You might recall that I have been watching a story on Hyundai USA rolling out upgrades that give existing owners of some of their vehicles Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. However, it was questionable if Canadians would get the same treatment. It is now becoming clear that Canadians will not be getting the same treatment. Owners of Hyundai vehicles in Canada who e-mail into Hyundai Canada are apparently getting this response from the company:
“Thank you for contacting Hyundai Auto Canada.
We are sorry in the inconvenience this has caused you. We understand this could be upsetting. The information we have been given is that due to the fundamental differences in both hardware and required functionality (such as bilingual services) between Canadian and US vehicles, there will be no retrofitting of the model year 2016 (or prior) Hyundai vehicles in Canada. At this time, the Android Auto feature is only available for 2017 Elantra (sedan only) and the 2017 Sonata (excluding hybrid and plug-in hybrid). Thank you for your understanding.”
Needless to say, this is not going over well with owners in Canada for two reasons. First is the fact that Hyundai Canada continues to advertise Android Auto on the 2016 Tucson which seems to fly in the face of what they have stated above. Second is that the fact that other Hyundai owners in other geographies are getting Android Auto and Apple CarPlay upgrades as I type this. Between these two items, it really makes Hyundai Canada look really, really bad.
One thing that I should point out is that Canadians who have “acquired” the Android Auto/Apple CarPlay update from the US have confirmed that the infotainment system used in the Canadian version of the Tuscon is somehow different than the US. And whatever that difference is stops the upgrade from installing. Now to be fair to Hyundai, that makes sense as I do know that at the very least, the hardware needed to support Blue Link which is Hyundai’s telematics system that is similar to GM’s OnStar system isn’t present on Canadian vehicles. So it seems reasonable to assume that there might be other differences too.
My $0.02 worth on this: I think Hyundai Canada needs to do a better job of clearing the air on this issue. Yes, they have put out some talking points on this issue. And if you e-mail them, you get a response that seems to be consistent. But it doesn’t change the fact that many Canadians who bought their vehicles over the last little while feel like they’ve been the victim of a “bait and switch.” Given that companies such as Ford and FCA are offering updates to millions of their customers that give them some or all of this functionality, it may be wise for Hyundai Canada to either get onto that bandwagon as quickly as possible, or explain in a robust way why it isn’t going to happen and make owners of their vehicles feel better than some of them presently do. I say that because consumers expect their cars to be upgradeable from a software perspective just like their computers and phones are. And if they aren’t, it will alter the perception of the car company as well as the buying decision of the consumer. Hyundai Canada might want to really think about that as they plot out what their next move is going to be to make this issue go away.