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What should I expect to pay for a Map Upgrade 2017 Prius V four?

Discussion in 'Prius v Audio and Electronics' started by gromittoo, Jun 8, 2021.

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  1. gromittoo

    gromittoo Active Member

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    2013 Prius v wagon
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    Two
    I just put a deposit on a CPO 2017 Prius V four at asking price. It is June 2021, right as the pandemic is letting up. I was lucky to find a CPO Prius V with 40k on it for $22K only 155 miles away.

    I was hoping to get the Toyota dealer to upgrade the maps in the GPS as a minor concession, before I get there. The saleswoman is balking, saying it costs $300, and that they aren't willing to pay their service department to do it.

    I found the 2021 upgrade SD card on Amazon or eBay for $59.99. The MSRP for the SD card with the map data (86271-0E073) is $169. I think it is a simple install if you have the Techstream software. My Techstream software broke when windows 10 forced an update on my laptop.

    1) Is it reasonable to buy the 86271-0E073 card online?
    2) is the procedure simple enough, that I can do it without the Techstream Software?
    3) If I wind up having to get it done at a dealership, what is a reasonable cost (I would think under $200).
     
    #1 gromittoo, Jun 8, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2021
  2. wafwat

    wafwat Junior Member

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    Location:
    Gulfport, MS
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    We got our 2016 Prius V five with ATP in November of 2020. It still had the original map SD card installed. I looked into upgrading the maps and decided to go with the OEM part from the dealership for the $169. It's very easy to "upgrade", think if found the steps here of the forum. You just pop open the cover on the right side, push the SD card and it ejects, push in the new SD card, put cover back and done. I'd suggest taking the car for a drive while it "updates", took about 20 minutes.

    V
     
    #2 wafwat, Jun 8, 2021
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2021
  3. gromittoo

    gromittoo Active Member

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    I can get the just released 2021 map update SD-Card for $59.99 on eBay. Is it really that simple? change the SD card and the maps update?

    I have read a complicated procedure that involved:
    1) A Unique Serial Number from the media,
    2) Insert the media, and read the unique "map identifier" displayed on the head unit screen.
    3) Sending these two different numbers to the dealer, where they enter those two numbers into a key server on the web
    4) The key server then returns an 8 digit unlock key that must be entered into the head unit
    This matches the sort of gyrations that provisioning a cable TV settop box.

    Maybe this complex procedure is only required for older units like the one in my 2013 Prius V. That unit came out of a junked 2014 Prius V, and has maps dated July of 2012! I am keeping the 2013, so I wouldn't mind updating its maps as well. I just need to buy a head unit out of a 2015-2017, and install that in my 2013. There is a long thread in here with pictures about how to do that upgrade.
     
  4. wafwat

    wafwat Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Five
    I saw those on e-bay too. Read some reviews and decided it wasn't worth the risk. But that's just me... Also, as with all "hardware" based Nav systems it says 2021 maps but in reality the "data" is a year old. Also, after getting the new maps we tried using the Nav system and it was just too "clunky". Not easy to use or figure out. Guess I'm too accustom to using Waze on my iPhone.

    And yes, it is really that easy. And you are correct, that process of using a USB stick and serial number is for older head units. Don't recall at what year this new SD card thing was introduced.

    As a side note, when we connected up the wifes' Android phone via Bluetooth that has the Toyota Entune app installed on it and launched the app, I'm pretty sure that it updated the radio firmware.

    V
     
  5. Valiant V

    Valiant V Member

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    Look on Amazon. I got one for $34.00 for our 2017 (three). There's another thread on it somewhere here.

    For $34, mine appears to be OEM and has a map data date of 4/2020. Installed without a hitch.

    Best online dealer price I've seen is about $160.
     
    bisco and wafwat like this.
  6. gromittoo

    gromittoo Active Member

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    The reason I need the latest maps is because I drive Uber and Lyft. I don't use the car's GPS for Navigation, I use my phone for that. I use the Xar GPS to know exactly where I am when the phone GPS is clearly confused.

    The problem with using your phone for a GPS is that phones use Cell Towers for location. In some areas (like center city Philadelphia), the Cell signal bounces off buildings (and even through buildings), and and your car will suddenly jump through a skyscraper, to the alley on the other side. The GPS starts recalculating, using the new wrong location.

    The Car GPS only uses GPS satellites, combined with "Dead Reckoning". The Car GPS knows what direction and how fast the car is moving, and it knows when you turn, so it doesn't jump through buildings to other streets. I leave the Maps app at all times when I am driving. That way, my phone can keep getting confused by errant cell tower signals, but the name of the street I am on (according to the car GPS) will always be correct, and my car will be pointed in the correct direction on that street.

    Having the latest maps is also important for new housing developments, and major highways that have been relocated. If you are waiting to get picked up by an Uber, you may start to wonder why the driver is suddenly going in crazy directions,. Often the novice driver's phone is giving them crazy directions.
     
  7. gromittoo

    gromittoo Active Member

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    That is the price for last year's map. There is a 4/2021 map update available for $60 from the same seller.
     
  8. Valiant V

    Valiant V Member

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    It seems from various responses is that you really don't know what you're going to get.

    I only bought mine three weeks ago, and it said "latest update".

    Other folks who bought about the same time as I got older ones.

    It would have been a bit much for me to expect to get a 4/2021 map if I was buying it before that was even released. :p

    I honestly don't know how much stock you can put into release dates or claims of "latest data". My 4/2020 database shows a road crossing a set of train tracks 2 blocks from where I work. That crossing has been abandoned for as long as I've lived here. (12 years) and following the map directions will get you four very flat tires, bent rims, and likely suspension damage. Toyota may have compiled a map and stuck a 2020 or 2021 date on it, but keep in mind some of the data may well be ten years out of date.

    I wouldn't believe any claims of how new a database is until you install it and read the map data off the screen.

    Anyway, for $35, I'm happy to have a somewhat recent database for about 1/5 the money even online dealers charge.