Entunes problems

[eplantz]

Entunes would not initiate a charge last night (Aug. 16). I have tried several times from my phone but cannot get a charge started. No error messages.

Entunes WILL show current charge, miles left and NOW CHARGING (if I manually start a charge from the dash). So, it does talk to the car.

I just submitted a trouble ticket at Toyota online.

 

[miimura]

My charge notifications also show that the car initiated charging later in the morning instead of RavCharge which uses the Entune App protocol to tell the car when to start charging.

 

[bdunst]

I have been unable to remote initate a charge thru entune or ravcharge for several days

 

[tridub]

I also began having Entune problems this week, after no problems for the past couple of weeks (I just bought my RAV4 EV in July of 2016). Here's the sitch:

1. I can still RECEIVE updates from my RAV via Entune, such as the charge status whenever I plugged it in, or it finished charging, and the vehicle location.

2. However, I can no longer TRANSMIT anything to my RAV. That is, I can't ask it to tell me the charge status right now, or turn on the remote climate control, which is one of my favorite Entune features.

3. Entune is similarly screwed up on both of my mobile devices (an Apple iPhone 6 Plus and a Samsung Galaxy Note3), even though both were working fine a few days ago. (Is it OK to use Entune on multiple devices for the same RAV?)

4. I signed out of Entune and signed back in on both devices, to no avail.

5. I called Toyota at 800-331-4331, which was worse than useless. I got a ticket number, but I was astounded by how little the people I talked to knew about their own product(s). One lady claimed that Charge Management and Remote Climate worked over Bluetooth, and therefore only had a range of about 20 feet! I told her the actual range is more like 25,000 miles, because it uses the cell network, which is worldwide. (In hindsight, I guess I overstated the range a little, because the Earth is only 25,000 miles around, so the farthest you could realistically get away from your RAV and still be on the planet is more like 12,500 miles.) Another lady said that Safety Connect had nothing to do with Entune, and that there was no such thing as the remote-control functions that I (and you, dear readers) have been using regularly. Ugh! Anyway, this lady did verify that my Safety Connect subscription still seemed to be active, for whatever that's worth. The only reason I bought Safety Connect was to enable the Entune RAV4 EV remote control functions.

6. In order to verify that Safety Connect could actually do SOMETHING for me, I pushed the SOS button in the overhead console. Nothing happened until I turned on Bluetooth on my iPhone. Then I pushed SOS again and it called the Safety Connect voicemail system. I said it was not an emergency, then hung up. I don't know if this was a successful test of anything or not. I guess I was hoping that Safety Connect might be able to connect without using my phone, as it must do for the Entune remote functions, but maybe whatever cell connection it uses for the remote functions doesn't have enough bandwidth to support a voice call.

7. Toyota doesn't seem to know anything about this problem, or how Entune and a RAV4 EV even work, so I'm not optimistic that my ticket number will accomplish anything. Therefore, unless I can find some better ideas on this forum, I'm going to exercise the "nuclear option" and pull my 12-volt battery cable for a few minutes. Hopefully, that will reset everything.

Any ideas, fellow RAVers?

Thanks...

 

[eplantz]

7. Toyota doesn't seem to know anything about this problem, or how Entune and a RAV4 EV even work, so I'm not optimistic that my ticket number will accomplish anything. Therefore, unless I can find some better ideas on this forum, I'm going to exercise the "nuclear option" and pull my 12-volt battery cable for a few minutes. Hopefully, that will reset everything.
.

don't waste your time with the 12V battery. the problem is at the Toyota mothership and not your RAV4.

this happens about once a year and takes 1-2 weeks before it is fixed.

 

[miimura]

You're right. The people who answer the phones at Toyota don't know anything about the RAV4 EV. However, if you successfully opened a ticket, it will eventually get to the people who do know something.

Everyone who is having this problem should call and open a case. Only the volume of cases will convince them that the system is actually broken. Most likely, the network vendor just needs to reboot the right server.

 

[tridub]

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm glad(?) to know that this is a recurring problem for everyone, and is not likely due to anything wrong with my RAV. By the way, I just tried RavCharge for the first time, and it failed too. I don't know what that means, but perhaps someone does. RavCharge does look pretty cool...

 

[eplantz]

Thanks for the reassurance. I'm glad(?) to know that this is a recurring problem for everyone, and is not likely due to anything wrong with my RAV. By the way, I just tried RavCharge for the first time, and it failed too. I don't know what that means, but perhaps someone does. RavCharge does look pretty cool...

RAVCHARGE uses Entunes so you will see the same failure.

 

[nipulpatel]

I have had the same problem with my Entune app the last few weeks. I have been able to receive charge notifications once the car is finished charging. The app shows the accurate range; however, the remote climate does not work. It's frustrating as I live in Arizona and the remote climate is one of the reasons I extended the Safety Connect contract for two years. I did open a case with Entune customer support and the person I talked with seemed a bit knowledgeable, but told me many times that since I have the car outside of California, my options are limited to get anything under warranty fixed. :x
Anyway, I've owned the Rav4 for 2 months and I love it. Hopefully, Toyota will get this issue resolved and I can use my remote apps again.

 

[tridub]

Perhaps a better question is, is anyone NOT having this Entune problem? I'm assuming it's a nationwide outage, but that may just be confirmation bias at work, because only those WITH this problem are complaining about it here. Of course, Toyota probably has the data to know how many failed vs. successful remote charge or remote climate attempts have occurred, but they would have to know that this remote capability even exists before they could look at its performance metrics...

I didn't buy a (beautiful) 2012 Fisker Karma last month because (1) it was an orphan, and (2) it didn't have a remote-climate app. How is my RAV any different right now? (Other than being $18k cheaper!)

 

[michael]

I confirm what's reported above

1. When something happens at the car (arrives, charging starts or ends, etc) then Entune will give me a status report, but

2. If I ask Entune to update, it reports no response

Glad it a generic problem, not specific to me

Seems to me no communication TO the car

 

[tridub]

Thanks for telling us that you're having the same problem. Did you already call Toyota at 800-331-4331 and get a trouble ticket number? Apparently, it takes a lot of complaints to make Toyota do anything.

 

[eplantz]

Thanks for telling us that you're having the same problem. Did you already call Toyota at 800-331-4331 and get a trouble ticket number? Apparently, it takes a lot of complaints to make Toyota do anything.

I did open a problem ticket online and nudged them again today but nothing is happening that is visible to mere mortals.

 

[jmccloud]

Does anyone know if this has been resolved? I started having the same problems (can't charge from my app [RavCharge]) a couple of nights ago. Hadn't had any issues up until then.

 

[Shoreline Blue EV]

Not resolved as far as I know. But I'll find out tomorrow when Paul calls me with news. Toyota is using my app to do troubleshooting.

Please call 800-331-4331 to open a case. They seem to require many complaints before taking it seriously.

 

[jmccloud]

Tried to get hold of Toyota and made some progress (creating a ticket)....the call was dropped when transferred to a 'specialist', but will try again later. Thanks for your information!


Update: Got hold of them again and they did log the problem. In the meantime, they told me to verify the 'SOS button'/connection was working, then go into the Entune apps in the car and 'unlink the EV' apps (or something - I'll have to look at it, then re-link them to see if it solved the problem. I tried to explain that others were having the same problems and it seemed an unlikely fix, but you know how that went. I'll let everyone know if that happens to fix things but it will be a few days.....

Thanks.

 

[Larry_in_Seattle]

Called in and got a case number for same Entune problems. It seems that querying the car for anything (range, climate, charging) doesn't work.

It took a good 45 minutes on the phone, though. That is ridiculous! First line person, Crystal, put me on hold 2 or 3 times, came back and told me to log out and back in. I did, but of course it didn't solve anything. Back on hold.... and finally a case number and again put on hold to transfer me to "another associate who can help you with that."

That person, Bethany, basically said that it was now 'reported'. When she said she was going to check if there were any specific recalls for this, I was delighted, as that was going to be my next issue. The local dealer's service department manager (in Kirkland, WA) told me that he was not "allowed" to do the rear seat recall! He said he had the parts and it would take less than 45 minutes IF he were permitted to do it.

WTF? It's a plastic piece and has nothing to do with being an EV. Bethany asked if I would be OK holding again while she called the dealer directly. Of course I agreed. 10 minutes or so later she got back and said that, indeed, that was what the dealer had told me, and that was what they were told by some "regional" service person from Toyota. NEW case number, and I was told I would get a call back from a person who specializes in issues regarding the EV: Kevin Spillane within 1 business day... which would be Monday. Hmmmmmmm

BTW, she actually sounded shocked that ANY Toyota dealer would tell a customer that they couldn't do a safety recall.

 

[Shoreline Blue EV]

Larry, I'm an out-of-state-er too. Kevin scheduled my seatbelt recall for me while mine was in for the axle popping noise.

And an update - Paul called me back today, tried to activate climate while on the phone and it still failed. Now, he is passing me on to someone else who will call on Monday.

For everyone else, please call 800-331-4331 to report your issue. We need Toyota to know that it's not an isolated issue with 3 vehicles. Because they currently think only 3 of us are having this problem

 

[tridub]

I just thought of something stupid...

Why hasn't Toyota heard the same Entune complaint from legions of Prius drivers, who surely must have the same remote-climate app that the RAV4 EV does? That's one of the best features that only an EV or a hybrid can really do anytime, anywhere, because you wouldn't want to start an ICE in your closed garage unless you had a death wish. Does anyone know if any Prius model has this capability? If so, does it work right now? Ditto for any other Toyota or Lexus hybrids.

 

[miimura]

I just thought of something stupid...

Why hasn't Toyota heard the same Entune complaint from legions of Prius drivers, who surely must have the same remote-climate app that the RAV4 EV does? That's one of the best features that only an EV or a hybrid can really do anytime, anywhere, because you wouldn't want to start an ICE in your closed garage unless you had a death wish. Does anyone know if any Prius model has this capability? If so, does it work right now? Ditto for any other Toyota or Lexus hybrids.

Only plug-ins have enough battery to do a meaningful remote climate. So, that's the RAV4 EV and the Plug-In Prius only, within the Toyota and Lexus product lines. I don't know anyone with a PiP well enough to inquire about their status.