2014 Prius C - Bluetooth Audio Playback Issue

I recently started experiencing an issue where my smartphone (Pixel 4a5g) would not play my music/audiobooks through my car when connected to Bluetooth. However, my car still receives calls just fine on behalf of my phone (I haven't tried making calls from my car, but I don't use that feature anyway).

Essentially, when I select "Bluetooth" as an audio source while my phone is connected, it will be perpetually stuck on the "loading" screen with the cycling animation constantly going. I've driven for 20+ minutes with this going on and the "loading" screen just persists. I've also tried using different apps on my phone: audiobook players, music apps, YouTube, and the behavior doesn't change. When I use radio stations, those play without issue.

This issue began after I updated my phone to Android 13. While I can't say for certain this is what caused the issue, my car did not have this playback issue the morning before the update but the issue was present the afternoon after I updated. I've considered trying to rollback to Android 12, but it seems like an incredible hassle.

I looked online to see if maybe my car needed a firmware update and how to install it if it was needed. On the official Toyota website, I cannot find firmware updates for the 2014 Prius C, the oldest model listed is 2015 (I also tried putting in my VIN). From what I found on Reddit (cannot post links due to forum restrictions), the newest software version for 2013 model is 5.X (the thread is a year old). I checked the software version in my car, and it turned out to be 3.2. So I wagered that my issue could potentially be fixed with a software update.

I called the Toyota support number, 800-331-4331, and they told me to try "Delete Personal Data" as this would factory reset all the multimedia settings of the car. I performed this twice to no avail. I called a few hours later after I tried their solution and a new representative told me that they could not find or provide any updates for me. They stated that the "Delete Personal Data" step was the only troubleshooting they could provide over the phone and that I would need to get my car taken to a dealership to get the issue looked at.

I'd really prefer to avoid going to a dealership if at all possible, so I would like to know if anyone else has experienced a similar issue and how you resolved it.

 

Interestingly enough, I connected a different phone (Pixel 7 Pro) running Android 13 through bluetooth and it worked without issue.
Perhaps this phone is running a more update to date version of Android that fixed the issue I'm experiencing with my phone.

 

I have done a lot more digging through the internet since I last posted and was able to find a toyotanation discussion (can't post links due to account restrictions)
A user, Gugs, posts a download link for "prius Gen 3 2012-2015 with Navigation" update, which seems to be what I need.
To find this discussion, just google "prius Gen 3 2012-2015 with Navigation" with the quotes and it should pop up.

Other than the update being for Prius and not Prius C (which I think hardly matters?), I will probably try using this file once I've done some more digging and determined this is suitable.

If this doesn't solve my issue though, I will probably look into getting a new multimedia system from Amazon or Crutchfield.

 

Ok, I've made a very shocking and exciting discovery!
I tried looking for Entune 5.2 documentation in hopes of finding a download link or other resources, so I googled "entune 5.2 pdf" and I found a document hosted by the NHTSA (National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration).
It looks to be a technical service bulletin instructing dealerships how to update the car software.

There is a download link in the document, but it has been deprecated.
Fortunately however, the information this provides is valuable. The key thing being that all of these cars use the same update file

And the link from the toyotanation discussion was a download link on the Toyota website with the exact same file name.

Additionally, I learned that my issue was recognized in the introduction, albeit with Apple devices.

I saved an internet archive version of the toyotanation reply and I will never remove these files from my computer.

I'll look into uploading these somewhere so that people that easily update their old cars without going to a dealership

 

By sheer coincidence I was able to resolve my issue by the 4th post, so I'd like to share the video I made so hopefully other people don't go through nearly as much frustration as I have.