I have noticed in my ( new to me) 2019 Prius Limited, that built-in navigation is clunky and mostly useless. I have frequently run into addresses that must not have existed in 2019. The virtual keyboard does not allow entering an address of new businesses, or street names which may not have existed in 2019. Can the dealership do anything about this? Thank you.
Cheaper to buy a standalone GPS like a Garmin. Dealer told me it would cost $600 to do a software update on my 2018 that was sold with 2016 maps.
Sorry but they can only sell you a newer car. That's the third of only three options that I can think of for the owner of a 2019 Prius that want an infotainment system that will work with 'modern' cell phones. Your other two options are a phone mount to use your phone's maps or an aftermarket infotainment system. I could be wrong about this and if so, some drive-by keyboard warrior will inform both of us. I would lean well away from trying to solve this issue with a dealership unless of course you want to buy a 2020 or newer Prius or other Toyota product. You could of course get an older used car from somebody like Kia, GM, Honda some of which started using Apple Car play in 2015. Good Luck.
They always usta sell updates in some form or other, for some limited amount of time: I was able to buy a 2016 DVD for the DVD-based system in my 2010, but I don't think they've released any later one for me.
I have a 2021 and I HATE the built-in navigation. It is the most unfriendly system that could be installed. My vehicle does have ApplePlay and I use Waze from my iPhone. Works great. My only comment is the different trim levels have large or small built-in displays, ApplePlay defaults to the small screen so that the bottom half of the built-in display either displays the AC controls or the radio controls. Except that Google collect my navigation data, Waze is my choice.
Personally I HATE the apple carplay solutions because for some reason all the "apps" just keep zooming in so instead of a map all you see is a straight line when driving. Wth. Google and Apple maps suck at routing and tend to make you drive way further than you need to because the algorithm doesn't make left hand turns or it sends you down random goat paths that a goat would have more sense than to traverse. At least on my older vehicle with built in maps I could view the overall map and my trip and decide for my self if the route made sense. A straight line ISN'T a map. I guess I'm just old school who grew up on paper maps and not a millennial willingly and blindly accepting any and all left right instructions from the AI overlords.
I'd be lying if I said that I never let AI guide me to a destination when and where I meet the USN definition of bachelorhood(*)..... HOWEVER (comma!!) I know how to use maps(**.) A cantankerous old Marine once patiently explained to this "child twidget" that you can shoot a map...drop it, sit on it and get it wet - and.......it's still a map. You may have to fold the paper back in place where the bullets left a hole - but.....it's STILL a map. I use Google Maps with Apple car play to avoid traffic congestion(***) and road closures. Google maps are clearly superior to their Apple counterparts while Apple makes superior hardware and apps. I've played with them enough to lower the walls in their garden enough for me to do 'adult computing' while keeping me inside the garden for family and friends. I'm thinking that in 2019 Toyota didn't want to pay the tolls for these roads and they came up with some kind of daffy Entune system. Toyota "saw the light" in 2020.....again, if I'm accurately informed. I'm a cord cutter - and I loathe subscriptions so all of this would have been a hard "NO" for me. ----------------------- (*) We used to call it the "Two state/One ocean rule....and I hasten to add that although I've been a geo-batch many MANY times, I've also universally taken my marriage vows seriously. TIFWIW. (**) I patiently explained to HIM that I scored well enough on my ASVAB that I don't have to USE maps. TEXACO.....sells maps. I use CHARTS....but he was right about the electronic feldercarb. (***) If you live on free soil - avoiding traffic congestion is not only 'possible' but it's usually quite easy to do....maybe except for Nashville and Atlanta - but then.......I DID say "free soil." YMMV
They can sell you an update, but beware that the databases used to make these systems tend to lag far behind the POI databases maintained by Garmin and other standalone GPS providers, and those databases tend to lag behind what is available in a smartphone. So yes, you can update, it might even have this month's date printed on it, but the contents could still be 3 years stale the day you put it in.
I keep forgetting about Garmin! I loathe 'unitaskers' but I might have to dip into this topic if for no other reason than maybe an addition to my bug-out kit. I might loft a question in the Pancake Haus to see if this 1980's tech has anything to offer in 2026. They're supposed to use "multiple" Global Navigation Satellite Systems or (GNSS) services but NOW I'm curious..... As far as the OP, I'd probably use Google maps. FOR Toyota owners if your vehicle is older than about 6 years??? This means a phone mount of a new NOT OEM infotainment screen.
I completely agree. I upgraded to the 2019 Prius without knowing that there were orphaned elements that came with the car. How can your infotainment system suck so much that you abandon it after just a couple of years? I eventually did find one company that produced a sort-of integration hack. It's clumsy and requires a separate joystick to manipulate a hacked Android auto in through the backside of the tall vertical screen. $450 for this, I'm just going to continue to use my smartphone. Don't get me wrong. I love my Gen 4 Prius, but it just confounds me how Toyota can get something like that so wrong. Thank you for all of your experiences and inputs. TILL THE NEXT STUPID QUESTION....!
