Converting from Entune to Toyota App 2016 Prius

I own a very early Gen 4 2016 Prius. I had been using Entune 1.0 until it was finally turned off around May 15, 2022. I lost connection with iHeart and several other features tied to Entune. At the suggestion of the Toyota Contact Center 1-800-331-4331, I removed the Entune app from my iPhone 13 and replaced it with the current Toyota app. They also had me perform a 'remove all personal information' routine available through my Prius touch-screen. Problem: I can not initiate the Toyota app to make it work. I can get through several steps leading to entering my VIN. My vehicle ID enters correctly and does show on my iPhone correctly. I see a correct vehicle graphic on screen with the proper year and options. I try to 'add a vehicle' and a trouble prompt comes up saying that they do not recognize the VIN and to call the Contact Center. Fast forward: If you have this problem, you need to have someone at the Contact Center connect you with the Telematics Team. They deal with app problems. The Contact Center hands out 12 digit case reference numbers usually beginning with '220.' You need to get a 8 digit case number from the Telematics Group. Have a Group member check their Toyota app database. They may ask you to send a picture of your VIN info from the doorframe of your car as 'ownership verification.' My VIN was resident on the very old Entune 1.0 database which was never grandfathered into the newer Toyota app database. Unless your car appears in the Toyota app database as a legitimate VIN, they will not allow you to complete the installation of the Toyota app. YOU NEED TO GET YOUR VIN MOVED TO THE TOYOTA APP DATABASE. Unless Telematics can find someone to help you immediately, they will tell you that it will take 2 to 3 business days for someone in Telematics to call back for another try. I am two weeks in trying to have Toyota move my VIN but I still have no results. Great fun. Follow-up question: Does the current Toyota app work with older Prii that could only handshake with Entune 1.0? I know my 2016 will not handshake with Entune 3.0. Thanks for listening.

 

Follow-up: YES - after someone at Toyota removes your VIN info. from the Entune database and then re-enters the VIN info. into the Toyota app. database - you will be back in business. Your initialization onto the Toyota app. is a bit clunky. After you finally make it past the 'Add A Vehicle' step...You need to individually sign in with individual user and passwords to all of the services that are active on your account. In my case, it was iHeart, Slacker d.b.a. LiveXLive and Amazon Alexa. Bottom line: The quicker you get yourself to the Telematics group the better. BTW: There is no known direct number to Telematics. You need to stumble through the multiple step nonsense when calling 1-800-331-4331 every time. An eventual human being will greet you at the end of your patient pain. Keep calling incessantly (every day or two) and Toyota will eventually set you straight. It can be done!

 

Hello Jerry: My 2016 Prius is a very early Gen 4. The Entune/Toyota apps. used to offer much more than they do now. My only interest: I do a lot of long distance traveling and the iHeart feature allows me to listen to stations local to my home at a distance. I own a 2007 (95K miles), a 2009 (230K miles) and a 2016 (130K miles) and have not have had to swap a main battery yet. My 2016 is, by far, the best car I have ever driven. I can't wait until my three reaches the half-a-million mile mark!