Yes, you can still use Waze in Malaysia. As at 1 November 2026 there is no ban on members of the public using it. What changed in late October 2026 is that the government barred civil servants from using Waze on official duty, citing data-security concerns, and urged everyone else to consider switching, mainly to TuJu, an app from the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM). The Prime Minister has said a full ban is possible once suitable alternatives are in place, but nothing has been decided. Google Maps isn't affected. Check the news in the week you travel.
Waze, Google Maps or TuJu
You'll be fine with any of the three in the Klang Valley. They differ in what they're good at.
Waze builds its traffic picture from other drivers' reports, which is why so many Malaysian drivers, including plenty of e-hailing and delivery drivers, still rely on it. On Malaysian routes it shows an estimated toll for the trip before you set off. It has been owned by Google since 2013.
Google Maps is the one to have as a backup, because it lets you download an area of the map in advance. It's also better for the walking part of a trip: from a car park into a mall, or to an LRT station.
TuJu was built by LLM with a private partner and launched in November 2025. It shows live traffic, highway CCTV cameras, toll fares and what's at each R&R. You have to sign in to get directions. After the government recommended it in October 2026, a flood of new users caused outages, and LLM said it was fixing route accuracy and extending coverage from the expressways to ordinary roads. On 27 October LLM's chairman added that TuJu was built mainly for the tolled highways and isn't meant as a general navigation app. For now, use it as a second opinion on the highways rather than your only map.
Set it up before you drive off
- Phone in a holder, destination set before you move. Under Rule 17A(1) of the Road Traffic Rules 1959, using a phone that isn't hands-free while driving is an offence, and holding or tapping it by hand can be enough, as at 2026. Bring a holder if you rely on your phone CHECK: whether Grandpride supplies a phone holder or charging cable with its rental cars.
- Get mobile data sorted. Live traffic is the whole point of these apps, and without data you lose it.
- Search by place name, not by typed address. Petaling Jaya and Subang roads are numbered by section (SS2, USJ 9, Jalan 13/2), and one wrong digit puts you in a different neighbourhood. A mall, hotel or business name is safer.
- Have an offline fallback. Waze keeps a route you chose while online and will give basic directions if you lose signal, but with no traffic or alerts. Google Maps gives turn-by-turn driving directions offline anywhere inside an area you downloaded, again without traffic. Offline areas expire, so update the download before a long trip.
Where KL catches the app out
- Around the city, several highways cross on top of each other, and the GPS can lag under flyovers and in tunnels such as the SMART Tunnel. Know the name of your exit from the signs as well as the voice, and our guide to Malaysian road signs gives you the Malay words for "exit" and "toll plaza".
- If you miss an exit, carry on and take the next. Swerving across lanes at the last second is how small accidents start.
- Navigation apps will sometimes save a minute by routing you down residential streets with speed bumps. In a low sports car that's a minute you'll pay for at every hump, so pick the main-road option.
- Most fast routes in the Klang Valley are tolled and every toll is electronic. Grandpride hands over a Touch 'n Go card with the keys, loaded with whatever you choose between RM 50 and RM 500. Our guide to the highways around KL explains which road is which.
Reporting, and what not to report
Flagging a crash, a stalled car or a pothole helps the drivers behind you. Do it when you've stopped, or let a passenger do it, for the same phone-rule reason as above.
Police roadblocks are different. PDRM has publicly asked motorists not to post roadblocks and police positions on Waze, so leave those alone. If your papers are in order, a roadblock usually costs you a few minutes; our guide to police roadblocks in Malaysia explains what happens at one.
Camera alerts deserve the same caution: the limits apply between the cameras too, and speed limits and AES cameras sets them out.
If you'd rather not depend on any app in a city you don't know, a Grandpride chauffeur does the route-finding and the parking. To drive yourself, the rental fleet shows which cars are free on your dates, delivered to your hotel within the Klang Valley.
