Navigation w/ Traffic

Re: Navigaition w/ Traffic

The navigation part of your unit doesn't require XM, only the traffic part. XM traffic is available in 130 markets in North America. Navteq, the system used by Garmin, in 98 markets. FM traffic has dead spots. Drive to NYC from the north and you won't start getting traffic until it might be too late to make some decisions.

Nothing wrong with Garmin traffic. Nothing wrong with XM traffic either. Maybe Toyota decided to use a system which accommodates more of their customers.

edited to add the radios in cars are designed years before the car is sold. Free FM traffic wasn't widely available at the time the current Prius was designed.

 

Re: Navigaition w/ Traffic

I believe you can get just XM Traffic.

 

Does anyone know if the XM NavTraffic integrates with the on-board navigation system - meaning the navigation will route and re-route you based on changing traffic conditions? Or is that something you need to check via XM NavTraffic then plan your route on the on-board navigation manually?

 

Yes, XM Traffic integrates with the Nav system and will re-route based on traffic conditions.

 

I have two different Garmin Nuvi units both with the traffic mentioned above and was very disappointed with the traffic accuracy here in Houston. On more than one occasion, it told me there was no traffic when the road was stop & go and vice versa (where I avoided my regular route for traffic and there was none).

When I bought my Prius I gave both of the units to my daughter in Atlanta (and one of them was the high end at the time 3790t which also had bluetooth which I obviously no longer needed).

Why did I do that? Because I also had an iPhone 4. Now the iPhone 4 has an app that comes with it for free called Google Maps which includes traffic from some provider. I don't use that app. I actually purchased the Garmin app for my iPhone - the original one (which uses maps online) comes with traffic and does routing based on it. The newer Garmin iPhone app which came out about the time I purchased my car which I also bought ($30 to $50 each), has traffic and traffic routing as optional and I chose not to purchase it (so far) - the reason is because I purchased for $1.99 an app called "BeatTheTraffic" (free version has ads) which has pretty good traffic maps which also include the actual road speeds going in each direction at various points. I keep my phone in a holder near the little window on the left in front of the a/c vent so it doesn't overheat and use both BeatTheTraffic and the newer Garmin app (which does allow me to look at POIs and create routes even when the car is moving). I use my Prius navigation system only as backup since over 10 mph, I can't do much with it (and I don't care to talk to it).

Bottom line - I let my free XM expire (since I play Pandora and TuneInRadio - both free iPhone apps and use traffic from BeatTheTraffic). My physical Garmin Nuvis went to my daughter since I use two Garmin apps on the iPhone (and I still have one Garmin unit left - but that one is for camping and hiking).

 

A heads-up about traffic supplied to the various nav units: most of the traffic sources (TMC, XM, etc) only update about every 15 minutes. This is one reason why what you see may not be reflected in the navigation system.

TomTom HD updates every two minutes but is not yet available in any USA head units.
Online (ie smart phone) apps such as Waze and Google Maps are also reasonably current.

 

JVC GPS Navigation System KW-NT50HDT / KW-NT30HD

JVC has a HU with HD (Clearchannel) traffic. I'm sure I already gave you that information in a previous post.

 

Might have! Thanks. I remember the JVC but didn't remember it having HD traffic, nor the Clearchannel connection ... very helpful! This link provides or links to helpful info, such as:

- "JVC is the first to adopt Total Traffic HD Plus."
- "Customers include BMW, MINI USA, Volvo (all of whom offer subscription-free services) as well as device makers ASUS, Garmin, TomTom, Navigon, Nav N Go, Mio Technology, Delphi, Kenwood, Clarion, Harmon Kardon, Panasonic, Siemens, and Cobra Electronics, among others."
- A list of all supported devices. Only two (including the JVC linked by prius2010II) in the US support HD traffic right now. The rest use TMC (FM) updating.