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Nav System Adventure

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by bparrish, Sep 3, 2004.

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  1. bparrish

    bparrish Junior Member

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    My wife said this was so funny I oughta' share it...

    My wife and I took our first 'fun' drive in the Prius last Saturday late in the afternoon. When we got up in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area, we turned on the POIs for Restaurants, and we saw one we didn't know... "Classic Barbecue".

    Well, barbecue sounded good, so we figured out how to make it our destination, and started to follow the nav lady's instructions. It looked like it was in an area where we wouldn't expect a restaurant, but the entire area is semirural, and occasionlly you see odd businesses in odd areas.

    As far as we could tell, the location it was taking us to was in a neighborhood of small farms and multi-acre parcels with homes on it... we drove all through the area and didn't see anything like a restaurant. So we pressed the "INFO" button, and the address and phone number came up (and a little green 'off hook' telephone icon, much to my surprise). We decided to press the little 'off hook' icon, and the bluetooth cell phone (Nokia 6820) did its thing and someone answered at the other end. The conversation went something like this:

    I asked "Is this Classic Barbecue?"
    Answer: "Yes it is"
    Me: "Where are you located?"
    Answer: "California" (what kind of a wise guy is this?)
    Me: "Where in California?"
    Answer: "Grass Valley" (Do these folks want to be found or not?)
    Me: "I think I'm pretty close to your location and I was thinking of coming for dinner".
    Answer: "We're not a restaurant, we're an internet business selling restaurant supplies".
    Me: (laughing) "My car's Nav system thinks you're a restaurant, it even has your GPS coordinates?"
    Answer: (laughing at the other end) "Really?"

    We chatted a little more about the car and the nav system and the business - they don't have a clue how they got in the database. I did an internet search on their phone number, and they DO have a web presence at:

    http://www.commercemarketplace.com/estore/...cbbq/index.html

    (classicbbq.com seems to alias to this address).

    Well, then we tried a restaurant in the nav system that we had heard of. Followed the nav lady some more. This one was on a highway, and the nav system was right on this time. As we parked the car, we noticed that there were lots of cars, RVs, and SUVs with the trunks or hatchbacks open, and the backs were full of (occupied) portable dog kennels... Turned out the restaurant was 'bought out' for the evening for a banquet for a dog club or something of the sort (but the apple pies smelled heavenly... we'll have to go back to that one).

    We finally ended up at a Mexican restaurant we knew in Colfax (which I don't think was in the database). Actually, all-in-all a very fun trip.

    Moral of the story... if you don't KNOW the restaurant it's taking you to, you might want to call first. And if you're looking for a nice commercial smoker, I think I've got the number!

    We DID have a little scare - went over a bump in the road in around Colfax, and the red triangle, the engine check light, (and I think the VSC indicator) lit up... but everything seemed to be running normally. After cycling power a couple of times, all the alarms went away and haven't returned in a week of commuting. From looking around at web pages, it looks like this sort of thing isn't too unusual during the first few hundred miles. (the gas cap was on tight - when the dealer went with me to fill it up, he told me about making sure it was on good, and gave it a good twist with several good clicks).

    I've really been enjoying the car. I was driving an 85 Tercel 4WD Wagon to work most of the time... no CD or even cassette... the A/C was marginal. The clutch in the old car recently died a horrible death in the parking lot of a local repair shop, and has since been donated to the local highschool auto shop - who were delighted to get a 4WD vehicle to work on... The windshield had cracked back in the winter (but hadn't spread QUITE all the way across yet).

    I saw another Silver Prius with temporary plates today in my small town parking lot - a lady was driving in with the windows down, so I hollered "Nice Car!", she answered "Thanks", then I pointed to my Salsa (which she hadn't seen yet). She gave me a thumbs up, and I went off chuckling.

    (edited to fix .sig)
     
    #1 bparrish, Sep 3, 2004
  2. outoftown

    outoftown Member

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    2017 Prius Prime
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    Prime Advanced
    Do Prius owners think alike or what...my wife and I used to have an 83 Tercel 4WD SR5 Wagon. 6-speed manual transmission. Never had a problem except one dealer recall for the ECM. Even the AC worked fine for 13 years. It was like the Prius in that it was ahead of its time...a 5 door 4WD SUV with folddown rear seats that got 30MPG. Also had a 1.5 litre gas engine like the Prius.

    Back on topic...I have NAV version 3.3 and 3.2. Does anybody have newer? Would a double layer DVD recorder duplicate the 3.3 disk for use in the older (by one month) '04 Prius?

    Thanks
    Bill
    '04 Black BC "Highbred"
    '04 White BC
     
    #2 outoftown, Sep 7, 2004
  3. bparrish

    bparrish Junior Member

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    My car delivered last week has 3.3.

    [those tercel wagons were great cars]
     
    #3 bparrish, Sep 8, 2004
  4. inventor00

    inventor00 Active Member

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    I'll bite- how do I tell which version of GPS we have?
    Thanks.

    From Sunny So Cal......oc.priuschat.com
     
    #4 inventor00, Sep 8, 2004
  5. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    Not a lot of comparison, is there :)
     
    #5 bruceha_2000, Sep 8, 2004
  6. bparrish

    bparrish Junior Member

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    "Menu" button - then "Map DVD" (small box at upper right)... at least on 3.3. It seems like somebody said a while ago you could pull out the DVD and look at it, but I haven't tried that yet.
     
    #6 bparrish, Sep 8, 2004
  7. glscheil1

    glscheil1 New Member

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    Navigation Screen Adventure

    In June, my wife and I wanted to go to the Omaha Hilton. I programed their address in Omaha and we started out. It worked wonderful until we got to Omaha. Wife said we should have turned off the Interstate-she could see the street the hotel was on. Being obstinate, I continued to follow the Nav lady. We continued north on the interstate and the nav lady told me to take the next exit. I continued to follow her instructions and we ended up way up on northern edge of Omaha. It took us to a house - why, I don't know because I had not entered thaat address. We finally inquired directions and a couple of people steered us way back about 10miles south to the hotel. Now my wife won't let me use the Navigation. :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :D :cussing: :cussing: :cussing:
     
    #7 glscheil1, Sep 8, 2004
  8. hdrygas

    hdrygas New Member

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    I was trying out my Nav system on a Sunday to see how the emergency system worked. I wanted to go to the hospital (yes I know how to get there I go there every day) the system gave me a route (in progress not stopped) to a "urgent care" center. This reads a Family practice doctors office. I know these guys. They are OK but only open (approx.) 9-5 M-F. Hardly a place you would want to go to in any kind of emergency even a broken bone. This is a major defect. When I want a hospital I want a hospital not a Doctors office. If I have a emergency I will either use the phone or park the car and do a search. I think this is a major fault of the Nav system. Problem is that (as I understand it ) this system is built "down under" definitions are a bit different and some of the definitions are blurred. Be very carefull.
     
    #8 hdrygas, Sep 8, 2004
  9. inventor00

    inventor00 Active Member

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    I asked the dealer (service guy) for a NAV update and it is not out yet. They just got one for the 2002 Corolla. He was estimating it would cost about $995 (ugh) for the Prius- but that was just speculation (probably because that is what it cost for the Corolla).
     
    #9 inventor00, Sep 9, 2004
  10. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

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    I was told to make a left turn at an intersection the other day, when I KNEW a right turn was appropriate. All I needed from the NAV was the closest Cingular location, but let her tell me where to go. Once I saw the address, but also noticed a left turn coming up, I knew it was being a pain again...
     
    #10 mikepaul, Sep 9, 2004
  11. pdamski

    pdamski New Member

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    I was going east on the 118 Freeeway the other day and wanted to go south on the 405 fwy. The exit is on the right and goes to the right. The nice nav lady kept telling me to go to the left. It's a good thing we come with our own computers installed to correct her errors.
     
    #11 pdamski, Sep 9, 2004
  12. inventor00

    inventor00 Active Member

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    Thats why I still use mapquest....in addition to Nav lady...
     
    #12 inventor00, Sep 9, 2004
  13. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    No panacea there. A couple of years ago I used it to map a Holiday Inn, with a specific street address. Got a nice star on my map and headed out. Good thing the HI was visible from the interstate because Mapquest had moved it about a mile west down the road. The HI was just east of the interstate.

    I wonder if she knows "Emergency Room", though like Henry, I think that if I ask for a hospital, it would be specific and only show hospitals.
     
    #13 bruceha_2000, Sep 9, 2004
  14. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Re: Navigation Screen Adventure

    I had just the opposite experience in which my wife kept saying, "Priapus doesn't know crap, it's up on the left, not the right!" To the left, a public library; to the right, the restaurant we were looking for.

    Though I certainly didn't say anything, I looked something like this: :p
     
    #14 TonyPSchaefer, Sep 9, 2004
  15. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    Re: Navigation Screen Adventure

    And were wisely looking away from her at the time, right? :)
     
    #15 bruceha_2000, Sep 9, 2004
  16. obiwan

    obiwan New Member

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    Last Saturday night we were part of a convoy for our dining club ( Ok 5 couples so it wasn't a BIG convoy) On the way we got separated and rapidly lost (it was a new section of Houston).

    We pulled over, entered the restataunt's name in the nav system and in a minute were on our way again. THe system seems a little bit conservative, but it DID get us there.

    <sigh> with all the freeway construction here in Houston, we WILL need to get a new nav disk in a year or two.....
     
    #16 obiwan, Sep 9, 2004
  17. Darkmage

    Darkmage New Member

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    In VA, we have HOV lanes that switch directions in accordance with the rush hours. Every morning, the NAV system keeps telling me I'm in a southbound lane and I need to get over in the northbound regular lanes (and go 10 mph for five miles? I think not!)

    The intersection guidance looks really weird when it recommends you make a 170 degree turn and go up an onramp. :wink:
     
    #17 Darkmage, Sep 10, 2004
  18. outoftown

    outoftown Member

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    Re: Navigation Screen Adventure

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(glscheil1\";p=\"38245)</div>

    Sounds like you should turn off the Nag-in-nator! :roll: Calibrating the Navigation should help, but being off a few hundred feet really messes up the last bit of travel. Ran into this problem with one destination location on the wrong side of the interstate. Another instance was my mom's house two blocks off and also a hotel in Sumter, SC within eyeshot showing the opposite direction that I was traveling. I would suggest mapquest as a backup as a previous poster suggested, but mapquest directions aren't always correct either, but I've noticed they are getting better and better. Maybe future upgrades will eliminate Apex Peakway, a proposed road in my area that is showing as a viable route on the DVD, but first they would have to demolish a bunch of existing homes first. The 3.3 version also shows a fairly new major route on Hwy 55 between Cary and Fuquay-Varina that the 3.2 version shows as an open field, so it is getting better with each release!
     
    #18 outoftown, Sep 13, 2004
  19. callinectes

    callinectes New Member

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    I have pulled out the DVD, extracted the files, and written the ones needed for my region to a DVD+R (all regions won't fit on one DVD+R)and it worked! Don't change regions though or you'll need to put in the original DVD for it to open that new region.

    Edited because... I wasn't thinking...
     
    #19 callinectes, Sep 14, 2004
  20. victor

    victor New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(callinectes\";p=\"39285)</div>
    And then none of us will be able to get updates as the size of the market will be to small to justify the cost of production. :guns:

    Edit: because the above poster has now thought :wink:
     
    #20 victor, Sep 14, 2004
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