Navigation System - Does it get any easier?

There are some cool features with the new units like tom tom etc, but its a matter of software.

I really like the big screen etc, but it is allot of money for what you get.

But what you get is integration into the whole car, phone radio etc.

Some of the menus are hidden and hard to find, but they are there... my biggest gripe is not being able to browse through the menus while driving...

Yea, I know they say its dangerous... but
playing with the knobs on the airconditioner, radio, cd player and text messaging is more of a challenge than the menu of the navigation console.

 

Lots of people have similar things to say about the navi. I've never owned a different one, so I didn't have a set of expectations and maybe I was better (un)prepared to deal with it. I actually find it fairly intuitive and easy to use.

I think habits and expectations are what's getting in your way of learning/using the Prius navi, so start over, start simple, and really follow the manual, instead of thinking "it works this way on my Garmin, so I'll try this."

Other than that, the one bit of advice I'd give is to get familiar with the navigation-related voice commands. I enter destinations almost exclusively by voice command, and while the voice recognition is another story, and leaves much to be desired, it's still pretty easy to use.

 

I felt this exact same way with mine. I came from a stand alone magellion unit, and i still can't get some things right on the prius nav. Take for example, my roadmate would tell me the next turn right away, on the top of the screen it would have the next turn, and at the bottom, the current street. The prius only seems to think you need to know the next turn name when you're about 2 seconds from it, and it doesn't even tell you the name of the street via voice! Does anyone know how to make it tell you the next turn right after you've just completed the last route item?

 

There are a couple different Map Views to tell you this, depending on how you want to see it. Rather than describing the icons, here are the voice commands you can use;

• "turn by turn guidance" - left side map and right side will show next few turns (in order from bottom to top)
• "arrow guidance" - left side map, right side will show the next turn and distance in big, easy to read format

A few other map views, not necessarily related to this question..

• "Single map" - full screen map
• "Dual map" - display two map scales at same time (i.e. left closeup, right further away). Handy when the Nav wants you to take a long roundabout way on main roads when you want to cut through residential areas instead.
• "Freeway guidance" - left side map, right side upcoming exits. In this mode, the line at the top shows what POIs are nearby the selected exit. Press the diamond in the top right corner to zoom to that exit and display all POIs. Press on icons to display name and/or set destination. Very useful when travelling and you want to stop for gas/food/lodging and don't know the area.
• "Compass mode" - No map displayed. Shows compass with N/S/E/W and your destination to help you going in the right direction. Useful when driving in rural, unmapped areas.

I think that's it... you can select them from the screen or just give the verbal command.

Back to the OP's original comment, I think the Nav system is actually quite efficient laid out and pretty intuitive, however, I do believe this is predicated on whether you have used another system previously. You will always find the first one learned the 'easiest'.

However, if anyone needs any explanation on what something means or how to do something, people around here are generally pretty helpful in that regard. Just ask.

 

I've had two Toyota nav systems. One was in a 2002 Toyota Corolla Verso, a cross between a sedan and a minivan. It had a small display screen, but was very intuitive and user friendly. My current one is in a 2005 Prius. I'm happy with the big screen, but the rest of it drives me nuts. It does everything under the sun, but requires several steps to complete a destination and very little of it is intuitive. I suppose if I had to use it every day I'd get used to it, but my once every two weeks foray into plotting a new destination sometimes frustrates me. In short, it's just too complicated. I have a friend in CA who has a Camry hybrid with a similar nav, and he feels the same way. Of course the fact that we're both in our late '60s may have a teeny bit to do with it. We're not admitting to anything, however.

 

The system has some neat display features, but otherwise it sux. The 'POI name' database feature really stinks to the point of being useless, it lacks what I'm looking for most of the time and the info returned is spread over many states and way too many returns to be useful.

The worse part is, this system seems to be a generic nav system. I rode in a friends car with an aftermarket display audio unit, Eclipse, I think, and he has nav. The maps, menus, voice guidance etc. are just like the Prius. And the thing drives him nuts too. Toyota should license from Garmin.

 

Those of you that are having trouble figuring out the how to work the GPS screen Toyota now as a Video tutorial on its features. It's pretty good, I even leaned some new things and I have had my Prius since 2004. This is not the old Lexus version this is new for the Prius and the current other models. Try it. Here is the URL:

http://www.toyota-eshowroom.com/partner/ToyotaNavPrius/Toyota_nav.html?ref=t.com

 

I'm a longtime Garmin user, and agree wholeheartedly with the complainers. Toyota's software is not nearly as user friendly. However I figure it's all part of the learning curve, and eventually I'll have it figured out. As a great man once said, you've got learn to live with what you can't rise above.

 

Not in voice, but if you click the circle-arrow button on the leftmost side of the screen, one row above the bottom, it expands out and gives you several options:

all map display, map plus popup split-screens, dual maps, next few turns, and lat/long compass.

It sounds like you're looking for the next few turns mode? The bad news is, technologically what they've done with the nav unit is very different from a voice synthesizer that can produce syllables based upon text it reads -- they've got a finite set of highly aesthetic syllables designed for smoothest combination rather than for highest versatility. The whole system is designed to only be able to say a few critical things; it's not set up to read and vocalize lots of different dynamic information from a map and though that's not technically hard to do, they've just gone a very different route.

~ dan ~

 

You can also restrict the POIs to a particular city which helps.

 

take the lollipop out of your mouth

 

I just wish they could integrate more into the GPS systems, like:

-Overlay a semi-transparent weather radar over the map when zoomed out a certain distance. Some weather forcasting would be nice too.
-Show live traffic congestion or emergencies on roadways displayed on the map and give an option to re-route and avoid it.
-When the "Add Fuel" pops up on the screen and the last pip on the fuel gauge starts to flash it should pop up a message to allow you to let it find the nearest fuel station of your preference (optionally along or near your current route).
-Show terrain, like hills and altitudes (maybe a 3d or 'birds eye view' map?).
-Another really great feature would be to have the map draw a new road if it does not exist in it's database (as you drive down the road), then allow you to name it, etc. as a way to self update any area real time or correct freeway on/off ramps if they have been moved. I've run into that twice now with the freeway ramps in I-35 in New Braunfels and Austin/Round Rock areas where the ramps have been moved back and the map gives me the 'Ding' to exit and there is no ramp!

There's many more, just can't think of them all right this minute.

 

Some intriguing ideas, for sure! The terrain is simply mapping data that is currently not available, and the weather would require a data source of some sort. Perhaps once NavTraffic technology and coverage matures, they can evolve that to include weather as well.

FWIW, the Nav system in the 2009 Corolla supposedly supports XM NavTraffic. Very cool.

2009 Corolla

I imagine this would be the "6th generation" Nav system and will also be fitted on the 2009 Prius...?

 

I haven't played around a whole lot with the nav system yet, but what I've seen of it pales in comparison to the Garmin Nuvi 350 we use in another car. Not nearly as detailed maps, but worse, I programmed an address today (a store) just to see what route it would choose, and it was at least 7 miles out of the way!

I'm hoping to be able to tweak preferences but for now, my confidence is somewhat shaken.