Gen 2 navigation - cheapest way to update?

Officially, you have to get a new maps DVD from Toyota. It's expensive, $200-300 I believe.

 

Our local dealerships happen to be having upgrade navigation specials at $149 -$169. Northern calif. Check for specials thru toyota

 

Buy yourself a voice recognition Garman and you will never look back believe me I love it! I hate the interface on my in car navigation it is terrible.

 

Don't mean to sound smart nice person....

But I also would just recommend getting a Garmin.

I have a old, old Garmin and it's still better than Toyota's navigation offering.

The new Garmins are even better.

Lifetime maps, and updates come with most, or it can be purchased inexpensively.

A 2008 built in Toyota Navigation system?
I wouldn't even bother updating it.

 

That's very cheap indeed - and pretty much worth it too - especially if you don't want to stick standalone NAV Units to your windscreen with the accompanying trailing cable.

Over the pond, I had to pay the equivalent of €170 to upgrade my GPS Navigation unit. It came with 4 DVDs covering the whole of Western Europe.

Was it worth it? Yes. The maps are now VERY accurate indeed. I haven't discovered a place I couldn't find yet.
Yes, TomTom and Garmin NAV units are easier to use, but I'm kinda enamoured by the quaint originality of the Prius NAV. It adds to the charm of my "Spaceship"

 

I am new to the game so would like to give a quick observation...

My 2014 prius navigation flat out sux... glad i didnt buy the car based on that...

I would like to recommend a free alternative. If you have a iphone or android... Waze ...it is so nice... user based and has accidents..traffic...gas prices... and cop locations.... check it out. To me garmin is better but still a single use device... get most of your cell phone.... Google bought waze a year ago for 11b or so....

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

 

^^^ I agree with you on the holding phone part..
this is my biggest pet peeve with the prius... my GMC Sierra I lay the phone on the dash up against the Speedo/Tach and all good. It is in front of me and no worries...
Since my phone is plugged in the GPS doesnt wear down the battery

my last phone Galaxy S2 I had a windshield mount that was powered and audio plug built in so could plug into my aux jack which was really nice.

 

The Toyota dvd price has become reasonable, 169$, but on it's best day the Toyota nav falls far short of a garmin nuvi, usually the toyota can find food and gas while traveling, but that's iffy also

 

Yes, you're quite right under certain circumstances. The 2013 DVD maps I just purchased are already a year out of date. The problem with the G2 being that you can't do web based updates on the fly, like I can my iPhone 5 which has TomTom Western Europe (with all the bells and whistles) installed.
Fortunately for me, I have my iPhone as backup - using both Google Maps and TomTom to navigate when I had the Prius 2008 maps - most of Milton Keynes was missing for example. Now it's all there with the latest maps, and I really haven't had the need to pull out the iPhone to navigate anywhere since I bought the 2013 DVD updates.

Having said that, when heading for distant previously unvisited territory, I do go to great lengths to do my "intel" - out comes the iPad, Google Maps / Earth / Street Maps......
I study the area (and destination) in great detail before embarking on my journey

Still love the quaint Prius NAV though

 

I got mine off of Ebay. I bought last years update and I think I paid $40 or so. Yeah, its a year old but, who cares.

 

Exactly! It more than fulfils the role I purchased it for, and it does work more than satisfactorily. Indeed, I find it rather quite precise when showing me where I need to go. Perhaps quaint isn't the right word. It's kinda "Geek" sophisticated enough, that your passengers will look at you in wonder as you punch in destinations, talk to it et al.

It's not a pile of rubbish by any stretch of the imagination. It's simply as original as the navigation computers you might find on the flight deck of any twin turbofan airliner.
And I like it for that very reason.

Nothing beats those magic words "Suspend Guidance" when you want it to stop talking, and equally, "Resume Guidance" when you want it to start blabbing again.

Lastly, last Thursday, I went out of town to Stansted Airport to pick up my daughter who'd just returned from a school trip to Slovenia. The return side of the M11 motorway was closed due to a terrible accident. I had no idea how to get back home! Having retrieved my daughter, I hastily peeked at Google Maps and spotted the A120 as a long way around diversion route home - but I needn't have worried!

No sooner did I hit the home button on the Prius NAV, than it piped up with a message telling me there was severe congestion on the M11.....and it asked if I'd like an alternative route home.
I punched in "Yes"......and the NAV guided me home via......the very same A120.
That was good enough for me.

I don't even miss the TomTom speed camera warning facility on my iPhone - since I bought the Prius, I've rigidly stuck to the speed limits and no longer feel the "need for speed"........and I always arrive much more relaxed. It also means I'm far more attentive while driving - and the cruise control always helps too

 

The beanbag mount for the GPS never slid around on the Gen2's dash. Before spending >$100 on a map DVD upgrade I'd buy an external unit. The receiver for the lifetime traffic is in the power cord so that will need to stay plugged in. It may not be elegant, but it is portable.

 

I still like the Nav in my 2004 Prius for a few reasons. It picks up the sats very quickly and if you are in a congested city with high rise buildings you can rely on dead reckoning of the system to guide you. Granted it doesn't have traffic integration but I simply use google maps on my iphone to see where the problems are.

 

Yes the Waze is useful and very update every minute. Yet due to this function, the CPU of my iPhone worked very hard and high heat was produced such that "high temperature" warning displayed and turn off.
After that,I delete the Waze from my phone. Sorry to say.

 

for those who like to use their phone for nav, get a "proclip". clips on above the vent. worked great in my base '04. I still use it in my '06 which has nav. a bit pricey but holds the phone in a near perfect location.

 

I'd love to buy a 12.1 DVD for $40, but the cheapest I have seen Gen5 that are verified to work with 06-09 Prius is $100.

 

Yeah, I have an 05 so, they are a bit cheaper.