Toyota Safety Connect First Use

This morning I'm stuck in a parking lot when the car won't shift out of Park. I activate the system and tell the operator that I have partial brake failure and can't shift out of Park. After verifying that I don't need emergency assistance and that I'm in a safe place she begins a registration process. Since the service comes standard with the car you'd think Toyota passed this info along. No. I had to give my name, make & model of the car (although Safety Connect is only available on the 2010 Prius), address, selling dealer, and probably some other stuff. She then transfers me to someone else.

I tell this operator I'm stuck in a parking lot because the car won't shift and mention the partial brake failure. When she asks for the VIN the 1st operator interjects that she can supply the info. No more questions. I am transfered to Toyota Roadside Assistance where I'm told that if I am in state 'a', 'b', 'c', etc. Press 1. If I'm in state 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g', etc. Press 2. In disgust I disconnect the call.

I then call back. When asked if I just placed a call I said "yes". "Did Roadside Assistance" send a truck? "No, it didn't get that far. All I got is the phone tree and I don't have anything I can press numbers on." This time I am directly connected.

"Where are you?" (A strange question from the Center who should be able to send assistance to an incapacitated driver.) "Hightstown, NJ. I need a tow truck with dollies to get me to the nearest Toyota dealer."

This operator then starts rattling off dealers: one on Route 9, Runnemede, Team Toyota in Langhorne, PA." "No, too far. Too far." I reply to each one. I interrupt her listing with "The nearest dealers should be Liberty in Burlington, Lawrence in Lawrenceville and there is one north on US 130." I suppose it is good that I drew a blank on Dayton Toyota in Dayton, NJ as she probably would have sent a truck from Ohio.

After what seems a lengthy delay she says a truck is being Lawrence and should arrive in 30 minutes. Jeez, it only took 30 minutes to get a truck dispatched.

As this drama unfolds I repeatedly try to get the car in gear and make some calls. I succeed and activate the system to cancel the truck and tell them I'm driving down to Cherry Hill Toyota (the selling dealer). I get a call a few minutes later on my cell phone. This operator tells me there will be a $20 charge because it exceeds my account limit. (Wth?!) I just tell her that I already cancelled the truck.

At the dealer I ask the Sales Manager about the Safety Connect service. He admits to not knowing much as it is new & no one to his knowlege has used it. I relate my tale. He is surprised that Toyota would charge me for a tow to a dealer under warranty and said he would check with someone in the Region. He also said that if I was charged they would have reimbursed me. I asked to be copied on the e-mail.

Has anyone else tried Safety Connect?

To save time I recommend placing a call after purchase while in the dealer's lot to register the car.

If this is the typical level of service provided by Safety Connect & Toyota Roadside Assistance I don't see any reason to pay for a subscription.

 

Just hit the button when you start out in the AM & answer the questions en route. The only tough one was the cell phone number as I don't know it.

 

Me too. Right now we are at "can't reproduce the problem". I'm carrying a digital camera around so if it happens again I can record the problem.

The problem is in this thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...start-assist-shifter-problem.html#post1043317

 

It's great that the system worked well for you. If you got my operator I'd expect her to contact the perp so she could verify the theft & ask for his location.:doh:

 

Tonight I got a call from Dan Fisher (sp?) the Director of Safety Connect and spoke with him at length. He reviewed my call and profusely apologized for the way my call was handled. To summarize, Operator #1 after taking what turns out to be some of my registration info transferred me to the wrong department so Operator #2 did not receive any of my transmitted data. So she had no idea where I was or that I came through Safety Connect. Still no excuse for not being able to read a map. They were unfamiliar with the Prius because I was transferred to the Lexus office. He didn't know about the $20 charge as that was mentioned on a call to my cell phone.

With all due respect, if Toyota Roadside Assistance is part of Safety Connect then why did I need to be transferred to another office & get the phone menu? It is a seperate office that finds a subcontractor to tow the car, deliver gas, or whatever. My guess is that Roadside Assistance reports to Safety Connect & that Dan is also responsible for the operation

Dan said that there isn't a mechanism for them to contact the driver through the car. So I take it that if they detect a collision or a deployed airbag they automatically notify the authorities.

At least we now know that if the car is stolen SC can't call the perp for verification & to confirm his location.

IMO it looks like Toyota my require training but passing the courses is optional. In this instance I'm giving CHT a pass and assigning most of the responsibility to Operator #1 who didn't handle the registration & transfer properly.

Perhaps if I had pointed out to Operator #2 that she should know where I am from the car's SC telemetry the light bulb may have gone on & I may have been properly transferred.

How much is Toyota paying for that the dealers aren't doing?

Dan expressed interest in answering any questions & repeated that owners are welcome to test the system as often as they like.