Silent death of Prime apps on the 2020

I'm here with an update... well, partially....

It appears that Toyota now has a new web-page that now lists several KEY features for Plug-In hybrids:
1) Charging Locator
2) Charge management
3) Climate Settings

When you click on the tine number (for instance 65) next to Climate Settings: It says that This Feature is applicable to Plug-in and Fuel Cell vehicles only.

**Please note: this new web-page, is specific to "Remote Connect"

I'll assume that means the Remote Connect App and that at some point, they'll be updating at least the 2020 Prius Prime (maybe 2019 as well) to be able to use this app, as my Toyota Service rep previously suggested (more like, insisted that it was supposed to work).

This gives me a little hope! I really want the Remote Charging and Remote Climate control options, so i don't have to come out and stand 20 feet from my car to turn on the A/c, just to go back in a store to finish my purchase

Toyota Remote Connect | Remote Start Your Engines!

PS: i wonder if this site was put up because of the PRIME Rav4 being released... AND i'm hoping that doesn't mean its exclusive to just the 2021 Rav4 PRIME. ugh.

 

As a new 2020 Prius Prime owner I hope it's for the Prime also and not just the Rav4, is it really that hard for them to make it work with vehicles already owned like the 2020 Prime ? Is there any software update they'd have to do to the car hardware and if so would it be done remotely or something we'd have to download from their web site and install ourselves ?

NOTE: I just now did a search on the Toyota site and according to this document the only cars with remote connect capability is the Avalon and Corolla , sorry I only looked at the first page, there are other models also but not yet the 2020 Prime-

https://www.toyota.com/content/connectedservices/marketing/PDF/MY20_Connected_Services_Table.pdf

check it out for yourself at the above link. (hopefully the Prime will later be added and that document then updated to reflect that)

Check out this link to see other year models -

Connected Services by Toyota | Toyota.com

 

Don't count on it, with Toyota, if it doesn't have it when you buy it, you will NEVER get it.

 

Hopefully they'll surprise us with an exception, but you do seem to have a good point.

I just wish someone knew WHY the Prime doesn't have the popular "Remote Connect" services, you'd think they'd want to include it on all their models to make all the models even more popular.

Anyhow, even without the "Remote Connect" the Prime is still very much worth getting and I'm still glad we got one !

 

so....do you think this means even key fob-based remote starting will soon be subscription-dependent?

 

This is not true, they have a Download (at the dealership) for 2018 Camry's to get Apple CarPlay.

This is why I hold some home that they'll make it work in the same way. (especially since this was already an option on older Prime Models, if you had the Advanced version). I currently have the Limited edition and would hope they already have the hardware there and that its just a software issue.

Which, was confirmed a few months ago when I called Safety Connect, they had mentioned to me at that time they had "Deactivated" the PRIME APPS (which was the Old way to connect to your car). And they blamed it on the New Head Unit. So, i'm hoping that Alexa and/or Remote Connect will have these options in the near future.

 

Agreed... especially since the COROLLA of all cars, has these basic settings. I looked at a 2020 Corolla that had all the Remote Connect options.

 

I just found a Toyota page or maybe they just emailed me something, but it mentions they have "gone away with the Subscription payment plans for these types of things" Stating that it was due to an upgrade they just did.

Sorry no other information, but glad to hear they said no more subscriptions!

Either way though, i would have gladly paid a small monthly fee to be able to Remote Control my A/C and Charging features! In fact, when i purchased the car i was expecting this to just work!

In fact, i took my car into the dealership about a week or two after i purchased it and the Service Tech was under the same impression. In fact, he brought me back to my car, had my Login to Toyota App, then the Remote Connect app, we walked through the procedure to add the car and scan the VIN into the Remote Connect app, but as soon as we did that, it came up and said "features not available at this time".


**after reviewing the PDF from the site mentioned by @GKL it shows that the 2021's are still charging a fee for Remote connect!...

I do like that if you keep paying for Safety connect, that you get TEN years of "Service Connect" included (not just 3 years)! That's if you buy any current 2021 vehicles though.

 

I'm also hoping that it's just a software issue. We have a 2020 Prime XLE and if it's just a matter of them developing a software update then why not add "Remote Connect" ?

It would be good if they were more forthcoming about what they can and can't do, if it is truly a hardware issue that can't be fixed with a software update, then just tell us so we don't have to keep on wondering if it will later be added.

......it's not a really big concern to me, but I'm also still wondering if "Android Auto" being added to the 2020 Prime later is still a possibility

 

Does the 2020 Prime Limited include the telematics device? Is the SOS button on ceiling still there on the 2020? If not, I don't think there's much hope of Toyota adding the remote apps back in via software update there is no way to send the commands to the car remotely without the telematics cellular connection.

 

We have a 2020 Prime XLE and it has the SOS button on the ceiling.

According to this all 3 levels of trim has it -

https://www.toyota.com/priusprime/2020/features/multimedia/1235/1237/1239

 

This press release for the 2021 Prius Prime mentions Prius Prime Apps on the Limited trim. Maybe they're bringing the features back.
The 2021 Toyota Prius Prime Adds Safety and Tech While Continuing to Combine the Best of Both Worlds - Toyota USA Newsroom

 

Is it a hardware issue that Toyota can't make Android Auto work on the 11.6 inch display, or maybe they think it would be too much work to figure out a software work-around to get it to work on the 11.6 inch screens ?

 

I agree with “don’t count on it” but you are wrong about “if it doesn’t have it when you buy it, you will NEVER get it.” Apple CarPlay was not on our 2018 Camry when we bought it, but Toyota later offered it as an upgrade to the system which was free, including installation.

 

it would be great to have the remote apps for my 2020 Limited. Don't care at all about the Android or Apple or Alexa things, if I could I would trade those for the remote apps.

 

I agree. Smartphone integration is a great thing, but the Prime telematic remote apps are much more useful at a basic level, allowing you to interact with functionality of the car.

Of course, that's just my opinion. And I never consider myself to be on the cutting edge:

 

Any reason why they couldn't have the remote apps (like being able to check battery level from in your house) on all the Prime trim levels including the XLE ?

 

That’s not the point. The point is that there was something not on my car when I bought it that Toyota subsequently gave me.