Navigation Aggravation

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GreenP @ May 5 2006, 05:22 PM) [snapback]250495[/snapback]</div>

You are certainly correct. I have a thread devoted to this same subject.
Many people will tell you to please make sure all of your setting are correct. Certainly you need to do this and also read all of the threads on Nav.
I have had my car for approximately 1000 miles and Nav is my only disappointment. I probably would not have noticed it so much if I had not experienced Garmin!
The Prius Nav does not know how to guide me within 20 miles of my house and I live in an area of 40,000! But it tells me when I have arrived. It also shows me where I am accurately on the map. It just can not guide. Considering the price of this Nav I have to complain to Toyota.
Please if you find out something that makes it work good for then let me know.

 

It depends on where you live, I suppose. Mind you, my last NAV system consisted of a 2002 Thomas Guide of San Diego, plus Mapquest, so any GPS system is an improvement. I didn't want to get one built-in in the beginning, but it was easier to get a Prius that had one. When I first had the Prius I asked it to route a trip home from work. I expected the usual route I was taking, but it showed me a shorter route that I didn't know about (and I had lived in the area for almost 50 years). And it did plan a trip to Anaheim better than Mapquest (which had put the destination almost a mile away). It also has asked me to make a legal u-turn on the only road going to a destination and then told me to make a turn onto a road that you'd have to be a burro to use. :blink:

That being said, I was looking at a tech magazine that scored the Civic Hybrid over the Prius mainly due to the fact that the NAV system is better in the Civic.

My next car will have a GPS nav system. Whether it's built-in or not is still up in the air. If someone asked me if they should get a Prius with navigation (vs w/o), I'd probably answer "only if you want a built-in." It's nice to have (and I use it a lot), but it ain't the only fish in the sea.

 

I have liked my Nav system and except for the voice control it has done its job. I have a Garmin iQue and have had them on side by side and they are similar but not the same. Both have good points and bad. Having a Nav system is great in a strange city. My Nav does not take me the way I would go in my own city but it can get me there. I expect it does the same thing in cities I don't know, gets you there but maybe not the best route if you have local knowledge, but you get there. I would no longer have a car with out one.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GreenP @ May 5 2006, 05:22 PM) [snapback]250495[/snapback]</div>

I agree. I have the European DVD and although the guidance in the UK is adequate, the interface for entering destination, etc is often terrible. It seems that I get to a screen and enter required information, then nothing happens and I cannot see any option but to hit "back" - then I have to start again.

I haven't yet been to Spain or Ireland with it but as far as I can see these countries have only very small areas mapped. The UK is well-covered, and so is Germany, but most European countries have large areas where there is no detail on the DVD.

The instruction manual is one of the worst I have seen and should be completely rewritten. Presumably there'll be a 2007 DVD one day but I suppose we'll have to pay for it.
:angry:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(GreenP @ May 25 2006, 05:11 PM) [snapback]261068[/snapback]</div>

I absolutely agree. Toyota needs to do much better. A NAV system is pretty much worthless if it is not going to recognize all areas of the country. I don't mean some swamp land or desert location. I mean cities and towns that are 30,000 or more. It is so disgusting to have the NAV say that it can not guide you now. Not to mention the fact that it keeps giving you U turns instead of recalculating the route. I just don't understand how such a high quality auto maker can install such a low quality NAV product and not correct it.

 

It anybody figures out who to complain to, I'd be happy to join in. I've already complained to the customer support line. I was hoping to get to an area sales manager, but have had no luck (I'm in the southeast).

Like most of you, I have another GPS (Garmin 2610) and know what these units should be. Denso's unit falls far short on software. The underlying hardware looks good. With some time spent on improving the code, this could be a good unit.

gk

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Proteus @ May 25 2006, 08:28 PM) [snapback]261174[/snapback]</div>

I have to say that the nav unit isn't as bad as I was led to believe from reading this and other threads before I got my Prius. I even have figured out how to use the voice commands to enter an address for a destination.

That said, I agree that it leaves a lot to be desired, especially if you are spoiled by the Garmin line of GPSr's (which I am).

One thing I particularly miss (and like about my Garmin 2620 StreetPilot) is the display of the cross streets of upcoming intersections. That is a most useful feature, and it's amazing it's lacking in the Denso nav. The saving grace is that the map is large enough to display street names legibly so you can have some idea of what's coming up.

 

I really like my Garmin StreetPilot 2720. I didn't get NAV in the car because where I lived it was not necessary. I got the Garmin when I came to Spokane. I find all the on-screen street names perfectly legible. And aside from a very few minor quirks, it operates flawlessly. I especially like having it right in my line of sight. I would not like to have to look over at the MFD when approaching a complicated intersection in traffic.

 

Just wondering . . . . . .

Are Lexus drivers as dissatisified with their (identical) nav system as some Prius drivers are. I looked at a couple of Lexus forums but could not find the subject discussed.

It is hard to tell if those dissatisified represent a significant number of users or not.

 

I live in the Philadelphia suburbs and have not had any problems. Locally it has always worked well. It took us to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and back last summer without incident. It found the hotels and resturants along the way. We even used it a few times to detour around accidents.

We plan to have it take us to Disney World and back in a few weeks.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ May 26 2006, 01:28 PM) [snapback]261405[/snapback]</div>

I believe the satisfaction with the Prius or Lexus or any Toyota Nav depends on how it responds to the areas you you drive. If you only drive in Mega cities like Chicago it does really well. If you drive in areas like cities of 30,000 or more it is really hit or miss. My areas of 50,000 population is comical. That is the problem with this Nav. It appears to have many areas that it does not recognize and is not able to give guidance.