Poor Treatment/answer From Toyota Customer Care?

i agree

if toyota will sel the nav dvd for something like the TOMTOM map price's i wil acccept it .. but this i dont accept

 

If you're sitting at your house and you place a marker on the map, does it show you at a specific address or basically in white space?

 

Toyota's reply did not indicate that your streets are new, only that they have not been "mapped" by their database supplier. Much of the world is like this. The mapping companies start with the areas that give them the biggest return for the investment, which of course means large cities and metropolitan areas. As time permits, they add less densely populated areas, such as yours.

I live in a village that has been here for 150 years. My street has been on the map for more than 150 years, but still I can't get turn by turn directions. There are just not enough people in this area to make it a priority. I'm sure eventually all of the streets will be available for all of the navigation systems, but that is going to take some time.

I do think Toyota can do a better job with their NAV system, and I think the updates are overpriced. I also think part of your trouble is your expectations. I really don't see this as a major customer service gaff on the part of Toyota, but simply a matter of economics. Service levels are lower when you live in the sticks as we do. It's just part of the deal.

Tom

 

I read your rant from a couple days ago in this thread:

http://priuschat.com/forums/audio-electronics/39216-navigation-disk-update.html

complete with all the CAPS.

I have nav in another of my cars, and a portable system I use when I travel in rental cars. No system is perfect. I don't believe it's Toyota's fault - they are using mapping supplied by a third party. My Mazda will not locate our home, but the Prius' will. I stored it as a POI in the Mazda in 15 seconds and life was good.

Just yesterday I was storing some points in the Prius and it wouldn't accept one address - it said no such number on that street. Come to find out, the software said that address was Avenue instead of Road. That's not Toyota's fault.

Have you tried the suggestion given about making a point of interest while sitting in your driveway so the system can help you find your way back home? Storing it as a point, you can get then get information and see how they describe the address you're at.

Or, worst case, get rid of the Prius and find a car with navigation to make you happy. Life isn't worth all the anger. I don't think there is such a thing as perfection in a car, particularly one that costs so little.

 

You say your development has been there for a long time. Does your development show up on the display? If it does, when you are parked in front of your home hit the "MARK' icon in the display. It will record that location and you will be able to find your way home. No NAV system is perfect. I also have a Garmin Nuvi 660 which I like a lot. But both the Prius and the Garmin have their limitations. As the other poster said some streets might be labled as avenue, boulevard, etc.

It took me a while to get used to the Prius Nav, but I really do like it. It one system that my wife can operate.

One advantage of the Garmin is that their updates only cost around $60.00.

 

ranting about 3rd party products to Toyota is imm, a waste of time. they are not in the mapping business

 

You can input your home location by other means. While you are sitting in your driveway, you can mark or save that as a location (I can't remember the specific screens or commands, but it is in the instructions), and manipulate that as you will.

I have had similar problems with some locations. My daughter's street address in Boston is not there, though the buildings next to it are, even though they are all old buildings.

 

(deleted)

 

This does not concern the NAV system, but I would like to put in a good word for Toyota Customer Care. In Nov. of 06 I had a problem with my 05 Avalon. It concerned the steering shaft (not the defective weld), but a noise problem.

There was a TSB that covered it and required the replacement of the shaft. They were on back order and ended up taking three months to get the replacement. It was not dangerous and I was never without the use of the car. A very nice guy, Jay Mahoney, with Customer Care in California kept me informed with frequent phone calls.

About the time the replacement was due he offered me a $250.00 reimbursement towards future servicing or accessories at a Toyota franchised dealership. I asked if he would send that to me in writing. When the letter arrived, it wasn't for $250.00, it was for $300.00 and good for 18 months.

So far I have only accumulated about $200.00 worth of expenses to send in and have about 5 months to go, but I am sure that I can spend the rest of their money before the time is up.

All I have to do is either mail or fax the paid tickets to the address in the letter for reimbursement. So Customer Care is not all bad. Now if I could just figure out what to buy next.

 

It does seem like Toyota Customer Care would have researched the complaint, if they took the time for a follow-up callback, and offered the same remedy that we have here. Using an alternative method of waypoint input for the HOME location should be obvious.