Couple of cool navigation and Hidden screen tricks!

Our navigation system takes a while to learn at best unless your already had one similar.
I remember when I first got my car I raced thorough the manual trying to absorb as much as I could, but when it came to the navigation, I found it was more of a "learn as you go" system as the manual was rather confusing until you could actually put it to practice.

Here are a couple of cool tricks I found that others may or may not know, but I'm sure there are many other findings within the hidden screens that are fun to access and analyze.

This one I thought was really cool.. I could have used this once if I had known how!

How to find a lost partner when both have navigation​

• From the car that is lost or stranded, while in the normal navigation maps, go to the destination button.
• In the upper right you will see ½, hit that and it will take you to the second screen.
• Now hit map on the upper left and it will immediately show you where you are at.
• Now if you hit “info” at the top it will show you the coodinates, copy those down or get on your cell phone and tell these numbers to the car who will try to find you. It will look something like “N123456” and then “W123456”

• Now from the search car, do the same thing except instead of the “map button” hit the “coordinates” button in the lower left and punch in those numbers.

• It will automatically set them in proper format… enter with no spaces.

• Now hit enter at the bottom and it will route the search car to the stranded car!

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How to tell the perfect time from the hidden menu​

• Make sure you are past the logon screen that warns you of driving safely and acknowledge any prompts to access the normal navigation screen that allows you to see your normal driving maps.
• Now once you can see your maps, hit the display button on the upper left.
• Just underneath the “D” in the word display in the upper left of the screen “in the white part”, take your finger tip and touch the screen.
• Now just above the “C” in the little word “contrast” at the bottom left of the screen, again “in the white part” touch the screen.
• Do that sequence 3 times without too much time delay between the touches.
• This means you will touch the screen a total of 6 times.
• This will open up the hidden menu to see the system check mode.

• NOTE, if you were not successful, you can also hold the display button down and at the same time turn your lights fully on and off 3 times to access this same hidden screen.

Hit the menu in the upper right hand corner, this will bring you to the diagnosis menu.

• Hit the navigation check space in the middle, then in the upper left hand corner hit the GPS information.
• You will now see on the second to the last line at the bottom the satellite time that’s tied to the “universal time clock” that will show GMT “ or similar based on which satellite you are locked on to.
• Ignore the hour, as it will be different anyway unless your in the same timezone as the satellite your locked onto… it’s the minutes and seconds you really want to look at to set your watch by. You will note that the minutes and seconds are absolutely perfect real time to the Universal time clock.
• I have a watch that updates to that time out of Denver and my watch is perfectly synced with this navigation clock.
• This is a perfect way to access the perfect time when you are setting watches!

 

HI Dobey and welcome!....
I remember one time my wife was stranded.... I can't remember if she lost her key "fob" or whether she had a flat or whatever, but I remember I wasn't able to figure out easily just where she was as she could'nt see street signs and the navigation as a bit vague, so she had trouble telling me what to punch in to find her.

I can also think of areas off the map so to speak like in woodsy areas where there are large distances between cross intersections.
Much of the area here in Texas has miles of area like that.

Many women struggle with the technicalities of maps etc anyway... at least my wife does!
To be able to dial right in regardless of weather or circumstances is a pretty cool function!

Even if your in an unmapped area, thats all the more reason to use coordinates as there are no real roads to give to someone, but coordinates will find you no matter what, even if it has to track across an open field.

I'm sure many folks already knew about the coordinates feature, but I've never had a reason to dig deep enough to find it till now... but would have found it sooner if someone had pointed it out.

 

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if was the Nav in the Prius.

I've had many addresses I've gone to, to be about 100 - 200 ft away from the real address.

I think It could be accurate when comparing notes against one Prius Nav against another, but not sure about that either.

I do know if you find your own coordinates, write them down, then drive down the road a ways and punch them in, it will take you back to the exact spot you first logged them.

It may have to do with Denso or the guys that make the maps... remember, this is not simple coordinates but maps are tied to them to along with addresses that have to jive.

But your right, you would think pure coordinates would ignore maps and all and simply take you to a straight line path to the other coordinate.
But it sounds like thats not the case, as it has to interface with the maps too to take you there.

The "maps" may be the link in this chain that carries a little error.

 

there is a calibrate setting, but I've never played with it and I don't think that would be a fix, because almost all of the time its pretty much dead on, but others not.

I seems to be very good a when to tell you to exit verses not because it would be premature etc but exact locations are harder.

regardless, I can usually see the location anyway, "its that close"

 

Yea, I don't think is a sattellite coordinates thing, I think its a map think.

What your doing will work regardless if your in the middle of the ocean.
Whats gets tricky is when you tie it to a map address etc.

 

So far, I can't remember anyone complaining about coordinates being different from unit to unit, but rather addresses being different.

I think they are treated separately in the nav system.
I don' t know how the software all works, but assigning locations to coordinates would seem to be a nightmare full of opportunities for errors.

what I meant was there are different versions of maps out there and each one has hours of time involved in their development which could be riddled with errors based on human error and programming algorithms.

But coordinates are pretty absolute based on a global assignments from the satellite.

If I give you a coordinate, your nav regardless of type should find me perfectly, however it may not show me on a given road as indicated on mine or vice versa.

Keep in mine, my knowledge of these things are limited and I'm merely going off conjecture.

I would think coordinates is easy as its continually in connection with the satellite so even if there were errors, it could constantly correct.
However maps are predone and subject to error upon creation and subject to error based on roads being moved too.