You should be glad that you do not live in Canada! Up here the navigation system does not include the energy screens, is just as poor when it comes to giving directions and is a C$3,000 option by the time you've included the taxes! The only redeeming factor is that it is a dealer installed option which after several months of complaining to Toyota I was able to get removed and the original radio reinstalled! They gave me a full refund. I now have a, Garmin portable NUVI unit that comes with maps for North America (Canada and US) plus most of Europe. I was also able to buy maps for Mexico (which they do not consider to be part of North America).
Another advantage of the Garmin unit apart from its far greater accuracy and more up-to-date database is that annual updates cost about $75 instead of the several hundred dollars that Toyota charges.

 

Perhaps I am drinking too much Toyota Kool Aid, but I like the Nav system.

I had a problem where the thing would route me on slow streets at times when I wished to by-pass an area all together. Once I figured out how to go and change the speeds for given routes, that has gone away.

Maybe the reason I don't mind the system is that I deliberately disabled the voice guidance. I can't stand having people tell me which way to turn and am certainly not going to listen to a woman I don't even know do it. I have a wife to tell me "where to go"!



bigsk8r

 

I think that this only applies if you do not have the nav. Please confirm if you are able. Thanks in advance.

 

I just finished installing a backup camera. ....
Do that on your portable NAV system!

 

I'm feeling a bit better as I get to know the quirks of the NAV and the CD system.

I've found that you can FF within a song by holding down on the forward button ON THE RADIO. You change CD's by holding down the forward button ON THE WHEEL. Thanks for the tip!

I also went into town on a freeway for the first time today. I liked how the screen split and showed you the upcoming exits. Portable unit could not do that.

I also found that the NAV girl pronounced some of the roads names for me. My cheap portable unit could not do that as well.

 

I thought the Toyota system does not have Text-To-Speech

 

You can play randomly across folders by holding down the random key for a few seconds instead of just pressing it. It will then skip around the folders on one disk. It will not skip over multiple disks. And like you said, when you skip forward it will skip to the next track in that directory. Once that song plays it will go back to random. Very annoying!

 

I agree with you. I really enjoy the TCH Nav system. I also have a Magellan 700 and there was no difference in routing on my last road trip to CA. You have to setup you Nav. system prior to just jumping in the car and driving. How many of you read the manual prior to testing it you? This will really help.

 

Reading the manual is not going to add places to the map or the POI database that are not there.

Reading the manual is not going to add the energy screens that are not available on Canadian Nav systems.

 

The Toyota NAV will announce some streets ie "I 70"
It does not announce every street name but the graphics on the split screen more than make up for that. It really helps the driver see what lane they need to be in to prepare for the upcoming turn.