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2011 Navigation Upgrade/Replacement

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by yabi, Jul 12, 2012.

  1. yabi

    yabi New Member

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    Cherry Hill, NJ
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    2011 Prius
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    Five
    Good day Prius Chat,

    I've been enjoying my 2011 Prius for some time now and my only complaint is the navigation system. In short, it's horrible. So horrible that I use my phone's voice-navigation for any trips that require the use of nav.

    Has anyone that has experienced similar disappointment with their navigation system find any improvement with a software update and/or altogether replacing their unit?

    I appreciate any insight,
    y.
     
    #1 yabi, Jul 12, 2012
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    What's horrible about it?

    My 06's nav system bears some similarity to that of what's in the '10 and '11 Priuses and it's fine to me. I also won a week test drive of a Lexus HS 250h which have a nav system that's pretty similar to yours except that it uses a mouse-like controller instead of a touchscreen. It was fine.
     
    #2 cwerdna, Jul 12, 2012
  3. yabi

    yabi New Member

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    I'm sorry, the problem I have with the navigation is that it's guidance system is horrible in finding a logical route. Often it chooses the most convoluted route possible which is extremely frustrating.

    The biggest example is when I traveled to New Hampshire from New Jersey. In short, this trip is 2-3 major highways followed by some back roads. My 2006 Charger and iPhone mapped similar routes with an estimated 6 hour travel time. The Prius mapped an unique route that took 9.5 hours. For a lesser extreme, today I shave 30 minutes of travel time by getting off a different exit then the one suggested by the Nav.
     
    #3 yabi, Jul 12, 2012
  4. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    As I posted at Nav System Guidance Flaw? | PriusChat, you should check your nav systems to make sure it allows toll roads. You might want to check the other avoidance settings.

    I was a passenger on a bus to NJ and distinctly remember all the tolls it had to stop for. :)
     
    #4 cwerdna, Jul 12, 2012
  5. yabi

    yabi New Member

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    Five
    cwerdna, I checked these settings before but I might have missed something. I will be sure to check it again. I am doubting it's avoiding tolls however, as my New England travel had me pay more tolls than I would typically.

    I hope you are right though. I will post my findings tomorrow.

    Thanks!
     
    #5 yabi, Jul 12, 2012
  6. tomstodola

    tomstodola Member

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    Prime Advanced
    I have not had any problems with mine, although for some reason I accidentally switched off the use of freeways and toll roads one time which just made the whole situation intolerable. Once I switched it back on everything was fine again.
     
    #6 tomstodola, Nov 24, 2012
  7. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Most find the factory supplied Nav system absolutely horrible, including myself, others do not. Then add the $200 for yearly update discs. It would be costly to replace the factory unit as this would require replacing the whole system. The amp and speakers use non industry specs. The cheapest solution is your phone or a Garmin. I ordered my 2010 II with base radio so the lost cost was easier. ShawnB2 ripped out his entire Level V system, he hated the sound and Nav so much, loosing his variable cruise, self parking and diagnostics "I believe". Do a search on him to verify specifics. Below are the speaker specs for the 2010-2011 JBL Nav and JBL non-Nav systems. After market HU's were not compatible with the JBL amp in 2010, though there may be an adapter available that "actually works" now, but I doubt it. Best wishes.

    [​IMG]
     
    #7 frodoz737, Nov 25, 2012
  8. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    If you will take the time and effort to make sure your presets are set up correctly, as cwerdna indicated, the Nav can do a good job. But only as good as you set it up to be.

    I have had mine for 3 years now and never had a problem. I have used a Garmin Nuvi with rentals, and take away the speed and Posted Speed Limit features, and I could see very little difference.
     
    #8 jdcollins5, Nov 25, 2012
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