Is There Any Way to See Caller ID When in Motion?

I have not yet figured out how, when or why caller ID works with the bluetooth connection. I will see the phone number appear on the MFD with some calls but not with others.

 

I only see the phone # and the name of the person associated with the # (ie: Mom Cell) if that person and # are in my phone book. Otherwise it's hit or miss if I have an incoming call from a # not in my phone book. It has been the same whether with my Razr, Nokia 3600 or iPhone.

 

I have a 2006 and I would say:

Get a Bluetooth 2.0 spec phone.

It will transmit battery data, connection strength information, realtime text-over-link (which means for some phones knowing the name of who's calling if they're in the PHONE's phone book, regardless of the car's, and of course, caller-id out of the in-car phone book).

There's a setting option that prevents the whole screen from stealing focus on incoming call, and instead displays a dropdown with the caller ID information.

 

One other thing to be aware of is that Toyota has had issues with some of the cell service providers in the past. I know that Cingular/ATT usually has the best luck with pairing and the amount of information that can be transferred to the car's system. That includes ALL the Toyota bluetooth systems. WWW.Toyota.letstalk.com has some info but is mostly generic. I also know that Verizon seems to be least cooperative when it comes to transferring phonebook info and the like... Good luck!

 

From what I've observed, I just assumed it would only show the info if the number is in your address book. Unfortunately, my phone (the iPhone) doesn't support the ability to transfer all of your contacts over. I haven't noticed it behaving differently while standing still or moving, but I'll have to experiment. Toyota does like to limit the things you can do while moving (to the point of annoyance).

 

Yeah. LockPick eliminates all that. And this is one more reason to avoid the iPhone, above and beyond the middle-quality screen and smudgy display and immense weight of the thing.

~ dan ~

 

Yeah, I saw that lockpick when I ordered the EV mode kit from Coastal. I might try it eventually, maybe when they get the iPod interface kits back in stock. I am trying to avoid going on a warrantee-voiding rampage though. I figure with the EV switch, I can just pull it back out if I need to bring the car in for warrantee work.

As for the iPhone, I guess that's a discussion for another forum.

 

I haven't heard anything about the LockPick causing warranty-voiding damage.

Considering the CA Consumer Protection Acts, I doubt it's easily possible to void the warranty here.

~ dan ~

 

Are you referring to the actual number or the name of the caller or both?

In my 05, the number will show only if the car is stopped. The name, however, will display even when the car is in motion but only if that
contact is in the car's phone book and is an exact match to the incoming number (i.e., 800-555-1212 will not be a match for 1-800-555-1212).

 

Sorry about the confusion. It is second nature for me to write phone numbers with hyphens.

The Prius phone book does not contain hyphens, even though my cell phone does. When the numbers were uploaded from the phone to the car, the spaces and hyphens did not transfer to the car's contact list.

Make sure that the numbers in your Prius directory match the data provided in the caller ID information by your cellular carrier. I am a Sprint subscriber. Sprint's caller ID does not show a leading 1. For example, the car will display 8005551212 not 18005551212 (and the phone will show 800-555-1212 at the same time).

As long as your car's phone directory matches the caller ID information exactly, the caller name - but not the actual number - will show on the MFD even while you are in motion.

 

Glad to be of help. You are most welcome.