New Prime owner questions on the phone app

You can't edit the schedule in the app but you can initiate a charge if it's plugged in and waiting for a scheduled charge.

You can precondition. It only runs the heat pump for 10min using electric so you need at least some charge in the battery and it's not effective below 14F. Also it needs the doors to be locked.

You need to subscribe to Toyota safety connect. It's $80 a year I recall correctly.

The app does not do: locks, windows, car location, remote start, stop a charge, trouble codes, tire pressure (some LE trim get that?), scheduling.

I'm attaching some screen shots of what I get for my 2022 XLE (the schedule button, like the cake, is a lie)

 

the 2020 model year does not have access to any remote services, for some reason. Toyota removed it for 2020 and then restored it for the 2021 models. This is one reason why I traded my 2020 Limited for a 2021 Limited.

 

Oh man that blows! What about the safety connect SOS button? That won't work either?

 

that is functional. The 2020 just doesn't have access to any remote services in the app.

 

Oh I miss the old Toyota "Entune" app which came with my 2017 Prime (Advance trim) with the Safety Connect service. It provide all kinds o useful information and even sent me email/texts when the vehicle had completed charging. Not to mention the fun sheep game which provided incentive to improve your driving efficiency. Toyota discontinued supporting it sometime last summer.

The current Toyota app is as you describe and visually unappealing compared with the old Entune. It's hard to understand how Toyota could move so far in the wrong direction with connected services and user experience.

I hope our state legislature continues to push for car manufacturers to allow 3rd-party access to vehicle telematics. The intent is to allow independent mechanics to compete with dealership service departments, but it would also open up the possibility of competitive 3rd-party apps to provide owners more functionality and a better user interface.

 

Also, unlike the old Entune app, it does not tell you the charge level of the traction battery, whether the vehicle is plugged in and charging, and how much time is left to bring it to full change.

 

It used to until the more recent UI changes.

 

I guess I've become a very old bear -- I seem to recall that UI upgrades were done to add features. Toyota's approach must be inspired by other consumer produces where the price is higher when there is no sugar, no gluten, no preservatives, etc.

Maybe their marketing program should tout the next generation UI as having no functionality.

 

I'm no developer but I'm betting they are trying to build an app that is compatible with multiple models and it's just not cost effective to continue troubleshooting or adding features for a low volume model with a head unit they seemingly gave up on almost as soon as they put it in the Prime.

For a little while the Prius Prime was the only model that even had some of these features and the 11" head unit I believe was only used in Prius, right? That was decided back in 2016, probably earlier. They've since moved in different directions with head units. Mostly dropping built in navigation for Carplay/AA integration. And theit Toyota App developers are probably more focused on the newer hardware that's being used on much higher volume models. That's probably why the LE with the 7" unit has a couple of more features. They decided to slap something they were already using in other models in there.

 

Toyota Brand Engagement claims that they will fix the missing vehicle finder functionality in the Toyota App for my 2017 Advanced. They provided me an incident number and regular e-mail updates and even phone calls from a real person that "we are working on it, keep checking for app updates".

Since June 2022.

Not holding my breath.

 

However, the old Entune app was perfectly functional and included all of these features. Why discontinue after four years with no equivalent replacement when even the Prime's traction battery is warrantied for eight years. I can't believe that supporting a legacy app for existing customers would be such a big deal, especially without any updates or enhancements. Sure, the company needs to focus on new products and technology, but it doesn't build customer loyalty when the company shows that it doesn't care about its existing customers who are usually those most likely to buy new Toyota vehicles or recommend Toyota to friends.

Obviously, when you buy a car you expect the car manufacturer to have replacement parts and service available for a reasonable number of years. Toyota brags about the fact that its cars are engineered and built to last. Just because automobiles have become "a system" of both the vehicle itself and its external supporting components like the telematic system, does not mean that owners should have lesser expectations for the entire system.