11 inch screen in Advanced is rebooting at an alarming rate

I have nothing connected.

Contacted my dealer and found out there is no fix at this time. As the car was one day old he swapped it out for another new Prime. This one doesn't have the problem.

 

It's very unlikely that a failure in the infotainment system would cause problems in propulsion or braking. I used to work for a company that sells microcontrollers into the Automotive industry, and it's clear from talking to customers that they keep those systems very very separate.

Thankfully, so far in 5-6 weeks, I haven't seen any problems with the multi-media screen, the iPhone connection, nor the Entune apps. I have perhaps noticed the 11.6in multimedia screen response latency slightly increasing, however.


iPhone ? Pro

 

I got a new Advanced on 6/26. On 6/27 the screen rebooted 3x on a 20 mile drive home. Called Toyota and they said it's not normal. I'm taking it to the dealer.

 

Oh dear, looks like Toyota has a problem with these displays. I'll be watching mine closely. My car arrives at the dealer on July 1.

 

I just got my Prime Advanced in last week too, and haven't seen my display reboot even once. Are you using a USB connection for your phone? I've seen others say that can be flaky.

 

Hi Bob (I found my old account from 2006 and am posting under that):

I had 3 reboots on second full day of ownership, none since. Yes, using USB. I also considered possibility of overheating -- during the day car is parked in a large lot with no foliage; also possibility of something with satellite radio. After two days of reboots (in the afternoon after hot days), no issues for 3 days. I should mention that I use nagivation, and the reboots have not forced me to reenter anything. I took the vehicle into the dealership this morning. They found nothing, also no software updates or anything from Toyota. If people have this issue, they said it's important to report to Toyota so that it gets on their radar.

I want to emphasize that I am thrilled with this automobile. This is my fourth Prius. Last one was a 2015 PiP, and the Prime addresses everthing that the PiP disappointed. I suspect that this issue is a software glitch, and we will see a bug fix sooner or later.

 

As a computer guy, I've seen lots of USB problems on computers too, it's not the most robust of standards. I use USB, but only with a small flash drive for listening to audiobooks. I have my iPhone attached via bluetooth instead. I expect we'll see bug fixes too and it'll get better and better.

 

Yes--the 11" screen reboots quite regularly--once every week or so. Also, noticing the Bluetooth phone connection from my iPhone is intermittent--sometimes it simply doesn't work unless I stop and start the car.

I presume this is a software bug that needs to be worked out, but I hope Toyota addresses it. In general, compared to systems with CarPlay, the software is clunky.

Otherwise, this car is a brilliant piece of engineering..

 

I've had my Advanced for 11 weeks and not had a single reboot or a single problem with bluetooth connecting. I don't use Apple products and I've never connected my phone to the built in USB port as I have a semi-permanently installed USB stick in there.

 

Point well taken. On the other hand ...
This is my fourth Prius. Priors were a 2006 Prius (NW, I think but I recall it was called something else back then), 2010 Prius IV, 2015 Prius PiP, and now Prime Advanced. In all of them I used the USB. I used the iPod with USB on the 2006, got my first iPhone around the time I got the 2010. I had some problems with music on the 2010 (the unit would hang, hard, not like the Prime Advanced), and a smart Toyota tech determined that some early 2010s had a USB interface issue; and they swapped it out. Problem went away. That interface had a hard time with lots of songs, basically only worked with playlists, and I didn't use it all that much. Didn't have any problems with the 2015 PiP. Mostly used it for audiobooks and, like you, used the Bluetooth for some time before I realized that I could use the USB interface. Had no problems with either, except that the software occasionally got confused if I switched between one or the other. The USB interface seems to do a better job of syncing with the Gracenote database; it shows album covers -- not that this particularly matters.

Two observations:
1) Toyota has been doing this USB thing for a long time, and it should be mature.
2) That said, as you point out, the USB interface is trying to emulate an iPod, old technology that is complicated and may not keep up well with Apple's software updates on the iPhone, a much more advanced device.

Today the problem reoccured twice in rapid succession. This time, I was listening to an audiobook on iPhone through USB, and I discovered that the power to my iPhone 6 through the USB was switching on and off rapidly at the same time that the reboots occurred.

Others on this thread have posited cable problems; I don't think we all have bad cables, and the cable I'm using worked just fine on the 2015 PiP I just traded in. Two possibilities,
1) USB problems or other, related software issues, as you suggest. I am with you on switching to Bluetooth. I use the USB because it charges the phone, also. There's no reason I can't switch to the adapter. I've been hanging onto the iPhone 6 waiting for the 10th anniversary model. This, I expect, will be able to take advantage of the wireless charging device.
2) But there's also the possibility of a voltage issue (hardware) somewhere in the system.

I opened an incident with Toyota. Their customer experience line isn't great (piss poor is more accurate) on these issues, but we'll see.

Thanks for your comments.

 

It sure sounds like a hardware problem, either in the USB connector or the controller itself. That power switching usually happens when the controller is having trouble identifying the other end. It could be the type of cable, but it seems too sensitive to the problem. I'm not likely to plug in a phone to the USB, so I probably wont see it. (phones have higher power requirements than simple USB devices.)

 

Update: I've pissed and moaned to Toyota and have gotten their attention. I encourage others to do so: 1-800-331-4331. The Toyota guy who called me back today admitted that Toyota gets only a fraction of the complaints that appear on this website. I want to emphasize that this is a great car, and this issue is, IMHO, minor, in no way a deal buster for me. I just want to make sure that Toyota is aware there's an issue. I had a similar issue (with the USB connection) in a 2010 Prius that dragged on for 2-3 years before I found a tech who was aware of the problem and had a fix (updated radio, not cheap). For me, the frustration is as much with the "Toyota experience" customer line as with the issue itself.

 

Reposting, using the account I opened when I got my first Prius 11 years ago (I'm on my fourth -- a happy driver):
Update: I've pissed and moaned to Toyota and have gotten their attention. I encourage others to do so: 1-800-331-4331. The Toyota guy who called me back today admitted that Toyota gets only a fraction of the complaints that appear on this website. I want to emphasize that this is a great car, and this issue is, IMHO, minor, in no way a deal buster for me. I just want to make sure that Toyota is aware there's an issue. I had a similar issue (with the USB connection) in a 2010 Prius that dragged on for 2-3 years before I found a tech who was aware of the problem and had a fix (updated radio, not cheap). For me, the frustration is as much with the "Toyota experience" customer line as with the issue itself.

 

If there is a patch to this, does it mean we all have to schedule an appointment, take time off work and drive back to the dealer to apply?

 

Go ask your dealer to install the latest TSB, 0236-17. The release notes say that it solves this problem. Software was just released July 10. It is warranty coverage and the dealer should not charge you for the installation. It fixes a number of problems related to iPhone, USB, rebooting, audio, etc. This patch is applicable to the Advanced and Premium models. There is a different patch for the Plus trim level.

 

Thanks... Is there a website or a place where I can view all the current TSBs that are available for the Prime?

 

Found my first screen problem. In map use, doing the finger dance to move the screen map (while the car is in motion) most always moves the map to where I touch it. But sometimes, quite unpredictably, the screen moves very quickly off in some other direction. My Gen3 never ever did that.

 

If you move your finger just a little, I expect it's taking that as a scroll gesture. I haven't seen it yet though, but I did find something myself yesterday -- when playing audiobooks (or Music) from a USB flash drive, if you don't let the audio system boot up completely, it'll lose your place and after playing the current track will jump back to the default settings, rather than folder or name sort. I kept wondering why my books had a problem some time and not others. <g> I got used to just putting it in reverse right away after starting the car when backing out of a parking spot, before the head unit was fully on on my gen 3, it never lost it's place, but it sure does on the Prime. So I start the car, then I put on my seatbelt and close my door...

 

This is with the car moving, and the screen has been on for 10's of minutes. Scroll works only with the car standing still.

 

I haven't seen that limitation stated anywhere in the manual, guess I'll have to try it.