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Toyota Connected Services

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Audio, Electronics and Infotainment' started by Hammersmith, May 7, 2023.

  1. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    There was another thread just about Wi-Fi Connect, but in digging for info about that, I found enough other info to warrant a post about all the Connected Services. When you really look into the details, it's all a convoluted mess.

    Let's look at the basics:
    Safety Connect - emergency assistance, accident notification, stolen vehicle location
    Service Connect - maintenance alerts and reminders, service history
    Drive Connect - navigation
    Remote Connect - phone control of vehicle functions, Google Assistant integration
    Wi-Fi Connect - car becomes a hotspot

    And then there are the free trials:
    Safety Connect - 10 years
    Service Connect - 10 years
    Drive Connect - 1 year on Limited and XSE+
    Remote Connect - 1 year
    Wi-Fi Connect - 1 month or 3GB, whichever comes first

    But wait, there's more. There are also plans to consider:
    Music Lover($15/month) - integrated streaming of Apple Music and Amazon Music, Remote Connect included
    Go Anywhere($15/month) - Drive Connect + Remote Connect
    Premium($25/month) - Music Lover + Go Anywhere
    Wi-Fi Connect($25/month*) - also includes the integrated music streaming


    So if you want everything, you should sign up for Go Anywhere and Wi-Fi Connect and save yourself $10/month(though I wouldn't since Wi-Fi Connect seems like a waste of money for 99% of the population).

    I'm not an Apple/Amazon Music user, so I can't say if having those services integrated are worth the money.

    I could see Drive Connect possibly being worth it if you have a daily commute that's often affected by heavy traffic or if you regularly travel to unfamiliar areas. Obviously you can always just use your phone with Apple AirPlay/Android Auto, but some might prefer the full integration.

    I can see Remote Connect being valuable to some, because I'm one of them. But I'm a little concerned that I don't see a price listed separately for it on Toyota's Connected Services webpage. It makes me wonder if I'm going to have to get either the music streaming or the navigation to also get Remote Connect once the one-year trial expires.


    I don't know if this is useful to anyone else, but putting it all down on "paper" helped me understand how all the plans interlocked. I suspect Toyota<coughAT&Tcough> will be getting a little bit of my money after the free trials are over, but I'm going to try and keep it as minimal as possible.


    *$20/month if an AT&T wireless customer, $120/6 months, $200/year; don't know if you lose integrated music if you chose something other than $25/month
     
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  2. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    There's a little side note to Connected Services.

    When you take possession of your vehicle, you will be given the option to reject all services and prevent the car from wirelessly talking to Toyota at all(at least you were as late as 2021 on vehicles like the Rav4). There's a decent chunk of the population that hates the idea of anyone "watching" them. But this disabling of the connected services had an unintended consequence.

    You see, once that module was shut off, it was almost impossible to turn back on again; Toyota had not built in any easy way to reactivate it. One of the problems/recalls in the Rav4 was that something connected to the module would not always go to sleep like it was supposed to. It would stay active and draining 12V battery power while the vehicle was off. Owners would park their car at 6pm and wake up the next morning to a dead battery. Repeatedly. Even after replacing the battery. They were not happy.

    Toyota developed a software fix for the problem, but the software that needed to be patched was part of the connected services module. And in some vehicles, the connected service module had been shut off and dealer service techs couldn't turn it back on themselves; they had to contact Toyota to do it.

    But it gets worse. Dealer techs normally communicate with a certain division of Toyota when problems arise. That division is very responsive to dealer tech needs. But connected services is a completely separate division that often gets overloaded with problems from tech and customers. It could takes days to get a response from them.

    But it gets even worse. In order to reactivate connected services, AT&T also needs to be part of the process because they have to reactivate the cell network account so the car can communicate with cell towers. And we all know that cell companies can get overloaded and take days or more to fix a problem.


    So Rav4 owners had to bring their vehicle in, the tech had to diagnose the problem correctly, the tech would send an email to Toyota connected services, it would take a few days for them to process it, they would then send a message to AT&T, it would take a few days for them to read it, they would send a message to their division that handled those things, and they would take a couple days to get to it. And all these departments only work on weekdays, so there usually happened to be a weekend or two mixed in where nothing got done. And all that is if one of the emails didn't fall through the cracks at some point(some did and the process had to restart).

    All the tech could do was wait and check the vehicle every day or three to see if it could now communicate. Once it could, it was a 5 minute download to fix the problem, and the (very angry)customer could come back and get their vehicle. Toyota techs were not happy about the whole thing because they took the brunt of the customer's anger, and it was a situation where they couldn't do a thing to fix the vehicle on their own.

    All we can hope for is that Toyota learned their lesson and now parts like that can now be woken up by a service tech on their own, and the whole cell communications necessity be bypassed. Or that refusing all trials doesn't shut things down quite so permanently.
     
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  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I believe Traffic Jam Assist is also part of Drive Connect.
     
  4. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    Thanks. I'm so focused on the HEV Prius because that's what I'm getting, that I forget the options specific to the Prime.
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it all sounds like a nightmare
     
  6. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    I don't think any of it is worth a monthly subscription. Some might say Safety Connect but you get it for ten years anyway. A recent IPhone has the same thing (auto call) built in and you can get a better network than AT&T in many areas. Plus the IPhone can send for help via satellite if cell services are not available, although this feature requires the user to aim the phone following prompts.
     

    Attached Files:

    #6 rjparker, May 7, 2023
    Last edited: May 7, 2023
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  7. PhoS

    PhoS Active Member

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    Personally I cant stand Android auto so it will be hard for me to give up the Navigation..

    Does opting out of the tracking basically blacklist you from all of the services period?
     
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    The HEV doesn’t have Traffic Jam Assist?
     
  9. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    Nope. Only the Primes have it. I don't remember which thread it was, but there was a conversation on here recently about where the camera was that monitored your eyes for TJA. I posted shots of the steering wheels in the HEV and Prime that showed the differences(Primes have the IR cameras just above the steering wheels, HEVs don't).
     
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  10. thnok

    thnok Member

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    Isn’t one of the xxx Connects also linked to the digital key as well? That means after a year of free trial, we need to maintain that subscription in order to keep access to the digital key feature?
     
  11. aforkosh

    aforkosh Active Member

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    My take:

    Remote Connect -- It's required for the connection via the Toyota smartphone app. This includes the digital key and remote information as to the state of the car. I will almost certainly keep this subscription after the free period expires.

    Service and Safety Connect -- The free subscription is for 10 years. Check back with me in 9 years to see if I find it useful to continue.

    WiFi Connect -- Costly. Needed to set up a hotspot and for direct access to Amazon Music and Apple Music. I see no need for the hotspot connection and, I can access my subscription to the Music app via the phone and control it via the Carplay connection. As my cell phone plan is an unlimited one for AT&T, the only possible gain for me is the hotspot connection with no data limit. It might be worth a buck or two, but certainly not $20-$25/month.

    Drive Connect -- direct connection to Google Maps and, supposedly to personal navigation from a live human. Provisionally, I see no need for this. Google Maps and other navigation apps are available through Apple Carplay and Android Auto. UInless it downloads a regional Google map so that it works in areas of no cell phone coverage from your provider, it provides only marginally more service than working through the phone. Since I have a year before paying, at some point I'll check it out, but I'm guessing I will not pay for it after the free period.
    Note: if you think ahead and have adequete storage on your phone, you can download Google maps to cover the areas you drive through with no cell coverage.

    So, after 1 year, I think I will only be paying for Remote Connect.[/QUOTE]
     
    #11 aforkosh, May 8, 2023
    Last edited: May 8, 2023
  12. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    The ability to use your phone rather than a fob is not worth a monthly fee in my opinion. If you were renting the car on Turo maybe it would be a worthwhile expense if you did not want to give your fob to the customer.
     
  13. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    I just renewed the Safety Connect on my 2022 Venza after the one year trial (kinda POed that starting with the 2023 Venza, Safety Connect has a 10 year trial.) None of the other "services" are worth it IMO. Apple CarPlay navigation is much better than Toyota's.
     
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  14. thnok

    thnok Member

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    tbh for me it's worth it. I share the car with my partner and it's such a breeze to not worry about the keys. It would have been great if I didn't have to pay for it since Digital Key (adding the feature) was already not free but oh well better than nothing. I actually specifically looked for an XLE or Limited with digital key for this exact purpose. I know Tesla does this for free, but still have to work with what I've got.
     
  15. Corellon

    Corellon Junior Member

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    Digital Key was not free to add? That's interested as I just took possession of my Prius a couple weeks ago and have been using the digital key, particularly since the car only comes with one key due to shortages (2nd is supposed to be mailed to me in 6-8 weeks) and it's let me leave the physical key with my wife.

    Didn't have to pay anything extra to use the digital key, though I do find the fact that i have to keep reopening the app for it to be recognized to work is a bit of a hassle, that and that I can't lock from the outside as it continues to insist the key is still inside the car, I have to lock the car from the app or using the trunk button.
     
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  16. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    You get a free trial.
     
  17. Hammersmith

    Hammersmith Senior Member

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    Did you get a Limited? Digital Key is not available on the LE, an option on the XLE, and standard on the Limited.

    Beyond the ability, there's also the Remote Connect subscription that's needed. Free one-year trial for all trim levels.
     
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  18. CruisnGrrl

    CruisnGrrl Member

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    Interesting, I can lock the doors from the side handles but I can not lock the doors from the hatch when it's open with the "close hatch and lock" button (Prime XSE Premium)
     
  19. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Active Member

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    I know I am never subscribing to anything. My navigation is always working, 2020 Prime. My Volt had an easy to get to screen for tire pressure, don’t have it on the Prime. Don’t know about the 2023. Maybe I do have it but the owners manual is time consuming. The Volt cluster was always easy to read in any situation. But then there is the efficiency and visibility. The Volt had not good visibility and was the main reason I traded it in. Lower efficiency on gas and electric I could accept.
    So I carry a tire pressure gauge and go around all four tires like the old days. The Volt was nice as could see rise and fall of pressure during driving.
    On the first 2020 I bought new I could get tire pressure in the app. In this new to me 2020 I don’t seem to be able to see anything but the car is added in the app.
     
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  20. Ronnie5

    Ronnie5 Member

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    You can display the tire pressure on the multi-information display.
     
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