How To Change Japanese Car Navigation To English

Ah! The popular car navigation system! It is a blessing for car owners who are lost while trying to reach a particular location. The car navigation system offers different functions such as tracking down specific areas and helping a driver pass through unfamiliar routes. 

In short, it is a convenience to the drivers of private and commercial vehicles. The car navigation system, known as GPS (Global Positioning System), collects the vehicle position data and synchronizes it with the existing road maps. 

However, the GPS would become useless; if it functions in a language that the driver does not understand. Many car owners who have bought cars used in the Land of Rising Sun, aka Japan are confused about how to change Japanese car navigation to English.

Japanese Car Navigation
The navigation system might not automatically change language preference as per the driver (Photo: pinterest.com)

Learn How To Change Japanese Car Navigation To English Here

First, we will go through some knowledge about the navigation system. GPS (also known as a cruise monitoring system) is a compact device that is mounted on a car. The navigation system has the function of informing and determining the position and operating status of the driver even when the car is far away from them. Users install tracking applications on smartphones or computers to access and monitor parameters collected by GPS devices such as speed, journey history, sound in the car, maximum speed warning, and the car is not moving according to the expected route…

When you purchase a vehicle from an Asian country, especially Japan, you can expect the GPS to display everything in the Japanese language. If you are a native speaker and have a good command of the language, then good luck. The issue comes with those who are not familiar with a navigation system functioning in another language.

However, we have some excellent news for you; all you need to do is follow specific steps to get your native language back to the GPS screen. We recommend you browse online to learn about the latest car reviews for any car model.

1. Turning off the car

The first step you need to follow to change Japanese navigation to English is to turn off the power to your car, which would also switch off the navigation system. Next, you need to start the car again and look for an option in the navigation systems menu, which says English. Some Japanese car models come with the option of changing the navigation system’s language as soon as you turn the keys to start the car.

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2. Look for a button

At times, the navigation system might not automatically change language preference as per the driver. In such scenarios, you need to look for an option such as Language or LANG. Press this button, and choose the English language as default. It is another essential step to help drivers change the language of GPS from Japanese to English. The step can come in handy when the GPS works in any other language except the one known to the driver.

3. Check the system

You should make sure that your car navigation system is either GPS or DVD system. In case, the system is a DVD-based system; then you need to connect with the previous car owner or the company and purchase a language disc in English.

Things You Need to Know toChange Japanese Car Navigation to English
It can be either a GPS or DVD system (Photo: rah)

Most people don’t know how to do it because everything appears in the Japanese language. So, besides these steps above, you can change Japanese car navigation to English with just your smartphone and the Google Translator app. We think that with this method every driver can do this process. 

  • First, you will need to install the Japanese language in the Google Translator app. 
  • Then open your Translator app and turn on its camera. Point your phone camera at the screen.
  • After that, you will see the Japanese texts instantly change into English on your mobile screen. 
  • Now you will understand all of the meaning of Japanese texts on the Navigation system screen. Then all you need to do is just use your knowledge to execute the manipulation showing on your dashboard to change the language. 

You also should note that the process will be different based on car models or setup models. But you still use the same method to understand the setting of your car. 

Watch more to know how to switch language for a Japanese car navigation system:

Summary

Navigation systems are an excellent convenience for car owners, but if these are set to a language unknown to the owner, it completely fails the purpose. Hence, we hope that this blog can help you quickly change Japanese navigation to English without any hassle.