Disclaimer up front. I've been a big fan of Toyota products for a long time. My son currently drives a Camry. That said, here's the deal.

A friend of mine asked me to help him buy a new vehicle for his wife by brokering the deal for him. I've done this for friends and family for a number of years to try and make the buying process a bit less stressful for people who really hate the buying process, and to make sure they don't leave anything on the table in the process. Since they had already picked out the exact vehicle at a local dealership, I said sure. Long story short, I got him a very good deal on the 2019 Lexus LX 570 his wife picked out and the completion of the sale process for them was virtually painless. That's not the point of this post. What is the point is that the LX 570 they bought stickered at ~$86k (they paid less) and did not include Apple Carplay, Android Audio, or even a touch screen infotainment system. I simply couldn't believe it! Carplay and Android Audio have become virtual staples of new cars in recent years, and for $80k, there's simply no excuse they are not included in the LX 570. Upon further review, they're also missing from a whole bunch of Toyota models. Consider, another friend recently bought his daughter a Kia Rio for college (think he gave like $14.5k out the door for it) and it included Apple Carplay, Android Audio, and a touch screen for the infotainment unit.

I don't know why Toyota has missed this boat so badly when it comes to these two integration systems, but there simply is no excuse, especially in a $80k+ luxury vehicle.

Toyota/Lexus is also the only car company I'm aware of whose remote start turns the car off when you open the door, and it's been that way for years.

That's less than ideal when it is 100 degrees and you have two little kids to put in car seats and a stroller to put away.

That's one of the gripes the 4Runner community has had for a while. Toyota will be adding CarPlay and Android Audio to more and more models beginning MY2020.

From what I understand, Toyota thought they could do infotainment better than Apple/Android and found that folks were passing Toyota over in favor of other manufacturers, especially since most folks don't keep their vehicles as long as they once did.

Sounds like they wanted people to use their proprietary in car system, bad idea!

For the most part, the Great Recession hit Japan harder than us, so for the most part, Toyota/Lexus has literally been selling the same cars for 10 years with maybe a bumper change. They're only now starting to come out with completely new models like the new Camry/Avalon.

On the plus side, they've had plenty of time to get rid of all the bugs in their cars!!

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
That's one of the gripes the 4Runner community has had for a while. Toyota will be adding CarPlay and Android Audio to more and more models beginning MY2020.

From what I understand, Toyota thought they could do infotainment better than Apple/Android and found that folks were passing Toyota over in favor of other manufacturers, especially since most folks don't keep their vehicles as long as they once did.

My wife and I were car shopping last month to finally get her her own car. We were very interested in the 4Runners. After stopping by the dealership, test driving, and yadda yadda, my wife was completely turned off. For the price, it just didn't give you much. We ended up at the Chevy dealership where we eventually drove home in a very low miles 2016 Tahoe. Wife loves it, and actually so do I (because now the Jeep Rubi' is finally all mine. Yes!).

When deciding to go Toyota just wait until you realize the surprise you have when changing the oil. But I guess its your pals problem now. My wife’s got a 2012 V6 Highlander and its a pain in the dick to change the oil and filter. First a belly pan, then some stupid assed canister gets drained then removed, then the all paper element gets removed from there. It all goes back together with a couple of replicable o rings. Plenty of oil getting everywhere. At least synthetics keep me to a change interval of about 10k.
Ive looked into a spark plug swap, hurray, the intake manifold has to come off to get the rear bank of cylinders.
Ill never buy a new car without checking the maintenance requirements.
Very nice of you to hook your buddy up btw.

The electronic upgrades were the main selling point in staying with Honda when we traded my wife’s 2013 Pilot for a 2019 earlier this year. The 4Runner didn’t have an option for push button or key fob lift gate opening/closing either.

Michael

It's like I'm having deja vu:

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Anyone figure out a way to get Car play to work on your toyotas?

Not specifically a 'Car Play' issue, but my son's stock Toyota radio would not play nice with his new iPhone, so it went bye-bye.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
We've had a lot of threads out here bashing one auto manufacturer or another over what we perceive to be stupid decisions or them not listening to their customers (yes I participated in that bashing). How about we try something a bit different?

<snip>

***One gripe. Although it will be supporting Apple Carplay, it won't be supporting Android Auto. Come on Toyota, the whole world doesn't carry Apple phones.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
Oh, and please tell me Toyota has finally pulled their head out of their *** and added Apple Carplay 'and' Android Auto to the infotainment system. I still can't believe in 2019 the long list of Toyota's that still don't have both options available when Kia and Hyundai are turning out $15-$17k base model econoboxes that include both as a standard feature.

For the most part, the Japanese are to the Korean brands, what the American brands were to the Japanese brands when they finally found their footing in the early 90's.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Toyota/Lexus is also the only car company I'm aware of whose remote start turns the car off when you open the door, and it's been that way for years.

Mazda does this too.

And Volvo....

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
It's like I'm having deja vu:

Yeah I know. Problem is, Toyota builds great cars overall that a lot of people really like (me included for the most part). As such, I keep bumping into this one issue with the infotainment systems that Toyota won't make go away. Toyota does so many things right with their cars that it's really annoying (and shocking) when they blunder as badly as they have here in not adopting Apple Carplay and Android Audio across their entire model lines.

And for the record, the issue with the stereo in my son's Camry was not Carplay related, but rather, a well know flaw in the Bluetooth capabilities of the radios in those specific cars.

quote:

Originally posted by Killer:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Toyota/Lexus is also the only car company I'm aware of whose remote start turns the car off when you open the door, and it's been that way for years.

Mazda does this too.

What happens if you start the car with a door open?

I can see auto start turning off on door opening as a theft preventative. Otherwise, see a car running, smack a window, pop the lock, open the door, drive off.

My first hack would be auto start however far ahead to get to the desired temp, walk out to car, open door, hop in and restart, then do whatever else I need to do before leaving.

ETA: I wonder if the auto start shutoff on door opening is programmable? I was griping to a friend about how our then new ‘02 Sequoia would lock the doors when I took it out of park when it was running when my friend explained that while that is the default behavior you can program it differently. Auto lock on coming out of park, auto lock upon hitting a certain speed, don’t auto lock at all. While I may not have like the default setting, at least they gave me the option to change the setting.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:

quote:

Originally posted by Killer:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Toyota/Lexus is also the only car company I'm aware of whose remote start turns the car off when you open the door, and it's been that way for years.

Mazda does this too.

What happens if you start the car with a door open?

Do you mean starting remotely with the door open? If that's what you mean my answer is, I don't know, I've never tried.

My Subaru remote start turns the car off when you open the door.

The Toyota Supra has CarPlay only because it’s from BMW.

But now BMW plans on charging yearly for CarPlay!

quote:

Originally posted by Killer:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
Toyota/Lexus is also the only car company I'm aware of whose remote start turns the car off when you open the door, and it's been that way for years.

Mazda does this too.

I asked specifically about this issue at a Mazda dealership recently and they assured me their system didn't do it, but I didn't test it and didn't end up buying a Mazda.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
What happens if you start the car with a door open?

Every remote start system I have seen requires the doors to be closed and locked or it won't remote start.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
I can see auto start turning off on door opening as a theft preventative. Otherwise, see a car running, smack a window, pop the lock, open the door, drive off.

I've now had a GMC, a Lincoln, and a Subaru with remote start. The 2011 GMC had an old-style key, and when remote started, you'd have to put the key in the ignition before you could shift out of park. The Lincoln and Subaru are newer and have keyless entry keys. When remote started, neither one will shift out of park unless the keyfob is inside the car.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
My first hack would be auto start however far ahead to get to the desired temp, walk out to car, open door, hop in and restart, then do whatever else I need to do before leaving.

If you're by yourself, sure. If you have a couple of little kids that are too young to be loose in a parking lot and that need help getting in the car, it's inconvenient.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
ETA: I wonder if the auto start shutoff on door opening is programmable? I was griping to a friend about how our then new ‘02 Sequoia would lock the doors when I took it out of park when it was running when my friend explained that while that is the default behavior you can program it differently. Auto lock on coming out of park, auto lock upon hitting a certain speed, don’t auto lock at all. While I may not have like the default setting, at least they gave me the option to change the setting.

At least on the version my wife had on her Lexus, no. She complained and complained to the dealership and they couldn't do anything about it.

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
My Subaru remote start turns the car off when you open the door.

Subaru has a couple different remote start systems. I just bought a Subaru Ascent, and on it, the car stays running when you open the doors.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by Killer:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by maladat:
Toyota/Lexus is also the only car company I'm aware of whose remote start turns the car off when you open the door, and it's been that way for years.

Mazda does this too.

I asked specifically about this issue at a Mazda dealership recently and they assured me their system didn't do it, but I didn't test it and didn't end up buying a Mazda.



They might have changed it since I got mine, I have a 2016.

Doesn’t technology and the various apps change too quickly for something that needs to last 20 or more years? Seems like an expensive option with a very specific form factor that will be difficult to maintain long term.

Getting one fixed 15 years after you drive off the lot seems impractical for Toyota from a logistics standpoint.

But this is coming from an engineer who listens to AM radio in my truck.

quote:

Originally posted by Jimineer:
Doesn’t technology and the various apps change too quickly for something that needs to last 20 or more years? Seems like an expensive option with a very specific form factor that will be difficult to maintain long term.

Getting one fixed 15 years after you drive off the lot seems impractical for Toyota from a logistics standpoint.

But this is coming from an engineer who listens to AM radio in my truck.

That's one reason I don't want a complicated, expensive touch screen with maps and various applications in a vehicle. Separate, non-screen controls for stereo, climate controls, and everything else would be best.

The touch screen on my 2008 Lexus died just after I purchased it used. All climate control, stereo, and many vehicle settings are all controlled through that one screen. No warranty and Toyota wanted $3000 to fix it. Luckily, after lots of research on forums, ebay, and help of a local stereo shop I got it fixed for about $500.