"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
08/21/2015 at 10:51 • Filed to: None
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"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
08/21/2015 at 10:51 • Filed to: None | 1
| 8 |
My wife has a 2014 Highlander XLE. Since new the Entune infotainment system has been flaky to downright nonfunctional. Voice commands simply do not work. At all. Regardless of what you say or how you say it, the system stalls for 30 seconds then replies, “Sorry, could you repeat your request,” then shuts down and is unresponsive for a good minute or so. It randomly drops Bluetooth connectivity, and when it comes back it won’t connect with our phones, forcing us to go into the system and totally delete the device, then re-pair it. Which you can’t do while the car is in motion, so if you’re on the interstate you either pull over or listed to kids screaming for their Frozen songs until it’s time for gas. I digress. If one device is plugged into the USB cable to charge or play music, any Bluetooth attached device will often be unpaired, again forcing you to totally delete out the device and re-pair it. Sometimes the entire system shuts down and seems to reboot, but with default preferences systemwide. The touchscreen often becomes unresponsive for minutes at a time. I’m sure I’m leaving issues out as I don’t drive it very often.
She’s had the car at the dealership four times. The first two visits they reinstalled the system software, installed patches and done various tweaks. The third time they completely replaced the head unit. Her service advisor said if that didn’t fix it (it didn’t) they’d have to replace the system’s CPU. That service advisor promptly quit. Problems persisted and actually got worse (she couldn’t get the system to turn on at all for several days). Worked to schedule another appointment but it took about 2 weeks to find time to drop the car off for the day (this dealer doesn’t offer a loaner and is about 20 miles north). The last time they basically said you’re using it wrong, implying that if she could just get her husband to look at it they’re sure he could get it working right, don’t bring it back again because there’s really nothing wrong with it any anyway these systems aren’t just very good and we should just live with it. Took it to another dealer, said they’d request the service records from the dealer who’d been working on it. Never got them, said they couldn’t do anything until they got “authorization” from the “home dealer.”
Is it a coincidence that if the problem can’t be resolved by the fourth confirmed problem !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ? This all sounds like a load of crap to me. The car is about a year and a half old and under factory warranty. It has not even 15,000 miles on it and aside from the infotainment system has been flawless, aside from fuel economy so FAR below EPA that I can’t imagine how they conducted that test. But this is a $36,000 car including a $4,000 package that doesn’t work as well as the $115 Alpine head unit in my 8-year old Honda.
I want to get a complaint to Toyota Corporate to have this resolved as the dealers don’t seem at all interested in helping.
Patrick Nichols
> Chairman Kaga
08/21/2015 at 10:59 |
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http://www.toyota.com/support/contac…
I’d call and email (gotta have proof in writing). Also blast the dealer on yelp/facebook/etc. and see if they make an attempt to help you.
rb1971 ARGQF+CayenneTurbo+E9+328GTS+R90S
> Chairman Kaga
08/21/2015 at 10:59 |
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Assuming you are in Texas, it sure looks like you might qualify under the four times test. I might ask to consult with a Lemon Law lawyer (your state’s version of Steve Lehto, who is awesome).
If I were in your shoes, and it was a non-essential system, I might give them one more chance to fix it. But I would let them know first that you think the car qualifies as a lemon by (unemotionally) talking to the service manager at your home dealership and asking him to put you in touch with the local Toyota corporate rep so they can either fix the problem on the next attempt or lemon the car. But, YMMV, which is why it’s good to consult a local lawyer.
TheHondaBro
> Chairman Kaga
08/21/2015 at 11:03 |
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Multiple emails with the phrase “u wot m8.” Eventually upgrade to “u wot m9.”
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Chairman Kaga
> Patrick Nichols
08/21/2015 at 11:04 |
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We did send a message through that link but it’s been about 3 months with no reply. I was hoping to get someone directly. I’ve had good luck reaching folks directly at Mazda and VW through contacts in the auto journalism industry.
And we’ve blasted the dealer, but it doesn’t really mean a lot considering they already have a 1.5 star Yelp rating! All of the freakin Toyota dealers in the area seems to be bums.
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Patrick Nichols
> Chairman Kaga
08/21/2015 at 11:07 |
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Maybe try the number and if it’s an automated system just clicking 0 and saying help or operator until you get an actual person.
Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
> Chairman Kaga
08/21/2015 at 11:11 |
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Not to be a dick about it, but is this one of those things you just have to suck it up and deal with it? Most car infotainment systems aren’t that good, honestly. That’s the biggest complaint I see in most car reviews is how much they suck. I don’t know if infotainment would/could be covered under the lemon law. But I’d be willing to bet if they were to buy the car back and you got another, it would probably still suck.
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Chairman Kaga
> Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
08/21/2015 at 11:27 |
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I’m sure it would suck as I’ve yet to experience a modern system that works nearly as well as advertised, but there’s a big difference between iffy voice control and not working whatsoever, which is what we’re often dealing with. Like I mentioned, I installed a relatively inexpensive Alpine unit in my CRV and it’s literally flawless when it comes to connecting either via Bluetooth or USB to either of our iPhones. It’s obviously not as feature rich as Entune or what have you, but it functions at a very basic level. Also, based on the Toyota enthusiast boards (go ahead and laugh, I did), this degree of trouble doesn’t seem to be the norm. Sure, people say the system sucks, even though CR said it was the BEST.
I believe, as our previous service advisor believed, there was a deeper problem in the hardware. We’ve started documenting every occurrence with video and photos.
CaptDale - is secretly British
> Chairman Kaga
08/21/2015 at 12:08 |
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Some new Subarus come with something wrong with their Infotainment system and on the ones we have replaced, they have never come back for issues. I wonder why that didn’t fix yours....