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Switch Prius' screen language to English

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Glanza, Dec 29, 2006.

  1. Glanza

    Glanza New Member

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    and Merry Xmas to whoever is reading my post.

    I talked my dad into getting a Toyota Prius some time ago, but the price of a brand new Prius is too high, so my only chance was finding him a second hand one.
    I finally located a 2004 second hand Japanese import Prius (executive), and now I only have 2 concerns before purchasing it...
    1) it's mechanical and batteries' condition
    2) switching the screen's language to English!!!
    All the screen menus, voices etc, are in Japanese. That's horrible. I can't control anything!
    Is there an option anywhere in the menus to simply switch the language to English? Or I have to take the car to the Toyota dealership for that?
    Anybody has any experience with the subject?

    Your response will be appreciated!

    Thank you.
     
    #1 Glanza, Dec 29, 2006
  2. auricchio

    auricchio Member

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    Location:
    Cambria, CA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    I would suggest you take the car to a Toyota dealer before purchase for several reasons:

    1. You probably will have no further warranty support. Warranties usually apply only within the original country of sale.

    2. There may be no reasonable way to change the language from Japanese. But I suspect one of our Japanese-speaking members will provide further insight. (Ken? This one's for you!)

    3. You should check the vehicle's fuel requirements. I don't know if Japan uses a different gasoline formulation from yours, but it's worth asking. Using the wrong fuel mix could cause damage.

    4. Does the vehicle meet local laws (e.g. lights, signals, etc) and air-pollution laws?
     
    #2 auricchio, Dec 29, 2006
  3. Glanza

    Glanza New Member

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    Thank you for your quick reply Rick.
    1) You are right. I know that toyota gives an extensive warranty for the Prius, which is transferable from person to person. But maybe this is not valid for different countries. I will pay a visit to the Toyota dealership with plenty of questions. Hopefully they will be kind enough to help me out. Because they get b!tchy when people purchase an import car, and not directly from them :)

    2) I would have no problem getting used to the japanese menus. But the problem is that it will be my dad's car. He can't be bothered. I don't care if the language change procedure costs, I will demand from the importer to fix it and pay for it. But i need to know first if there is a solution :mellow:

    3&4) I live in Cyprus (a very small left-hand-driving island in Europe), where the japanese imports are extremely popular. Some models are imported from japan months before the dealerships get their European version :)
    So i guess there should be no problem with gasoline (i have the choice of 95 98 & 100 octanes gas).

    Anyway, thank you very much for the help so far. I hope a way to change the menu's language will be found eventually :huh:
     
    #3 Glanza, Dec 30, 2006
  4. auricchio

    auricchio Member

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    Location:
    Cambria, CA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Regarding fuel choice: According to this article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating):

    "87 octane fuel, the "regular" gasoline in the US and Canada, would be 91-95 (regular) in Europe."

    So my guess is that your "regular" gasoline is labeled 95, which is what you'd use for the Prius. You probably have more experience with the fuel choices already.

    I just realized that "Ken@Japan," also known as Ken1784, is a member at http://www.priusonline.com . You might consider posting the original question there.
     
    #4 auricchio, Dec 30, 2006
  5. Glanza

    Glanza New Member

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    I went to the Toyota dealership today, to get the sad news that there is no way to switch a Japanese Prius' menu into English. Too bad, this totally changed my plans. :(
    No hybrid for my dad <_<
    Anyway, after some all-day-long car-hunting, I found a freshly imported 2005 Yaris RS (1500cc) with a great bodykit. This will be great for him.
    I don't want to bother him learning Japanese to use the full potential of his car.
    Thanks for your help, this is a great forum
    But I can't hide my disapointed that the so-high-tech Prius doesn't have an option to change menus' language and not even Toyota can do anything about it :(
     
    #5 Glanza, Jan 2, 2007
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