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Head Unit Reboot while Driving

Discussion in 'Prime Audio, Electronics, and Infotainment' started by Hal58, May 10, 2022.

  1. Hal58

    Hal58 New Member

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    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XLE
    I traded in a perfectly functioning 2016 Prius2 in March 2020 for a 2020
    Prime XLE and wish I hadn't. Every month since I bought the car the Head
    Unit reboots within a minute or two of turning on once or twice a month.
    Most of the time this happens the first time I start it in a day, but
    occasionally on the second time (such as this month on May 2nd). I have
    NONE of the extras such as Sirius, Assistance, etc. Here are some
    additional details:


    I play old Korean Pop songs from the 1960s, 70s and 80s as MP3s that I
    prepare myself on a USB stick. I repeatedly reported this to the dealer for
    over a year along with the dates of occurance. After a 5 March reboot I
    contacted Toyota and opened a case on 8 March. A 7 April reboot caused me
    to contact the dealer again and they said they could not duplicate it
    (naturally) and said to remove the USB and use something else so I paired
    the car with my Samsung S10 and played (the same MP3 songs) via Bluetooth
    until the Samsung battery exploded and I replaced it with a Toshiba. On 2
    May the systemd rebooted on Bluetooth as mentioned above.


    A new case is now open with Toyota and I have been contacted by a REAL
    PERSON who wants me to take it to the dealer who will check the USB and
    Bluetooth source and reset the Head Unit. For a second time I asked her
    about over-the-air interfacing to the car and she had no answer, so not
    knowing whether or not software updates are pushed to the car here is my
    hypothesis for what is happening:


    If updates are pushed over-the-air and a command send to reboot on the next
    power-up, this would explain why the system reboots the first time it is
    started in a day (if the update is sent the previous say) or the second time
    in a day (if the update is sent while on the first time). NONE of the
    reboots occured after the second time the car was started in a day. Of
    additional note is that one of the times it rebooted on the second time was
    when I had traveled to Tennessee to visit my daughter. When I left her
    house, it was Ok, but rebooted when I powered on after filling up with gas
    prior to hitting the highway. My normal home base in near Ft. Meade
    Maryland.


    The visit to the dealer is supposed to happen in the next few days and I
    will update here afterwards. Can anyone confirm whether or not there is any
    downloaded information to the car when NO services are contracted? TIA.
    Now if we could only get the system to display cover art without the Parking
    Brake being on...HOW STUPID!!!
     
  2. Hal58

    Hal58 New Member

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    Finally had an appointment at the dealer and naturally they claimed that they knew nothing of what Toyota wanted done so I told them (they claimed yet again that they could not duplicate the problem...naturally). In any event, I now cannot listen to my music from USB or via Bluetooth (since my phone is now un-paired) and now only listen to talk radio and am watching for the reboot to occur again. My guess is that sometime in early June it will happen again.
    BTW, the Toyota 'Brand Engagement' Rep confirmed that software updates are occasionally sent wirelessly to the car, but that owner intervention is required to activate them and it is very rare. We'll see...
     
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  3. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    Is your unit set to automatically check and download map updates?
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    this is an old sad tale, and many threads here unfortunately
     
  5. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    AFAIK, there is no map update checking function in the PP head unit. A map update is done manually by swapping the microSD card. What OP is talking about is the Toyota App update on the phone which will connect to the HU and update the software in the HU. This software update depends on the Toyota App installed phone that is linked to the HU. There is no OTA update to the car.

    As I have learned from the past ownerships of the 2017 and then the 2020 PP that Toyota's infotainment systems especially old Entue and now Toyota App is so dysfunctional and cause more of frustration than providing convenience or utility, after the purchase of the current 2021 PP, I never bothered to install the Toyota App on my phone or register my car with the Connected Services. Although I use the HU very little for any of the infotainment functions, so far, I have never had any problem without having Toyota App or the Connected Services.
     
  6. Hal58

    Hal58 New Member

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    I don't think so. This is a 2020 Prius Prime XLE and according to the manual, Map data is on a microSD card and furthermore "Map data updates are available for a fee" and I have not paid for such. Thanks for the hint though.
     
  7. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    So it doesn’t have a MY19 head unit?
     
  8. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    I don't know what MY19 head unit is. But if you are referring to the model of the HU, I can't remember the model number. US model PP comes with either 7" display HU or 11.6" display HU. OP has 2020 XLE which comes with an 11.6" display HU. I believe that is the same HU as my 2021 PP Limited trim. AFAIK, it has no OTA update capability.

    Here is a link to OEM HU parts (parts #:86804-47580) https://www.lithiatoyotaparts.com/oem-parts/toyota-display-unit-8680447580
    upload_2022-5-26_16-40-57.png
     
  9. Hal58

    Hal58 New Member

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    No, I am not talking about the Toyota app on a phone (which I do NOT have). There apparently updates of some sort that are sent wirelessly to the car (very infrequently according to Toyota). Since my HU reboot only happens on the first or second start of a day when it occurs (once or twice a month for over two years), I suspect that something else is being sent that forces a reboot a short time after the next power on. If this is the cases, then it is yet again another example of poorly designed software in the 11" head unit.
     
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  10. PaulDM

    PaulDM Active Member

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    Ok 7 inch display
    2019-2020 My17
    2020-2022 MY19
    Was the Toyota reference to the head unit
     
  11. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    OK, I didn't know the Toyota nomenclature on the 7" display. But OP has an 11.6" display on his 2020 XLE so it must be different from either HU you mentioned. Besides, 2020-2022 7" HU that came with US model PP LE does not have a built-in Navi. I had 2020 PP LE before the current 2021 PP Limited. So, it would not have OTA map update function you mentioned. Earlier model PP Plus (2017-2019) US model came with 7" HU, which must be the MY17 according to your information, had built-in Navi, but had no telematics on the car, so again, it would had no OTA map update function.
     
  12. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    I totally agree with you on the "poorly designed software in the 11" head unit" part. But this is the first time I have heard that the PP's HU can receive an OTA update on its own. Obviously, for that to work, the car's telematics must be connected to the "mothership". And since you are saying you did not install the Toyota App on your phone, I wonder how they even identify the car without Toyota App registration. I for one, not only did not install the Toyota App on my phone (thus no car registration using the app), I also actively contacted Toyota to opt-out of the connected services. So, my car's telematics is not communicating with the "mothership" at all. So far that has not caused any problem with the HU.
     
  13. Hal58

    Hal58 New Member

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    I am speculating that they use cellphone technology to communicate with the car in a manner similar to the emergency calling feature (which I opted OUT of as well). Toyota has identification data for the car (VIN number, RF unit identifier, etc) since they made it and installed all the parts. I tried to get the dealer to unplug the RF unit and place it in my hands but they refused. We'll see if the reboot happens next week (when June starts).

    In a possibly related issue, when I started the car today, the head unit did not power up, although the car started and drove. I pressed the Audio power button once to turn off, and another time to turn on, and the whole Head Unit powered-on with the chimes, logo and warning. I'll pass this along to the "Brand Engagement Representative" the next time I contact them.
     
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  14. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Sound like you got a bad HU, or at the least bad software. I can almost see that the Toyota rep or the dealer will blame the malfunction of the HU on the fact you don't have the Toyota App installed and opted out of the connected services.

    I hope the OTA update if that really exists for the HU on its own, will fix the problem for you.

    I do think the problem has nothing to do with the connected services. For one thing, this re-booting thing was a rampant problem in the pre-2019 PP models as well. Some of those pre-2019 PP models were the Premium model which did not have built-in telematics in the car.

    Here are a few examples.

    11.6" Rebooting Poll | PriusChat
    Reboot? | PriusChat
    Map Display Reboots without Request | PriusChat
    Navigation system rebooted while driving | PriusChat
    11.6 infotainment reboot after reverse | PriusChat
    11" Infotainment Reboot - one confirmed cause | PriusChat
     
  15. Hal58

    Hal58 New Member

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    I checked all the examples, and I don't believe that I am experiencing the same thing as most of the older reports. My experiences are limited to one or two a month, predictably in the first 90-120 seconds after starting (first or second of the day only) when they occur and don't have any of the other (repeating, changing display, etc) effects, but thanks for providing the links.
     
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  16. Hal58

    Hal58 New Member

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    Update: It happened again. Reboot within two minutes of starting (first of the day) exactly 4 weeks after it did the same on 2 May with Bluetooth music playing. This time no USB, phone un-paired, listening to 103.5 FM radio. In addition to the first-time event of last Friday (Head Unit not starting at all for a couple of minutes), something seems to be deteriorating. I notified the "Toyota Brand Engagement Center" (again) and was told that they can't do anything unless the dealer (independently-owned) can duplicate the problem we are "at a stalemate".

    So, I called my dealer (Brown's Toyota of Glen Burnie, Maryland) who initially said that all they can do is set me up with an appointment to see if they can duplicate the problem (which they won't since I have to start my [only] car to get there) so I gave them three alternative ways to check:
    1) Give me back my old Prius2 (in the same condition as when I traded it in) and we'll swap even-up.
    2) Give me a free loaner for up to 1 1/2 months so they can start mine every day until it happens.
    3) Swap my Head Unit out for another so they can put mine in another car and start it every day to check. This might not work if the Head unit has a means of querying the car to see if it has changed.

    The dealer rep said that she could not agree to any of these and said that they (dealer) would have to bear the cost of any of these. I reminded that I am bearing all the costs of travelling to visit them, wasting time on needless phone calls and stress (plus not being able to listen to my Korean music now). I asked her to check with her management and she said that she would check with the Maintenance Chief.

    So, it seems as though Toyota isn't REALLY interested in fixing their products and I can't comment about this dealership without devolving into profanity.
     
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    ah, you're finally catching on to what most of us have known about toyota (and most other auto mfgs and any other corporation)
     
  18. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Sorry to hear your frustration. I am almost certain that you are not alone in having the head unit rebooting problem. There are numerous PP owners who have not resolved problems relating to the infotainment system, be that rebooting problem or Toyota App not working or remote climate not functioning.

    But, may I suggest another option #4.
    4) Forget about trying to fix the head unit and relying on its functionality. Apparently, for you, the rebooting happens only once in a while. If you don't expect it to work 100% of the time, then it may just be fine as is.

    I have my head unit LCD turned off 99% of the time. I do not use in-car navigation. I have a good old Garmin for that. I do most of the HVAC and media content playing controls from the MID using the wheel buttons. There are a few functionalities that require the LED to be turned on. For me that 1% of the time the HD screen had to be turned on, it worked 100% without any error or rebooting. AFAIK, the functional HU is not needed to drive the car.
     
  19. Dennis_MA

    Dennis_MA Active Member

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    What is clear to me is that Toyota does not know what the problem is. These cars have a lot of electronics and this may be very hard to track down seeing it occurs randomly. In my case I just live with it for the very few times it happens.

    That said I have a new car (non-Prime) on order that is scheduled to be delivered any time now and the re-booting will soon be someone else's problem.
     
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  20. Hal58

    Hal58 New Member

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    New development! The 'Brand Engagement Advocate' called on 6 June confirming that they wouldn't buy my alternatives but she is trying to contact the Brown's Toyota Service Manager. David (the Service Manager) called today, 10 June saying that a software update allegedly addressing random reboots was released o/a 28 May, after my last visit on 19 May. I was in the Dealer's shop 35 minutes later and the new firmware was installed. A version ending in 2500 was installed a few months ago, and the new version ends in 2520. We'll see if this solves the problem and I'll keep this thread updated.

    This may be a minor issue, but I paid for a car designed, built and programmed by professionals, not amateurs and Toyota needs to learn how to build reliable software, particularly now that all manufacturers seem to be moving to very dangerous ground with over-the-air software updates.