Map app on 2012 Prius with display audio nav.

Ah.. that make sense. Thanks for clarifying it.

 

So my GPS coordinates lost again last week. The good thing is that this time it is not auto healing itself. I took it to the dealership on Monday and they didn't know what was wrong with it. I got the loaner Prius V for now so they could keep my car and talk to Toyota support to figure out the issue.

I finally got a call from them yesterday and they have ordered a new drive for my GPS (I am assuming that it is the flash drive that keeps GPS data). I should get my car back this weekend, but it is a shame that nobody at the dealership knew what the problem was. One guy at the dealership told me that my GPS was just Maps application and it doesn't work like GPS, so it being broken is "working as designed". Yeah, Right!

I will post an update once I get my car back to see if they were finally able to fix the issue. In the mean time, I am rocking Prius V.

 

Compared the Garmin or any other modern GPS (including Google Map and Apple Maps apps), 7.1 will also disappoint you. It is a little better than 6.1, but not something that will change your opinion of Toyota's crappy GPS.

My loaner Prius V is completely loaded and here are my opinion on few other upgraded options:

JBL: I am not very impressed by JBL sound system; I just cannot hear the difference between JBL and regular Toyota audio system. Not that I wouldn't take JBL in my car, but I don't want to pay extra for something I cannot differentiate and value.

Softex Leather: My last Highlander had leather, but Softex leather on Prius just seems a little weird. Not that leather in my Highlander was of super high quality or anything, but Softex seems even lower quality than that.

Glass Roof: My loaner Prius V has dual (back and front seats) glass roof. It is very cool.

 

Yeah, my loaner is a Prius V (Van) not hatchback. 7.1 system in my loaner is a little slower than 6.1 for iPod connectivity for sure. I get something like "wait, while system is fetching data from your iPod" in this loaner car a lot, but I never got that in my 6.1 nav system.

7.1 GPS in Prius V seems a little better (maybe it is just a bigger, better and sharper screen) and the fact that it shows where you are when you press the map button. I only use GPS when I am going somewhere new and I haven't tried different features in this GPS unit, so I cannot comment on voice commands and stuff like that.

Prius V is really roomier. Coming from Highlander, it probably would have suited my needs better. I dismissed it entirely, because I didn't like the external look of Prius V. It also has a better and smoother ride than normal Prius. It's showing me 38.6 MPG and I am driving it like a normal car.

On leather, my 2010 Highlander driver seat leather stretched in just two years and looked kind of odd; obviously, not what I expected. On my 2005 Camry, fabric is still more or less the same, so I decided to go with fabric on my Prius. Leather is easier to clean and fabric is more comfortable, IMO. Softex just seems a litte strange to me; I hope it will last longer.

 

Finally got my car back today and GPS is working fine. Showing Latitude and Longitude in map settings for the first time, so I am hoping that it is finally fixed this time. The most bizarre part of this was my Toyota dealership telling me in the beginning that my car didn't have GPS and it is just a normal map.

Here is what the repair report says:

INTERNALLY SHORTED ENTUNE EXTENSION BOX

1 PT296-47120-EXC ENTUNE EXTENSION BOX W/BLUETOOTH

.... 1606 TEST AND FOUND ENTUNE EXTENSION BOX IS AT FAULT. REPLACED
.... ENTUNE EXTENSION BOX NOW GPS IS CORRECT 1.90 UNPLUGGED BATTERY RESET
.... RADIO AND ENTUNE. REMOVED FROM VEH. REATTACHED, RELEARNED. TEST DROVE
.... STILL NO GPS INFORMATION IN GPS SETTINGS (LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE)
.... REMOVED EXTENSION BOX FROM LIKE VEH. INSTALLED NEW THIS VEH. TEST DROVE
.... NOW LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE SETTINGS ARE COMING IN. GPS SIGNAL IS
.... CONNECTED. ORDERED NEW EXTENSION BOX. INSTALLED NEW EXTENSION. TEST
.... DROVE GPS SIGNAL IS GOOD AND WORKING AT THIS TIME

 

Navigation in my Prius is not DVD based. I think it has a solid state drive with map on it.