Very Disappointed with NAV

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FloridaWen @ Jun 12 2007, 11:59 AM) [snapback]460221[/snapback]</div>

Our streets are similar. The reason we got the Navi (2004 model)system was to augment our eyes in night-time driving (old eyes). There are some familiar streets where I often see the intersection too late to turn. So I keep the navi on for cues.
A friend has a Honda Odyssey with navi. The screen on his system is much easier to read.
My #1 grip with the Prius navi is the instruction manual. Not only is the sequencing of instructions confusing, the company obviously did not have a native English speaker read the translation. Surely it's not too expensive to have an English speaking technical writer review the manual. <_<

 

If they were smart they would hook up with Garmin, Magellan, or some other big name to do it right. The Prius Nav sucks. Maybe it was good enough in Japan but it does not cut it in the US. Usually I get within 2 mi of my destination and then it says it cannot give directs further even though it is on the map and there are roads. My Garmin will get me door to door.

Also imagine how much better it would be to find your route on the computer and upload your trip to the car instead of having to do it in the car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tadashi @ Aug 11 2007, 10:08 PM) [snapback]494222[/snapback]</div>

And there are any number of additional improvements that dedicated aftermarket vendors (Tom-Tom, Garmin, et al) offer that are superior to any OEM offering. The one thing that the factory has is a proprietary architecture that they control. If the factory selections work for you, then you have a completely integrated solution. If they don't then you have some hard choices to make.

I have an Alpine navigation system that I put in my XC90 V8 that seems to be the current state of the art (14 million points of interest database, gyro sensors for when the GPS satellites are not accessible (tunnels or dense forest), and the list goes on. However, to get the benefits of any aftermarket navigation system, you basically have to bypass the factory in-car entertainment architecture. With the XC90, it was a no-brainer, since the factory stereo system was such an obscene joke. In a nutshell, everything but the speakers and the multifunction display in the XC90 went into a cardboard box in the garage. I also had to devise a way to fool the internal network architecture of the XC90 to think that the stereo system was still there, otherwise, the car would not start... but that is another topic for another forum.

The best way to determine whether you can live with a particular optional item that is being offered on a car is to spend the time check it out before you buy. If there are no cars available to test out something like the navigation system, you really should make the effort to find one with the feature (even if it means traveling some distance). I bet the OP is going to resent the Toyota Navigation system for as long as they own the car.

I knew what I was getting into with the XC90. I made a conscious decision to replace the factory stereo system with a superior solution because I knew that I wanted the XC90 but didn't want the factory stereo or navigation offering. Prior to getting the XC90, I unloaded another SUV in part because I was frustrated with the OEM offering for which there was no aftermarket alternative.