Toyota Currently Has No Plans to Support CarPlay or Android Auto in U.S.

[Yuniverse]

I had Toyota Camry and Tacoma years ago, which I loved. However, they have been losing my interest. After the brake fiasco, I was waiting for them to regain quality and trust of people. I've always test drove Toyota cars every time I bought a new car. However, none of the recent Toyotas impressed me much.
Their ads don't help their cause either - so cheesy and terrible.

Now I hear they won't support Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto? Another reason to avoid Toyota for foreseeable future.

 

[AppleScruff1]

And people wonder why Apple might be going down the route of making its own car...

I thought you said there was no way they'd be making cars?

----------

I certainly will not buy a Toyota for either of my next two cars.

And don't shop at CVS or Walmart since they don't accept Apple Pay.

 

[SoCalMike]

That's really too bad. I just purchased a 2015 Toyota within the last 30 days and the "in-house proprietary platforms" make Siri look like a flippin' Rock Star. The voice recognition system is the worst ever. E-V-E-R

Best of luck on that 'in house platform' concept. If that yahoo is driving the decision, he should start looking for a job now.

 

[Yuniverse]

So you would rather buy a car based on infotainment? What ever happened to drivability, reliability, safety and value? The goofy stereo and hvac controls are the last thing on my mind. I don't plan on using those features every 5 minutes during my route.

Those are more important points, as you say... It's just that Toyota has been lacking in those dept. lately, IMHO.

 

[TimelessOne]

When will car companies realize that they can't make this kind of stuff... The interfaces for these systems are all terrible. It doesn't matter what brand it is either: Honda, Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, etc. None of them make good "infotainment" systems. Clunky and difficult to use is an understatement. They make cars. They need to give up and let Apple and Google do the software...

the issue they also have to worry about is the fact that people will use their cars for 10+ years. They have little trust in either Apple or Google still working with cars after 2-3 years. They will not be backwards compatible. Apple more so that Google.

The property system they can generally update their apps that work on Apple and Android and still tie into their systems.

I can also see they do not rightfully trust Apple not to back stab them.

----------

Honestly, I've found their Bluetooth integration to be more than adequate for playing music. As long as I set things up before I start driving, there's no issue of having to fumble with my phone and whatnot. I, personally, care more about safety ratings and reliability, which Toyota has always excelled at. I'll deal with audio via Bluetooth if that's all I get.

bingo. It works and simple. The only thing that I wish they would change is I could display Google maps for car navigation onto that screen instead of the crappy systems that you can get in cars. There is a reason why I did not pay all that money for the upgrade.

 

[69Mustang]

Cars are more about the computers and operating systems than the powertrain these days. I like Toyota but their touchscreen and OS leave a lot to be desired. An Apple car is much more interesting to me than any other single carmaker right now. I've spent well over $100k on Apple phones, computers, tablets and services over the past 30 years so a $50k Apple car is no stretch for me.

What? Please tell me you're kidding. That's just... not the smartest thing I've heard lately. Also not sure how you managed to take my question about CarPlay and turn it into an something about an Apple car. You and I are talking about totally different things.

 

[TimelessOne]

The fact is that it doesn't matter how good the propriety Toyota UI is. Even if it was "better" than CarPlay it would still suffer from the insurmountable limitation that it is tied to the car. The brilliance of using your phone is that it is already in sync with you. It has your contacts, music services, emails, texts, apps etc already configured and up to date. Any car UI will be dated in a year and most users won't spend the time to configure all of the services I mentioned above on another system.
Phone integration is a requirement in my next car. I guess this just takes Toyota out as an option this year.

you know with the basic bluetooth connection it does things like your contacts.
On my car I can get to my phones contacts with the correct name over bluetooth. It even puts the picture I use for the contact up on the screen. All over the standard bluetooth connection.

 

[Gigatel]

Mind boggling that Toyota, after losing gobs of marketshare to to the likes of Hyundai and Kia, can forgo technology like this.

 

[CPx]

So much for moving forward.

 

[nealc5]

Prius vs new Chevy Volt

I WILL choose my next car by what kind of integration it has with my phone. Chevy said that the 2016 Volt will support CarPlay. So if I am now choosing between a Prius or a Volt, I'm getting the Volt. At least GM is smart enough to know to spend time on the software that runs the car's systems, and not spend money on the UI of the infotainment.

Some car companies are reluctant to give up the cash cow that is their infotainment options. Remember when DVD players cost an extra $1800? They make huge margins on those "built-in" systems. Why buy an internal GPS, when you could buy a Garmin for $100, or use your phone? Who are they kidding?

 

[AppleScruff1]

I WILL choose my next car by what kind of integration it has with my phone. Chevy said that the 2016 Volt will support CarPlay. So if I am now choosing between a Prius or a Volt, I'm getting the Volt. At least GM is smart enough to know to spend time on the software that runs the car's systems, and not spend money on the UI of the infotainment.

Some car companies are reluctant to give up the cash cow that is their infotainment options. Remember when DVD players cost an extra $1800? They make huge margins on those "built-in" systems. Why buy an internal GPS, when you could buy a Garmin for $100, or use your phone? Who are they kidding?

Exactly. Every business should give up their profits to Apple.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I certainly will not buy a Toyota for either of my next two cars.

Ah, but I wonder if they will do this for their Lexus, or Scion brands. It would be an interesting question to be answered.

I sold my Prius, and although I miss the mileage, I have a much more 'advanced' car that doesn't limit my audio choices.

<b>GET A CLUE TOYOTA!!!</b> Limit your customers choices for 'accessories', and you limit your market.

 

[err404]

you know with the basic bluetooth connection it does things like your contacts.
On my car I can get to my phones contacts with the correct name over bluetooth. It even puts the picture I use for the contact up on the screen. All over the standard bluetooth connection.

and my car shuffles all the names and numbers making it useless. Shrug. In any case that was just one of several points I mentioned. Why settle for a small fraction of your basic device data maybe working and needing to learn a second UI. Just let me use the phone UI since everything is already there. Get the auto manufacturer out of the way. They are historically terrible at it.
The car manufacturer UI brings literally nothing to the table that isn't done better by my phone. They are nothing but a barrier.

 

[Lazy]

I don't care. I never see myself buying a Toyota anyway. I'd die from boredom if I had to drive one.

 

[Dargoth]

I WILL choose my next car by what kind of integration it has with my phone. Chevy said that the 2016 Volt will support CarPlay. So if I am now choosing between a Prius or a Volt, I'm getting the Volt. At least GM is smart enough to know to spend time on the software that runs the car's systems, and not spend money on the UI of the infotainment.

Some car companies are reluctant to give up the cash cow that is their infotainment options. Remember when DVD players cost an extra $1800? They make huge margins on those "built-in" systems. Why buy an internal GPS, when you could buy a Garmin for $100, or use your phone? Who are they kidding?

Good luck with that. No really, good luck. You do realize that a car is an incredibly dangerous object, right? What would your shiny new CarPlay-integrated car do for you if it kills you? Why on earth would you place CarPlay over the reliability and safety of the vehicle? Are you mad?

 

[tresmith]

not surprised by their decision. One, Apple is going to become a competitor and two, they are pretty heavily invested in Entune/Enform platforms.

 

[Someyoungguy]

Fortunately, I've never had the urge to buy a car from that company.

Nor should you. My 2005 Tacoma was the last Toyota I will ever buy. Peeling alloy wheel paint, wet passenger floor, paint that chipped if you looked at it too hard, rusted out frame, $900 wheel bearing job at 60K miles.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

To be fair, which might be needed, I currently drive a Toyota FJ, and the radio has the changer, Sirius, and works with the iPod.

I was told that the Lightning equipped iDevices would definitely NOT work with the radio in the vehicle. I was dumbstruck. 'AGAIN!?!?!?!? was all I could think.

Ahhh...

But I hooked a cable to the USB port, and thought 'what the hell, let's give it a go', and it worked! It actually worked!

Now navigating an iDevice is a PITA, but it *does* work... Even though I was told repeatedly that it wouldn't.

But anyway...

I *have* gotten Siri to work with my Toyota radio, but not since the latest update. Voice Command worked, but I don't know why that doesn't work anymore. Is it still a part of iOS?

I have always found that the aftermarket has the BEST goodies for cool stuff. You want DVD in a car? Get aftermarket, and rock on. Navigation? 12 disc changer? HD Radio? There are some damned excellent head units, amps, speakers, etc, that will ROCK YOUR WORLD and make you deaf!

Don't be afraid to 'roll your won', IF you can. I have a friend with an older Lexus, and the answer to upgrading the head unit is an ear splitting NO! because of the helpful way they designed the dashboard.

 

[doelcm82]

I'm on my third Prius, but for a number of reasons my next car won't be one.

One reason is that I see so many Praises on the road. I'm kind of bored with it.

The biggest reason is that my family is growing. There's the two-year-old boy, another boy due in May, and one, two, or more due in October. A Prius can't hold two or three (or more) infants, a toddler, their mother, and me.

The car we are looking at is the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. I was waiting until the 2016 model came out, in hopes that it would have CarPlay. Toyota's announcement is very disappointing. It won't keep me from getting the Highlander, and I'll still wait for the 2016 model in case it has new features that I'd really like. Or maybe I'll get a better deal on the 2015 model.

In five or six years, if Apple is ready, perhaps I'll be in the market for their "minivan-like" vehicle.

 

[wigby]

So you would rather buy a car based on infotainment? What ever happened to drivability, reliability, safety and value? The goofy stereo and hvac controls are the last thing on my mind. I don't plan on using those features every 5 minutes during my route.

I think you're in the minority there. We buy PCs for the software they can run, not the speed at which they can run it. Cars are no different. I can honestly say I've never needed pickup in my Prius any faster than it already is but I use my iPhone and cupholders every single day.

And every car is the same in terms of basic performance when you compare hybrids to hybrids, EV to EV and combustion to combustion. Right now the only true differentiator will be does it support CaPlay or not?

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I WILL choose my next car by what kind of integration it has with my phone. Chevy said that the 2016 Volt will support CarPlay. So if I am now choosing between a Prius or a Volt, I'm getting the Volt. At least GM is smart enough to know to spend time on the software that runs the car's systems, and not spend money on the UI of the infotainment.

Some car companies are reluctant to give up the cash cow that is their infotainment options. Remember when DVD players cost an extra $1800? They make huge margins on those "built-in" systems. Why buy an internal GPS, when you could buy a Garmin for $100, or use your phone? Who are they kidding?

Check out the e-Golf, and the other hybrids from Volkswagen. I saw a show that had an e-Golf review, and it sounded impressive. That is a plug-in car, but they have a hybrid version, according to the review, and they seem to be impressive.

A friend of mine had a Volt. Gave it up because of 'irreconcilable differences' with the car. Can't get them to tell me why. I'd think of the Volt too, but...

 

[Old Muley]

The Entune system in my wife's 2014 Highlander hates my iPod classic. It barely tolerates my iPhone...

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Nor should you. My 2005 Tacoma was the last Toyota I will ever buy. Peeling alloy wheel paint, wet passenger floor, paint that chipped if you looked at it too hard, rusted out frame, $900 wheel bearing job at 60K miles.

As an aside, aren't Tacoma's US made? I had a MB that was made in Arkansas, and the seats fell apart, and the engine had to be replaced pre-35k miles. Damn...

Then, at 135,000 the transmission went *BOOM*!

 

[wigby]

Good luck with that. No really, good luck. You do realize that a car is an incredibly dangerous object, right? What would your shiny new CarPlay-integrated car do for you if it kills you? Why on earth would you place CarPlay over the reliability and safety of the vehicle? Are you mad?

So by your logic you drive a tank. It's safe and reliable and looks like a toaster on wheels. Choosing a car for CarPlay is no different than choosing a car for its styling and looks. Gave it, most cars are the same chassis with different colors. The only true differentiator for an average commuter is something like CarPlay.

 

[itguy06]

HUGE disappointment for those of us in the United States that are a fan of Toyota vehicles. While I'm not likely to get a new car for another 2-4 years, I sincerely hope they've changed their mind by then. If not, I might have to look to a different vehicle brand.

There's nothing special or great about Toyota (or Honda) vehicles. Bland and overrated.

----------

Good luck with that. No really, good luck. You do realize that a car is an incredibly dangerous object, right? What would your shiny new CarPlay-integrated car do for you if it kills you? Why on earth would you place CarPlay over the reliability and safety of the vehicle? Are you mad?

LOL. Any car for sale in the US meets certain safety criteria. So they will all do an adequate job of protecting you. As someone who grew up before wearing sealtbelts was the norm, before cars had a gazillion air bags, warned you about a million things, etc., the best way to avoid getting into an accident is be a better driver and pay attention. Do that and that vast majority of accidents vanish.

----------

So you would rather buy a car based on infotainment? What ever happened to drivability, reliability, safety and value? The goofy stereo and hvac controls are the last thing on my mind. I don't plan on using those features every 5 minutes during my route.

If you used all those criteria you'd not buy a Toyota. Mediocre cars but overrated.

Question: What brand in the USA has the #1 owner loyalty (i.e.: most return buyers)? Hint: It's not Toyota. Hint #2: It's not Honda.