With the current throw away culture we live in, it's probably impossible to find anyone in official channels other than the designers of these systems that have any idea of the details. When stuff breaks, a code is spit out directed to a black box or wiring harness and it's blindly replaced.

You could do some diagnosing yourself, voltage monitor and record of the battery so that you have some proof.

With the hotspot, again do some self diagnosis and experimentation to see if it's the cell signal or actually something with CarPlay, but those convenience systems are not going to be very high on their fix list and will likely blame it on Apple.

 

Soooo..... Has anyone had any success reaching anyone at Toyota that can field detailed technical questions.

No. I asked the question of which is more accurate, the dial or the digital speedometer. To answer, one would need to know how the measurement was made and the signal path taken to the two indicators. Apparently my question wasn't forwarded to someone with the answer, either.

 

Unfortunately, as a retired engineer (last six years in automotive) I do understand how corporations are structured and how totally insulated the designers / engineers are from the customers. After all, they are not there to provide customer support. But what baffles me is the near total lack of any effective path back to those people when something does not seem to be behaving sensibly. I suspect all they have available are dealer service metrics. And if they have any sort of fault description, it is the service writer's paraphrasing of the issue, not direct input from the customer.

In the case of the battery, I do have detailed observations (and provided them to the dealer). The reason the vehicle (prematurely?) declares "low battery" is because the battery voltage IS low. And that is because the charging system (at least in my vehicle) does NOT keep the battery fully charged. Far from it. The observed battery voltage with the engine running can be anywhere between 12.2V and 14.2V. I see it occasionally do a saturation charge (hold at 14.2V) and sometimes it floats at about 13.6V. But it most often ranges between 12.2V and 12.6V. The problem of course is that if you shut down when the voltage is (for example) reading 12.2V, the battery is only about 50% charged. Turn on in accessory mode to listen to the radio and you only get a couple minutes before the vehicle declares "low battery". It is my belief that this charging algorithm is by design, but it seems to be impossible to get any sort of confirmation from Toyota so I have to consider the possibility that something MIGHT be wrong. Note that the battery checks out with a computerized CCA tester, so I THINK it is OK and the issue is with the design of the charging system.

Ditto for the CarPlay and hotspot functions. I have diagnosed and tested until I am blue in the face but in the end, I have no way to reach an actual conclusion because no one can explain how each piece of the puzzle interacts. It works perfectly.... until it doesn't. After several interactions with Customer Care, she let slip that they had reports of CarPlay issues and might be working on a fix. If she had told me that up front, I would have retreated back to my corner and waited. But I am still mystified how they can get ANY field information if the customer is so cut off from the process.

Sorry.... I'm just grumpy about this situation. The primary reason I traded my lovely 2017 HL SE for the 2024 HL Platinum was to get the latest infotainment system. And look how that turned out

Paul

 

Unfortunately, as a retired engineer (last six years in automotive) I do understand how corporations are structured and how totally insulated the designers / engineers are from the customers. After all, they are not there to provide customer support. But what baffles me is the near total lack of any effective path back to those people when something does not seem to be behaving sensibly. I suspect all they have available are dealer service metrics. And if they have any sort of fault description, it is the service writer's paraphrasing of the issue, not direct input from the customer.

In the case of the battery, I do have detailed observations (and provided them to the dealer). The reason the vehicle (prematurely?) declares "low battery" is because the battery voltage IS low. And that is because the charging system (at least in my vehicle) does NOT keep the battery fully charged. Far from it. The observed battery voltage with the engine running can be anywhere between 12.2V and 14.2V. I see it occasionally do a saturation charge (hold at 14.2V) and sometimes it floats at about 13.6V. But it most often ranges between 12.2V and 12.6V. The problem of course is that if you shut down when the voltage is (for example) reading 12.2V, the battery is only about 50% charged. Turn on in accessory mode to listen to the radio and you only get a couple minutes before the vehicle declares "low battery". It is my belief that this charging algorithm is by design, but it seems to be impossible to get any sort of confirmation from Toyota so I have to consider the possibility that something MIGHT be wrong. Note that the battery checks out with a computerized CCA tester, so I THINK it is OK and the issue is with the design of the charging system.

Ditto for the CarPlay and hotspot functions. I have diagnosed and tested until I am blue in the face but in the end, I have no way to reach an actual conclusion because no one can explain how each piece of the puzzle interacts. It works perfectly.... until it doesn't. After several interactions with Customer Care, she let slip that they had reports of CarPlay issues and might be working on a fix. If she had told me that up front, I would have retreated back to my corner and waited. But I am still mystified how they can get ANY field information if the customer is so cut off from the process.

Sorry.... I'm just grumpy about this situation. The primary reason I traded my lovely 2017 HL SE for the 2024 HL Platinum was to get the latest infotainment system. And look how that turned out

Paul

I hear you. I retired from the semiconductor industry covering reliability and software developement and over 40 yrs saw a lot just go to complete crap. I also heavily modified a 2006 Acura TL and the information available from the factory was great but MUCH less complicated. Now it's all about selling and that's it. With technological advances comes complexity which are great, but they just don't do the same amount of development processes that was done in the past and only address bugs that totally break something. Look at the bumper issue, they can't even decide what to do after how long?

 

You can access technical information at

https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/appmanager/t3/ti?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ti_home_page&goto=https%3A%2F%2Ftechinfo.toyota.com%3A443%2Fagent%2Fcustom-login-response%3Fstate%3DR6l-CdYaMmGeilleBa4PG5nUW30&original_request_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechinfo.toyota.com%3A443%2FtechInfoPortal

It's the same information that is available to dealers or independent shops. Just have to pay the subscription. There is no free lunch.

 

...... apparently does not exist. There are several portions of my new 2024 Highlander Platinum that are complex enough that I need help to figure out if what I am seeing is a defect, a design error or simply "normal". And I am getting exactly nowhere.

I have questions about why the vehicle will sometimes declare "low battery" in accessory mode after as little as two minutes. I also have several issues with the reliability of a wired CarPlay connection as well as streaming audio dropouts using the ATT hotspot. These questions are more detailed than what the dealer can answer, so I turned to Toyota Care. And even after I pressed the issue, they simply referred me back to the dealer. Who can't answer my questions. Wash, rinse and repeat......

This is the most complex vehicle I have ever owned and as such, is the first vehicle that has exhibited behavior that is not covered in the manual. You would think there would be SOME path to SOMEONE with detailed system information.

Soooo..... Has anyone had any success reaching anyone at Toyota that can field detailed technical questions. Or even answer the simple question "is this normal or not"?

Paul

If I were you, I'd go back and talk with the salesperson that sold you your Highlander. They should have taken the time to walk through pretty much all of the features- especially in terms of infotainment / Carplay.

In terms of the "low battery" message when in accessory mode, it's never a good idea to leave your car in accessory mode for more than a few minutes. With the Platinum trim, there are tons of things that are drawing power while in accessory mode which could drain the battery. Heated/ventilated seats, HVAC, infotainment, digital instrument cluster, digital rearview mirror, lights, and all the computer systems that run all of that stuff.

Toyota has a customer service line- but they don't have anyone that can answer technical questions over the phone- that's what your dealer is for. If your dealer is playing dumb and claims not to know how your Highlander is supposed to work- that's a clear sign that you need a new dealership.

Good luck.

 

When you find out, please post back up with how to enable non dedicated battery mode.

 

Wired car play drove me nuts until I figured out the connection inconsistencies was cause by my cable. Make sure you have a good quality cable.

If you can not get an answer from your dealer, ask them to bring in the zone rep so you can talk to them. This may help you get more attention.

If your voltage remains constant, I would be concerned about overcharging the battery. However the low battery light should not come on in minutes unless possibly the ignition is on. It did once on my 2022 after I had the radio only on for about a half hour.

Good luck.

 

If your voltage remains constant, I would be concerned about overcharging the battery.

No. Before smart charging and auto stop/start cars, charging systems put out a steady 14.2 volts from most makes of car. Also, if you have an AGM, they require over 14V to keep properly charged. With the Toyota fluctuating smart charging, an AGM will steadily lose its charge and will require an external battery charger.

 

Let me clarify a couple things.....

1. On my 2017 HL SE, changing the setting to "non-dedicated battery" definitely DID change the charge profile from smart to something approximating constantly fully charged. I had replaced the EFB with a conventional lead acid battery several years back and since I did not have a voltmeter, I was blissfully unaware that the battery was not being fully charged. If I understand EFBs correctly, this was because the ECM was not performing a saturation charge because EFBs supposedly don't require one. As a result, the battery was chronically undercharged for a couple years. I only discovered this when I noticed that my compressor refrigerator (draws about 2A at about a 50% duty cycle) was reporting the battery was often as low as 11.5V after consuming as little as 5AH. This caused me to do some research into lead acid and EFB charge profiles and that was when I found the "non-dedicated battery" setting and changed it. By then, I had installed a cigarette lighter voltmeter and could monitor the voltage. After changing the setting, it stayed at something like 13.6 (don't recall exactly) and did not drop below that for a couple weeks until I traded that vehicle in on my current 2024 HL Platinum. Start-stop was totally unaffected as far as I could determine. I brake gently and rarely trigger start-stop but when I intentionally triggered it, it worked normally with no error messages. And yes, I changed "non-dedicated" back to "dedicated" before I traded it.

2. An EFB is not necessarily more "powerful" than a conventional lead acid. The one in my 2024 is something like 70AH and rated at maybe 770CCA. That's pretty standeard for a battery that physical size. But it can be discharged deeper as well as accept a charge faster and (apparently) does not require a saturation charge to become fully charged. The rest of the "smart" charge routine (fluctuating voltages) is I believe Toyota trying to minimize the charge power and improve fuel economy.... how much is an open question. But the unwanted side effect as far as I can determine is that it can leave the battery chronically under charged depending on where in the cycle you are when you shut down.

3. Applying a constant voltage to a battery is not a bad thing in and of itself, provided it is an appropriate voltage. Don't forget that is how ALL cars charged their batteries for close to 100 years

4. My CarPlay issues are not related to the cable in use. It is brand new and I have tried several. And a side note.... I actually have MORE issues when I switch from my iPhone SE (1st gen) to an iPhone 13 (pro or mini).

Paul

 

Hey Paul look into this... I got from and friend, it might help you?

Apparently, I'm told, this is on all vehicles. You'll need to demand them to remove it if you dont want it or remove it yourself. Possible point where it's low-draining your batt...

Hope this helps!

 

Just like this guy describes, the DLC3 (OBD) connector in my Highlander pops out when ever I try to plug into it. I don't have any battery drain issues that I know of as the car doesn't sit for long periods of time.

 

Well, well.....look what I found tucked into the kick panel of the Highlander. However, I'm not having a battery drain issue. What promted me to look closer was that my connector would pop out just as the connector described in the video. The black vs. (OEM white) color of the connector was a tip-off as well.

 

So, exactly what is this and is it a Toyota Factory installed item?

 

If others that are familiar with this, please chime in...

If you've watched the posted vid. and read the posted comments, apparently, dealers install a gps tracking device on all their vehicles (Lo-Jack or similar equivalent), even to those that flat-out paid cash to buyout the vehicle. However, not all dealers remove them unless you demand them to do so.

Reasons varies from folks leasing/financing their vehicles and started missing payments, leading to repo. GPS assists with recoveries (makes sense in my opinion - from a business standpoint) or theft recovery. Others are for dealers to get a discounted rate for their insurance, if devices were installed... Then there's issue with low-voltage slow-draining your starter battery, as it's on 24/7.

My other opinion is if you've outright purchased your vehicle, dealers should have this removed ; unless buyer opted to have tracking device installed as part of their security package. So basically, these devices are causing issues with tuning softwares for those folks that modify their vehicles.

 

There's a model number attached to the device. Internet search reveals that this is a smart phone interface. It does have vehicle tracking but some of the documentation regarding features is inconsistent.

 

I question whether this device is installed in ALL new vehicles.... by whom? The dealer? As the OP of this thread and since I have considered the possibility of excessive parasitic drain, I checked my new 2024 Highlander Platinum (purchased outright for cash) and as far as I can tell the ODB2 connector is factory original and I see no additional module or wiring attached. The wiring looks factory, and is dressed and wrapped same as all the rest of the under dash wiring.

And just to clarify, the battery charging issue I am describing does not look like parasitic drain. The voltage does not drop much over time. The other day I shut down and measured the battery several hours later and found it at 12.01V. The next morning it was still at 12.01V. The issue is that the charging system leaves the battery at a low state of charge at vehicle shut down.

FWIW, I seem to have discovered that if I simply turn the headlights on manually, the charge behavior seems to change to constant charge. Now to determine how much that will impact the lifetime of the LEDs....... lets see...... at an average of 30MPH, that is ~3300 hours to go 100,000 miles. LEDs are rated for 20,000 to 50,000 hours.....

Paul

 

After reading about this device, I had my doubts about this being the source of parasitic draw.

I believe this device is needed for Toyota Connect functions. Since not all Toyota's have this feature it's probably installed downstream from the factory. Like everything Toyota, it's not clear if this is a stand-alone device or if it has been integrated in later years.

My 2021 has this sticker on the door jamb; the same sticker is on the device. It's an easy tell of its presence.

 

I believe this device is needed for Toyota Connect functions.

We had full Toyota Connect functionality on our 2021 for the first X months of ownership and we never had a device like that installed in our vehicle. That's all run through factory hardware (DCM etc). As a rule of thumb, nothing implemented by way of the OBD port is OEM. There may be edge cases with some manufacturers but I really think everyone here saying "that's aftermarket" are right.

 

The label is for a Shark VS-4LU

MyCar Smartphone Control Interface

MyCar connects you by providing an entirely new level of 2-way interaction with your vehicle. The easy-to-use MyCar app interface gives you control to remote start, lock, unlock and locate your vehicle from anywhere just by pushing a button on your smartphone.

sharkelectronics.ca

Not sure how yours got there but I seriously doubt that one is present in all Toyotas.

Paul

 

When I bought my used 2020 HyHy, the dealer tried really hard to sell me on something similar. Not a Lojack, but the same sort of thing. It was already installed. He told me all their cars had them because they had lost too many off the lot.

The best of my recollection he said he'd turn it off (after the second or third time I refused to pay for it). But I don't know if he said he's uninstall it. Guess I'll have to take my dash apart and look.

 

This popped-up in my feed... Follow-up to previously posted video... Interesting to watch... Be sure to read it's comments too!

 

And the actual FACTS boil down to..... what? Some unknown number of people find that someone has installed a GPS tracker and that not every vehicle has it (mine does not). ALL the rest is mere speculation / conspiracy theories.

This sure drifted away from the original subject "tech support" didn't it

Paul