From day one the built-in Toyota NAV system has been sucky beyond belief, details later. The question is this: do I need to buy periodic map database updates? The guy in the parts department told me I did not need to, because that it "automatically updates the map itself wirelessly" but I'm not sure I believe it. The second question is: is updating likely to make things much better? The NAV system is much worse than either Google Maps or the standalone Garmin I used to use. Unfortunately I literally cannot find any available safe (airbag-free) place to mount the Garmin where I can see it, or I'd use that. I don't know where to begin except to say the database is lousy, and the best example I can give is that more than one it has steered us off the road we were on, into a small loop through a residential neighborhood, and back onto the same road at the same place where we left! I think the clue is that these have been places where a continuous roadway changed name, and I think the NAV believed that Mainroad A connected to Sideroad and Sideroad connected to Mainroad B, but that Mainroad A did not connect to Mainroad B. I could go on and on--looking for a restaurant it showed us to a Point of Interest: Food named "Abda's Salads," and guided us to an apartment house where there was resident named Abda Saladah.
a) dealer, no auto update on the map, just entune, or what's left of it. map is $$$ he should know that b) no
Depends where you are and what trim level you have. Here in the UK map and software updates are free for 3 years if you have the Excel level trim (the highest) on the Gen 4. You just download the huge file onto a USB drive, stick it in the USB socket on the car, switch it on, and wait ages for the installation process to complete. I made a thread detailing my experiences a few weeks ago...
Does the Gen 4 nav actually have a resident name/address directory ... ? ... ? Seems like that'd go out of date really fast. Does it use wireless service and do some kind of search? -Chap
Only if a specific listing is included by mistake, I think. The points of interest file is supposed to cover categories such as restaurants, service stations, hotels, supermarkets, parks, ATMs, shopping centers, and major institutions. The Entune 3.0 system on other Toyota models has such a “Dynamic POI” feature, mentioned on pages 7 and 27–29 of the quick reference guide (PDF), but as far as I know, Entune 3.0 isn’t offered on any Prius cars today.
The closest option I have used is the Journey Planner on the Toyota website (a.k.a. online portal) which embeds Google Maps and then applying the 'Send to Car' function from there. The process is a bit clunky but does achieve the goal of having the updated search functionality of Google Maps paired with the built in Touch 2 with Go Sat Nav. Toyota Touch 2: How to send directions to your device - Toyota
My Garmins both do that too. My Ford insists upon telling me to "keep right" at toll plazas. Updating the database may or may not fix it. It certainly will not fix ALL of it........and it's expensive. The story about updating over the air is BS, at least for the older models. I haven't seen an '18 yet but my '17 has a memory slot right on the front of the multi-function panel. Older than that and it was a dealer only option.
I tried updating the latest 6.12 autumn 2018 to my car. For some reason it doesn't work. It's in a loop. It finds the update, ask for east/west and maps, says the radio has to be restarted and then then it boots and the update starts from scratch. -sigh- Last time the 6.11 spring 2018 update went in fine. Well I have one more try next spring before the three free years is up (I rarely use the navigation anyway, phone is so much faster and more convenient).
If it interests you - you could just get a cellphone mirroring device and use the map app on your phone. Way cheaper I'd think. Here's a thread on it. I believe there is a link to the BeatSonic website I there. "Mirroring" cell phone Display on Nav Screen | PriusChat
a) What "three free years? Dealer never mentioned that. Is it automatic for everybody? b) Is this a "put a chip in a socket" update, or if not how did you get t?
To those suggesting just using your phone: I've been experimenting with that, Android phone, Google Maps. I agree that Google Maps is much better than the built-in NAV system, both in database and in timing and quality of voice directions (built-in often says "turn left" for a keep left, or "keep left" for a true turn left...). It's hard to find a good mounting place. At the moment I'm using a clip that attaches to the vent, but worry that come winter it might both block heat and overheat the phone. What are others doing? Also, this is surprisingly hard to find from the app itself... what happens if you lose cell signal? Does it cache enough of the map along the route to keep giving guidance?
If the controls are properly set, heat does NOT come out the upper vents. The phone has a built-in GPS "chip" and does not need a cell signal to function.......at least over short periods. I don't know how much map it caches, so I don't know about performance over hours or hundreds of miles with no cell signal.
If you are referring to Google Maps the map is cached, at least to a certain level of detail, and it will continue to give you route directions for your current route. However without Internet you cannot search destinations or start a new route. Or even resume your current route if you had inadvertently stopped it (I learned that the hard way). You can still see where you are on the map, however the farther you go the map detail becomes less. There Is a function to download maps. You can download about 200 miles of distance. In the options look for "Offline maps". You move the cursor around and it shows you the area that will be downloaded and how much storage space it will use. I'm not sure if you can search destinations or start a route using an offline map, I haven't tried it, I usually don't have the foresight to download the map before heading out.
- just an 8 gig download from mytyota site and an activation code, unzip to an fat32 usb drive and install from Prius usb port, free for 3 years after that 129,00 euros per year (or per update not sure). You have to register your multimedia system to your account before you can download. I use TomTom app on my iPhone though not a big fan of the toyota navigation, sometimes I have it on as a backup. The best part of Toyota's navigation it is the automatic beep for the speed cameras (works even if navigation is not on). Speed cameras are in the update package too.
1. You can update the software by going to securedp.toyota.com and selecting your car and putting it on a USB and installing it. 2. To update the maps, see here How do you update the Nav/Map system? | Page 3 | PriusChat You only need to buy the microsd card and swap it out(bottom right corner of radio). It takes 5 seconds and can be had for as low as 30$ from eBay. Card can not be copied at all in any way. Even the latest maps are a year or two behind in some areas. When I got then 2018 map card it finally realized a 4 way stop had been turned into a traffic circle, which happened in like 2015. This is a rural area though.
