prius GPS navigation sucks

[rigormortis]

i bought a garmin traffic with the msdn direct, hated msdn direct and after several emails to garmin to ask them if i can switch the msdn direct antenna for the regular rds-tmc traffic antenna, they didnt seem to want to help me, so i took it back and bought a tomtom instead. the one thing i like about the tom tom other then the map fix feature is that you can use tom tom traffic connection (over a cell phone) or the rds-tmc antenna (but not both at the same time). tom tom cellular traffic seemed to be better then the stuff clear channel sends out over rds-tmc. an actual address or phone number to clear channel to renew the antenna seems elusive so i don't know what happens when the subsciption ends. the thing i kind of hate about tom tom is that they seem to come out with a new map every 3 months, and every map is $79 to $99. they used to do free maps for a year, but thier are signs they stopped doing that or you have to buy the unit from a dealer that offers that service, like costco. they have this stupid 1 free map upgrade but on every computer i tried tom tom home on it kept reassuring me i had the latest map, even though there was a newer map for sale. i called tom tom and yelled at them once and cried fowl because it was 3 months and i never found out they came out with new maps and i had to make them budge and they eventually added me a new map to my account. then guess what a new map comes out the next week so i had to do the same thing over again.

msdn direct seems to be a dead end service, with one microsoft page saying they are expanding the network, and another microsoft web page saying service is not gauranteed past a certain date, and it required me rebooting the traffic receiver often to force it to get an update. there was only a small area of san jose where it seemed to actually pull stuff down. supposevly the msdn direct traffic antenna charges off your 12v plug and after about 3 days it has full info and you can turn your car off and cut power to the plug and the msdn direct antenna would use its internal battery to keep updating its information while the car and navigation device was turned off. but the coverage was extreemly poor.

it would just sit there and say no msdn information all the way from livermore to san jose, for the entire 40 mile trip, until the antenna was unplugged and plugged in, and then it would miracously come back to life and actually pull down information after i got home, heh

[kazots]

I do think the Nav system takes alot to get used too, but will work well enough. I would not carry my Garmin in addition and just hang in there.

[Joekc]

Originally Posted by strider5

It sucks that it will take me 5 miles out of the way just to get me back on the route it calculated rather than calculate a better route and start from there.

Yeah, that's a real issue. My Nuvi 360 will quickly find a new route, where the stupid Toyota NAV system hangs onto the original route like a starving dog with a bone.

My favorite command from the Prius Nav system is "please make a legal U-turn." The last time it gave me this command I was on a 6-lane divided Interstate highway. BAD, BAD, BAD

[aaf709]

Originally Posted by Vincent

How about a passenger being able to use the Prius Navi system when the car is moving; thank you Toyota lawyers!

I've always felt that they should have a weight sensor that will allow the NAV to be used if there's a weight in the passenger's seat more than 50 lbs.

Originally Posted by Joekc

Yeah, that's a real issue. My Nuvi 360 will quickly find a new route, where the stupid Toyota NAV system hangs onto the original route like a starving dog with a bone.

My favorite command from the Prius Nav system is "please make a legal U-turn." The last time it gave me this command I was on a 6-lane divided Interstate highway. BAD, BAD, BAD

While it does want to go on one route it changes pretty quickly for me.

The only time I had a "please make a legal U-turn" command was way out in the middle of nowhere. It turned out that I was on the edge of a Marine camp. The road was a public road, but the land wasn't.

[boulder_bum]

I definately concur that the usability of the Prius GPS is pretty horrible, but once you get used to it, it's at least functional and has several strong advantages over a third-party device like:

• Screen size.
• No need for DC adapters or wires.
• The ability to predict where the car is based on speed/direciton when going out of GPS range.
• The presence of controls and voice command buttons right on the steering wheel.
• Voice directions that quiet themselves when you're in the middle of a phone call.
• Voice directions that turn your stereo down to make announcements about upcoming turns.
• Destinations that let you view info, then initiate a call via your Bluetooth system right on the screen (handy when making restaurant reservations).
• Day/night color schemes that can adjust depending on whether or not you have your headlights on.

Let's see a Garmin do that!

The bottom line is that Garmin (and Tom Tom and probably others) have the interface down better, but what you get with the Toyota OEM system is smooth integration with the rest of the car.

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by boulder_bum

I definately concur that the usability of the Prius GPS is pretty horrible, but once you get used to it, it's at least functional and has several strong advantages over a third-party device like:

• Screen size.
• No need for DC adapters or wires.
• The ability to predict where the car is based on speed/direciton when going out of GPS range.
• The presence of controls and voice command buttons right on the steering wheel.
• Voice directions that quiet themselves when you're in the middle of a phone call.
• Voice directions that turn your stereo down to make announcements about upcoming turns.
• Destinations that let you view info, then initiate a call via your Bluetooth system right on the screen (handy when making restaurant reservations).
• Day/night color schemes that can adjust depending on whether or not you have your headlights on.

Let's see a Garmin do that!

The bottom line is that Garmin (and Tom Tom and probably others) have the interface down better, but what you get with the Toyota OEM system is smooth integration with the rest of the car.

This is an excellent summary of the trade-offs for the Toyota NAV system. Anyone reading this thread and wanting to know whether to buy one or not, this information and the price are all you need to know. I have the OEM NAV system and like it, but I also agree that Toyota could learn from Garmin.

Tom

[Genoz World]

I live off my navigation as I am a real estate broker here in southern california.

there have been two instances where my stock toyota navi does NOT find the address, even though i entered the city and add correctly. i dont input every property because i am familiar with some areas, especially the beachside. after that instance of not finding the property, i opt to mapquest everything! i just can't afford NOT to find the property. can anyone give comment or help? with my previous car,at least i could have called ONSTAR for directions. i have no options here.

i used my kids garmin, $250 special, forgot the model # - it found both of the addresses immediately. what's up with that?

i asked once about real time navi - does anyone know?

[Joekc]

Originally Posted by boulder_bum

• Day/night color schemes that can adjust depending on whether or not you have your headlights on.

Let's see a Garmin do that!

Umm . . . the Garmin knows the time of the sunrise/sunsest for every day of the year at your location and automatically adjusts itself for day/night based on that. Let's see Toyota do that . . .

[ThePackage]

Wow! I have a better experience with my Prius '06. First when I enter the address and it calculates the route, it usually gives me up to 3 different route choices to choose from. Once selected, you can actually have the GPS play the complete planned route. If you don't like it go back and try a different route. I don't see a problem. I don't have the Garmin you speak about but I'm VERY HAPPY with the Prius NAV

[Wildkow]

Cap all those complaints with the fact it won't give you turn by turn directions for most locations outside of major metropolitan areas. At least not in the Central Valley of California. Toyota calls that a "Safety Feature" that's nice of them.

Wildkow