Gen 3 T-Spirit Radio - Tuning Fault

[inspiredron]

I have been complaining for several months about changing channels on the radio.

If the screen is showing audio then I can choose to either scroll through the presets or through the full station list according to the preference that I have set. Normally I will want to scroll through my 6 presets and the radio is set accordingly.

However, with the navigation map (instead of the audio) on the display any attempt to change station will ALWAYS scroll through the full channel list even though the radio is set for presets rather than station list. The fault occurs whether I use the steering up/down control or the tuning knob on the dash.

That means that if I want to change from Classic FM to Radio 4 while on th e motorway I have two choices:

1. Touch the AUDIO button, use the up/down and then touch the MAP/Voice button

2. Ust the up/down button repeatedly until I recognise the station I want after repeated presses.

Either of these solutions means that my attention is diverted from the road unnecessarily.

The latest from my dealer is to remind me that thsi is a feature of all the Gen 3 T-Spirits and should be regarded as a "design characteristic" which they are unable to do anything about.

I have responded that this "design characteristic" renders the radio as "not of merchantable quality".

Does your T-Spirit have this fault? Please respond yes or no and, if yes, please consider asking your dealer to deal with it.

[Jan&tone]

That means that if I want to change from Classic FM to Radio 4 while on th e motorway I have two choices:

1. Touch the AUDIO button, use the up/down and then touch the MAP/Voice button

2. Ust the up/down button repeatedly until I recognise the station I want after repeated presses.

Sounds to me like that's the problem! classic fm to radio 4 --- oh dear - terminal fault I'm afraid, you could try different radio stations twice a day for 6 months which may help but no permanent cure he says shaking his head and looking thoughtful

[Dave R.]

Totally agree - I find it frustrating that the "up/down" keys don't scroll through presets. Really defeats the object of having the preset stations. (for the record, I'm switching between Radio 1 and Radio 4, with some Radio 2 at weekends)

[johalareewi]

Do the steering wheel controls scroll through the presets for you? On the standard CD/radio in the T3, a quick press on up or down on the steering wheel moves to the next radio preset. Seems strange that the top of the range unit doesn't do this.

[inspiredron]

Do the steering wheel controls scroll through the presets for you? On the standard CD/radio in the T3, a quick press on up or down on the steering wheel moves to the next radio preset. Seems strange that the top of the range unit doesn't do this.

Thanks for your response - it is most helpful. Your T3 does not have the satnav screen so effectively the way that your radio works is the same as when a T-Spirit's screen is showing the radio information, rather than the map. As I said, it then scrolls the presets quite happily. Please do register a complaint with your dealer - if enough folks do it might encourage Toyota to do a firmware upgrade - it is merely some coding for the radio that they have got wrong.

I chose Classic FM and R4 for my example because there are several stations between them on the FM band which makes it even more frustrating than moving between nearby stations.

[kithmo]

On mine, pressing the audio button brings up the 6 presets on the screen, I then just touch the one I want, no scrolling etc.

[Dave R.]

On mine, pressing the audio button brings up the 6 presets on the screen, I then just touch the one I want, no scrolling etc.

Yes - that's the point - you have to go for the audio button, then read the screen to see which preset you want. It defeats the object of having radio controls on the steering wheel! "station up/down" scans the frequencies rather than stepping through presets. It's even more crazy when you consider the radio has RDS, so you will be even more unlikely to be randomly scanning around for radio stations!

[inspiredron]

On mine, pressing the audio button brings up the 6 presets on the screen, I then just touch the one I want, no scrolling etc.

Yes - that's the point - you have to go for the audio button, then read the screen to see which preset you want. It defeats the object of having radio controls on the steering wheel! "station up/down" scans the frequencies rather than stepping through presets. It's even more crazy when you consider the radio has RDS, so you will be even more unlikely to be randomly scanning around for radio stations!

Agreed, Dave, and even crazier is the fact that at the top of the map the message "Station presets" appears for a moment. When set to Station List that message is "Station list". !!!!!!!