Dont get navi, it not worth it. I can't tell you much since I have the SE, but JBL and tow package is a good start. Maybe get running board or mudguards. Lots of ppl getting hood protector too.

 

I personally don't have much against the toyota navigation. The touch screen works great for me, and is not very sluggish (considering its based on a DVD not a hdd). Some people complain some about the whole you can't use the system while you are moving. Honestly I've gotten used to it and it does not really bug me all that much anymore. The points of interest have worked great for me, and I have always found what I was searching for. Overall I'd rate the toyota nav a 8/10, 2 off for the not usable during motion. I have low expectations for a navigation system though, but it gets me from point A to point B, and thats all that matters. You can't go wrong with the JBL system, compared to other sound systems in previous cars I have owned a ridden in, its one of the better ones before after-market upgrade. Good luck with the new ride
Patrick

EDIT: I forgot to add that I personally like having all the radio controls and backup camera on the large screen though

 

love the nav on my 2011 limited. very quick touch screen and great with the back up camera. awesome for backing up to the boat. mine has outside temp in the small info screen above the nav. as far as using the system while driving, it can be used with the voice control at any time.

 

Do not get the Nanny Toyota Nav system. It is the biggest POS there is. I love my Limited but this thing is an embarrassment (that and the crappy Toyo Tires that I had to replace at 14K miles). A $100 Garmin or TomTom is 10000x better. If I would have had the option (which I did not), I would have ditched the Toy Nav and installed a Double DIN radio with GPS. I have a Kenwood in my other car it it blows the socks off the crappy Toyota setup.

 

Although I don't have the latest HL with Nav, I can share my 2c on Toyota NAV since we do own a couple toyota with NAV.

1st, it was not user friendly (you can google it) because when the car is in Drive, many things are disabled on purpose. You can't do much on MAP mode (but you can switch around from audio, info, climate control). Your passanger can't help type in address. However, you can use Voice command but boy it takes a handfull to master.

2nd, you probably will play with the NAV for the 1st few weeks and after that, you won't bother to use the MAP (at least for us). We know the area well enough and my iphone and probably GPS actually work much faster (for input).

3rd, NAV looks nice when the car is new. We checked out some Used car with NAV and guess what, the first thing we noticed was that "outdated" NAV. It looks dumb (IMO)

I would not pay to have NAV (and yet, toyota NAV is overprice compare to other auto markers) SAVE YOUR $$$ for something else. Use the $$ on iphone/ protable GPS /iPAD even if you have to pay for data plan, still better than NAV.

AGAIN, that's just my opinion. I know many owners like their NAV

 

Inbuilt Toyota and Lexus NAV is obsolete crap. Get a Garmin, Tomtom or use your iphone instead - you can easily upgrade and maintain GPS related capabilities and features on these devices. Updating the Toyota and Lexus inbuilt systems is expensive and sometimes not possible as technology progresses.

 

Yes, there is a outside temp.

I did not get the nav so I can't help you there.

 

Yes, there is a outside temp.

I did not get the nav so I can't help you there.

Since you have the one without nav, I have another question for you. Does the one without nav have dual climate control in the front, as in the driver and passenger can have it set at different temperatures? It looks like the one with nav has it, but the one without nav does not. Am I correct? All it says on Toyota's website is "three zone temerature control" which I would assume they mean from seats, middle, and 3rd row. Thank you!

 

I like the nav for the most part.

 

The 2011 NAV has the XM traffic option. I wish I had that. I love the looks of the NAV unit. It was impossible to find a 2010 Lim without NAV so It wasn't an option for me. It creates a richer look over all. I also like using it as the back up camera screen. I hate sticking nav units on the windshield and then running cables around to power them. It just looks ugly.

 

did not get factory nav. for those who choose to use phone nav, where do you mount your phones? in my old car i had a vent holder that was perfect for my droid x gps. no such luck with the highlander '11. and i'd prefer not to mount it on the dash (california, so windshield solutions are out, legally.)

for those with solutions, a photo shot in the thread would be appreciated...thx!

 

I have the NAV, but then again, I have the Hybrid LTD, so there's other areas that provides more info onscreen for my hybrid that a non-nav would.

Backup camera looks better on the big screen than on the tiny MFD. Wish they had a better backup camera system though, like the ones with lines assist.

Bluetooth speed dialing and displaying phone numbers on screen is nice.

At first the nanny nav really bothers me since I can't touch anything while driving, but gotten used to it now, and if it's still a problem, I'll just get a unlocker to solve that problem.

outside temps is shown on the MFD when switched to temperature settings

3 zones is 2 in the front and 1 in the rear.

Since you're getting it custom out of factory, maybe you can convince them to put in memory seats.

 

outside temps is shown on the MFD when switched to temperature settings

Mine always displays the outside temp next to the clock. When I change the display it only changes the part under the clock and outside temp. What year is your HL? They might have changed it on 2010s.