Prime Entertainment System Rant :(

I would argue that the steering wheel controls are for the driver, the dashboard controls are for the passenger.

 

It's quite disheartening to hear this, as I remember how frustrated I was with the nav in my 2008 Prius. I just defaulted to an external GPS or my phone instead. What a waste!

HTC One M9

How's the audio quality of the JBL system?

HTC One M9

 

meh.

if i had my way, i would buy one without a system, and go aftermarket for all the electronics.

the thing about electronic systems is the ability to gather information. every manufacturer keeps track of every connected device and the info. that's way more valuable than selling a few more cars because you went with apple play, etc.

 

In your opinion, is it more the head unit or speakers? I've upgraded factory speakers with aftermarket before, but that depends on a somewhat decent or better head unit.

SM-T530NU ?

 

tbh, i'm not sure. there are a lot of threads here on stereo upgrades. some have added speakers to their satisfaction, others h/u's. seems to me it's worth starting with the speakers if you're happy with the h/u, and if no go, changing it as well. but the toyota infotainment is so bad, if i were spending a lot of time in the car, i would change everything. the problem sometimes, is steering wheel controls.

 

The JBL system sounds pretty good for an in-car system. The bass is quite deep but somewhat weak and it doesn't respond all that well to increases in bass signal strength. If you like loud, boomy bass, it's not that great. If you like subtle, deep, tight bass, it's pretty good. The basic system (non-JBL) is louder and boomier in the bass area.

I spent 14 years shopping for a subwoofer for my home system before I bought one. It was hard to find one that isn't boomy, and that included some that cost over $10,000.

The JBL soundstage is pretty good for a car, actually. Quite wide and spacious. Mids and highs are decent, but not spectacular.

This is all based on my evaluation of two 2016 lift-backs, not the Prime. But I think its the same system.

 

Very well setup and judging against Audi A8 stereo scale 1-10 JBL is 7.5

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

It seems that GPS systems in cars that I've seen so far are all a waste of money. The best system is the portable Garmin Nuvi 3490lmt. The Garmin gives you great voice control, lifetime traffic, lifetime maps, and is the simplest to use, without any interference with the phone or other displays on your screen.
I never used the nav on my 2012 Prius Plug-In, nor will I use the one in my Prius Prime Advanced. The Mercedes system on the top cars is a complete joke. The Lexus' is a little better, but still unsatisfactory. It's too bad that one of these car companies can't figure out how to integrate one of the portable units in the dash. Now that would be a cool trick!


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Some Toyota's came with a built-in but removable Tom-Tom right in the dash.

 

That's another reason why including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in car systems is great - it give the user the option of using far superior navigation tools like Google Maps (and Waze in the near future) in a driver-focused system. Even in my previous Lexus and Volvo the GPS units could not compete with a cheap phone's ability to integrate much quicker traffic info and an always up-to-date GPS system. Having this integrated into the car's system while using the larger screen of the car is just another reason why every company should offer the choice of Apple's or Google's systems in addition to their own system. This won't sway me to buy a car other than the Prius but it's a factor I will consider and perhaps enough people will vote with their wallet for it to matter in the future.

 

Wrong road exit Into is likely to be a map data problem, not a Nav software problem.

Don't know if Toyota have a map problem reporting channel, but worth a look. Then at letter they might take the opportunity to correct this in a futuremg map update.

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IMHO Google Drive is so good now in every way.:
Natural language recognition
Intelligent address searching
Outstanding traffic awareness routing and re routing
Outstandingly clear voice directions
Excellent visual interface
Automatic reminders of available map up grades.

I wouldn't consider paying for an extra bit of Hardware to run my Nav on.

Just wish I could get my Google Nav visuals on my "Prime" screen- without having to but buy a $300 dollar accessory, assuming I can even buy it in the UK.

Absolutely agree with comments that car makers Nav is now an anachronism and should be replaced with phone interface.

Tried Android Auto on my phone though and uninstalled it after 24 hours. Poor poor poor. Hardly fit as a beta version.

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Maps can be downloaded onto your phone for both Google and HereweGo. No need to use data. Have done this plenty of times when in France. You don't get traffic info of course without data connection.

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Fair enough, Tideland. I agree there are use cases where the old paradigm is still valid, and I accept that. Some people prefer the built-in, no-hassle nav system and that makes sense for a variety of reasons. However, I am not asking to omit the feature - I am only suggesting that Toyota offers the option of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay in addition to the built in system. While these systems are very imperfect now they are mostly serviceable, offer some great features and will only improve and refine with time. I think Toyota is on the the wrong side here and they should consider working with the software devs like so many other manufacturers already have.

The bottom line is if Toyota's Entune system was amazing and the map data was easily updatable (and not so expensive) I don't think I would care about Android Auto or Apple Car Play. However, Entune is not up to par with today's offerings IMO and updating map data is still cumbersome and unreasonably expensive (IMO). There are far fewer complaints about Tesla's system because it is better (though it too is far from perfect). Let's see how Hyundai does with the Ioniq family and Tesla with its Model 3. Competition is a great thing, and I'm still a very loyal Toyota/Lexus buyer; quality and reliability are my paramount factors.

 

Tesla cars are built very good....electric motors use ceramic bearings and can easily run translated from hours to miles
1.6 million miles before there will be noticeable thermal stress .....
Where other parts of the car will require replacing differential and many other wearing parts
Induction motors they use in the house have rotors fused with Cooper for much higher efficiency .....and there is many other state of the art improvements
....to really understand where I'm coming from you need to see for yourself ....
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I agree that the Prime Nav and infotainment system has issues. I think in-car Nav is a good backup option if your phone is lost, stolen, broken, or out of cell service coverage area.

Both of my kids have had phone issues while navigating and the one in the older car whose phone GPS chip stopped working (required a phone replacement), didn't have built in Nav, and didn't make it to a job interview!

On rare occasions when I am traveling somewhere completely new, I sometimes use both and see which one presents me with better options. It also helps to feel there is a 'consensus' between the two and that you are less likely to get lost. Note that I preview where I'm going before I get in the car so I know where I expect to go, and have a pretty good idea anyway, but sometimes there are just too many turns to memorize.

 

who has a good infotainment system?

tesla?

 

My pet peeve with Toyota is the steering wheel controls. They are not the same across models. My Camry's is different than the wife's Prius. Drives me nuts when I use her car and I totally mess up changing stations, etc.

 

In my reading about various systems, it seems everyone's is subpar. Apparently, there's a significant "turf" battle between Apple/Google and the car manufacturers. Result: not good for the consumer.

 

same with my wife's hycam.