OT - Help! Factory Nav error screen on 2005 Avalon!

I know this is slightly off topic but....
I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me with the problem on my wife's 2005 Avalon. I've posted on several other forums with no success so far.
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HELP!

My wife turned on her car several weeks ago and this screen appeared instead of her navigation system.







She has a 2005 Avalon Limited. After getting conflicting answers from our dealership and Toyota corporate, the answer I was given was this as relayed from Denso (who OEMs it to Toyota):

The only way for this to appear is through a hidden service menu and the instructions are posted on the internet. Thus, they will not fix it and I can replace the NAV ECU for $2500!
:angry:

I couldn't believe that Toyota would be strong armed by an OEM supplier like this and not stand behind their warranty.

To me it looks like a PC that doesn't have windows loaded. i.e. I need the navigation operating system re-loaded. I suspect there is a factory program disc that is used when the car is manufactured and it can be re-loaded. The dealer tried a different map DVD and I tried the one from my Solara NAV system.

For reference, the Avalon NAV is NOT a touch screen as it uses physical control buttons located below the radio. The NAV ECU is located in the trunk on the left side. The dealer also told me that this is a 3rd generation system and can not be reset. I have tried disconnecting all the cables to the ECU and leaving them removed for several hours with no luck.


I would be eternally grateful to anyone that could help me out with this problem.

Thanks in advance.

David

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(naterprius @ Jan 19 2007, 02:38 PM) [snapback]377858[/snapback]</div>

No, I never went into the menus on my wife's car.

My dealer told me that they contacted Denso (they make the nav) and they said it can ONLY happen through the hidden menus and since the instructions are on the internet, I am guilty until proven innocent.

IMO, if this is true then they are at fault for having an accessible control that could make their product inoperable. It's not like they didn't know the internet was out there when they put that hidden feature in and leaked the documentation on how to access it.

[begin rant]

I am just a little angry b/c beyond this issue, the car was at the dealer for a week last year for an oil leak (fixed under warranty). In December the radio started cycling through it's presets on its own (replaced under warranty), the steering column has some type of problem (described as clicking at low speeds while turning) and has been "on order" for 6 weeks and "should" be in in about a month (again replacement will be under warranty).

So why is this failure of a major component deemed "my fault" since Denso "says" so?

[end begin rant]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Jan 19 2007, 04:48 PM) [snapback]377963[/snapback]</div>

I am considering contacting a lemon law attorney. I'm not sure whether small claims would be a successful journey. I would also have to sue Toyota as it is their warranty and I believe their pockets ar a little deeper than mine! ;-)

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 19 2007, 04:29 PM) [snapback]378040[/snapback]</div>

I think it was at the dealer about a week before to have the radio replaced.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rick Auricchio @ Jan 19 2007, 07:30 PM) [snapback]378118[/snapback]</div>

Rick,

I believe you may be right on #1 so I plan to go to the dealer tomorrow and speak to the sales and service managers to make sure they are conveying the problem correctly. I've checked the disc and it's installed correctly too.

Unfortunately for me, their simplest solution is to say I did somethig to the nav and make me pay for the repair rather than considering that this is a "real" failure mode that their QA team missed.

Thanks for your suggestions.

David

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jan 20 2007, 07:28 AM) [snapback]378229[/snapback]</div>

Yeah, I don't think the dealer did anything but since the nav sits on the AVLAN to link to the radio, when the radio started malfunctioning, could that have been casued by some malfunction on the LAN that also messed up the nav?

Until this happened, I never realized what was hidden within my nav. Looking for a solution to my problem has really enlightened me. I was able to dig up a post on another forum where someone had posted internal photos of the Avalon nav ECU and it looks like a single board with the DVD transport mechanism attached by a cable.

Other posts mentioned removing the "battery backup" for the internal memory solved the problem but it looks like mine is soldered to the board. It would be highly risky to remove this unless I had confirmation that it WOULD solve my problem. Yes, I know that would definately void the warranty but rather than paying for a new ecu, I would get one of my engieer friends to remove it and replace it.

I would be more than happy to pull my ecu and ship it somewhere to get it reprogrammed if the cost was lower and I would get to a quicker resolution to this problem.

Any help you and your husband can provide in directing me towards a solution would be helpful.