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Thread: Unlocking/rooting Toyota nav unit

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    Default Unlocking/rooting Toyota nav unit

    I've just bought a Toyota GTS86 which runs a Fujitsu TEN navigator unit, which I believe is model AVN827GA. It's maps are way out of date and there are aspects of the operation that are driving me nuts. So I'm wondering if it's possible to root/unlock this unit and make some changes, update maps etc. Even learning how to do a hard reset to cancel some features that once turned on won't turn off would be good. Trouble is, I can't find a site anywhere that deals with any of this stuff.

    At the moment I'm using my TomTom GO 720 and have turned the in-car unit to music only - the screen is needed for the reversing camera.

    Any ideas on where I might head?



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    Cool looks like a really hot car.

    AFAIK Toyota factory fitted GPS units are locked to Toyota versions of maps & software.
    Of course I maybe wrong, someone always finds a way around these things eventually.
    From what I've read, your in deep water. Lots of luck.

    These links will give the run down of what has been tried.




    Searching for Toyota on this forum brings up many results; if you feel like reading more:Search Toyota on the GPS forum.
    Last edited by Tiny; 31-05-14 at 09:17 AM.
    Cheers, Tiny
    "You can lead a person to knowledge, but you can't make them think? If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.
    The information is out there; you just have to let it in."

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    Hi Tiny, thanks for the reply.

    Yep, the car is fun, not the hottest but certainly the 'funnest' I've ever had.

    The head unit on the other hand is infuriating. Two weeks of ownership and I've put the TomTom on the windscreen.

    I'll chase up the links you give, and I've perused the forums bit by bit, but hitting that search link you gave gives me this 'Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms.' I think there must be something wrong with the how the search function behaves on my computer.

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    OK, I chased up those links.
    There is a difference in being able to update the maps if the unit uses a dedicated DVD drive as in two of those links, but the newer units like mine use an SD card. The SD card is coded on it's CID to the maps and the unit so only genuine Toyota cards will update it as the CID can't be duplicated. Trouble is, the latest Toyota maps are already out of date. I think the latest is already a year old. And at $325 at the dealer it's a rip-off.

    My car was built Dec 2012 and the maps are base model 2009, minor updated to Q1 2012 - nine months out of date at manufacture. Some people are buying these cars in 2014 and still finding Q3 2012 maps in them.

    If I was working for a Toyota service dept I'd find it embarrassing to sell something this far out of date as the latest available.

    So my search goes on for a way to break the Toyota hold on the head unit and install decent software etc.
    Last edited by Parkim; 30-05-14 at 09:50 PM.

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    Above sounds just Like my Ford Focus Titanium 2012
    Maps so Old you can see the Dinosaur tracks...

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    Any progress made with this issue? I have a new Toyota with maps that are over two years old. Dealer claims they are the most up to date which is rubbish as I have the same system iGO running happily on a Nexus 7 tablet with 2015 Q3 maps.
    The dealer also says that all new Toyotas use these out of date maps, the estate where I have lived for two years does not exist according to my car. This is crazy how do they get away with it?
    The head unit is Fujitsu ten but I cant find out much more about it, says G-AVN application in the "about" menu.
    The price that Toyota charge for a map update even if there was one is almost as much as an after market unit so this could be the way to go, any suggestions for a good replacement that would fit and have access to the firmware?

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    I was wondering seeing its the so called 'Silly Season' and you feel adventurous, how about you ring Toyota itself and bypass the Dealer ?
    Another way would be to ring the Sales dept of a dealer, yours or another and be a buyer for a new car and ask them about the GPS mapping in their current models??

    I found as you did regarding the cost of 'updates' for even for the El Cheapo GPS stand alone units is such that its not much dearer to buy a brand new one which usually has more features too.
    I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!

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    If only I knew how to contact Toyota directly gordon, so far the salesman has been on the phone saying he is "trying to get an answer" but I am still waiting. I am pretty sure that he is only doing this as he is worried what I will write on the new car customer survey they have sent me.
    I have also used the contact form for Toyota on their website but have not had a reply. I read an advert for a new mapping card on Gumtree so rang and spoke to a really helpful bloke in a dealers in NSW, (I am in WA) The card he is selling is a full size SD where mine is a micro version, I gave him the part number of my micro SD and he confirmed that this is the latest one although obviously a different system to the one he is selling.

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