Factory Navigation package - Regrets?

[jreiter]

Whereas I get the desire to manually use the system while moving, I prefer being limited to using the voice commands than not watching the road.

The downside to this is when you have a passenger who could easily manage the nav unit while you drive. We ran into this the other day and were laughing at how ridiculous it was. I was driving the 4runner through the city while my wife was trying to look some addresses up on the nav unit. She couldn't do anything with it while we were moving, as most of the useful buttons are grayed out while you're moving. As soon as we'd stop at a traffic light, though, the buttons would instantly work again, and she'd try to type as quickly as possible. (Which isn't easy given how slow that nav interface is!) When the traffic light turned green and we started moving again, all the buttons would instantly gray out and she'd have to wait until the next red light. I was cracking up, but she was getting mad at it.

Honestly, we're just about ready to go back to our little Garmin unit stuck to the windshield. The Garmin is faster, easier, and less frustrating to use than the factory nav unit (since it works while moving), and I bought the $80 lifetime map update package for the Garmin so I get map updates for life. I'm guessing Toyota will probably charge a couple of hundred dollars per year for map updates.

To be fair, the factory unit does have a lot of neat bells and whistles, and it does work just fine if you can overlook the slowness of the interface and the fact that it can't be messed with while the car is moving.

 

[fxoffroad]

The downside to this is when you have a passenger who could easily manage the nav unit while you drive. We ran into this the other day and were laughing at how ridiculous it was...

...Honestly, we're just about ready to go back to our little Garmin unit stuck to the windshield...

...To be fair, the factory unit does have a lot of neat bells and whistles...

I hear what your saying (and have the same frustration in my 08 Lexus). Though the Lexus does have voice command, for seemingly stupid things like: raise/lower temperature, change CD/SAT/AM/FM, etc.

I have to ask why you can't use the system (while moving) with your wife via the voice activation? Are there commands that only work using the keypad? Or is it about getting used to voice prompts/commands? I don't think there's a NAV command that I can't verbally execute.

I couldn't deal w/ a dash or window mounted unit. I still think the stock system is great.

 

[nashman69g]

Is the user manual for the 4-runner NAV available online? I have a 2011 on order, and would like to get up to speed on the NAV before I get the truck.

It's online on Toyota's site-you need to register w/your vin# for access to one section at a time. Or if you'd like the access to the whole thing at one time, there is this awesomebiggrin2 guy that has a link to the manuals online.lol...hint--see my sig!



As for the nav unit...I like the factory integration. I do hate how cumbersome some of the features are. Forget looking for a particular song--unless you like waiting. Then if you stop scrolling for to long, it switches to that song automatically. The navigation side is good for getting where I need to go. Hasn't failed me yet.

 

[kmiller8821]

I've honestly never had a Nav system in my vehicle (i use my iphone) so this is the first integrated unit I've had. Perhaps its my lack of knowledge of other systems, but I don't have any problem with mine at all. Indeed, it could be much faster but overall it works extremely well. It has taken me flawlessly to many locations now and my girlfriend and I like to go hit up estate sales, and garage sales and stuff on the weekends. We program every destination into it and it just takes us from place to place. It's not failed us yet! The music interface isn't the best, I'll agree, but I typically just start my mp3 playlist on my iphone and then stream it thru the truck's BT connection. I can't really complain much here, overall I'm very happy with it. And as so many others have pointed out, I don't worry about breakins to steal my factory system. Thieves rarely target factory. lol.

 

[Snooperstyle]

As for the nav unit...I like the factory integration. I do hate how cumbersome some of the features are. Forget looking for a particular song--unless you like waiting. Then if you stop scrolling for to long, it switches to that song automatically. The navigation side is good for getting where I need to go. Hasn't failed me yet.

Yes, I can't stand the fact that you cannot scroll through the iPod songs without it automatically going to the one it rests on...very annoying if you are looking to cue up the next song but still want to hear the song that is currently playing.

Other Cons:
1. Like FX said, you can do most things from the voice activation while moving. Just did this yesterday, but it is not very good at recognizing my voice...so it does take a bit longer sometimes.
2. Drives me nuts that to make a phone call, I can't just push the steering wheel button, and then say "Call Home". Instead, you have to go through a short series of commands just to be able to say the name of the contact.
3. Loading phone contacts into the unit from my phone is a one contact-at-a-time ordeal. It just will not get all the contacts through the blutooth link. Also, sometimes the caller ID does not recognize a number that is indeed stored in the Nav unit when the call comes in...do not know why...this is a mystery.
4. When you zoom out past a certain point, too many smaller roads disappear...this makes it hard to see the big picture when you are exploring a new area.
5. Radio station RDS text is limited and not easy to read. Same thing with XM song and artist titles. I feel sure that aftermarket units will have all kinds of options for displaying this data. Even my old XM Roady XT has better readout options.

Pros:
1. Screen is clear and easy to read, and has easy options.
2. Split screen when navigating a route, which shows you how the upcoming intersection will look on one half of the screen. This is sometimes very helpful.
3. The maps seem to be extremely up to date. When I went wheelin last, the road I was on was extremely remote, but it still came up on the map. We were in the mountains, and it was a very rugged and windy 4x4-only jeep trail that is only open during part of the year. Using a paper topo map and cross referencing with the Nav unit proved to be extremely helpful to figure out where those things on the paper map actually were (like named creek crossings, campsites, side roads, intersecting hiking trails, etc.)

I like my Nav unit, but after my warranty runs out, I may consider replacing it...but I don't want to give up the steering wheel controls, voice commands, backup cam, etc. Hopefully, the technology of these after market units will improve EVEN more by the time my warranty runs out.

 

[nashman69g]

3. Loading phone contacts into the unit from my phone is a one contact-at-a-time ordeal. It just will not get all the contacts through the blutooth link. Also, sometimes the caller ID does not recognize a number that is indeed stored in the Nav unit when the call comes in...do not know why...this is a mystery.

The first time I transferred all my contacts from my iPhone 3g it worked. I followed the instructions and it worked. I wonder if there are slight software variations between builds????

 

[fraggy]

Can you upload a batch of POIs? I do not want to add them one at a time.

 

[fxoffroad]

Is the user manual for the 4-runner NAV available online? I have a 2011 on order, and would like to get up to speed on the NAV before I get the truck.

There's an online tutorial for the nav/audio at toyota_shell_01