Retro Fit Apple Carplay & Android Auto

[OXYGEN]

Toyota Bulgaria told me recently that the retrofit will be done in stages.

First it will go to Lexus models. Then will be Chr and Rav4 without navigation, follwed by the same models with navigation, Corolla without navigation will be next and at the end Corolla with navigation.
They came to the stage of updating Lexus, but found some serious bugs and put it on hold. And then the Covid19 came and messed everything...

[BigPoppaSLO]

I think that we can all agree that this is totally unacceptable for a mega company like Toyota. I would expect this from lotus, pagani, fisker etc, companies with smaller teams of developers and resources. I wouldn`t be surprised if at the end they will say that the update is cancelled. 😠

[FROSTYBALLS]

To be honest, Toyota and their suppliers, like other vehicle manufacturers, with plants closed, dealers closed, etc, etc probably have higher priorities than Apple Carplay/Android Auto updates.

When dealers open, their main priorities will be deliveries, where possible, and servicing.

[vonkhaled]

17 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

To be honest, Toyota and their suppliers, like other vehicle manufacturers, with plants closed, dealers closed, etc, etc probably have higher priorities than Apple Carplay/Android Auto updates.

When dealers open, their main priorities will be deliveries, where possible, and servicing.

I think everyone has great respect for the current situation and the priorities they need to make now. But, they started delivering cars in March-19 and they’ve had over 1 year to bring this retrofit. Big fail Toyota, big fail! 

[FROSTYBALLS]

But the retrofit was announced in November, so that's six months.

[Timmon]

Yes, I think we bought our cars knowing that Android and Apple were not included. It is a bonus that the cars are up gradable. The current situation is acceptable It is not as though the cars are different to how they were when we bought them. They are still safe and working just fine.

[BigPoppaSLO]

17 hours ago, vonkhaled said:

I think everyone has great respect for the current situation and the priorities they need to make now. But, they started delivering cars in March-19 and they’ve had over 1 year to bring this retrofit. Big fail Toyota, big fail! 

As you said...

It`s not like they are developing a new space shuttle. I work in IT, we are mainly software developers and i know what we can do in a year. Miracles so to say... Especially with known protocols like ac/aa. But i guess this upgrade was always somewhere at the bottom of the priority list. But it shouldn`t be, i know a lot of people that didn`t select Toyota mainly because of this.

Frostyballs, maybe they announced it in november but they knew from day 1 that this is a major deficit (just look at the comments on toyota uk blog site) that should be fixed asap.

 

[OXYGEN]

It is not only the CarPlay/Android Auto.

We have a store that is supposed to have apps for downloading in the car. Has anybody seen even a single app available there for our cars?

Probably by the time they do it, our cars will be totally outdated and in a 4-5th owner already...

[FROSTYBALLS]

4 hours ago, BigPoppaSLO said:

maybe they announced it in november but they knew from day 1 that this is a major deficit (just look at the comments on toyota uk blog site) that should be fixed asap.

Well it isn't. 

[Timmon]

I guess that is Toyota's problem if they lost sales. The blog , I saw it, somewhat amusing to me that software integration with your phone, is more important to some buyers than a feature rich, reliable, economical, good looking, comfortable, and safe car. 

Having said that, my last car was also a joy to drive, and had an engine, onboard computer, wheels, and comfy heated leather seats. And was reliable. But that was it. So to be fair, having blue tooth was one of the major wow factors for me!

I think if we bought the car and were promised a rapid upgrade, that would be annoying. But when I bought, it was unknown whether the car could be upgraded, so I don't feel misled or disappointed at all. 

 

[King Crimson]

On 5/16/2020 at 5:11 PM, Timmon said:

I guess that is Toyota's problem if they lost sales. The blog , I saw it, somewhat amusing to me that software integration with your phone, is more important to some buyers than a feature rich, reliable, economical, good looking, comfortable, and safe car. 

I don't think anyone would think that phone integration > a reliable, economial, good looking, comfortable and safe car. Buyers think that since it has all of those features that are hard to make and perfect, why not add that small little thing that makes life just a bit easier? Quality of life features are definitely important.

[AndrueC]

It's always seemed like a minor thing to me. There seems precious little that it would give users that they didn't already have other than displaying their free sat nav on the in car display. But to kick up a stink over a retrofit feature seems particularly strange. We haven't specifically paid for the feature and I don't think most of us had any reason to expect that we'd be getting it.

I'd usually be the first to criticise vehicle manufacturers for poor support but in this case I just don't think it's warranted. Their car works as advertised and as sold so complaining that they are tardy in upgrading it seems unfair.

[Keanebg1]

The FWs were released in US and Australian markets last year, so no reason why Toyota have delayed so much - at least the Apple CarPlay one should have been available long ago. 

Heres a video from youtube of a Ukrainian aftermarket CarPlay update on the 2019 Rav 4 - software only, cost is about US$300. Seems they took existing FWs and merged with US Toyota CarPlay software. In the video example its loaded on a 2019 Rav4 with no Navigation - Denso Ten 17TDT1EU-CA01.

 

 

 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

39 minutes ago, Keanebg1 said:

The FWs were released in US and Australian markets last year, so no reason why Toyota have delayed so much - at least the Apple CarPlay one should have been available long ago. 

The US and Australia use a different multimedia system to Europe - Entune for the US/Australia and Touch 2 for Europe.

Toyota Owners Club has no association with Toyota and complaining on these forums about the lateness or lack of updates is pointless as you won't be reaching Toyota. 

You need to be contacting the importer of the country you reside in.

[Keanebg1]

14 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

The US and Australia use a different multimedia system to Europe - Entune for the US/Australia and Touch 2 for Europe.

Toyota Owners Club has no association with Toyota and complaining on these forums about the lateness or lack of updates is pointless as you won't be reaching Toyota. 

You need to be contacting the importer of the country you reside in.

There is way too much Toyota defending going on here from the mods - we all own Toyotas, we are entitled to point their faults, shortcomings and make complaints. This isn't the Soviet Union where no criticism of the state is allowed. The poor infotainment systems are the worst part of any new Toyota vehicle in comparison to competitors. It's been a major failing along time and for many the addition of AC/AA is the ultimate fix.

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 minute ago, Keanebg1 said:

There is way too much Toyota defending going on here from the mods

It isn't a case of defending Toyota. If you want to complain then do so to the correct people - ie Toyota - otherwise your complaint will go unseen and nothing will come of it.

[Chattacks]

I think to be able to express some unhappiness between owners is fine though. Nothing wrong with a bit of moan.

I've sent negative feedback in the survey I got after getting there car when they asked about certain features etc. I think a lot of people are unhappy because this feature standard on many manufacturers is years late with Toyota. They launched a new model(s) and missed the boat by not having it at the start. Yes theres COVID but even without the roll out of a feature (not even free!) is poorly communicated to customers and dealers alike.

Yes we love our cars for the reliability, economy and comfort but Toyota/Lexus play it safe and late to the party with internal software.  Something they need to work on but years of criticism in media and from motoring journalists hasn't changed it. Then again I remember the news story of the a Japanese politician in charge of IT/Internet related things who had never used or computer or owned one, so I do wonder if within the organisation the unchallenged head of systems within the cars is a similar type of person...

[Rav4ster]

I have looked and read all the comments regarding the ukranian 'upgrade' and it is too expensive and potentially will have issue down the line and warranty implications. I used to have AA/AC on the previous car and to be honest, currently it is a minor inconvenience to put a phone in the phone cradle and have the Waze on the phone screen and not on the car's headunit screen. Using spotify is a bit more difficult, but I don't browse for music when I am driving (never did in the other car). music plays fine via BT and phone works as well. When AA/AC is finally installed, I will remove the phone cradle and the waze map will be better / bigger. I travelled around Europe in December 2019 for 2 weeks and using Waze and spotify on my iPhone was absolutely fine. Agree with the previous comments, when Toyota launched Corolla / RAV4 in UK they told that AA/AC will not be available with MM17 headunits.

[Beach]

On 5/15/2020 at 2:23 PM, OXYGEN said:

It is not only the CarPlay/Android Auto.

We have a store that is supposed to have apps for downloading in the car. Has anybody seen even a single app available there for our cars?

Probably by the time they do it, our cars will be totally outdated and in a 4-5th owner already...

No!

[Beach]

Many of you are missing the point, at least for a lot of us. 

Towards the end of 2019 the choice for buyers was take a 2019 car, for which an update would be available, or wait till at least the end of March for a 2020 car with it pre-installed.

So, our cars were sold on the basis that an update would be available; 5 months later it still isn’t.

 

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

2 hours ago, Beach said:

So, our cars were sold on the basis that an update would be available; 5 months later it still isn’t.

but at that time nobody could have foreseen COVID-19 happening, with the closure of production facilities not only for car manufacturers, but also for their suppliers across the globe. So expecting an update process that was promised in 2019, to still be on track is unrealistic.

[Guido Brunetti]

Our car was in for its first annual service yesterday. When I asked about upgrading to Apple CarPlay I was told that it should have been available this month but would now be delayed until July at the earliest.

[King Crimson]

Spoke with my dealer and said that it will be available by autumn.

[Timmon]

On 5/18/2020 at 2:49 PM, King Crimson said:

I don't think anyone would think that phone integration > a reliable, economial, good looking, comfortable and safe car. Buyers think that since it has all of those features that are hard to make and perfect, why not add that small little thing that makes life just a bit easier? Quality of life features are definitely important.

Sure, and that is what Toyota will do. Certainly when I bought, there was no promise that an upgrade was achievable. Let alone when it might appear. Just having the car has improved my quality of life, just me I suppose.

I can't see Android integration changing my life, but I"ll have it installed just to keep the car up to date.

[Timmon]

Would owners prefer a release that has been rushed out, and due to reduced development capability, not fully tested, and therefore full of bugs and requiring a further service to update? Thorough testing is essential of all upgrades, so maybe it is thanks to Toyota for not rushing out an upgrade just to meet a timescale.

I think they have a reasonable excuse.