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Here is a link to a site that makes a Nav kit which disables the "I Agree" function for the Prius. They make some other useful kits as well...don't know if they will work on the Avalon but you may want to check:
http://www.coastaletech.com/nav_kit.htm
I am waiting for an '06 to hit my local dealer...I know once I get one I'll be checking out this kit myself. Let us all know what you find out. Great forum here, I have been reading and educating myself on the Avalon before I go get it.
Luxury Cars-------------Full Size--------------------North American (Overall)
Silver 26%---------------Silver 24%------------------Silver18%
White Pearl 17%------Lt. Brown 17%------------White/White Pearl 16%
White 12%--------------Red 12%---------------------Red 14%
Black 12%--------------White 13% ?--------------Blue 11%
Lt. Brown 11%----------Md./Dk Gray 11%--------Lt. Brown 11%
Red9%---------------------Black 9%--------------------Black 11%
Blue 9%-------------------Blue 6%----------------------Md/Dk Gray 10%
Yellow/Gold 4%--------Green 5%--------------------Green 5%
Others < 1%-------------Yellow/Gold1%------------Yellow/Gold 2%
These are for the 2004 model year taken from The Dupont Automobile Paint Survey. Peace
Absolutely agree. I was naive when I ordered mine, assuming that Toyota had it together regarding antenna and placement. I mean, if Honda had an integrated XM antenna, surely Toyota would do the same, especially when you purchase a vehicle in the $30K price range - was I floored when our salesman drove our Blizzard White LTD with the black blob on the right edge of the trunklid!!! At first I seriously thought it was a joke. Simply no thought went into the location or method of mount - I expected alot more from Toyota.
I wish it could be integrated on the roof like the Accord; I drove an Odyssey van loaner while waiting for the Avalon which had XM but to this day I don't know where the antenna was - it was no where to be seen. Why can't Toyota pull that off?
Since then I've mounted mine up on the front dash near the defroster vent - I do get slight signal loss but it's very irregular.
zekeman1
What kind of mounting bracket did you get for the Streetpilot 3? Where did you purchase it? Thanks!
zekeman1
I love my Avalon, but I am totally confused as to why Toyota put the touchscreen in the Prius, but chose the outdated joystick navigational system in their flagship model. The touchscreen is far easier to learn and use than is the joystick....AND....there are folks trained on the touchscreen who can help you. I have a friend with a Prius and I was shocked and quite irritated when my Avalon arrived with an inferior nav system. Even Honda uses the touchscreen....sheesh!
MobileCx or http://www.mobilecx.com/index.html offers various types of mounts for a number of different portable devices/laptops. You can start by using the "Search by Device" feature and putting in Garmin Street Pilot.
I bought a Garmin 2620 two years ago and bought my windshield mount from them.
The place I bought my GPS from also offers RAM Mounts. The store is GPS City and they have a section for mounts made by RAM. RAM my offer the configuration that you need if Mobile CX doesn't have it, but you have to figure out the components that you need.
Good luck,
bogeygolfer
BTW, I'm not affiliated with either store.
Hope this helps.
Ken
Also, how many people really get the DLCC smashed by road objects? Is this a frequent occurrance or something that happens to, say, 1 out of every 500 people? Mackabee? Ken?
Ken
Prior to purchasing the Ltd I spent many hours researching OEM navigation systems (our van has a Garmin), no doubt to the dismay of many a salesperson.
One vehicle we looked at was an '05 Odyssey. A 45 minute stint in that (sitting on the lot learning the nav system) was enough to convince me that perhaps touch screen may not always be the answer. I simply got tired of reaching out to make changes. Of course, one will not spend a continuous 45 minutes changing any nav functions, but I did learn the system quite well which was the purpose.
The double-edged sword, for me, is that I prefer the screen location essentially in the line-of-sight to the road (mounted high) like the Odyssey, Acuras, and Avalon, but do not like reaching across to control it.
For safety reasons I would not purchase a car with a navigation screen that is mounted lower in the dash (and many a high end car have them there) which completely takes the road out of your line-of-sight.
I can live with the nuances and limitations of the Avalon nav. It is slower to input information than the Acura touch screen, the screen is slightly smaller, voice commands aren't perfect, and it may not have as many POI's. And, yes, the hateful "agree" screen!
However, I find the Avalon screen clearer and the integration of voice commands is great (given the limitations).
Perfect, no, but the Acura nav is not perfect either. All in all, I am very pleased with the Avalon system and would not be without it. It does nearly everything I want, except find post offices.
Now, how did I veer off the joystick topic ..........?
http://www.trdparts4u.com/Default.aspx?url=PartsDetail.aspx&MakeID=1&PartID=265564
http://toyota.autowebaccessories.com/store/toyota-avalon-accessories-cat385_1207.php
I just ordered all-weather mats from this website and they were geniune parts.
bogeygolfer
Yeah, Mackabee, remember there's some old codgers driving these cars..
zeckeman1
My XM was Dealer installed. The antenna is mounted center roof just above the rear wondow. The cable is run under the window seal strip. Looks good, I think.
"The Avalon with a base MSRP ranging from $26,625 for the XL, to $33,815 for the Limited, an increase of $275 or 0.9 percent."
I'm glad I waited!
Note: I am not sure there is enough safe clearance from the top of license to the outer edge of the bumper(only 1-1/2 inches) to mount the Grota sensor. The thing is sure to get hit by another auto and I suspect the it would be very expensive to replace.
The way the 05 Avalon bumper is designed, I am not sure any license plate type sensor mounting would be home free. Go with Awell I guess.
I was trying to see what changes, if any, were made to the vehicle. I doubt that there would be any changes. There was nothing but those two lines that I posted previously. The Sienna and 4 runner will have some changes for 06.
This suits my time frame well. I acually don't plan on buying anything until November and December. I know there will be some discounts at that time since the vehicle will be 2 model years old.
I did have one give me a quote of $25,183 plus taxes and fees (about 10% in CA) for a 2005 XL.
With Option Package A (Security System and the c/d changer)
Mat package (floor and trunk mats)
Pearl White Color
MSRP = $27,727. CA taxes and fees will add about 10% to the sales price.
I'll keep looking around to, because I want a 2006 model.
According to the ads some dealers are offering 3k off of the XLSs. One dealer has touring models for 4k off of msrp.
Take Care and best of luck.
Perhaps I could enter my question here and some kind soul could clue me in on a remedy.
When you are cruising along, the "Current Position Vehicle Mark" (CPVM) is at the center of the screen and the map is constantly shifting to keep the CPVM icon at the center of the screen. If you choose to press the up-arrow on the joystick to move the map in the direction of where you will eventually be, the CPVM disappears off the screen (of course). Once you have found the road you are looking for, you want to restore the screen to the state it was in before pressing the joystick up-arrow. If you press the down arrow, shifting the map to get the CPVM back on the screen, it does not stay there for long. Now the CPVM moves and the map stays stationary such that the CPVM eventually disappears off the screen.
Any thoughts on how to get the CPVM to stay centered on the screen?
Thanks,
Jeff
Just a follow up on this question. When I went to the dealer they were not aware of any free trial offer. Nor did I receive any type of coupon booklet. I did get some XM brochures. I got a basic info brochure and also a "Quick Reference Guide". The only thing mentioned anywhere is about taking a no risk "Test Drive" with XM. It says: 'sign up for XM anytime during your trial subscription and you won't be charged until the end of your "test drive"'. Is this what ytou're talking about? I've also emailed XM and am waiting for their response. Thanks for any help/input.
When you are cruising along, the "Current Position Vehicle Mark" (CPVM) is at the center of the screen and the map is constantly shifting to keep the CPVM icon at the center of the screen. If you choose to press the up-arrow on the joystick to move the map in the direction of where you will eventually be, the CPVM disappears off the screen (of course). Once you have found the road you are looking for, you want to restore the screen to the state it was in before pressing the joystick up-arrow. If you press the down arrow, thereby shifting the map to get the CPVM back on the screen, the CPVM does not stay there for long. Now the CPVM moves and the map stays stationary such that the CPVM eventually disappears off the screen.
Any thoughts on how to get the map moving again such that the CPVM stays centered on the screen?
Thanks,
Jeff
Greg
You can use the following voice commands: "Current Position", "Current Location", or "Map".
Ken
http://www.lexus.com/models/ls/interior.html
go to the "Voice-Activated Navigation" section and click on the "View Tutorial: DVD Navigation System" link. It is a virtually identical with the Avalon system in function, although it has a touch screen for user input.
Greg
Yes, the Magellan Roadmate does look like a great system also. It has a lot of the same features, although it does cost about $200.00 more than the Garmin. I also have been concerned about systems with a hard drive as to their long term reliability. Thanks for the reply!
regards, gladiator99
Anyway, was browsing dealer inventory here in the DC area and read the forum trying to find a Toyota VIN decoder (found it!!! Thanks) and stumbled across the 2006 color chart and thought I would share it with everyone:2006 Toyota Color chart
It does appear by looking at the 2006 chart that the Avalon colors are not changing and there are no new additions - as anticipated !
Also, here is the link for the "whats in a VIN page":VIN glossary
And here is the link to the "VIN Decoder page":VIN Decoder
Now, I'm sure I didn't do all of the URL titles correct, but I hope this helps everyone. Looking very much forward to getting my Avalon Ltd, as you might remember, I am the 14 year loyal (not anymore !!!) Infiniti Q45 customer.
Give me your thoughts about how you would recommend renegotiating the "dealer swap" on the Ivory interior (none in sight yet, after 8 days) for a 2006 instead and not losing the $1k deposit.
Thanks again,
dcboater
My wife has a portable XM radio, and the title, artist, show, or whatever scrolls through the whole name. Any ideas on how to make the one in the car do this.
Thanks,
Bakeroid