We have a 2015 with the nav option. Total waste! It's often late with directions just after "Start" and/or totally wrong leading to proverbial wild goose chases. The screen is difficult to read with poor contrast and terrible graphics. Unless major improvements have been made, stick with an iPhone/Android with Google Maps. The Prius is a great car! We're on our 3rd. But whoever designed and programmed the nav system is IMHO incompetent.
yep, stick with google and phone, very clear and reliable. been waiting 14 years for toyota to improve, but no sign yet. when people start tearing out your radio and putting in i pads, it should give you a clue.
I was kind of bummed I got the base Prius 2 without navigation but I keep hearing how subpar it is! I read reviews on the new Prii and even those say to find a good phone mount and plan on using your phone for navigation. Wonder if a head unit with CarPlay would be better than the stock navigation, since it's basically an iPhone interface?
Agreed.... as much as I like the prius I loath the nav system. First, most functions disappear when you are in motion. It is the only nav system that I have seen that does not have an override so a passenger can work it while you drive. Second, it plans some really weird routes and I'll limit this to three, although there is much more I despise, the last being the hilariously laughable cost of a map update. I have GPS systems in my other non-prius vehicles... all are Garmin... fantastic. If I am going somewhere new that requires the nav system... I will attempt to put it in the prius but have my phone also programmed and if need be (usually) I will just lay the phone over the face of the prius nav. A prius with a garmin nav system in it would be awesome.
It's also pretty bad that there is not complete voice interaction with the NAV, like saying "Gas station" or "Fast Food" for them to display on the screen. Toyota has known how to do for a decade that because my 2006 Lexus has that.
navigation systems seem dated to me at this point with cell phone gps being so common place. They get you with the nav because they bundle it with other features ...
Check out the Hudway Glass with suitable apps on a smart phone. This puts the navigation information right in front and a little below your line of sight.
Ya got that right! I looked at the built in system. Took less than 5 seconds to realize I'd never use it. I plop my Garmin Nuvi 5 LM on the dash and it tells me where I am, what lane to use, how fast I'm going, and what's the speed limit. And it's almost directly in my line of sight. And the maps are free. I sometimes back that up with Waze or Google Maps on the phone for traffic. Pruis is amazing, but the nav system fails miserably on every metric.
Nav and backup camera were musts for me when I bought my 2005. Turns out that I got Nav but no camera, and I thought that was a compromise. I used Nav 2-3 times when I first got the car but it was so cumbersome that I never used it again, and even forgot that I had it. –Until a couple of days ago when my phone died and I needed navigation. Turns out that the Nav system couldn't find the address of a house that's 25 years old. No, I haven't updated the maps, but I wasn't trying to find a home in a new development either. I hoped that the system had improved over the years and it's sad that it apparently hasn't. I'm looking at this Pioneer at Crutchfield. I can add a backup camera to it for $100, or buy the newer version that includes backup camera for $200 more (only difference). Hmm, let me think about it . . . . https://www.crutchfield.com/p_1304200NEX/Pioneer-AVH-4200NEX.html
Garmins mess up too. My wife & son just finished a trip from Virginia to Texas in a Prius v with 4 small dogs. The up-to-date Garmin & Google maps got confused. (Dallas, I think). Waze ended up saving the day.
It seems most factory Nav systems are not that great, having a new Honda, their unit is even worse than the older unit in the Prius. Hard to thing a inexpensive Garmin blows these a way. Had Pioneer Avic unit using Android Auto ( and tried Car Play too), both seem to be the way to go. Nice thing Google maps are fantastic, and you can download areas to save on the data usage I have a One Plus 3T cell phone I have been using Android Auto on in the Prius and it works wonderful
Our 2010 Canadian Tourning does not have the Navigation Screen, but does have the back up camera: it's display is in the left corner of rear view mirror.
They sure do. One time I had some spare time so followed mine when, for no apparent reason, it told me to exit the freeway. It took me about a quarter mile to the right, had me turn left into a shopping mall parking lot, do a u-turn, and then get back on the freeway. I just wanted to see how screwy it was. On a more serious note, I have read of people blindly following their gps and almost dying in Death Valley. Another one, followed his down a boat ramp into a lake. You do still have to occasionally take a peek outside the vehicle.
One time our Garmin wanted us to make 3 left turns in an intersection instead of just making a right turn.
