Sat Nav

[Banned]

I have just bought a

04 Toyota RAV4 2.0 VVT-i XT3 and would like to know is the sat nav an easy retro fit please ?

[Hoovie]

Banned?

I'm sure I've seen you on every forum :)

[Banned]

Lol, no, I kept getting .....user name already in use so I tried Banned and Hey Presto !

[Plutus]

OeM satnavs are expensive. I us a Garmin and have free downloadable updates for the life of the unit.

It's pretty good.

[Merseyshark]

IIRC other posters have said that the sat nav is not very good (I've never seen one, though)

I agree with Plutus, buy a portable unit.

Check Honest John, Which?, etc. for current best value

[Banned]

I already have a portable unit, I was hoping to retro fit the oem part or parts aquirred off E Bay ( if I can find them)

[Davrav]

In that case just buy a decent iPod/MP3/Bluetooth aftermarket unit

[Guest]

If you have a search on here you find some posts where they have installed Sony or Kenwood double din units, I think the Sony units use tomtom from memory, might be a useful way to go?

Gus

[Hoovie]

For the RAV4.2, I would look at the double-din Kenwood units as a starting point.

My own experience of Sat Navs is from quite a few Factory/OEM systems, portable ones, and add-on Aftermarket integrated units looked at, and the conclusion I have come to is .....

Portable units are easily the most cost-effective way of getting Sat-Nav Features in a car. However they are inevitably an afterthought in appearance, rarely a really good place to put them and don't co-exist with the ICE in the car, so you don't hear an instruction, over the radio for example. I have a Garmin Nuvi in my van and I find that really good, and as I have that positioned where the rear view mirror usually is, it is in an near-ideal position, and also provides Hands-free BT, but the sucker fitting loosens gradually and every few days drops of overnight, setting off the Alarm due to motion detectors (annoying!)

But with free lifetime map updates, it is a one-off purchase :)

OEM Units - Had SatNav from Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Citroen.

On all of them, the cost of a Map update is more then the price I paid for the Garmin Nuvi itself, and IMO a pure rip-off and nothing less. But the ease of use being integrated is much nicer and they also look a lot better. The Toyota unit in the RAV (the one before the 'Touch & Go' was introduced worked very well I thought. Of course, as it is integrated, if you don't like other aspects of the overall system, you are stuffed - for example, taking the Toyota unit, the Sat Nav was great, but the iPod integration (an optional extra!) is appalling, and how Toyota have the nerve to charge for something that both Nissan and Citroen (for example) provide FOC, and give 50x the functionality, is beyond me! My current Sat-Nav from Citroen is nowhere as user-friendly as the Toyota unit or the Nissan one before that, however the integration with the great audio system and iPod connectivity, plus the way it provides Sat-Nav info right in from of the driver if they want as well as on the main screen is brilliant, so while it should (and could) be better, it is a good overall solution.

Aftermarket Integrated Units.

Probably the best option of all IMO. The Kenwood Unit I had was probably mid-range, but just about every feature it had was better then any OEM or portable units feature. The mapping was good (by Garmin), the map updates were free, you could add a reversing camera, had great MP3 and iPod Connectivity, and controllable with Steering wheel buttons. The only thing the Toyota unit had above it was the Hard Drive option - but with a decent iPod integration, that would be irrelevant. The only thing the Citroen unit has above it is the systems interface integration, which an aftermarket unit will never provide.

And I am comparing OEM Sat Navs from 2011 and 2013 to one I bought in 2007, so a newer aftermarket unit would most likely have progressed a lot further still.

PS. Really wouldn't bother trying to source an original 2004 RAV4 Sat-Nav Unit. The effort to find the parts (especially the cables) is not with the results you will achieve.

[Plutus]

Perhaps one day Toyota will copy their German competitors and wire the Rav for Becker map pilot.

It works like an OEM unit but you can switch it from car to car, also download updates.

No need to buy the unit from a dealer either, I bought mine a lot cheaper from Amazon.

Obviously this is not for the Rav.

[Banned]

Thanks guys for your experiences/solutions..... I really did prefer a totally integrated oem unit but alas it sounds like a job too far so I'l stick to my phone thingy ...cheers Mike