Why doesn't Toyota allow Package Upgrades?

It isn't as simple as adding to a home PC for example:

1) Automobile environments are harsh from a vibration perspective
2) Cabling is difficult or impossible to add after the fact
3) Auto manufacturing is, believe it or not, a fairly low margin endeavor. Designing for small segments of the market is not profitable.
4) Many systems have to be certified by various government bodies. Toyota would have to prove that changes do not negatively affect those systems.

 

If the cabling were in place, and the options were plug in modules like those on a home computer, then upgrades would be practical. With the Prius, most of these features are built into the MFD, so you end up swapping out the entire MFD, plus installing related cables and parts. It's not a simple job. It would be possible to design and build with upgrades in mind, but then people like you would have paid more for your base models. Ultimately it comes down to a marketing decision of price verses features, and what the customer will perceive as value.

Tom

 

The GPS also involves an extra unit under the driver's seat that would have to be installed and cabled, along with the GPS antenna under the dash. It's not just a software upgrade.

 

Hi Victorria. Look at this as an opportunity to trade in your 2004 for a new, improved 2008. With the Fed cutting rates, I expect you might even get a lower monthly payment. While basically the same, the newer model has accumulated many small improvements.

I noticed today that the 2008 has a sticker on the bottom of the hatch door showing a hand grabbing the pull-down. The pull-down pocket has always been there, but now people can find it and know what it's for. I told my wife, who drives the 2005, about the sticker, then had to show her the pull-down, she had been using the metal latch hook and never knew the pocket was there.