NHTSA Complaint #11075802 — 2014 TOYOTA COROLLA

THE DISPLAY SCREEN FOR THE RADIO, NAVIGATION, MAINTENANCE REMINDERS, HANDS FREE PHONE USE, ETC. SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING WHEN STARTED MY CAR. THE SCREEN ONLY SHOWS AN ICON WITH A STATUS BAR THAT MAKES IT APPEAR THAT THE COMPUTER THAT OPERATES THIS SYSTEM IS TRYING TO RESTART. THE SCREEN ITSELF WORKS, BUT THE COMPUTER WON'T BOOT-UP. THIS IS DISTRACTING WHILE DRIVING, AND PREVENTS THE USE OF ALL THE SAFETY FEATURES THAT RELY ON IT'S FUNCTION. I HAVE DONE EXTENSIVE READING ON THE INTERNET AND HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM IN 2014-2016 TOYOTA VEHICLES THAT HAVE THE PREMIUM ENTUNE SYSTEM WITH NAVIGATION. THEY ADMITTEDLY STATE THAT THE FUGITSU COMPONENT IS FAULTY AND THEY HAVE SINCE STARTED USING A PANASONIC UNIT TO AVOID FUTURE PROBLEMS. TOYOTA PRICES THE REPLACEMENT PART AT $3450. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE, WHEN THEY KNOW THAT THE PROBLEM IS NOT THE FAULT OF THE CAR OWNER, BUT RATHER A FAULTY PART THAT WAS USED DURING THE MANUFACTURE OF THE VEHICLE. ACCORDING TO THE POST OF ONE TOYOTA TECHNICIAN, TOYOTA HAS REPLACED 1 MILLION OF THESE UNITS, BUT UNLESS THE VEHICLE IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY THEY REFUSE TO COVER THE REPAIR COST BECAUSE TOYOTA DOES NOT THINK THIS MALFUNCTION IS A SAFETY ISSUE A RECALL OR WARRANTY EXTENSION HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED. I THINK IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE WHEN THE HANDS-FREE FUNCTION DOES NOT WORK AND THE SCREEN IS VISUALLY DISTRACTING AS IT CONSTANTLY POWERS ON AND OFF. IT ALSO MEANS AN INOPERABLE NAVIGATION SYSTEM COULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL AS NOT HAVING THE HANDS-FREE CALLING AND TEXTING. I HAVE TRIED TO RESET THE RADIO, DO A HARD RESET BY HOLDING THE POWER BUTTON AND REPLACING THE BATTERY. NOTHING WORKS. I CALLED TOYOTA AND GOT ROUTED AROUND AND HUNG UP ON. MECHANIC QUOTED ME MORE THAN $3500 FOR THE REPAIR. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE WHEN IT IS A KNOWN ENTUNE DEFECT AFFECTING MANY MODELS ACROSS MANY YEARS!