2018 HyCam amateur review and ongoing blog

This Navigation issue almost stopped me from buying the car. I had really only looked at the Camry until this Nav business came up and then I very nearly purchased an Ioniq instead. Thing is I need GPS about twice a year so Nav really isn't that big of a deal in practical terms for me. I don't need it to get to work everyday.

The issue that bugs me nearly every day is the reflection from the hood. Got the sun in my eyes every day the sun is out.

All the other problems are very minor in comparison to the Nav and hood reflections. For example the single push-button air flow is only a bother when I need to change the airflow and the issue is partially mitigated by having a front defrost button. The rear center car seat latch only bothers me when moving car seats around, which is a rare thing.

In another way the Nav issue and EV button functionality are the most bothersome because they are artificially limited. The car can easily do more in EV Mode than it is allowed to. The car also has full GPS hardware and Automotive Grade Linux which could easily have Android Auto but they are locking the feature down on purpose to funnel you into ScoutLink. Toyota went out of their way to limit the car and that is frustrating.

 

I don't really want to suction cup a GPS screen to my dash but that may be exactly what we do come vacation time. If I get enough time and if they come out with a wiring harness for the 2018 that allows video input to the factory head unit, I'll wire in something a bit more elegant. I've already purchased a Lanzar SNV90 universal stand alone GPS unit that might work for the job. A Miracast might also work. A third option might be to have a second head unit hidden somewhere with video output to the built in screen.

They already sell a wiring harness for the older models but the wiring might have changed for 2018. The local stereo shop expects aftermarket hardware to be available this coming Summer.

Does this Garmin require your phone for traffic or does it work independently?

The 7" is over twice the cost of the 6". Is the 2689LMT the same thing except for screen size or are there other differences?

Picture please!

 

Got some new trip MPG numbers. It was 70 deg yesterday and I got 53 MPG driving aggressively on the way to work. Got 70 MPG with a huge tail wind on the way to WalMart (on the way home) and 99.9 MPG from Wal-Mart to home.

Today the wind must have been going East to West because in 45 degree temps I got 61 MPG going to work (driving slow, left in plenty of time for a change). Then got 61 MPGs on the way home in 40 degree temps, so 61 MPGs both ways today (that is not normal, the return trip home is usually higher).

The Range showed half a tank (like 320 miles driven and 320 miles left to go) while the gas gauge showed 2/3 full. I think the Range is more accurate than the gas gauge.

 

I'm pretty sure the range is much closer to the truth on the HyCam. Showing half a tank on the fuel now, 220 mile range, 420 miles driven. I bet I'm a lot closer to 1/3 of a tank than half. Will check next fill-up.

 

16.5 miles from home to work, 11.5 miles from work to Wal-Mart, 5 miles from Wal-Mart to home.

Lifetime average is 49 MPG and climbing with warmer temps.

Got about 420 miles on the current tank with 54 MPG displayed. The weather and how much of a hurry I'm in have a huge effect. Today I was in a hurry and it was raining pretty hard so I only got 40 MPG on the way to work.

 

After today's rains I have 2 new annoyances to report.

It does not seem as if there is any way to blow recirculated air on the windshield. When it is raining the air inside the car is dryer than the air outside. A previous car also locked out this ability on the reasoning that inside air was more humid due to the human occupant's breath or something. It is fine with me to default to any given setting but don't lock a feature out just because most of the time something is true.

The windshield does something I've never seen before. When it is raining water accumulates on the left side of the windshield in a sheet. I'm not taking about drops here, I'm talking about a 3 or 4 inch wide sheet of water that interferes with your vision. This by itself is not so bad but the sheet interacts with the wipers. When the wiper is going back down it pull this sheet of water back across your field of vision. The whole thing is very dynamic and variable. Sometimes the whole thing is only as wide as the distance between the wiper and the edge of the windshield. Other times the wiper can pull this sheet up to 10 inches. It isn't much of a bother at minimum width but it interferes with forward visibility significantly at the maximum width.

 

Once again adding some positive balance. The Camry has saved my bacon twice in so many days. Rain has caused me to have the lights on during the day lately and I forgot to turn them off, twice. This would have meant death to the battery and a jump start in any other car I've owned but the Camry evidently shuts the lights off automatically after some time limit. I bet that they are LED also causes less current drain as well.

I expect this is a fairly common feature in modern vehicles but I've never had the luxury before. Sure is nice to have the car start after making a mistake like this.