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Prius 4 Navi issues... frustrated...

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by idesi1, May 24, 2012.

  1. idesi1

    idesi1 Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2012
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    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Ok i knw this has been discussed several places but I could'nt find specific solutions so I have my list of issues.
    I am so much frustrated with the navigation system 6.1" display (non-hdd) that I feel like taking it off and just use my phone.
    a) Glare: the glare is so much i cant see with my sunglasses (which I have to, avoid getting blinded in the hot summer of houston.). I have to remove my sunglass to look whts displaying on the screen n yet its not visible properly.
    (I knw priusshop sells the shade thing but the reviews r all negative)
    b) My iPhone never gave problem connecting to 2012 VWCC, 2011 Sienna, or other loaner cars for the Bluetooth audio. Now i can't listen to any music because it wont play via the Bluetooth audio from my iphone, and weird thing is if u connect it via cable it wont work either because it display message that ipod not compatible etc...I went to dealer and he couldnt find the fix either..
    has anyone got to work their iPhone4 without issues? ( pls dnt advice to change it to android)
    c) Entune, Pandora etc work when they feel they want to.Navigation has issues searching and wht not. the scorlling and other feature on the sterring wheel are so limited that eventually u have to use the screen to call a number or audio radio function.
    d) I did consider the after market units but then they wont have the sterring wheel and other function available as the oem plus its more costly to get the aftermarket when u already have the stupid factory nav (the so called advanced )
    My sienna never has issues with bluetooth audio it starts right off.
    Toyota has a cheap looking nav with cheap software and interface

    My most concern is the
    1)GLARE how to fix it??
    2) the bluetooth audio and iphone4 issues.
    so pls anyone who knws the fix let ur knowledge thru.
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. smurs

    smurs Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Don't know if this will help or not, but I found the screen very hard to see too (still do, actually). But it was helped a bit my maxing out the brightness (in the display settings), and (counterintuitively) decreasing the contrast.
    My iPhone 4 has worked fine over bluetooth, but if I plug it in, it always jumps audio to the USB, so I have to go back to the Settings: Bluetooth: Paired Device List, then select my iphone, then reenable audio for bluetooth. Once I had to delete a paired device list, and reenable it to get a good bluetooth pairing. Maybe that was coincidental, but it seemed to help. One thing to keep in mind, if your sunglasses are polarized, they might actually be blotting out the screen! I had that trouble with a pair of prescription sunglasses, I couldn't look at any LCD or LED displays with them.

    FYI, I've gotten that "ipod not compatible" message with bad (or cheap) cables... your phone is definitely compatible.

    I have had a few intermittent issues with Pandora and Entune (on one random phone in particular) but they seemed to smooth out for some reason. Wonder if it has anything to do with the Entune app itself? Sometimes it needs to have the focus, sometimes it doesn't...
     
  3. dehhh

    dehhh Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Well a good work around for bluebooth would be to the blackberry stereo gateway device. It connects and stream audio very good. The only issue though is that it doesn't connect phone calls.
     
  4. ProximalSuns

    ProximalSuns Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Bad design. Gotta get the glare shield.

    Breakdown, get the Mobile Hotspot tethering from your phone carrier and everything works.

    Even Entunes works with the tethering. Make sure you enter your Entunes ID and PWD into the car via Setup.

    They do but whatchagonnado now?
     
  5. idesi1

    idesi1 Junior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    smurs.... thanks i will try out the brightness setting and yes I do have Polarized sunglasses.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Bad design. Gotta get the glare shield. .... DO you mean the one sold on prius shop or other ? if other type please let me know because the one on prius shop has all negative reviews so I would surely prefer an alternative.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by idesi1 [​IMG]
    Toyota has a cheap looking nav with cheap software and interface

    They do but whatchagonnado now?
    ... Well Be a bad boy...:D
     
  6. idesi1

    idesi1 Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
     
  7. dhancock

    dhancock 2 Prius Family

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    Location:
    Hamburg, NY (Buffalo area)
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I've found that our new 2011 is much worse than our 2007 Prius. My "glare" issue is that the 2011 dash top reflects more light up onto the windshield than the 2007. On sunny days polarized glasses are required! But the problem is that, while sunglasses are polarized at o degrees while the LCD used in the Prius Nav is polarized at something like 45 degrees - thus the "brightness" is cut down much more than necessary (the polarization plane in LCDs is arbitrary - most TVs are at 0 degrees). Thus, Smur's suggestion is the first thing to do.

    Another part of the problem is that most sunglasses (polarized or not) are low transmission (pass through 15-30% of the light). That makes it a lot more difficult to see the Nav screen and the speedometer as well (Safety Alert). I found that a few opticians (Like "Pearle Vision") can obtain high transmission polarized glasses (I hesitate to call them "sunglasses") that should eliminate the dash reflection on the windshield, while still allowing you to see the Nav screen without removing the glasses (or "tilting" your head 45 degrees to maximize the brightness).

    Frankly, I think that it is corporate negligence to design cars that almost force you to use polarized sunglasses and yet use a Nav system screen that can't be easily seen through those glasses!
     
  8. idesi1

    idesi1 Junior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    ^ 100% Agree with you
    I have ordered anti-glare screen so once I put it up on the nav lets see how it makes a difference.
    Will report soon on it...
    if not than will take ur advice and call pearl vision
    thanks
     
  9. idesi1

    idesi1 Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Ok just wanted to update that after installing the anti-glare screen from Lexerd which is sold on amazon I am very glad with the results. Now the visibility is much better in the day, i would say 75% difference with the anti-glare screen on. I would surely recommend fellow members who have similar issues to apply a the screen.