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Like the car, hate the nav

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by mvrider, May 10, 2012.

  1. mvrider

    mvrider New Member

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    I've had the base PiP for just 2 weeks now, and driven it on a daily basis for just 4 days. I like the car and appreciate the engineering, but I must say the navigation system is aggravating. This is my first car with built-in nav, and had there been a choice, I would have stuck with the Garmin 3790LMT from my previous car.

    Perhaps these annoyances can be addressed by settings that I haven't found?
    • The radio doesn't mute when voice guidance speaks a direction. When I'm listening to a news show, it's like being at a cocktail party with multiple conversations.
    • The system doesn't tell you what side of the street your destination is on until you're 300 yards away. On a 6-lane road, this is dangerous. The display always shows the finish-line flag on the right side of the street.
    • To enter a destination by voice, I always have to say "California". Can the system be set to assume the state?
    • If the system can't understand your voice destination, it just kicks into alternate commands, rather than saying "house number not found", or "street not found", etc.
    • By voice command, I haven't found a way to enter a previously entered destination
    Of course, the system doesn't have traffic updates unless Entune is enabled, but I knew that. The display resolution and clarity are several generations behind the Garmin. :( Because the same display is also used for the audio system, you can't see information from both stereo (e.g., track or station name) and nav at the same time.

    Any solutions? Or other shortcomings?
     
  2. gbrown

    gbrown New Member

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    its pretty crap compared to my Civic Hybrid nav, screen in a sunny day is near impossible to see, worse with polarized sunglasses on.
     
  3. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    I don't even bother with the built-in nav, but instead use either my phone or Magellan, both of which have traffic monitoring features. I had factory nav in my '06 Prius and got frustrated with all its idiosyncracies like being unable to understand my voice and "locking up" when the car was moving. Combine all that with the outrageous price for updating the system and it's a non-starter.
     
  4. mikenewmediary

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    Well, I must say that I am enjoying the NAV.
    I never had it built in, my tom tom, or garmin on the dash was annoying, and my iphone could never keep up.

    I find it to be very accurate, and enjoy the experience.

    ehh, thats my opinion.


    Mike
     
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  5. ryogajyc

    ryogajyc Active Member

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    That's odd; I thought it behaved the same way my Gen 2 did, which was at half a mile (880 yards) away.

    Previous Destinations isn't grayed out while moving, so you can set it using button inputs.

    The XM NavTraffic seems less accurate than Google Maps, sadly.
     
  6. radiocycle

    radiocycle Active Member

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    Shortcomings? Well, as I've harped on before, no real-time speed indication like my Garmin has. My solution? Keep the built-in nav off and stand my Garmin Nuvi on the dash.
     
  7. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    My perception of reading threads about the Toyota Nav comes down to this. If your bar is set on the Garmin you are going to be disappointed. Also those that like the Nav have taken the time to read the manual, understand the settings and taken the time to adjust the settings to match their driving habits. The Toyota Navs are not user friendly but are very functional if set up properly.

    I have taken the time to set up my Nav properly and it works very well and gets me from point A to point B every time. Some times better than my kid's Garmin units.

    Yet another opinion.
     
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  8. DianneWhitmire

    DianneWhitmire High PRIUStess

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    It's growing on me in some ways.
    I confess, I haven't linked Entune yet because it just seems like a pain in the a.. er, too silly to have all of those things to play with onscreen.

    I also still stream my audiobooks, my iTunes, and make my calls using the bluetooth (iPhones) - which works great. Entune aspect doesn't seem needed for my commute. :cool:

    I do like being able to talk destinations to the system but I hate, hate, hate the fact that you have to talk pretty fast or the system seems to misunderstand you! Ther's no recovery from this but to either start over or start typing into it like the older versions...

    And, hmmm... that 6.1 screen sorta sucks after a few years with a 7". The battleship gray background on the Nav screen is just plain ugly too.

    I'm just sayin.
     
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  9. iRun26.2

    iRun26.2 New Member

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    Your honesty (from a salesperson, turned owner) speaks volumes.
     
  10. LenP

    LenP Member

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    Well I guess the Toyota nav just likes my NJ accent,:D It takes verbal commands very well, and works better then my Garmin did! Until I read the manual and figured out what was what I also thought it was a mess, but now I like it very much.
     
  11. iRun26.2

    iRun26.2 New Member

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    I am feeling better about the navigation system now compared to when I first got it. With time, I think I will be able to use it's more advanced features and find it pretty useful. It really is as shame that Toyota probably won't offer a software upgrade. Let's face it, there are MANY things that could be greatly improved without much effort. It seems to me like it really wasn't quite finished, yet needed to be released.
     
  12. iRun26.2

    iRun26.2 New Member

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    LenP, thank you for your post. Having heard this from several users gives me hope that I too will find it more useful than I currently do.
     
  13. 9G-man

    9G-man Senior Member

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    I really like the display audio w/ nag unit. It is a huge improvement over the gen 2 hav.
    Best of all it works while moving. And voice search of POI brand is great.
    I can say 'nearest office supplies' and it finds them all.
    I can say 'nearest McDonald's ( or whatever) and bam, it's found.
    It's intuitive and after a little time with the manual it impressive.
    Voice command of saved destinations is done with the command 'favorite .......'
    Entune was easy to set up and traffic works great.
     
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  14. longterm

    longterm Member

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    I really like my new PHEV, but I agree about visibioity with sunglasses on; I never had a problem with my 07 Prius, but in this car the main display is hard for me to read with sunglasses. The GPS isn't bad except in bright sunlight, where it's useless; In my 07, I don't remember it EveR being an issue.
     
  15. DianneWhitmire

    DianneWhitmire High PRIUStess

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    OoOO I just learned a few things about the Nav... making it a tad easier to use!

    Press the TALK button to start the NAV process.
    And, say the word destination and the address (all run together fast)

    Like:

    destination 1333 east 223rd street carson california

    BAM, she hits it.
     
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  16. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    Just learned something new about the nav today too. As long as your phone is connected and entunes is pulling down data, the navigation will automatically update traffic and reroute you. You don't have to open the traffic app to load traffic data.
     
  17. mvrider

    mvrider New Member

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    Yup! But is there any way to set it so that I don't have to say "California" every single time?? It's a big state, and my PiP won't be leaving it often.

    One other complaint, echoed by another forumite, is that when the address is not understood, it doesn't let you know what was misunderstood, so you can isolate and correct it, but just dumps you into the voice menu tree.
     
  18. janie

    janie 2016 Prius 3 Touring

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    Thanks Dianne :)
    Today I was able to use the voice for the destination I wanted. It understood me the first time I spoke the address. Yay- nice not to have to pull over to input the address.
     
  19. epoints

    epoints Junior Member

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    Anyone figures out how to navigate to address in your phonebook contact? ToyotaCare told me it's not possible, even though the option is there (phonebook). It just does not recognize the address format and sent me to DC every single time.
     
  20. DCDave

    DCDave Junior Member

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    Although some of the features have improved, the smaller display is a nuisance, compared to the nav in my '06 Prius. I am disappointed that the new unit does not feature a "suspend guidance" command, which I had found quite helpful. The new unit is even worse than the old one was on DC-area through routes like Rock Creek Parkway and Beach Drive (never directing you there and inventing places to turn off of them that don't exist). But here's a tip for anyone traveling to DC: if you speak a destination, don't say "Washington, DC" - skip the "Washington" or else it will search in Washington state!