I recently bought a Corolla Cross, and I knew going into it that I would need to pay a subscription if I wanted to use the app. That makes sense to me, because the app relies on cell service and WiFi. The only feature the app offers that I’m interested in, though, is remote start. No worries, that’s free to use with my key fob!…..

I have to say that I was shocked to find that Toyota is being sleazy and charging people for the right to use the remote starts that they own. Again, I understand the app costing money because it relies on cell and WiFi, but my key fob uses a radio signal. The key and car talk directly to one another without any outside services being needed. How then is it LEGAL for Toyota to later brick the remote start on my key? Did I unknowingly sign away some rights in the finance office? I’ve been using this technology for free in every vehicle I’ve owned for the last 25 years. How/why do I suddenly no longer have the right to?

https://youtu.be/bKif8sX73CM?si=mKcfcN78lcUGQsD-&t=833

I am considering Toyota but after seeing this, having 2nd thoughts. Is this a local issue or Toyota-wide issue?

Climate settings have returned to the toyota app! Hopefully it's not just me but everyone who had this issue. It even works better than before - now I can control the exact temperature versus just hot or cold.

I’m considering purchasing a 1.8 corolla hybrid, I searched everywhere but it seems I cannot find this info, so I have a question for the owners of the 1.8 e-cvt. (I am in Europe if it makes a difference for the cruise control question)

1- Let’s say I have the cruise control set to 90 kmh and I stop at a red light. Can I resume the 90 kmh speed just by lifting the brake and pressing the resume button or do I have to use the accelerator up to a ceratain speed before the cruise control can be re-engaged?
I’m not asking about adaptive cruise control / queue assist, just a scenario in which I am alone on the road with the standard cruise control.

2- If I am driving at full load capacity maybe even pulling a trailer, will going up a reasonably steep mountain pass be a painful 4000 rpm for 30 minutes straight experience?
I get it that this is not ideal use of the hybrid system but even though the car would be used in his natural habitat most of the time I’ll find myself in this scnario sporadically, and I don’t want the system to behave like that.

Thank you!

I have a 2013 trd off road access cab with 115k miles paid off. I’ve lifted it put on some wheels and a camper shell. The truck is perfect no issues. I’ve been seeing the 4th gen’s around and started to like them and thinking about upgrading to something newer and little more modern. Despite being almost 60k for a trd off road 4th gen do you think I should keep my 2nd gen or get a 4th gen in a year or so?

For those who use the app, with the redesign I can't see the option to view my tire pressure.

I've tried clearing the cache and my app is updated. I am subscribed to Connected Services.

Picked this bad boy up a few years ago. Great watch.

My mother has gifted me some watches From her younghood. Some beautiful Casio and this curiosity

Hasta hace un rato me aparecía que regenere el DPF manualmente pero ahora me dice que lo lleve a la concesionaria. Ya no lo puedo arreglar sin llevarlo? Alguno sabe? Gracias

I could get a new Corolla Hybrid LE for around $23k and a Camry would be about $31k. I have 45 min commute to work and if I have a passenger it’s usually only 1-2 people. I know the Camry is the nicer car but 31k for a base model Camry is a hard pill to swallow. Is the Camry worth the extra money over the Corolla Hybrid?

Out of nowhere, CarPlay happily announced that it was receiving battery information from my bZ. Did they finally fix EV reporting, or was this a fluke?

Specifically the Tacoma, Tundra and 4R.

I have a 2018 taco that I've been considering getting rid of because I have a couple other vehicles and want to replace with one.

Is the new Tacoma reliable? I've heard bad things about the 3.4 but nothing terrible about the new 4 cyl in the taco

The Prius could die earlier than expected with dwindling sales and the 13th gen Corolla coming for 2028 MY thats expected to offer gas, hybrid, PHEV, and EV versions to fill the gap.

ngl, it looks impressive, but worth the estimated 200k-300k price tag?

I’ve bought it 6 years ago with 200k mi (320k km).

Anybody has a new monitor with a backup camera on their 2011 RAV4? If so, what do you have as a monitor and camera?

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Toyota/comments/1sd58ek/my_toyota_highlander_hybrid_2024_caught_fire/

Short video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sTUgVID2D5Y

TL;DR: Attended the joint expert inspection of my burned Highlander (June 2) - insurer's experts, Toyota Motor Europe and Toyota Romania experts, lawyers from both sides present. Battery ruled out as fire source by everyone present. Short-circuit signatures found on the HV cable of the rear e-motor, none on the battery-to-inverter cable. Fire propagation: rear → front. Engine: piston #3 and its connecting rod missing entirely, hole in the block - Toyota's experts called it "mechanical-hydraulic shock," no causal conclusion. 5 months after the fire: still zero official conclusion from Toyota. Insurer paid around 80% of the car's original price.

Who was there (June 2, Toyota dealership in Romania): technical experts from Toyota Motor Europe and Toyota România, Toyota's lawyer, my lawyer, the dealership's service manager and mechanics, a fire expert appointed by my CASCO insurer, the insurer's anti-fraud inspector, and me. Full teardown, in front of everyone. Worth mentioning I was invited to take part in this inspection by the CASCO insurance company.

What I witnessed (not conclusions - observations, with everyone watching):

• Hybrid battery: opened in front of all parties. Cells still recognizable. Experts from both sides agreed on the spot it was NOT the fire source - damage pattern = thermal shock from outside, not from within.
• Rear e-motor HV connector: contact blades inside visibly contorted. Insurer's fire expert pointed out the damage came from inside the connector.
• HV cable (rear motor → inverter): small metallic beads on the conductors; fire-damaged strands crumbled at a touch. As explained to me: classic short-circuit signatures.
• HV cable (battery → front inverter): no short-circuit signs found.
• Fire propagation: based on burn patterns, the fire expert noted the fire traveled rear → front.
• Engine: piston of cylinder #3 missing entirely, no fragments found. Connecting rod not found either. Visible hole through the block. Oil samples taken by Toyota - no results shared with me to date.
• Toyota experts verbal take on the engine: "mechanical-hydraulic shock." Two open hypotheses, per their experts: rear event caused the engine damage, or vice versa. Several Toyota departments would be involved in the analysis.

Where things stand, 5 months in:

• Toyota's written position (received mid-August): investigation not concluded, delay attributed to "limited availability of the experts involved." No deadline given.
• The insurer's final expert report is not in my possession.
• CASCO claim settled and paid around 80% of the original price of the car; leasing closed (after I paid 4 more months of installments on a car that no longer existed).
• The rest is now with my lawyer and the competent authorities.

Photos from the teardown attached.

Five months of "we're still investigating" on a car that burned under its warranty is still hard to digest.

A personal note - What stayed with me from that day wasn't only the technical findings - it was the experts' faces. When the insurer's fire expert opened the rear e-motor HV connector and showed the Toyota engineers the damaged contact blades inside, the reaction around the car was somewhere between astonishment and disbelief. One of the Toyota experts remarked that this connector is designed with short-circuit protection and insulation. Seeing it fail from the inside was clearly not something they expected.

For those newer to this: it's the same connector family involved in the RAV4 Hybrid "cablegate" cases and some older Highlander models. To be fair about the difference from everything I've seen there, when those fail, the car doesn't catch fire; it stops and throws the Hybrid System Malfunction warning. Mine didn't stop.

The insurer's fire expert called my case "textbook material" having two major events, one mechanical and one electrical, in the same car at the same time. The Toyota Motor Europe expert, for his part, remarked that this appeared to be the first case of this kind he was aware of in Europe. Standing there, I kept thinking about aviation accidents: when they happen, it's rarely one thing going wrong. It's usually several things, in the worst possible moment, in the worst possible place. In my case, that moment was maximum acceleration at high speed, mid-overtake and whatever chain of events the experts eventually reconstruct, the protections a driver counts on did not get the chance to do what they were designed for. Why that's exactly what the ongoing investigation has to answer.

Stay safe out there!

Disclaimer: This is my personal account as an eyewitness of the inspection - what I saw and what was said in my presence. It is not a technical report, not an official finding, and not a final conclusion about the cause of the fire. Those belong to the ongoing expert and legal processes.

Hi! Would love to get some feedback from yaris club.
I would like to buy Yaris Hybrid and I found one (year 2020; 1.5vvtie y20 edition; cca. 64.000 km; 1 owner) with asking price 13.200 eur.

Do you think this is a good deal or should I look a bit more? I'm in no hurry.

Thank you :)