Toyota safety sense

Partially. Probably more accurate to say that the car works very smoothly with Toyota Connect.

The car needs an internet connection to get a route. This can be through a home wifi connection before you leave home or if using Wireless CarPlay it will then use the cell phones data connection. You can also use bluetooth tethering but you don't get the iOS apps to display on the head unit. For example Waze on the head unit is much better than Waze on the iPhone.

The internet connection is not important to the built in navigation as you drive unless you need to reroute. I haven't tested this very thoroughly but based on my observations when driving this is the case. For example I park in a garage and Starlink does not work when it can not see the sky. For a couple of minutes before Starlink orients itself I have found I can not send a destination to the navigation nor can I use the voice assistant to search for a destination nor type in a destination with the onscreen keyboard.

In the case of losing the internet while driving (eg driving through a tunnel) I haven't seen the built in navigation stop functioning.

The head unit can also connect to a mobile wifi hotspot. The downside of connecting to a mobile wifi hotspot is that wireless Android and wireless Apple CarPlay use both bluetooth and Wifi at the same time and the car head unit can only have one wifi connection at a time. I keep my car connected to my Starlink Mini and used wired Apple CarPlay. This enables me to use the voice assistant, built in navigation, and Apple CarPlay.

 

So, it turns out that on my Gen 4 Prius Prime with the large multimedia headunit, the traffic info on navigation is most likely coming from the HD radio. You can apparently also receive it from Sirius XM, but I think that requires subscription to that particular service.

 

(Getting closer to getting the car now-maybe a week or two.)

Do you think it's possible to use the built-in navigation without ever signing up for Toyota Connect? I currently plan to deny the TC signup at delivery and use CarPlay. Could the built-in nav somehow use the phone's connection, rather than the car's?

 

From the Traffic Jam Assist needing the subscription in the US, it appears the connection is needed by the nav system to access map data.

 

no

Also, if you deny all services at delivery, you won't be able to use the keyfob to start the car. Might not be a big thing for you, but you should be aware.

 

I stopped at the dealership today to check out the LE that arrived last Friday, but it was already sold. They've got 5 more coming before the end of the year that fit what we need, so I'll keep trying when I'm up there. I may also create a thread in the main forum to ask existing LE and SE owners to see if they can answer the question.

 

I should be picking up a new LE in the next few days.
What was the question again?

 

We need an LE or SE that doesn't have the $35 option for "Front and Rear Parking Assist with Automatic Braking".

Then we need the owner to use the steering wheel buttons to go into settings and scroll through the different systems. We're looking to see(or not see) two different safety systems:
1. Parking Assist - a big P with radar beams pointed at a traffic cone
2. PKSB - a little car and traffic cone with a impact symbol between and above them

There are three different possibilities:
1. The car will have neither
2. The car will have Parking Assist but not PKSB
3. The car will have both

I think it will be #2, but others here think it will be #1 or #3.


Parking Assist is the system that gives you beeps when you get close to things at low speeds. It's also the system that tends to go nuts in car washes. It should also show you some image of the car with yellow or red indicators showing exactly where you're getting close to something. (My car has the 360 cameras, so I see a live picture of my car with the red/yellow warnings superimposed on it. Cars without Panoramic View Monitor will see something different.)

PKSB is the system that will automatically brake if you get close to something at low speeds(6mph or slower).

 

Not me then. I'm supposed to be getting the $35 option.

 

Here are some details that may help solve this mystery.

From TIS there are two different calibration areas based on which rear camera is installed. Here is a screenshot.



Second detail come from a translated screenshot from the Kinto Unlimited U grade Prius site where you can finance upgrades to your car with a monthly fee. One of the upgrade options is for parking support brake with pedestrian detection.



Just last week I was backing out of a space at the grocery store and maybe 15 to 20 feet from my car was some guy walking in the parking lot. Car hard braked and sounded the alarm. I can't recall this happening previously. It was dark and not very close to the rear of my car so I was kind of puzzled. Once I realized it was the pedestrian detection I waited for him to clear the field of view of the camera before I resumed backing up.

 

The guy didn't react to the noisemaker then?

 

No. Not at all. He was not startled like I was. I thought I had hit something till I looked at the screen. I don't think he even glanced at my car.

 

That's the Pedestrian Detection System. Parking Assist is a different system. I'm pretty certain Parking Assist uses the four ultrasonic sensors located in each bumper cover. The Pedestrian Detection System uses the front(where available) and rear cameras to detect people.


It's admittedly complicated to keep all this stuff straight. I think I've counted 23 or 24 separate exterior sensors on my LTD(cameras, ultrasonic, and radar). Some safety systems only use info from one type of sensor, other systems mesh data from multiple types of sensors.

 

If anyone is interested in checking out the site here it is プリウス U グレード対応ハードウェアアップグレード商品一覧 | 【KINTO】新車のサブスク | トヨタ・レクサス・SUBARU(スバル).

Here are some more screenshots from the site that I put through google translate because the browser does not alway translate all of the text.






And here is a screenshot with buttons to contact customer support if anyone is interested.

 

FYI, from what I understand, the Kinto Unlimited cars come with more complete wiring harnesses than regular lower trim cars. That means they can be more easily upgraded by just adding the appropriate sensor or component. It makes sense since they're effectively rental cars that Toyota actually maintains ownership of. The small investment of a better harness means things can be easily added to the car later to increase the rental price.

It's kind of like my situation with the front side sensors. Because of a late change by Toyota, the Limiteds with the Advanced Tech Package just happen to be wired for FCTA radar sensors even though they don't come with them. If not for the bug with TechStream, it would be super easy to physically add those sensors and get them working.

 

I am in the process of adding the digital rearview mirror. It powers on, I connected the wires to the CAN network and the auto dimming function works but still no video feed from either camera. I didn't purchase the SD card that goes with this particular digital rearview mirror because I thought any SD card should work but that hasn't been the case and I since ordered one and it is supposed to get to me soon. That should take of the "insert SD card" but I suspect one of the ECU needs to be updated. I am in the process of getting the VCX DolP J2534 from VXDiag. Supposed to come with a free version of Techstream and be able to connect to TIS via its ethernet jack.

For you case I wonder if you contacted the Kinto people if they could be of any help. Assuming they have someone that speaks english it looks like adding the TIS sensors in something they are pretty familiar with. Might be worth a shot. Open 15 hours per day.

 

I'll be following your efforts with VXDiag. The OBDC, TIS, whatever, landscape is quite confusing to me.