Urban Runner Horrible Radio/Nav/Bluetooth!

[bjork]

My husband and I just bought the 2008 Urban Runner 3 weeks ago with the Tom Tom Eclipse unit and so far it's been a complete POS! The nav unit started shutting off, freezing up and re-starting itself. We called Tom Tom and were told to reset, uninstall, re-install, & run "clear flash" software. Finally they just said it was only their software but this is Toyota's problem.

Not only is the nav itself a piece of crap, but the Bluetooth is horrible as well. Callers cannot hear us with all the static, etc. It gets a little better by holding your cell next to the nav unit but doing so defeats the purpose of hands-free calling... We have attempted to hook up other cell phones which worked using Bluetooth in other cars but it did not improve the result.

To touch on the actual radio itself; it is equally as poor. To begin, it must have a weak tuner because even local stations occasionally come in and out and are not as clear as other car radios. The buttons have a very cheap feel and certain functions are not intuitive at all. For example, to active/de-activate the dimmer, you have to press Source for 1 second to turn it off and when it says

 

[ProMed]

Interesting, I didn't know they were using a TomTom Nav in the Urban 4Runner. Sorry I can't help you with any advice, the nav in my 06 is totally different.

 

[wolfgang]

Make them replace the unit and loan you a free rental car while they are waiting on it to come in and be installed. If replacement doesn't work - ask for another or the Yota rep to intervene. I sure wouldn't plunk down another $2k to them.

 

[s-one]

Oh man sorry about your troubles. Garmin is sooooo much better than Tom Tom or even Toyota's factory nav for that matter.

 

[Uneek]

Oh man sorry about your troubles. Garmin is sooooo much better than Tom Tom or even Toyota's factory nav for that matter.

I agree partly about how much Tom Tom suck and disagree that Garmin is better than OEM.

I used the mobile version of Tom Tom for my Treo. By far the worst nav I've ever used, hate it and rather get lost than use it.

I have a Nuvi660, it's better than Tom Tom, but it doesn't hold a candle near the OEM Toyota nav. I would give the Nuvi higher marks if the directions and manuvers aren't given at the "last second." Feature wise like trip planning, it sucks. Can't input a series of destinations and hit them one by one, two is the max.

Other than not being able to watch DVDs on the OEM nav, it's hands down better than the Nuvi and no comparison for the Tom Tom.

 

[pickerdd]

:iagree: I agree with Uneek. I had a Garmin Nuvi 680 and we currently have a Nuvi 760 that my wife uses and IMO the Toyota OEM Nav is way better than either of those units as far as Navigation features. The Garmin and TomTom (which I have no experience with) are great for portability and such, but for quick response and clarity of the screen (not to mention the 7" screen on the OEM Nav). I really like the integrated backup camera and the bluetooth in the OEM Nav. The voice recognition system works pretty well too.

No complaints from me.

 

[s-one]

Well I hope something works out for the OP. I'm not aware of how the Garmin Nuvi's operate but my Garmin Street Pilot is far better than toyotas factory nav. Anyhow I'm wondering why toyota just doesn't provide you with a new tt?

 

[runnerfreak]

You shouldn't pay $2000 or even a penny for anything. Your car is under warranty, and since you didn't cause the damage, then everything should be covered without any costs to you. With my accord, I had them replace my radio with a new one, free!

As long as you didn't have a 3rd party vendor involved or as long as you didn't damage it, then warranty should cover it. That

 

[pickerdd]

Please don't misunderstand my post as I really like the Garmin units. I think they are great. If I didn't, I wouldn't have purchased a second unit, the 760. I just happen to like the OEM Toyota Nav system better. As runnerfreak mentioned different strokes for different folks.

 

[004Gunner]

I would hope Toyota takes care of this problem under warranty and would like to know about the solution when it's reached. I used a nuvi 260W on a recent road trip and thought that overall it was good. The best way to decide if the navigation is any good is to plug in a destination you already know your way to and see what it does. I found quite a few flaws this way. Anyone know what nav software the factory nav uses?

 

[pickerdd]

It uses the Navteq mapping database.

 

[004Gunner]

Good to know as apparently a lot of major manufacturers use the same to include garmin, which teams up with kenwood, and jvc. Thanks

 

[Vizwar]

I considered the Urban Runner when I bought my Sport. I was SUPER disappointed with the TomTom/Stereo. The sound quality was horrible and like you mentioned, it was cheap.

Sadly though I believe you are going to be left with the bill to replace it with an after market stereo. The dealership is not responsible for the Tom Tom being of gawd awfull design. If the Tom Tom is failing beyond it's inherent design flaws then, yes, they should replace it but with the same thing.

You bought the Urban Runner, with the Tom Tom. Drop the cash for a stereo shop to replace it with something better.

Tom Tom really screwed Toyota on this one.

 

[useport80]

hey all,

i recently got an 08 urban runner also. i hated the tomtom nav junk so i upgraded to the pioneer avic-z3 from toyota. everything is working great.

at this moment, they didn't have the converter cable for my steering wheel controls but they are going ot get that fixed this week.

i had to talk to the sales manager to get the ball rolling on it tho.

for your situation, if in doubt call customer service and make them do something about it.

good luck

 

[sant6236]

Wow, maybe I should pretend to be female.

The service is exceptional!!

 

[boostedprozac]

I really don't think the urban runner's tomtom is that bad. It really depends on your use of the nav. I'm an outdoorsy person. I can use the gps when I'm hiking, portaging, or canoeing. I like that I can take it with me where I want. The directions have been great! The first post may have been just a bad unit...but I think it's a great product. If you wanted a cool navi for street use then go with the sport model. If you want something more mobile....go for the UR. They both have their own purposes. But I like my tomtom. No problems what so ever.

 

[kevin.cochie]

Honest Review

All,
I'm new to the forum so learning as I go along. I have an 08 Urban now for about a year and hate the Eclipse stock radio. I have no issues with the TomTom and have used the unit frequently when traveling on business and use it in rental cars. However, usage in the Eclipse radio is horrible. The Eclispse has very poor controls for system functionality and satellite radio. Most of all, I'm completely disappointed with the bluetooth capability. When connected to my iPhone, others on the other end of the call can hear me fine, but I can barely hear them speaking through the system (with phone and stereo turned all the way up).

I'm upgrading to a better Nav system next week. I'm sticking with Eclipse to leverage on the current integration of the stereo with my Sirius receiver. I'm going with the AVN 726E due to it having Bluetooth built in and it having many capabilities. I'll post the result after installation next week.