[travislambert]

It appears that there may be an issue impacting the PDR GPS signal with many, most, or all after a certain date Camaros (with PDR). The issue appears to have started late in the 2022 model year the best I can tell.

The issue is a problem with the quality of the PDR GPS signal on its second use after a long period of no use. In other words, your PDR likely works fine at least once. It will continue to work for the remainder of that ignition cycle for as many videos as you'd like to record. However, if you turn the ignition off and within a few hours attempt to record another PDR video, you may notice that the GPS signal is weak or nonexistent. This, of course, is causing issues with any map overlays, lap timings, etc. If you let the car sit overnight, the PDR GPS will work perfectly once again for one ignition cycle. After that, the GPS signal quality is poor/non-existent. Unhooking the battery momentarily does not work, unfortunately. It seems the car must sit and enter a long sleep cycle before whatever is causing the issue resets. Sometimes I leave my car running between sessions just to have a working PDR.

Since late 2016, I've owned and tracked a 2017 Camaro ZL1 without any PDR issues. Last year I purchased both a 2023 Camaro SS 1LE and a 2023 Camaro ZL1 1LE. Both new cars have the PDR issue described above.

On the 2023 SS, I have replaced the GPS antenna with a new antenna as well as the older revision that was in the 17 ZL1. Neither made a meaningful difference. I've tried two other PDR modules. One was from an early 2019 build and the other was from an early 2022 build. These two modules as well as the one that came with my car all have the same behavior.

I know of a couple of other people tracking newer Camaros and they are also having the same issue. If you're having this issue, please take your car to the dealership with sample PDR files and have the dealership contact GM. I believe the folks at GM are aware of the issue but perhaps don't know the cause just yet. The more cars we can get to the dealerships the more resources they'll put into fixing the problem.

If you are aware of this problem and have a workaround or solution, please share it.

[Chippy]

No such issues with my 21. Many on / off cycling at track days and so far has always worked.

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by Chippy

No such issues with my 21. Many on / off cycling at track days and so far has always worked.

Right. Makes sense. I believe the issue started very late in the '22 model year. I'm not aware of any cars older than a '22 with this exact issue.

[SnakeEyeSS]

Probably a supply issue cost cutting measure during the chip shortage, I hope you figure it out.

This might seem ridiculous, but have you tried a different memory card? I've seen some electronics have bizarre behavior because the bitrate wasn't high or consistent enough it caused issues you wouldn't think could happen.

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by SnakeEyeSS

Probably a supply issue cost cutting measure during the chip shortage, I hope you figure it out.

This might seem ridiculous, but have you tried a different memory card? I've seen some electronics have bizarre behavior because the bitrate wasn't high or consistent enough it caused issues you wouldn't think could happen.

Not ridiculous at all. These PDRs are certainly picky about cards. I have tried several different cards, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem to help. The ones I've tried have all been different variants of SanDisk brand cards though. I'll try a different manufacturer.

It all works fine for as many videos as I would like to make in that first ignition cycle. That lets me know the card is at least capable of working. I normally use the 32GB SanDisk Ultra cards that are rated for Full HD video.

[N Camarolina]

Mine works great, but again, a 2021. Is it possible that the problem is not in the PDR module, but instead somewhere else? I don't know how the PDR module is designed, but I would have thought that the GPS would be integrated into the Onstar device, as that is in every vehicle and has to have GPS to perform it's emergency rescue tasks.

[65ffr]

I ran 4 sessions at track last week, PDR worked fine.

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

Mine works great, but again, a 2021. Is it possible that the problem is not in the PDR module, but instead somewhere else? I don't know how the PDR module is designed, but I would have thought that the GPS would be integrated into the Onstar device, as that is in every vehicle and has to have GPS to perform it's emergency rescue tasks.

Yes, absolutely. In fact, after trying 3 different PDR modules, I'm convinced the problem is in something that changed with the rest of the car. It could still be a bug in the PDR module, but I believe something in the car is different that's preventing the PDR from working as it did in older cars.

In the 6th Gen Camaro, the PDR has its own GPS independent of OnStar.

[travislambert]

Originally Posted by 65ffr

I ran 4 sessions at track last week, PDR worked fine.

So the GPS map, lap timings, etc. all worked?

Which SD card are you using?

Did you leave the SD card in the car the entire day or were you removing the card after each session? Just wondering if something like that may make a difference.

Strange question, but is your date/time in the car set to automatically update? The symptoms with my cars and the others seem like a new day allows it to work again once, for whatever reason. I need to play around more with setting the dates forward as well as trying empty cards vs cards with files from the current date.

[Chris'ZL1]

Originally Posted by travislambert

It appears that there may be an issue impacting the PDR GPS signal with many, most, or all after a certain date Camaros (with PDR). The issue appears to have started late in the 2022 model year the best I can tell.

The issue is a problem with the quality of the PDR GPS signal on its second use after a long period of no use. In other words, your PDR likely works fine at least once. It will continue to work for the remainder of that ignition cycle for as many videos as you'd like to record. However, if you turn the ignition off and within a few hours attempt to record another PDR video, you may notice that the GPS signal is weak or nonexistent. This, of course, is causing issues with any map overlays, lap timings, etc. If you let the car sit overnight, the PDR GPS will work perfectly once again for one ignition cycle. After that, the GPS signal quality is poor/non-existent. Unhooking the battery momentarily does not work, unfortunately. It seems the car must sit and enter a long sleep cycle before whatever is causing the issue resets. Sometimes I leave my car running between sessions just to have a working PDR.

Since late 2016, I've owned and tracked a 2017 Camaro ZL1 without any PDR issues. Last year I purchased both a 2023 Camaro SS 1LE and a 2023 Camaro ZL1 1LE. Both new cars have the PDR issue described above.

On the 2023 SS, I have replaced the GPS antenna with a new antenna as well as the older revision that was in the 17 ZL1. Neither made a meaningful difference. I've tried two other PDR modules. One was from an early 2019 build and the other was from an early 2022 build. These two modules as well as the one that came with my car all have the same behavior.

I know of a couple of other people tracking newer Camaros and they are also having the same issue. If you're having this issue, please take your car to the dealership with sample PDR files and have the dealership contact GM. I believe the folks at GM are aware of the issue but perhaps don't know the cause just yet. The more cars we can get to the dealerships the more resources they'll put into fixing the problem.

If you are aware of this problem and have a workaround or solution, please share it.

I tracked my 23 ZL1 yesterday for the first time. PDR was acting crazy! GPS had my Map overlay all over the place. Sometimes it would finish a lap and restart Timer, but mostly it just made the session 1 continuous lap. Very dissapointing! I tried redefining the finish line before 2 other sessions and it did not help.
Attached Photos of Heartland Park map and what my overlay looked like

[travislambert]

[travislambert]

I thought mine worked yesterday, but when I looked closely, the map wasn't accurate.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by travislambert

I thought mine worked yesterday, but when I looked closely, the map wasn't accurate.

Attachment 1136978

Yeah, those 180˚ left turns look pretty tricky.

[FollowMyLine]

Mine was one of the first/early 2022 models built (8/23/21) and I have this same issue. I have someone at GM looking into it for me. Glad I found this thread again because I am pointing them this way.