I know that the major reason that I didn't get the navigation with my 2004 Prius was the inability to hit something like 'reroute' while driving.

If I am in Chicagoland and the radio tells me about road blockages up ahead, I should be able to hit 'reroute,' and go on my merry way, without having to stop the car to do this, saving me the hell of being stuck near the blockage.

 

Well actually NO I just do not believe Toyota Customer Care? Really Cares At All!
Here is a quote from a customer care? supervisor about my Nav System Problems 2/6/08
"Good Day Robert This is Juleesa Cabrera From Toyota Customer Care in Torrance calling.
We are well aware that you are experiencing continuous problems with your factory navigation system in as much as you cannot input your home street address. Plus are unable to access turn by turn navigation to or from destinations and back to your home.
Toyota does not presently, nor do we expect to have at any time soon, any solution to this.
You will need to PURCHASE update discs from the manufacturer when they come available.
Toyota WILL NOT Supply you with any update discs FREE as they are customer pay items".
She goes on to say, "We have contacted the manufacturer and learned that because your home is located in a 'rural area' it is more as likely NOT mapped accurately this version.
Again, as updated discs become available you will need to purchase them from Toyota."

Well I have news for you. This subdivision has been here for 15 years, and the streets were all mapped and platted at the time of it's inception. County Road Maps as well as the Telephone Book Maps BOTH SHOW MY STREET. This Nav. System Should Show It As Well!

So, according to Toyota Customer Care? If you are having difficulties and problems with your Factory Navigation System, well that's too bad for you. They Are Not Going To Help!
We paid for an expensive Navigation System that cannot even find home street addresses.

I believe if we would all band together, contact Toyota Corporate 1-800-331-4331 and send written complaints to them at the; Toyota Customer Care Dept WC 10 19001 South Western Avenue, Torrance,CA. 90501. direct your complaints to both the Supervisor of Customer Care, Ms. Lorraine Smelcer, and Toyota USA President Mr. Jim Lentz then also send written complaints to; www.Consumeraffairs.com as well as sending an email to; hotline@consumer-action.org to DEMAND Toyota Resolve These Navigation Systems Problems.
Just so all you folks out there know, 70 other people that I found so far, are complaining about continuing Problems and Difficulties with Toyota Factory Navigation Systems. Want to take a look? Just 2 websites are:
http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f...ory-nav-15220/ after you read those 6 pages of complaints, go to
http://priuschat.com/forums/audio-el...tml#post556155 for 6 more!
We all paid BIG to have these Navigation Systems and they sure should work properly!
If one cannot utilize the system input of home street address, you are also unable to utilize turn by turn navigation features. Those are two of the most important reasons I paid dearly to get the Factory Navigation System.
This Navigation System is veritibly USELESS in it's present state.Toyota Needs To Hear This From All Of Us!

My question back to Toyota is; Why am I being penalized for YOUR SYSTEMS PROBLEMS and INACCURACIES?
If the information on these discs is NOT ACCURATE, Toyota Needs to Find A Better Disc Manufacturer.
Either I get update discs FREE or I want a refund on the Faulty Nav. System, as it cannot resolve these problems by itself!

 

Your problems will be solved by setting your home location via present position, while in your driveway. Or using your home's lat/long. coordinates as your home location. That can be gotten off the compass mode screen. Once the waypoint is set in memory, it's just like having inputted using your address and you can then navigate to home as a destination.

 

Thanks for the advice. We have already set the driveway position as our home. It's kind of funny actually, as the position shows we are in like "no mans land" No street shows up!

The only problem is the turn by turn quits at the start of the subdivision. Then gives me that annoying message, "turn by turn navigation is NOT available in this area, please use the map line of sight to get to your destination" So for now, I guess that's the best I can hope to accomplish.

BTW I did report the lack of my home address location to Navteq. I received a reply that they have my info.
I gave them the compass coordinates, so hopefully, maybe in a couple of years my home address will acually be shown on an update disc. I appreciate your help, Thanks, Robert

 

hi, gang; sorry i've been away for a while... blogging on other sites...

personally, i'm very loud about recommending that NOBODY buy an in-car nav system, especially one like the Prius' version. yes, mine's "only" an '04 model, but as i was telling a fellow engineer/scientist just today, my nav mapping is off by about four houses when i put my home address in... but so is maps.google.com..... same original database? any my home is about nine years old.

why doesn't someone compete with the lousy/cheap mappers and cut a slightly better deal and improve the accuracy?

the human interface sucks, big time, and i make no bones about it: Toyota and whoever supplies the NAV are obviously CAR people, NOT human beings who read maps or design human interfaces. the tortuous path to input an address, change mapping areas, select and save POIs or specific addresses goes against virtually any "natural" process i would ever design, and I'M GOOD AT THIS STUFF! i've designed software interfaces. THEY make sense.

i've complained that, again, Toyota is a CAR company, but it's inexcusable that they hadn't gotten in bed with some good home entertainment and NON-CAR people. why doesn't my '04 Prius have a USB PLUG????

why do i have to pay in excess of $200 for a DVD disc that's still as out of date on some local roads as the original one????

i bought my wife a Garmin and SHE LOVES IT!. USB plug, yearly subscription LOTS LESS than $200 per update, FM real-time traffic subscription available, and updates from the web to the pc to the Garmin via USB.

absolutely embarrassing and shameful that the '04 didn't do it this way, and i sure haven't read anything here to say that '08's any closer to that solution.

i may trade my 04 on a plug-in Prius some years down the road, but i'll test drive the NAV system first, and if it still sucks as bad, i'll be getting myself the "Prius Garmin Optional Package" long before i sign the bill of sale at the dealer.

listen up, Toyota! the Ford models for 2008 have left you in the dust. help us out!