Getting the best reception from your Sat nav GPS unit

Positioning your GPS unit

All Sat Nav GPS units come with integral antennas, but remember that for any system to work effectively it must have a clear view of the GPS satellite constellation. When mounting your unit on the dash, do not position it too near the A-pillars as this may reduce the field of view.

Problems with reception

Some vehicles have special UV coated windscreens (known as athermic glass), which prevent a GPS signal being received on all GPS based units. Heated screens or “Quickclear” screens (such as as those on some Ford models) also have the same effect.

If you do have a problem with reception it is easily remedied by an optional external antenna or additional internal antenna. Check our website for the right sat nav antenna.

• Internal Mounting of GPS antenna
  GPS antennas tend to be small flat square receivers on the end of a long cable. It is always best to experiment with different locations in your car, but some manufacturers of athermic windscreens leave small clear sections of glass to allow use of GPS receivers, often at the bottom corners of the screen or just below the rear view mirror. Try there first, but you can also consider the driver side window or rear parcel shelf.
   
• External Mounting of GPS antenna
  The best position to externally mount an antenna is just under the air intake vent on the bonnet, or trim near windscreen wipers. Make sure that this area is made of plastic (most are) otherwise it will again prevent a signal being received. Mount as close to the bonnet as possible, if the antenna is mounted low down it will not get a clear view of the sky.

The following vehicles may, or are known, depending on age/registration to have windscreens that prevent a signal being received:

Heated screens (GPS reception may be intermittent and weak):

• Ford Mondeo (optional heated screen)
• Ford Focus (optional heated screen)
• New Fiesta (optional heated screen)
• And some other Ford models as optional extra
• Jaguar (various models)
• Range Rover and Land Rover (various models)

UV/Solar Reflective/metal oxide/Comfort screens (minimal to zero reception):

Manufacturer	Model	Year	Affected?
Alfa Romeo	All	1998-Current year	Possible
Aston Martin	All	1998-Current year	Possible
Audi	All	1995-Current year	Common
Bentley	All	1995-Current year	Possible
BMW	3 Series	1998-Current year	Possible
	5 Series	1998-Current year	Possible
	X-5		Yes
Citroen	All	1998-Current year	Possible
	C5	1998-Current year	Common
	Picasso	1998-Current year	Common
Chrysler	All	1998-Current year	Common
Fiat	Mutipla	2002-Current year	Common
Ford	Focus	2001-Current year	Common
	Galaxy	2001-Current year	Common
Honda	All	1998-Current year	Possible
Jaguar	All	1998-Current year	Possible
Land Rover	All	1998-Current year	Common
Mazda	All	1998-Current year	Possible
Mercedes	All	1995-Current year	Possible
	E-Class	1995-Current year	Common
	M-Class	2000-Current year	Most
	S-Class	2000-Current year	Most
	Vaneo	2000-Current year	Common
MG/Rover	All	1998-Current year	Un-Common
Mitsubishi	All	1998-Current year	Un-Common
Nissan	All	2000-Current year	Possible
	Almera	2000-Current year	Yes
	Primera	2001-Current year	Yes
Peugeot	All	1998-Current year	Possible
	20	1998-Current year	Common
	307	1998-Current year	Common
	406	1998-Current year	Common
	607	1998-Current year	Common
Range Rover	New Shape	2000-Current year	Common
Renault	Clio	1995-Current year	Common
	Laguna	1995-Current year	Common
	Megane	1995-Current year	Common
Vauxhall	All	2000-Current year	Possible
	Vectra	2000-Current year	Common
	Zafira	All	Common
Volvo	All	1998-Current year	Common
VW	All	2002-Current year	Common

If you have had a windscreen replacement, this may also be athermic glass