1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Mobile apps: Necessary, nice-to-have, or frippery?

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by 2005dmny, Nov 26, 2019.

  1. 2005dmny

    2005dmny Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2015
    29
    13
    0
    Location:
    Westchester, NY
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks, all.

    I'm still a little fuzzy, based on some comments/replies above, what features/capabilities might require either of these apps in my 2020 LE, since several commented that much functionality may be have removed/is no longer available in the 2020 and/or, specifically, the LE trim.

    Pre-conditioning and charging status would be nice-to-haves, I guess. But I don't view either as essential. As for finding the car, or summoning Toyota roadside assistance during the three (or is it two?) year window after purchase -- or any other freebies offered during that period, it's unclear whether I need phone app(s) to do that.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    wouldnt it be nice if toyota had online brochures explaining all the features in detail for each particular vehicle?
     
    Mendel Leisk and 2005dmny like this.
  3. 2005dmny

    2005dmny Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2015
    29
    13
    0
    Location:
    Westchester, NY
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yep. Even nicer would be a clear statement of which features require something other than simply owning the car itself. :)
     
    bisco likes this.
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    the two words that make my head explode are 'if equipped'
     
    2005dmny likes this.
  5. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    None of those remote app functionality you mentioned would apply to LE trim anyway. Your trim have no telematix to communicate. They were only available in Advanced trim (2017-2019), and AFAIK the Toyota Safety Connect is still available in 2020 Limited trim free for 3 years but after that on subscription base.

    For summoning Toyota roadside assistance during the two year window for your trim, I think you would have to make a phone call. No, you do not need a phone app for it, but there maybe some easier way to connect (place a phone call) to TOYOTA via the phone app, but I don't know for sure. I have never used the service myself. Just remember that Toyota roadside assistance will tow your car only to the nearest TOYOTA DEALER, no other place. Even if your car is broken down with flat tire a few miles from a tire shop or your home where you want to tow your car to, your choice is always the nearest TOYOTA DEALER, which may or may not be open and any repair required will cost you $$$ if not covered by the warranty such as simple flat tire.
     
    #25 Salamander_King, Dec 10, 2019
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2019
  6. Old Bear

    Old Bear Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2017
    712
    1,048
    20
    Location:
    Boston, Massachusetts USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    One may ask the purpose of Toyota Safety Connect, given that it provides some roadside assistance services similar to, but much more limited than, those provided by AAA and other 3rd party organizations. It would seem that one could just use one's cellphone to call AAA if assistance is needed.

    However, the one thing Toyota Safety Connect does is interact with your car's systems to summon assistance automatically when air bags deploy. If the driver has lost consciousness or is unable to reach a cellphone which has gone flying in the dark following an accident, the Safety Connect system is still supposed to activate -- and this could be very important to you.

    Now, I agree with all the comments about the stupidity of Toyota not equipping its roadside service providers with a temporary spare tire to lend spare-less Prime owners. But that's a different matter.
     
    2005dmny likes this.
  7. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes, that's all true. But OP has 2020 PRIME LE which does not have the telematics needed to communicate automatically. He has a complementary roadside assistance service that comes with Toyota Care but not Toyota Safety Connect with his car. And for using the roadside assistance, he needs any phone apps.
     
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,474
    38,105
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
  9. Old Bear

    Old Bear Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2017
    712
    1,048
    20
    Location:
    Boston, Massachusetts USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Hmmm... I recall reading about some county in Texas where the Fire Department would respond to a call but would not put out the fire in someone's house until they'd written a check for past due taxes to the county. C'est la vie.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    54,474
    38,105
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Ouch. I'd imagine they had more than a few checks bounce? Desperate times...
     
  11. snakeshoes

    snakeshoes Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2019
    34
    25
    0
    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Safety Connect is also available in the 2020 XLE as it's in mine and dealer informed me I should activate it for a 3-year trial. Of course, Toyota being Toyota, he didn't have any written documentation to give me, the web site is just an ad for the service without much info, and everything prompts me to install an app of questionable quality/utility in order to activate/use it.

    It would really be nice if they could have found just a little bit of printer ink for just a few more pages along with all my other purchase documents to give me something that clearly explains "these are the services that come with your car, here's how to activate and access them, here's what they do, here's what they'll cost as a subscription after the trial period."
     
    2005dmny and Mendel Leisk like this.
  12. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Wow that's a news to me. I just checked Toyota site. I stand corrected that it seems for 2020 model Prius PRIME all three trims have Safety Connect standard, which means all three trims have the needed telematics for communicating with the car with apps and dispatcher. However none of trims seems to have the PRIME APP (remote climate controls, car finder, remote charge monitor, etc.) which use to be available only on Advanced model. Interesting, that this fact has not been brought up as much.

    2020 Toyota Prius Prime MPG & Price

    safety connect.png
     
    2005dmny likes this.
  13. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2005
    2,783
    1,151
    0
    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    So for 2020, all of the trims have the built-in cell phone to support SafetyConnect, but none have the remote apps that piggy-back on that functionality in the pre-2020 Advanced trims?

    Another feature of SafetyConnect is that is uses GPS to report the location of the car to the emergency dispatcher in case of an accident. This is a real advantage over just having the driver use their cell phone to call 911.
     
  14. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    That seems to be the case, but I don't know for sure. There are enough 2020 Limited trim owners complaining not having the Prime App functionality. So it would be odd to expect the lower trims to have that functionality.
     
  15. GSK

    GSK Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2019
    169
    105
    0
    Location:
    Baltimore, MD
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    I thought it had to do with compatibility with Entune 3.0. The Limited has the 11" tablet which seems to be incompatible with the Entune 3.0 connected features.
     
  16. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I don't know for sure, but if that is the case, 2020 LE model with 7" screen Nav should be able to handle the App. I have not seen any 2020 LE owner claiming their car has PRIME App.
     
  17. 2005dmny

    2005dmny Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2015
    29
    13
    0
    Location:
    Westchester, NY
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hmmm. Gets muddier and muddier.

    Toyota's site explicitly states that the LE has Toyota Safety Connect. The lengthy pop-up footnote is a bit more opaque and legalistic, but in no way excludes the LE trim.
     
  18. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    See my comment #32. Toyota Safety Connect is available for all trims, unlike previous years' models. I don't think you have to have the phone app to enable the Toyota Safety Connect, but you do have to sign up with them to open an account, and the car may require the update of Entune to allow the Toyota Safety Connect to function properly. But, since I don't have the Toyota Safety Connect on my car, this is mostly my speculation.
     
    2005dmny likes this.
  19. 2005dmny

    2005dmny Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 23, 2015
    29
    13
    0
    Location:
    Westchester, NY
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yeah, sorry. Replied before scrolling through the entire set of recent replies/comments. Then tried to delete my unnecessary reply, but couldn't figure out how. <blush>

    I'm beginning to think I need to talk to Toyota to straighten all this out. But I'm appreciating everyone's insights.
     
    Salamander_King likes this.
  20. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2005
    2,783
    1,151
    0
    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    I would think that it would be real easy to determine if the other 2020 trims have Safety Connect: Do they have an SOS button? This is what you use with Safety Connect to manually place a phone call over the built-in cell phone to the Safety Connect dispatcher. It has nothing to do with the Remote Entune Apps or the user's personal smartphone. You can enable the Safety Connect functionality using this "SOS" feature, after convincing the dispatcher that this is a registration call, and not an emergency. This is probably the easiest way to do it, since all relevant account information about the car will be automatically presented to the dispatcher, and all you need to provide is some personal info like an e-mail address. This is what I did, for both my 2012 PiP and 2017 Prime.
     
    #40 CharlesH, Dec 16, 2019
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2019
    illumiN8i likes this.