Is anyone else sick of having to press "I Agree" when the Nav screen is ready to appear? It's not like we read it each time and decide what to do. We have all read it and as owners, wouldn't it be nice to just use the damn thing? I feel like it's a constance annoyance to have to go through that each time the car is started. This is not a Prius idiosyncracy, I know that. It happens with my Caddy Nav and my husbands Lexus hybrid (which I assume is very similar to Nav in Prius). Someone please tell me how to get rid of this nag screen!
It's not just anything that can distract the driver that needs to be agreed to. Just things that aren't essential to operating the car. Consumption screen might cause an accident, but apparently that's OK with the lawyers since you don't have to agree not to be distracted by it. There must be a Think Factor in use: low TF means you can look at it and not think too much about what you are looking at, while a high TF might cause an accident. Song title on radio? Too high a TF. NAV map? High. MPGs at the moment? Ummm, well, maybe they think we just GLANCE at that instead of stare while wondering why it's so low...
Coastaletech makes a Nav enhancement kit to remove the agree screen, and to allow address inputs on the fly (permanently, without re-enabling each power up).
http://coastaletech.com/nav_kit.htm After many folks waited a VERY long time he's now shipping these. But you'd best check to be sure if you have an '06, I suspect it won't work if you do.
Correction! CoastelEtech "MADE" a NAV Enhancement Kit. Dave made ONE for his wife's 2004 Prius. That's it! None for sale. None shipped. NOTHING! NADA! Vaporware! Rumor has it that they've started shipping this product but no one has yet received one. (See attachment for likeness of Dave)
A tad bitter eh! Some have recieved thiers, I don't know how many, but he does seem to be shipping. I canceled my order before he shipped mine.
I just want to add that the Nav Kit does not remove the "I Agree" screen. It acts as an "automatic button pusher" which is what Dave calls it in the demo video. The screen is up for a second or so, then the "I Agree" button changes color and the screen goes to the Nav screen. As of now, you could just not use the map every time you drive. That way you don't have to push it every time you power up. Just leave it on an info screen when you power down. I am waiting for a Nav Kit, but I've gotten used to pressing the button.
Oh gosh I was hoping there would be some way to eliminate that screen. It sure is annoying to have to press it each time you start the car. Hopefully the Nav kit will fix that.
It is interesting what they decide to prevent the user from doing while driving though. Such as the phone. When you are moving, it won't display the numbers. I actually find this to be more dangerous, since I just grab my phone and dial and look at things directly on it. It would be much safer if i could just see the number on the screen. What will they do next? Have the car stop if it senses you are eating while moving? I think they should leave all this stuff up to the user.
Agreed. Maybe there are people who really do use the NAV EVERY time they drive but I suspect it is a very small number.
Unfortunately there may be a problem. There is a suspicion that the NAV kit actually does the override dance for you each time you power up. If that's the case, then it will be useless for a 2006 as that override isn't there (or at least not in the same place). All the $99 kit would do would be to push the "I Agree" button.
Ummm, it would be seriously short-sighted to design the NAV kit to only work at startup. Although, I haven't been paying attention to any user reports, if they've been here. If the method of hitting the "I agree" button is to close a specific touch-screen switch when that screen is displayed, then it will need to be updated to 'touch' both places. If there's some other event-driven trick he discovered, it might be OK already...
Bummer, I was hoping to use the Coasteletech solution myself! Sounds like the company is fully flaky (I've read that here before, now that I think about it), and the gadget probably wouldn't work on the '06 anyway. Also I am seriously disappointed to learn that the old workaround of the disabled nav doesn't work on the '06. Not being able to input a new destination on the fly without the cumbersome voice system is pathetic. There's money to be made from me in a solution to that!
If one wanted to construct a microprocessor-controlled device, given enough knowledge of the protocols the MFD uses to communicate with the Nav and/or Bluetooth systems, it could conceivably be done, even for an '06. At power-up time, the device could simulate pressing of the "MAP" button. This would force the "I Agree" screen to come up, and the "touch" of the "I Agree" could then be simulated. From then on, the system could monitor for any mechanical button push on the MFD (info, menu, dest, map, etc.). Any time such a button is pressed, the device could cut/inhibit the vehicle speed pulses from going to the NAV and the MFD for about 60 seconds. The NAV uses the vehicle speed pulses to more accurately determine your position than using GPS alone. When these signals are cut, it believes the vehicle is at a stand-still for a short period of time, long enough perhaps to enter a destination or a phone number. During the time of inhibition, navigation accuracy is reduced, but will pick up again after the pulses are restored. A definite hack, not very elegant, but conceivably workable. And no, I'm not working on it. Would gladly purchase such a unit if it were in existence and actually shipping. - Bob R.
