Is there life after knobs, buttons and switches are all gone?

Yes. The AC temp controls annoy the heck out of me. I have the system off most of the time. If I want to change the temp pf the air that circulates when it's off, I have to turn it on, then adjust the temperature, then turn the system off again. The old sliding lever mechanical system was so much easier. Just reach over and slide the lever. ...until lit broke, then I had to go to the junkyard.

And there should always be a volume knob for the sound system. An electrical up/down button is way too slow when an annoying commercial or song comes on.

Here's a hack I do on my '14. You know those rubber self-adhesive pads? I grabbed a few of the small clear ones and stuck one to the temp up and one to the temp down side of that button, stuck one on the AC system on/off, and stuck one on the cycle button that selects between window, feet, combo, etc. Now I reach over without looking and can find those buttons.

 

My worry is that you are now depending on a single complex piece of electronics and application focused logic. I made a great living for 37 years debugging both. They do fail and then where are you but calling for a tow truck.

 

First of all, the center display failing does not result in a tow truck. The car will work fine without it.

Second, there's redundancy in the HVAC controls. They're all available on the MID as well.

 

Funny you should mention that. Our 2004 had a very early common problem where the MFD would fail & it would cause the red triangle of death. It was one of the most common failures of the Gen 2

.

 

We ended up replacing an otherwise function kitchen range, because the digital displays/controls failed, and the replacement part cost about 3/4's the price of a replacement range.

 

There was a thread somewhere about the two solder joints that needed to be repaired to cure this. I pulled the MFD from my 2004 Gen2 (now traded in) followed the instructions carefully and fixed the weak solder joints. It worked perfectly for many years. Yes, electronics can fail but they are also able to be repaired in some cases.

 

Methinks there is a typo hiding or we have found a time traveler.

 

Typo confirmed...2004 Gen2 to be more correct...Above post corrected.

Also found a link to the repair. As I recall, all I did was fix the three solder joints they identified at the end, I didn't go through all the diagnostic steps...
Prius MFD

 

That's exactly how wonderfully my Garmin works, and it's so quick!! When I need to go to a new address, I just speak the address normally in one phrase, and it's displayed with some other choices, I speak the number of the entry I want, I say, navigate, and I'm on my way!! Absolutely NOTHING like built-in GPS units I've used. I have never used Tesla's to be fair, but have tried 5 or 6 others; none of the built-ins were any good.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Time to update our Garmin methinks. Ours must be at least a decade old, no chance of voice command, and it's address entry is maddening, at least for me.

 

Mr. Leisk,
You will be in heaven if you go with the new Garmin. I think it's the DriveLuxe 52-s or something like that. You can speak to them for particulars. I just know it's their top model. They even have a lower-performing variant which includes a camera!!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I believe we are really overdue for voice interactive systems. IMO, Interactive systems are still too clunky, and a joke. We should already have the ability to easily communicate our intent using voice commands without any hiccups or confusion. C'mon technology, let's get with the program here!

 

The thing is, mistakes from home voice recognition are generally trivial. Mistakes in vehicle voice command can be fatal.

 

Are you joking? Currently I can’t easily communicate my intent without any hiccups or confusion to another human.

 

Avionics is heading back to having a real button keypad for data entry and only using small touchscreens with big icons for function select. Most new systems also include wireless IPad integration. One of the few real uses for the IPad and the only reason I might get one.
Trying to enter multiple multi character waypoints in high traffic areas with adverse weather with a little nipple knob or onscreen with right and left arrow buttons or touchscreen keyboard always seemed stupid to me.

Tesla innovation? Don't make me laugh.

Honda-Garmin G3000 with dual "IPhone" touchpads.
http://www.hondajet.com/images/galleries/interior/HI_Cockpit_Day_G_CockpitUpdate_a_806X536_Main.jpg

Diamond-Garmin G100 NXi with keypad.
https://www.flyingmag.com/sites/flyingmag.com/files/styles/325_1x_/public/images/2017/06/da62-keypad.jpg?itok=kGDrOgNX&fc=50,50
First Diamond DA62 with Garmin G1000 NXi Delivered in the U.S. | Flying Magazine

 

If you have an older Garmin, the newer ones will amaze you even more. I have an ancient Nuvi 255W and then went to a (now old) Nuvi 2757 LM (7"). The 255 is pretty much simple routing. The 2757 added speed limit warning, school zone warnings, custom POI's, complex routing (this feature is wonderful), Junction views (actual photo image is displayed of your turn or exit), and my favorite is the routing that shows you exactly what lane you need to be in and when. You can easily drive through big cities you've never been to with ease. This mode came out in 2012 and they've gotten much better since then.

 

I had an older Garmin with the lane assist feature and it was pretty good, but the hardware died.
I replaced it with a newer model and usually, the lane assist is too late to be useful

 

I understand. Also, I may not have explained the guidance or stated it as well as I could have. Let me expand for the "other" unfamiliar readers. All three of the combined features below have made my travels trouble free.

My 2757 has 3 lane guidance features.

1. Lane assist. It appears in the upper left hand corner of the map screen. Lane Assist will appear when you have a destination entered into the Nuvi and will appear as one or more arrows. Each arrow represents a lane on the road your traveling on. One or more of the arrows will be highlighted and those will represent the lanes you should be in to make the upcoming turn in your route.


2. Junction Views. These are photo-real pictures of an upcoming interchange/corner in your route with the lane you should be in highlighted by a magenta arrow on the map screen.




3. Active Lane Guidance. It is similar to Junction Views but show the magenta arrows in the lane you need to be in on the map screen, in a moving screen.

 

Just off the top of your head, would this be comparable:

Garmin DriveSmart 60

(currently available on Amazon)

 

Discreet keys, knobs sliders allow you to set controls without looking.
good for driving
In general practice, knobs a buttons and switches, have a fixed purpose.

Touch screen requires at least initially, eye contact.
bad for driving
Touch screen can serve up virtually infinite control surfaces, super flexible.

In my ford F150 pickup with big old knobby tires, it would bounce you around around in the seat.
I had a radio that had a touch interface. I could barely use it.
Even the volume knob was made so that if you pushed the knob one way, it would do one thing,
another way for another thing, turn it for volume.
I dared not adjust the volume while driving, there was no telling what I would get.

On my flip phone, with a discreet key pad, I could text while holding my phone behind my back, or under a table.
I gotta be looking at the iphone, usually two handed to text.
Thank goodness for siri (but siri isn't good for secretly texting under the conference table)