03-04 Nav System

[Hawk]

Of the people with the factory nav, who are happy with it? Is it worth the extra $? I love the idea of having nav, but after seeing the voice activated nav in the Acura, a touch screen seems sort of lame. Can it be touched while driving, or are imputs only allowed when the vehicle is stopped?

Anyone know of a link with specifics on the 03-04 nav system?

Responses are greatly appreciated.

Eric

 

[jharris2]

Actually, I didn't think it was worth the money, so I didn't order it. Instead, I'm planning to get one of the portable units from Garmin or Magellan. Their high-end units are about half the price of the Toyota version, and I can use it when I travel for business.

 

[Woodbert]

I could'nt justify the cost of the nav when you can get the Magellan or another model that will mount with the right attachment for just a few bucks plus the GPS.

I have the Magellan with the windshield mount and it does the same or better than the factory Nav.

I'd get the leather rather than the Nav.

 

[Thai]

Eric, I have actually an opposite opinion of the people above. Check out this thread:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=276&highlight=navi

Here's some more info:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=986&highlight=navi

TOUCH SCREEN is probably what sets Toyota and Honda NAVI units above everyone else. It is simply more intuitive and easy to use.

Another advantage is in mapping. For example, if i wanted to drive from Texas to Florida, the Toyota unit requires just ONE TIME programming. You set and that's it...it will direct you to your destination.

With the aftermarket units, you have to program it by region. For example, with the Magellan, you have to program it to go from Texas to Lousiana...and then program it AGAIN, from Lousiana to Florida. That is, you can't program it to map from Texas to Miami...it must be programmed at least twice! The Magellan hard drive divides the country into regions...and you cannot program it beyond one region. This limitation is NOT seen with Toyota (or Honda) NAVI units.

The other NAVI aftermarket units, such as StreetPilot, are PC-based. That is, you find a route that you want to take from Texas to Florida and then download it into the small hand-held unit. HOWEVER, you are limited! Again, because of the handheld's small memory, you canNOT store the whole route...so you have to break it down. That is, there's only enough memory in handheld to drive to the end Lousiana from Texas. Then you have to turn on your PC again (at a hotel or rest stop), and download the rest of the mapping instruction into your handheld unit. You may even need to do this more than just once if the route is long.

As you can see, these aftermarket units are STILL limited as compared to Toyota's DVD unit. In the near future, i am sure that these aftermarket units will overcome these limitations...but for now, they have not. Beyond all of the above limitations, the Toyota units are very fast compared to these aftermarket units.

From the first link above, only KENWOOD navi units are equivalent to Toyota's and Honda's in terms of ease of use and speed...because they are practically the same. Unfortunately, for the complete install, the KENWOOD unit will run around $3-4K, which is a lot more than what Toyota is charging! Alpine unit will cost about the same and does not have touch screen feature.

Lastly, i don't think you can change the destination while the 4runner is moving...this is where Toyota and Honda NAVI units differ the most.

In my opinion, if you NEED a Navi unit, then get one on your 4runner...you won't regret it! It's worth it! I wish that my 4runner came with that option in '02. My brother's Lexus LX470 has one...and it is just simply amazing. BTW, my other brother has the Magellan unit and it's good, but not nearly as good as the Toyota's unit. So, this is all from direct comparison.

Hope this helps.

 

[jharris2]

TOUCH SCREEN is probably what sets Toyota and Honda NAVI units above everyone else. It is simply more intuitive and easy to use.

Another advantage is in mapping. For example, if i wanted to drive from Texas to Florida, the Toyota unit requires just ONE TIME programming. You set and that's it...it will direct you to your destination.

With the aftermarket units, you have to program it by region. For example, with the Magellan, you have to program it to go from Texas to Lousiana...and then program it AGAIN, from Lousiana to Florida. That is, you can't program it to map from Texas to Miami...it must be programmed at least twice! The Magellan hard drive divides the country into regions...and you cannot program it beyond one region. This limitation is NOT seen with Toyota (or Honda) NAVI units.

The other NAVI aftermarket units, such as StreetPilot, are PC-based. That is, you find a route that you want to take from Texas to Florida and then download it into the small hand-held unit. HOWEVER, you are limited! Again, because of the handheld's small memory, you canNOT store the whole route...so you have to break it down. That is, there's only enough memory in handheld to drive to the end Lousiana from Texas. Then you have to turn on your PC again (at a hotel or rest stop), and download the rest of the mapping instruction into your handheld unit. You may even need to do this more than just once if the route is long.

Thai -

We are not going to agree on this one.

The new Garmin StreetPilot 2610 and Magellan RoadMate 500/700 units have touch screens. The days of using a joystick to pick letters are over, although the option still exists if you want to use it.

Additionally, since the Garmin 2610 and Magellan RoadMate 500 use industry-standard SD and CF memory cards, you can download much more detail since you have the availability of lots more storage.

The Magellan RoadMate 700 comes with a 10GB hard drive, which is preloaded with all the detail for the US and much of Canada. You just power it up and you're ready to go.

In my mind, the benefit of these aftermarket units is that they are portable between vehicles. That means you can have the same, proven mapping technology in the car, the 4Runner, and a rental vehicle.

If you want permanent mount, there is the Garmin StreetPilot 2650, plus I've seen a unit from Panasonic that looks really good. There are bound to be other options out there, too.

Isn't capitalism great??

 

[icepic]

I have the 4Runner factory Navigation system and am very happy with it. It is quite fast at calculating the original route and at recalculating the route if you deviate from the original. And, as Thai mentioned, you can select a coast to coast route one time. It does limit you from typing in a new destination while in motion, but you can select your Home or other pre-set destinations while moving. You can also select a detour while in motion which is a nice feature if you hear of an upcoming traffic problem on your current route. My only complaints are that Toyota does not do a good job of providing specs for the system and does not seem to have too many people that can provide you with answers to your questions. In addition, updates to the DVD retail at $250 and you can only get them from the dealer (and the dealers I've spoken with have no idea what I'm talking about when I ask them about the availability of the updates). I agree that if portability is your most important factor, you should probably go with something else. If not, go with the factory unit. It will certainly fit the best. My 2 cents.

 

[Thai]

The new Garmin StreetPilot 2610 and Magellan RoadMate 500/700 units have touch screens. The days of using a joystick to pick letters are over, although the option still exists if you want to use it..

The Magellan RoadMate 700 comes with a 10GB hard drive, which is preloaded with all the detail for the US and much of Canada. You just power it up and you're ready to go.

John, yeah, i am a bit outdated. However, i still don't think that the Magellan unit allow for coast-to-coast routing with just ONE input. But, then again, i could be wrong....:

But i certainly agree with the portability benefit.

 

[jharris2]

John, yeah, i am a bit outdated. However, i still don't think that the Magellan unit allow for coast-to-coast routing with just ONE input. But, then again, i could be wrong....:

But i certainly agree with the portability benefit.

Been doing a bit more research. The RoadMate 700 does in fact have all the US and Canada data (when you think about it, a DVD holds 4GB of data, where this unit has a 10GB drive).

The Garmin 2610 requires about 1.5GB to download all of the US -- CompactFlash cards come up to 2GB in size, and Hitachi Microdrives come up to 4GB today.

Net -- it sounds like it is possible. Oh -- and all of these units will be outdated before we really want them to be.

 

[Thai]

Yeah, my brother has the Magellan...it holds the whole map of US and Canada. However, the routing is still limited to regions.

 

[Thai]

I guess Jharris maybe right...here's an excellent new product from Magellan (RoadMate 700):

http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product.asp?PRODID=955

Here's the manual:

http://www.magellangps.com/assets/manuals/newprod/manual_MagellanRoadMateSeries.pdf

It is about $1299 from BESTBUY. It has a 10 GB harddrive to store up the maps of US and most of Canada. NOTHING TO DOWNLOAD! No compact flash card. In addition, you apparently can route coast to coast.

It is also very small with color screen and TOUCHSCREEN controls! :thumb:

I am gonna buy it this weekend! I will give you guys a review.

 

[jharris2]

I guess Jharris maybe right...

Well, accidents do happen! :

 

[4Runner2003]

I would get the Factory NAV. The system is fast. In Hertz rental cars that have the Magellan can not compair. They are much slower. Now for the ones that everyone else is talking about, I can not say anything about because I have not played with them yet.

But the factory unit looks good, performs great, and I have used it from Atlanta to Cleveland, OH, Orlando and Virginia without a single issue and the routes were always correct.

And, if you can find the DVD player, you can also use the unit to watch movies........but with the car not running

The touch screen is always active, but when the auto is moving, the majority of the functions are disabled until you have stopped. Basically, you can not input a new address, but if you have an address pre-defined, you can press the corresponding button and it will map out while the auto is moving.

Now the one BIG draw back, if you want to upgrade your stereo system....then you are better off getting an aftermarket NAV unit. In the factory Toyota NAV, the stereo is built in (Turner, CD, Cass) so if you want to upgrade your head unit, then the factory NAV goes as well.

 

[mtnrunner]

I've used the rental units, I've hooked up my garmin legend to a laptop and I have NAV on the 04 4Runner. It's really one the reasons I had to wait to get my 4R but it was well worth the wait.

The interfacing NAV with the audio is well thought out and allows voice instructions to be heard by the driver and adjusts audio when a turn is approaching. The audio controls for the stereo are avail via touch screen on the NAV theryby allowing the touch screen to conrtrol more than just navigation. A host of other features such as car maintenance calendars are included with the NAV that you won't get on a portable. And the rear view camera is another really nice bonus.

Granted, it's nice to be able to move a portable around but that can have draw backs too, such as HAVING to secure it or having your airbag push it thru your nose!

My wife and I are both directionally challenged and I can't tell you how nice it is to push the home button and to be navigated home from where ever we are. And you can allow it to speak french too which makes your drive very erotic!

However, I would eliminate the need to hit 'agree' everytime your drive begins and with a passenger often manning the controls the saftey features of not being able to key in new destinations while driving are annoying. Maybe a hack or a new version/os/dvd will allow bypassing this.

Go for the NAV, you will not regret it!

 

[theman1971]

I have the Toyota NAV on my '04 LTD. At first, I wasn't sure about it's use and usefullness. But after having it the past 4 months, I have not regret paying for it.

My wife drives the SUV and she loves having the NAV direct her home every day from work. But seriously it's great. She's no longer afraid to drive to destinations that she haven't been to before.

Now that I have it, I want a NAV system with my next car too.

 

[Hawk]

Thanks for the input. I saw on 03 Limited with Nav. It had a single disc cd and casette behind the screen. The car also had a 6 cd changer mounted in the consol. Is that part of the system? or an option. On the Toyota website, when you build a Limited with the Nav, the 6 cd changer shows as an option, but it says $0 for cost. Does that mean it is included?

Also, does anyone know if it is possible to remove a changer and use its cable to hook up an mp3 player with spliced on rca connectors and use the changer setting on the head unit to listen? Just an idea I had. Also, you could maybe run a switch of some sort to switch between the changer and mp3 player. The switch could be mounted in the center consol and be manually activated. And both a changer and mp3 player could be switched between if the stereo was left on the changer source.

Eric