Prius Mk 3 T-Spirit Satnav Update

[Londoner1656]

As my car reached its second birthday, I asked if the the satnav could be updated as part of the regular service.

Yes, I was told by WKB Waterlooville, that will be £169 and a few pence.

It appears that the money buys a dongle with which the system can be updated - but only by a dealer, using a kit contained in a small suitcase which they showed me. They reassured me that there would at least be no labour charge for the service!

Needless to say, I will not be bothering. I regard this charge as outrageous, and I may buy a £50 satnav app for the iPhone instead. The free Map Share feature of the Tom Tom system with daily updates sounds good - has anyone any experience of that?

[Ancient Nerd]

My map was updated as a warranty issue. The map data was wildly out of date at the time of purchase. The newer version is much better. I suggest you use Google maps on your phone for the occasional road that is changed. There aren't really that many new roads, and it really is much more convenient using the inbuilt satnav.

I just wish Toyota didn't see this as yet another opportunity to milk its customers. If they weren't so greedy, and charged a modest fee, an update to the latest version could be handled as part of the regular service and virtually all cars would be upgraded to the latest maps. As it is, mst people, me included, will soldier on with old maps generating no income for Mr T.

BTW, unless things have changed, the dealer doesn't do the update. It requires a Toyota area manager to do the update, which takes somewhere North of an hour uploading the data. It took well over a year to work out how to do even that. I find myself wondering how much of the £169 goes for his salary and travel costs!

And I guess you also are impressed every time Toyota bang on about there Five Year warranty. Never mind, for only £1000 extra, you too can have one.

[Parts-King]

BTW, unless things have changed, the dealer doesn't do the update. It requires a Toyota area manager to do the update, which takes somewhere North of an hour uploading the data. It took well over a year to work out how to do even that. I find myself wondering how much of the £169 goes for his salary and travel costs!

Things have changed, we are charged for that dongle, but now have the kit to update it, no dongle, no update

Kingo

[Ancient Nerd]

Things have changed, we are charged for that dongle, but now have the kit to update it, no dongle, no update

So no longer lunacy and greed. Just greed. Or at the very least, total overkill in protecting the mapping content of the hard drive.

It took a long time, but at least much of the music industry eventually realised that customers didn't appreciate high prices for DRM crippled downloads. And by removing the protection and dropping prices, they sell more and increased income.

Similarly, I am likely to spend zero on satnav updates now that my map data isn't too much older than the car. However, I would willingly pay a reasonable amount (sub £50) to get it updated as part of a service. Income to Toyota/dealer - significantly more. I suspect I am not alone.

Renault used to charge £150+ for UK CD updates (and £300+ for a European set) during the period 2002/6. IIRC they now sell the Euro CD set for somewhere around £75 (and I think DVDs for later systems for a similar amount). I suspect their income is now greater.

[B&J]

It's cost Toyota a lot more than that with my experience. I was convinced I wanted a TSpirit and took my test drive in that. Asking (a lot of ) questions about the satnav put me right off - no speed camera data. Then the sales person told me about the upgrade process, including that it had to be done by an area manager. I'm sorry to admit that I laughed out loud. Completely ridiculous.

So I've ordered a T4 (picking it up tomorrow - very excited) and, although it's going to make the cockpit look untidy, will spend a reasonable amount (about £150)on a portable satnav which will cost me nothing to upgrade maps (Garmin offer on the Nuvi 1340) for the life of the device and which also has speed camera info.

I think that's cost Toyota about £1500 (I know that also buys Intelligent Parking Assist, but I didn't want to be assaulted by drivers behind me waiting for me to provoke IPA into actually helping me park)

B&J

PS : We've noticed that the new Yaris has a much smarter Satnav which contains speed camera info - don't know about the upgrade process for this, though.

[Seamaster73]

If I could have got radar cruise control on the T4, I would have opted out of the T Spirit's woeful satnav. Not a patch on any PND/smartphone nav.

[Jan&tone]

.........hing to upgrade maps (Garmin offer on the Nuvi 1340) for the life of the device and which also has speed camera info.

I think that's cost Toyota about £1500 (I know that also buys Intelligent Parking Assist, but I didn't want to be assaulted by drivers behind me waiting for me to provoke IPA into actually helping me park)

Two things strike me here, First - if you didn't break speed limits you wouldn't have to worry where the cameras were... and if the local scroat wants a satnav, he ain't gonna nick mine, it doesn't come out easily, a tomtom or garmin is generally in the glove box or under the drivers seat... very few people actually take them indoors, remove the mount from the windscreen and clean off the ring left behind each time they leave the car!

Second, I agree the IPA is a great gadjet for showing off, but too time consuming to use in earnest - it's quicker to park yourself!

The kids like it though

[Opifex]

...... - if you didn't break speed limits you wouldn't have to worry where the cameras were...

True - but sometimes it's not always easy to know what the speed limit is. My old Becker system had a nice feature that diplayed the speed limit and you could set an audible warning to alert you if you were over it. Problem was, of course, that speed limits keep changing - usually downwards.

My main complaint with the satnav is that a lot of information is simply not there. Last month I found it didn't include a friend's road which has been there at least 10 years, and this morning I found that a hospital was missing from the POI list.

[Parts-King]

PS : We've noticed that the new Yaris has a much smarter Satnav which contains speed camera info - don't know about the upgrade process for this, though.

From the Toyota website

Your Touch and Go system will come with the latest map information for Europe available at the time. An updated version of this map will be available in 2012 via your local Toyota Centre or through the Toyota website.

Kingo

[timberwolf]

Two things strike me here, First - if you didn't break speed limits you wouldn't have to worry where the cameras were... and if the local scroat wants a satnav, he ain't gonna nick mine, it doesn't come out easily, a tomtom or garmin is generally in the glove box or under the drivers seat... very few people actually take them indoors, remove the mount from the windscreen and clean off the ring left behind each time they leave the car!

Speed cameras are sited at accident black spots. Why wouldn't you want to be warned when you are approaching an accident black spot?

The better portable GPS always display the speed limit for where you are, use it as aid, a quick glance at the GPS and you have bit more confidence that you didn't miss a speed limit sign. There are a variety of reason why you can miss sign posts, and that includes the fact the people are not perfect and can easily become overloaded and miss things especially when they are driving somewhere new. Even taking in to account database errors or out of date. Why would having this extra information be a bad thing?

[Jan&tone]

Speed cameras are sited at accident black spots. Why wouldn't you want to be warned when you are approaching an accident black spot?

Gawd, where on earth did you get that one from!!!!

They are sited where the council think they can extract the most fines from them! The south end of the M11 for example is the most prolific camera in the country...

Having extra information is no bad thing I agree, but surely if everyone obeyed the speed limits the 'safety camera partnerships' would have gone out of business a long time ago and then we wouldn't have to worry about them!

[timberwolf]

The official stated reason for speed camera placement is accident black spots. My official reason if I wanted to own such a device is as previously state. Or "garbage in garbage out" to quote a computer term.

[blue verso 56]

I think that with regard speed cameras the majority of people do not go out to break the speed limit its just a lack of concentration in which you may stray slightly over the speed limit if we are honest we have all done it at some point .

A speed camera database on a sat nav just reminds the driver of the prevailing speed limit which must help pedestrians and drivers alike

[Seamaster73]

One of these for thirty quid is all you need if you have OEM satnav that can't give you scamera warnings:

http://www.buyinforad.com/index.php?page_id=4&currency=gbp〈=en&promo_id=uksale

Uses the PGPSW database (free lifetime subscription) which is supposedly the most up to date.

[kithmo]

One of these for thirty quid is all you need if you have OEM satnav that can't give you scamera warnings:

http://www.buyinforad.com/index.php?page_id=4&currency=gbp〈=en&promo_id=uksale

Uses the PGPSW database (free lifetime subscription) which is supposedly the most up to date.

I've got the K2, I don't purposely break speed limits but as said above, it's a useful reminder of the limit if you go somewhere new, or even if you go somewhere familiar where the limit has changed.

[inspiredron]

For less than the cost of a single map upgrade you can buy a Garmin 1390 or 1490 and also on Amazon separately lifetime map updates. I'm not surprised that the dongle takes an hour to upload. Downloading the 2.5Gb update file from Garmin (every quarter a new one if you want it!) takes a long time and it then takes about an hour to upload it to my device.

I'm sorry but when I can buy lifetime updates for a Garmin from Amazon for £54 it makes it look as though Toyota are taking the #### even allowing for their smaller customer base and demand.

[Jan&tone]

One of these for thirty quid is all you need if you have OEM satnav that can't give you scamera warnings:

http://www.buyinforad.com/index.php?page_id=4&currency=gbp〈=en&promo_id=uksale

Uses the PGPSW database (free lifetime subscription) which is supposedly the most up to date.

I've got the K2, I don't purposely break speed limits but as said above, it's a useful reminder of the limit if you go somewhere new, or even if you go somewhere familiar where the limit has changed.

Kithmo... most people don't 'deliberately' break speed limits which is why cameras are set between 8 and 15 mph faster than the limit if indeed they are actually working these days!

I'm pretty certain that most of us are complaining about the minority that do deliberately break the limit, the ones that sit on your back bumper flashing their lights while they are on the phone with one hand and shaking their fist with the other! they firmly believe that the limit is not meant to apply to them, we all know who those people are as well:yahoo:

Dangerous drivers school on channel 5 is worth watching....

[Jan&tone]

For less than the cost of a single map upgrade you can buy a Garmin 1390 or 1490 and also on Amazon separately lifetime map updates. I'm not surprised that the dongle takes an hour to upload. Downloading the 2.5Gb update file from Garmin (every quarter a new one if you want it!) takes a long time and it then takes about an hour to upload it to my device.

I'm sorry but when I can buy lifetime updates for a Garmin from Amazon for £54 it makes it look as though Toyota are taking the #### even allowing for their smaller customer base and demand.

We have 14 cars in our carpark at home, 10 of them have tomtoms, garmins or whatever.. one Vauxhall has a built in head unit (like mine on the Prius is)

Guess what, while firework night was on last weekend 10 cars were broken into - you got it right too - only the ones with rings on the windscreen, or even where the satnav was actually left on view!!! the local copper couldn't believe the owners could be so stupid!

For this reason alone, I would never, ever buy a removable satnav... I would even not buy one of the old Yaris for that reason.

And let's be honest, how often do roads change? IMO if you change a car every 2 or 3 years - like most reps do, then you don't need to update the satnav provided it is up to date when you buy the car, and if you don't change the car that often then a couple of hundred quid every 2 or 3 years is worth it imo for the peace of mind, knowing that no stupid yob is going to smash your windows just in case you;ve left the satnav in the glovebox or under the passenger seat!

[timberwolf]

I bought a bean-bag style mount for my Garmin, so it can sit on the dash and not leave the tell-tale rings on the windscreen, but it is still a clumsy and annoying thing to have to hide it away.

I think there are valid pros and cons for either a built-in sat-nav or a portable GPS. The best thing to do is list all the pros and cons and then make up your own mind - and I think having this discussion every so often is useful because it reminds people of some of the things that they might not have considered.

[Jan&tone]

I bought a bean-bag style mount for my Garmin, so it can sit on the dash and not leave the tell-tale rings on the windscreen, but it is still a clumsy and annoying thing to have to hide it away.

I think there are valid pros and cons for either a built-in sat-nav or a portable GPS. The best thing to do is list all the pros and cons and then make up your own mind - and I think having this discussion every so often is useful because it reminds people of some of the things that they might not have considered.

Well said

[Mkuk0]

In reply to the earlier query, I have the tomtom app for iPhone and can heartily recommend it, free map updates, tells you the speed limit of every road you drive along, and will audibly warn you of cameras on your route if thats your thing. An extra 25 quid a year will give you traffic alerts/reroutes if you travel a lot. Cheaper than a proper tomtom and never left in the car. Proper job!!

[kithmo]

I bought a bean-bag style mount for my Garmin, so it can sit on the dash and not leave the tell-tale rings on the windscreen, but it is still a clumsy and annoying thing to have to hide it away.

I think there are valid pros and cons for either a built-in sat-nav or a portable GPS. The best thing to do is list all the pros and cons and then make up your own mind - and I think having this discussion every so often is useful because it reminds people of some of the things that they might not have considered.

I bought SWMBO one of those bean-bag mounts for her Tom-Tom, she has a T4 Gen 2, she puts it in the large centre console when not in use.

Gen 2 owners have the added advantage of the large screen in the middle of the dash which looks like a built in NAV, whether they have one or not, so thieves don't twig that you may have a portable NAV.

[Opifex]

.....and if the local scroat wants a satnav, he ain't gonna nick mine...........,

........while firework night was on last weekend 10 cars were broken into........

You make Essex sound a really welcoming place. ;) :)

[Jan&tone]

.....and if the local scroat wants a satnav, he ain't gonna nick mine...........,

........while firework night was on last weekend 10 cars were broken into........

You make Essex sound a really welcoming place. ;) :)

Lol, it is! We welcome anyone from blonde bimbo's to !Removed! drag queens... Have you never watched 'the only way is Essex'. I haven't I will admit, the trailers were enough to put anyone off, but for some reason people rave about it!

[Seamaster73]

The best thing to do is list all the pros and cons and then make up your own mind

OEM nav pros:

1. It's built in.

2. Er, that's it.