The IT Nerd

In one of the dumbest moves since BMW tried to make Apple CarPlay a subscription service, Toyota in their infinite wisdom has apparently decided that it’s a great idea for them to charge a subscription to let owners of Toyota vehicles start their cars using the key fobs:

A Toyota spokesperson confirmed to The Drive that if a 2018 or later Toyota is equipped with Toyota’s Remote Connect functions, the vehicle must be enrolled in a valid subscription in order for the key fob to start the car remotely. To be clear, what we’re talking about is the proximity-based RF remote start system, where you press a button on the fob to start the car while outside of it within a certain distance—say, from your front door to warm up your vehicle in the driveway on a cold morning before you get in. Your fob uses radio waves to communicate with the car, and no connection back to Toyota’s servers is needed. But the function will not work without a larger Remote Connect subscription.

This is frankly mind blowingly stupid. Why? It’s not as if I’m trying to start my car from my phone or Apple Watch. I can see them wanting to charge for that and I wouldn’t bat an eye if they did try to make a buck or two from that. But I’m talking about using the factory supplied key fob that is based on an RF radio. This tech has been around since the age of the dinosaurs. There’s no way on God’s green Earth that they should make you pay for that. In short, this is a very cynical attempt by Toyota to make a few bucks on a recurring basis.

All this does for me is ensure that I will never purchase a Toyota product. Just like I removed BMW off my list of cars that I would like to own. And I am going to go out on a limb and say that many other consumers will feel the same way.

Frequent readers of this blog know that I’ve had issues with my 2009 Toyota Matrix. I had a weird electrical issue followed by several recalls. For details, check out my customer service nightmares page. Now, here’s the latest thing I am dealing with when it comes to this car. Oil consumption. In other words the engine consumes more oil than it should. Now all cars consume some degree or another, but I’ve never owned a car that consumes the amount of oil that I documented here:

Toyota clams that 1 litre per 1000 KM’s is “normal.” In my Matrix, I am consuming just under half that per 1000 KM’s. Anything over 1 litre per 1000 KM’s may require a very expensive engine repair that is documented in technical service bulletin T-SB-0094-11. 

If left unchecked (meaning that you check your engine oil every couple of weeks or so), you could kill your engine due to it being low on engine oil. In my case, I check it every couple of weeks and top it off almost every time I check it. I go through at least two liters of oil between oil changes. Sometimes three if I do a lot of highway driving. When I first raised the issue with my dealer four years ago, they first claimed it was “normal” and then when I called them on it, they then said that I would have to pay four digits to have it fixed.

It now turns out that it is not normal. I got a letter from Toyota Canada recently stating that there is a “Warranty Enhancement Program” related to the engine that I have. Here’s a quote from the letter that I got:

Toyota has received some reports where vehicles equipped with the 2AZ engine may exhibit excessive engine oil consumption. 

And

At this time, Toyota is currently preparing the necessary parts to implement this Warranty Enhancement Program (Ref 812), and anticipates that it will take several months to build the necessary parts. 

Finally:

• The Primary Coverage offers warranty enhancement until August 25, 2016
• After the Primary Coverage period ends, the Secondary Coverage is applicable for 10 years from he date of first use or 240,000 km, whichever occurs first. 

The fix that Toyota Canada is going to perform if the engine in question meets their filter is to basically rebuild the engine. Likely implementing this Technical Service Bulletin [Warning: PDF].

Now, I have a friend who has an Audi A4 which required a similar repair for a similar issue that Audi did at no charge after he threatened to sue them. He was without his car for a week and a half because they pretty much have to disassemble most of the engine to replace the pistons. But they did give him a loaner while they did it. Potentially being without my car for that long does not thrill me and I seriously doubt that Toyota is going to serve up a loaner. Though they are free to surprise me.

But the fact that Toyota calls this a “Warranty Enhancement Program” is Toyota’s way of saying to don’t call it a recall. Though I am not sure what else you could possibly call it. That may be due to a class action lawsuit that Toyota is facing in the US. I’m guessing that a lawyer told Toyota that admitting that this is a defect of some sort openly will open them up to a similar lawsuit in Canada. But I’m a computer nerd, not a lawyer. It could also be that Toyota doesn’t want to open itself up to having to repair every single engine of this type seeing that this engine was used in lots and lots of vehicles ranging from my Matrix to the RAV4, Camry, and Corolla among other models going back to 2006. That I am guessing would be very expensive. But I’m a computer nerd, not an accountant.

Now I’ve just had my oil changed and I asked for the engine consumption test to be done. Here’s what they do as part of the test:

As you can see, they added tamper resistant tape to the oil cap and the oil dipstick. That way you can’t top off the oil or cheat the test. I am to then drive it 2000 KM’s and come back in so that they can check the oil consumption. If it is more than 1 liter in 2000 KM’s, then I am eligible for the fix.

My thoughts? I have to admit that my faith in Toyota was questionable before this latest episode. Now this latest episode has my wife and I certain that our next car is not going to be from Toyota. Now you could argue that at least Toyota is trying to do something about it. But if you do a Google search on this issue, one thing is clear and another is subject to interpretation. The thing that is clear that this is a widespread issue that has been going on for years. The part that is subject to interpretation is that it Toyota Canada might have sat on this issue until they were forced to do something. I say that because the US had had a similar “Warranty Enhancement Program” for some time now. That doesn’t exactly inspire trust when it comes to Toyota Canada.

So, what happens if my engine fails the test? We’ll likely be trading in the vehicle for something more reliable, but after getting Toyota to fix it on their dime. I review enough cars so it gives my wife and I a good place to start looking at what we like and don’t like. Once we have a short list, we’ll see if we can get reliability data to firm up the likely suspects and take it from there.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress with this issue. This should be “interesting” and not in a good way.

I got this in my inbox today:

Hello IT Nerd. I’ve read about your trials and tribulations with your Toyota Matrix. I’m thinking of buying one that was made between 2009 and 2013 for my son to go to university. Can you tell me about yours? What should I be looking for? What should I avoid? 

Thanks for the question. Other than the electrical issues that I’ve documented, I’ve had not much go wrong on it. I have over 138,000 KM’s on it and I recently had to have the oil pan resealed because it was leaking. That was almost $500. You should check the oil pan to make sure that you do or don’t need to do that. Also, make sure that the brakes have been done recently. I’ve needed the fronts done every 60,000 KM’s and the rears done once after 120,000 KM’s. It’s about $250 to get the front or rear brakes done.

Things to look for are:

• The cloth on the seats are prone to be stained easily. Make sure that you get them cleaned and then Scotchguarded.
• Check for oil consumption in the 2.4L engine version of the Matrix. Toyota clams that 1 litre per 1000 KM’s is “normal.” In my Matrix, I am consuming just under half that per 1000 KM’s. Anything over 1 litre per 1000 KM’s may require a very expensive engine repair that is documented in technical service bulletin T-SB-0094-11. My dealer quoted $3000 for it so this is something that you need to avoid. As an aside, this can happen to the 1.8L engine as well, but it is common in the 2.4L engines up until the 2010 model year. This also affected many other Toyota vehicles that use the 2.4L engine.
• Check for proof that all the recalls have been done on the Matrix that you’re interested in. Here’s a list with the model years they apply to:

Of course, all the usual rules apply. Make sure to get all the service records and have it looked at by a mechanic before you put down your money.

Hope that helps!

Last week I answered a question from a reader who wanted to know my thoughts on the GM recall that is ongoing. That same reader e-mailed back with another question:

Hello again IT Nerd. 

Toyota just announced a new recall that covers over six million cars. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this seeing as you were kind enough to comment on the GM recall? Plus you’re a Toyota owner which means you have an interest in this. 

Thank you. 

Thanks for reading and thanks for the question. I see this latest Toyota recall in a couple of ways. First, in my answer to your question about GM’s recalls, I said that Toyota is going be subject to government oversight for the next three years. Thus I have a feeling that either they were trying to address anything else that could be considered a safety issue before that oversight begins, or if that oversight has begun already, it is forcing Toyota to clean house.

Second, Toyota’s brand equity that I spoke of in my previous answer about GM is going to be affected by this recall. People buy Toyota’s because of the quality factor. Now one massive recall will affect that brand equity and that perception of quality. But they can and have recovered from that. Having a second recall of a similar scale creates the possibility that they can’t recover from that in the long term. You have to think that this is scaring a lot of people at Toyota HQ right now. Why? Take yours truly for example. My Matrix is on the list of recalled cars and I will get it addressed when the notice comes. But this is the fourth recall I’ve had since buying this Matrix not to mention the electrical issue that I had that I’ve documented here. Will it affect what I purchase when the time comes to replace the Matrix? Yes. Does that mean that I will abandon Toyota. I cannot say at this point. But I will admit that my mind is open to other brands given what has gone on with Toyota over the last few years. If many other people who own Toyota products are thinking the same thing, the company has a major problem on their hands.

Here’s something new and different that caught my attention. Toyota Canada has released an app on Google Play as well as the App Store that allows you to test drive the new Toyota RAV4 from your phone or tablet. You can virtually take a spin in it in all sorts of road conditions as well as get a up close look at the RAV4 from inside and out. I downloaded the app onto my iPhone 5 and make sure you have a magazine handy. That’s used to calibrate the augmented reality system that the app uses to do all of this. Once you get used to it, it actually works quite well. I was able to do things like open the liftgate (which is powered in the RAV4 and you hear it open and close) as well as inspect other aspects of the vehicle from the outside. I could use the movements of my iPhone 5 to look at the inside of the RAV4 as well as do things like start the car and operate the vehicle. I couldn’t actually drive the RAV4 using my iPhone, but I could follow it’s actions.

The RAV4 Toyota’s entry in the highly competitive compact SUV market. And given how competitive that market is, this is something that likely gives them an extra means to get people into Toyota showrooms. Overall, I think it’s an interesting marketing idea, I suspect if the feedback is good, we’ll not only see more apps like these from Toyota, but we’ll see other car companies do the same thing.