Venza Complaints

33597 Views 166 Replies 46 Participants Last post by chinna, 2 mo ago

Daniel F

Discussion Starter · Jul 27, 2021

Hey there, I just got a Venza, and here are a few of my complaints on the car. Before I get started, I do love the car, probably my favorite car I have ever owned, but here are just some small things I noticed that annoy me.

1. No heated rear seats. It is not available on the Venza, but it is on the rav4, a less luxurious car.

2. No windshield wiper de-icer available in the US. Not sure why Toyota did this, again this is available on the Rav4, but not on the Venza for US models, it is standard on Canadian cars.

3. Only Safety Sense 2.0, not 2.5/2.5+. This is super surprising to me, for a car that was redesigned for the 2021 model year, with ss 2.5+ already being offered on the Highlander and Camry, it is just dumb to me that the Venza, the most advanced Toyota on the market right now, doesn't have it.

4. The star-gaze moon roof dims every time you turn the car off, but stays dim when you turn the car on even if you had it on before you turned it off. Kind of stupid design, I don't want to click the button every time I get in the car.

5. The extra control panel always stays on screen, and there is no way to minimize it. This is such an easy fix with a software update, I really hope this post can bring attention to this, I don't need to have that screen there if I am not using it, and I want to use the full 12.3 inch touch screen with things like my apple maps so I can have a bigger view.

6. This is not a necessity, kind of my gripe with all cars that have wireless charging pads, but I wish that there was wireless apple carplay. I don't see the point for a wireless charger if you have to plug in the phone for apple car play. I understand that some people don't use apple carplay or android auto, but for those of us that do, it kind of kills the point for a wireless charger.

Other small note, I wish that toyota put the self parking that is found on the prius in this car too, would have been the icing on the cake.

Let me know what you guys think about what I said, and let me know if I may have missed anything. Like I said, I love this car, I rate it a 9.2/10, If these things were fixed, It would be a 10.

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tim.s

· #15 · Aug 1, 2021

Ahooooooga said:
Comparing my new 2021 Venza to my "old-tech" 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid:
...
6. Seat doesn't keep preset values
...

Probably need to get your driver seat reset (or it wasn't completed before delivery). Instructions are in another thread if you want to do it yourself.

The driver seat should return to positions for "driver 1" or "driver 2" (whichever was selected last).

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tim.s

· #51 · Sep 3, 2021

cb91710 said:
The XM subscription that we have has a "rollback" feature... ever notice when you turn it on it's always right at the beginning of the song?
So it would make sense that the "mute" would be a "pause" for that or playing an MP3.
But on AM and FM radio here in LA, it's purely a mute, so I can skip the KARS-4-KIDS jingle and political ads.

If you have the 12" display, "Radio Replay" also lets pause AM/FM radio in addition to SXM. Better yet, the stations that you choose as your presets automatically start caching when you start the vehicle, so you can have up to 20min waiting on each preset.

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tim.s

· #80 · Oct 16, 2021 (Edited)

cb91710 said:
You are aware that the LTA only operates when the cruise control is engaged, right?
LDA is active at all times, but it only provides a gentle "nudge" and will not keep you in the lane.

@gpsman
Right and we can also have LTA operating (with cruise engaged), but have Lane Centering turned off. In this case, LTA will keep you in the lane, but not in the center and the amount of correction depends on how you've set the LTA sensitivity settings.

For daily commutes, I have Lane Centering turned off and LTA and LDA sensitivity set low it only corrects when I get real close to a lane marker. Commuting traffic and frequent construction zones (remarked lanes) often makes hugging a lane marker necessary.

The same vehicle can seem to have "weak" response to LTA or very "rigid" response depending on how you've adjusted the settings.

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tim.s

· #98 · Dec 3, 2021

cb91710 said:
...
Rear windshield wiper won't lift (had some freezing rain the other day and I couldn't get it to stay up at all)
At the pivot, there is a small cover. Grip the sides just past the pivot and snap it upward. That will allow you to lift the wiper (by design, for changing the blade). I don't know if this allows it to be driven with the blade up however.

Thanks for pointing this out! I haven't had to deal with ice, but I'm always having trouble cleaning the rear window during fill-up.

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tim.s

· #102 · Dec 7, 2021

...what @cb91710 suggested:

Automotive tail & brake light Automotive lighting Car Hood Vehicle

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tim.s

· #109 · Dec 9, 2021

Harrier2021 said:
Where is the recirculation control on the touch control panel? I use that a lot to avoid noxious exhaust fumes from vehicles in front of me. I don't see it on the XLE/Limited touch panel. While having to use the touch panel would be bad enough (compared to the simple button on the LE), it would be even worse if you have to go into the infotainment menus to find it. 😳 If so, it would be a total deal breaker for me.

Could an XLE or Limited owner please explain how the recirc works?

Bottom right corner of the climate control touch screen - little picture of a car with a circular arrow..

To make sure it is on RECIRC all the time, press the recirc button to make "auto" disappear leaving just the blue line under the button. BTW, if you press it again and the blue line goes away, then you've disabled RECIRC and you are getting air directly from outside.

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tim.s

· #138 · Feb 26, 2022

cb91710 said:
Not on mine, at least not on AM/FM.
Maybe a "feature" of the Limited with Premium Audio? Both of ours are Audio Plus.

I think "Radio replay" auto-pause is included on the 8" and 12" systems, but you DO have to enable it in the radio options. Go to Radio >> Options >> Auto Pause (set to "ON").

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AM/FM/XM are cached automatically when interrupted or if you manually Pause the channel.

And if you have SirusXM, you can set up to 20 channels as "Smart Favorites" and they are cached automatically when you start the vehicle. This means you have up to 30 (?) minutes of programming on each Smart Favorite channel that you can FF and RW. Of course the cached channels reset to zero when you turn off or restart the vehicle, but it's handy if you have a long drive.

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