthusiasts

I'm having trouble with my GPS and looking for options.

I have the Nuvi 360 MINI edition (Garmin made MINI, BMW 3 series, Hyundai and Ford models). The dealer installed the mount and hardwired the power. It's a great set-up, but it never crossed my mind that the GPS would eventually give up and I would be left with essentially a non-functioning mount and wiring system.

Today I tried to get it repaired via Garmin. Their website says, "This model can no longer be repaired." Ugh. It is no longer picking up satellites unless the car isn't moving. If I'm at a long stoplight, it might pick up the satellites and keep on track for about 5 miles, but it doesn't work when moving.

Anyone with experience with this model? Or know someone who wants to sell theirs? Or, or, or... I'm at a loss here.

Houston, we have a problem. SOL probably.

Are all the Nuvi 360s the same? If so, looks like Amazon has some used ones listed.

http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-3-5-Inch-B ... n+nuvi+360

Is this different from a "regular" Garmin Nuvi 360? I looked on Ebay and Amazon on all Nuvi 360's listed were used.

It is different from the "regular" 360s in that it says "MINI" on the case, the wallpaper screen is the MINI logo, the icon options on the screen are MINIs, it has all of the MINI dealer addresses in the country pre-loaded. None of these options is essential to me.

What is essential to me is that the unit click into the bracket on my steering wheel. That bracket includes the hard-wired power source. I'd rather not have to re-wire something.

I spent an hour on the phone this afternoon with Garmin tech support, really terrific folks. They have a department that specializes in Garmin Auto OEM devices. They were able to round up an antique GPS like mine (not MINI-specific) and confirm that any of the Nuvi 360s should fit into the MINI bracket and charge. They also walked me through some reset options that we had not yet tried (no luck). Amazon and eBay, here I come...

And in the latest update, MiniX2 read online that you can strip the plastic off of a twist tie from a loaf of bread, stick the wire into the external antenna port on the GPS and it might work. Gonna give that a try as soon as we can find a twist tie. Cuz we're classy like that.

I have a Nuvi 7XX something that I'm pretty sure is the exact same case - it's the one in Rose's car - if it is you're not restricted to just a 360 or whatever. I'll bring it Sat night if you want me too - we're thinking of upgrading her so we might make you a smoking deal on it - it still works perfectly. As long as the power cord matches (I'm pretty certain it does) and the case is the same it will work.

Minidave wrote:I have a Nuvi 7XX something that I'm pretty sure is the exact same case - it's the one in Rose's car - if it is you're not restricted to just a 360 or whatever. I'll bring it Sat night if you want me too - we're thinking of upgrading her so we might make you a smoking deal on it - it still works perfectly. As long as the power cord matches (I'm pretty certain it does) and the case is the same it will work.

I would love to give it a try, MiniDave. The Garmin folks seemed to think a 350 or 360 would fit, but I'm willing to try just about anything.

MiniX2 did have some success with the twist tie antenna, able to connect to one satellite. Guessing it is an antenna issue so he spent $20 to order a new antenna and will take it apart to see if he can fix it. Plenty of folks online with similar issues with the units that had flip-up antennas.

We here in Johnson County are lucky that the world headquarters for Garmin is located in Olathe, KS. They are located at 151 street and I-35 and have a customer service location onsite. I have used them many times to ask questions and purchase parts for my NUVI 755T. Just a heads ups. Hope this helps.

boxer wrote:We here in Johnson County are lucky that the world headquarters for Garmin is located in Olathe, KS. They are located at 151 street and I-35 and have a customer service location onsite. I have used them many times to ask questions and purchase parts for my NUVI 755T. Just a heads ups. Hope this helps.

I knew I was talking to folks across town yesterday, but didn't know they have an onsite customer service center. I probably would have driven oven there! Unfortunately, they don't stock parts for my antique GPS any longer, but having them take a look at it would have been great. Filing this tidbit of info away for future reference. Thanks!

ragtopday wrote:

boxer wrote:We here in Johnson County are lucky that the world headquarters for Garmin is located in Olathe, KS. They are located at 151 street and I-35 and have a customer service location onsite. I have used them many times to ask questions and purchase parts for my NUVI 755T. Just a heads ups. Hope this helps.

I knew I was talking to folks across town yesterday, but didn't know they have an onsite customer service center. I probably would have driven oven there! Unfortunately, they don't stock parts for my antique GPS any longer, but having them take a look at it would have been great. Filing this tidbit of info away for future reference. Thanks!

Get it fixed. Stay Old School!!

Another tidbit to file away, The Garmin headquarters in Gardner is directly across the street from a Taco John's.

Laurie wrote:Another tidbit to file away, The Garmin headquarters in Gardner is directly across the street from a Taco John's.

Olé!

Bah, the Jumping Catfish is the better eating option.

Dang it Johnna, we had the Audi right next to your car at the drive-in and we didn't try the Garmin to see if it fits - I'm sure it will, but if you want to send your old one down with John on Sat, we can compare to see if the mount's the same. BTW, I can transfer all your pics and flash files to this one, plus I can install a file that makes your pointer into a Mini - your color and a convertible too! This one has Bluetooth, MP3 player and it will answer your phone handsfree if you want it too!

UPDATE: $25 in parts from Portatronics and 15 minutes of MiniX2's time and I'm all set!

The Nuvi 360 parts aren't available thru Garmin any longer, but are available from Portatronics. They shipped fast, the repair was easy (especially for me ) and it works even better than before, probably because Garmin walked me through a hard reset that wiped out all of my old data.