Why Toyota do this? Nav screen sucks

You can download areas in Google Maps ahead of time so it will still work without cell service or to save on data.

 

I think that’s reasonable. If you paid for something, it shouldn’t break right out of the box. Nice color & combo on yours btw.

Otherwise there’s really no true surprises left on these trucks to complain about. We literally know every bolt & seal by part number. How it’ll shift, noises, hiccups, and occasional leaks.

Entune was regarded as old-tech way back in ‘16, and it’s a well-know fact that it didn’t move the ball much at all since, beyond adding CarPlay/Android compatibility in ‘20, and even that’s not wireless. For me personally, the overall merits of this truck handily outweigh that. And fortunately for others, the ‘24’s will offer significant improvements. That’s progress.

 

Agreed. I knew going in that there would be things I didn't like. I knew there were complaints about the head unit, and the wireless charger. I knew that I don't like auto-dimming mirror (though this is by far the worst one I've used).

Some things caught me off guard. You can't catch everything in a test drive. Especially nighttime features, when the sun doesn't even set until 10pm.

The important things are all well designed, and over all, I'm incredibly happy with the truck.

 

My truck running Google Maps and Wireless AA is more than half-way decent.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt to provide "voice of the customer" feedback to the support line. I mean, if someone can enumerate the problems with it, document it, and if it is really poor / unreliable, Toyota should commit to fixing it, or making a concession. Demonstrate those things to the Regional Tech Service Manager or whatever the rep is called.

For the people indicating the OP should have known better before buying the truck, ahhh, I disagree. A yr ago when my wife and I were looking for a Tacoma, we lucked into a dealership that had allocation coming in 2 months. There were no Tacomas or Tundras on the lot at the time. Oh wait, there was one, but it was purchased, and you can't expect the dealership to let another customer put miles on a truck sold to someone else.

If the premium nav is really bad (like 8oo10 bad), Toyota should make it right... I mean, does their Nav suck in all their models? Maybe it does, I don't know, when I bought ours, as long as the HU was AA compatible, I was fine not wanting "Premium". They should not be charging for unreliable technology, plain and simple IMHO as that.

 

Does the nav suck in all Toyota models? I would say yes if they are all using Entune 3. There are some glaring issues. For example if you're listening to music and the nav voice comes on, it doesn't mute or reduce the volume of the music and talks UNDER it. Had I known how bad it was I definitely would have saved my money. My 2014 Nissan was so much better than this it is embarrassing.

Some of the directions I've received were nowhere close to being accurate. That is more of an issue with HERE MAPS and their live guidance though. I'll reach out to them separately.

 

............As many have mentioned, hands down, no question; Toyota bears the complete responsibility for providing reliable parts and in-vehicle services such as the navigation system, they claim are available at the time we bought it. Yes, the Toyota provided navigation system absolutely sucks! I tried in vain to make peace with it, only to realize that I was wasting my time......and therein lies the rub and the operative words......"wasting time". As much as I could've taken up a time-consuming back and forth with whatever tentacle of the Toyota empire to try and resolve the issue, I decided to be happy with Google maps provided by my phone and call it a day. Part of the reason was also, that by the time I picked up my truck after waiting for many months for it to arrive, I was about ready to commit major crime with the dealership personnel, who's handling of the delivery of a very expensive truck to me, could only be described as pathetic, woeful, amateurish, incompetent and down-right idiotic. It's shortcomings notwithstanding, the Tacoma is a pretty truck, its reliability is second to none, and still appears to be a holding a respectable resale value amongst trucks in general.

 

Navscreen, don’t need no stinkin’ navscreen. I have a Garmin that is so much better. I know where to fill up. I know how to read a map. Don’t need another nanny GD element in my ‘23 Taco. These gadgets are merely another thing to go wrong. If my Garmin goes bad, I will read a map. Wish the darn thing had wing windows for fresh air. I’d do away with the AC. Good ‘nuff! MTG

 

I've lived in this city for 43 years, and I've driven in this city for 29 of those years. I don't need the map until I'm a block or two from a new destination. Could I pull out a paper map when I need one? Of course I could. But the point of this technology is to make things easier, not more difficult. If it's not making things easier, then it's just wasted money.

It's also nice to have traffic reports, construction, and photo radar locations available, even when you do know where you're going.

 

I just bought my Tacoma, first one I've ever had. It's a 2019 and a main factor behind me choosing a Taco is for the simplicity. I've had Ford Platinums/King Ranches with all the bells and whistles and frankly... I am just sick and tired of it. I wanted something simple that takes me back to a simpler time and this does the trick. I even have a manual transmission and manual seats. Certainly, I knew about the lack of bells and whistles on this truck and honestly...who the hell uses the stock in car navigation?

 

When you pay over $1000 for it, you do, especially when you travel a lot and are in areas with zero cell coverage. But the thread isn't about a debate whether we should get it or not (because that's already settled - NO) but why does it suck so bad for a vehicle that was made recently. It's so bad it's almost like it was intentional.

 

I get that. Simply from my experiences traveling across the nation in rental cars of all makes and models I always expect the stock navigation to suck. I'm not sure about the absolute newest models coming out but 2020 to now they haven't gotten any better in Ford, Chevy or Chrysler/Ram either. Terrible stock navigation comes standard in the car industry I guess.

 

Thats why i got an SR because i knew i was going to replace most of this stuff. Why would i pay for the "upgrades" only to buy the better aftermarket.

 

i installed a cell phone booster. great for getting to the trail.

 

It's been mentioned before - Google provides a means to download maps in an area where cell phone coverage is known to be bad or non-existent.

I used to navigate by paper map the the multipage driving atlas. Then it was MapQuest providing a turn-by-turn list of actions to get from pt. A to pt. B.

I don't know anything about the iOS eco-space, so Apple CarPlay isn't an option for my wife and I (wife continues to want to use her phone and AA... go figure... but then, I can't tell her anything). Anyway, if you've used AA for any amount of time, you appreciate the integration of hands-free calling, texting, music or podcast... Google Assistant. Lots of things you can ask of the Assistant with just your voice.

Yep I like seeing the Speed Limit on my HeadUnit, places reported as a road hazard, and the vocal: "there is a speed trap ahead". I live and drive in NYS. Troopers are everywhere, maybe not as bad as in MA, but bad.

This technology isn't for everyone... I'm a heavy user of AA, BUT, I will never ever use cruise control (standard or adaptive). That's automation that takes me out of the pleasurable engagement of driving. YMMV

BTW - this may be counter-intuitive, but my work involves software engineering, and I mostly HATE dealing with computers. I guess I'm a luddite in that regard.

Respecting the notion, to each his or her own.

 

Wife has a subaru with maps...NEVER hit the button on purpose...always use WAZE

 

I think you hit a number of key points and bring up some great topics relative to navigation.
1. Paper maps and road atlases are still highly relevant and very important as a companion to today’s technology. You need a map to maintain the big picture perspective/situational awareness. I’m dumbstruck when I read about people driving into hazardous situations when they blindly follow their GPS without understanding their surroundings.

2. For background I was trained by the U.S. Navy in aviation navigation. Starting with the basics in dead reckoning navigation, progressing through RADAR navigation, celestial navigation, LORAN, Omega and inertial navigation. I’ve guided an airplane to the North Pole where every direction from the North Pole is south. There was no GPS available at the time. There is no substitute for human judgement and awareness.

3. Today’s nav tools amaze me. The speed, accuracy and amount of detailed information available is incredible. But…

4. You still need to be aware of the big picture and be suspect that there are always going to be errors.

 

As soon as you get yourself good and addicted to tech bullshit your life becomes a series of disappointments.



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Agree. Too much luxury and convenience now days, just makes us weaker as a spieces.

 

I've done underwater navigation by following depth contours and I've hit compass waypoints in zero visibility. Both were a fun exercise, and those skills always led me back to my dive boat or entry point without having to surface early.


Back to the car, when I was a kid and made the mistake of asking "are we there yet," a giant road atlas magically appeared in my lap with the instructions of "figure it out. Where are we now, how many miles until the next turn? "

I'm grateful for that little bit of parent torture now. I am now 100% electronic, but I do take two minutes when plugging in a destination to assess the route, make changes, and then memorize it. On multi day trips, I more often than not wake up in a place that has no signal, but I can confidently follow trails towards my next destination without maps. Once I get signal, it takes all of two minutes to pull a map, review it, and memorize the rest of my day.

Compared to navigating in three dimensions or even backcountry nav, roads are easy. They have so many context clues that one doesn't even need a map, you just need a general sense of where your target is, and odds are that you'll hit it. The one thing that I do like Google/Waze for is that they announce changes in conditions with enough warning that I can detour as needed. But for blind nav, pfft, who even needs maps?

 

I have to agree. Toyota is behind in technology. Chevy seems ahead, but then again they have a ton of electrical issues.