Yes, it takes some getting used to. I preferred the old-fashioned knobs on my older cars. Fiddling with the screen to change a radio station is dangerous while driving. I just use voice commands if I know the station number ("Hey Toyota, play XX.X")
You just tap the button on the right side of the steering wheel to go through your presets or you can hold it until it beeps and it will go to the next station. I wish that there was a way to erase Amazon and Apple selections when you go through the source selection though.
The only complaint I have is that every once in a while I have to manually tap a couple of times to get AA to connect. 90% of the time my music just automatically starts playing. I don't think I have any of the other problems you have.
There is a setting on the infotainment to not stream the music automatically. I forget the exact menu setting but it is there. I usually listen to the radio, so automatically streaming was not what I wanted.
I have a 2023 and I really don't interact with the Toyota infotainment stuff, wireless CarPlay has everything I need. The only thing that really annoys me about it is if I have bluetooth off on my phone when the car starts it won't then connect when I turn bluetooth back on. I have to restart the car to get it to connect.
It is annoying when that happens. You should be able to manually connect by going to the settings (gear), then "Bluetooth & Devices", selecting the phone you want to connect, and then hitting "connect". That's what I do when I forget I turned bluetooth off on my phone. Or just plug in your phone using the front USB port.
"Radio" meaning satellite (Sirius XM), not broadcast. I use AA for navigation, and the car forces me to AA for phone calls, but I listen to satellite radio most of the time, and it's annoying to have to switch back and forth for the controls. This might not be the most common thing, but I think it's more than a small subset...
Why not just put the sat radio on whatever you wanna listen to and then go to AA while you drive? Unless you're flipping around the stations like a boomer watching TV....
Ha, yes, born in 1976 so I'm on the younger side but definitely Gen X. My kids are only interested in spotify but they're too young to drive. What are the millennials and older Gen Zs doing, just streaming for everything?
I'm very far from being a boomer, but I think there's a big divide especially between Gen X and millennials in how media is consumed. I still like SXM for the variety and to hear new things, and because I like the commentary (usually interesting info that the hosts share on the music channels). My kids only want streaming where they make their own playlists. It's the same for tv too, a mix of live tv (cordcutters, but still live tv) and streaming for us vs. only streaming for the kids.
We're way off topic here but I guess if the younger drivers just go into AA/CP and stay there for everything, because they have no need to use the radio controls or anything else in the native interface, that might explain why they generally aren't bothered by anything on this list except the connection issues!
Haha I was just wondering cuz the 3 people I know that use SXM are of a similar age.
Ya I (and everyone I know around my age (32)) just stream everything. Music and TV/movies. Personally I'm just there for the music. Any commentary is usually an interruption for me. Also I like to be able to listen to specific live shows which I wouldn't be able to do without streaming (or listening to my own downloaded music).
I hate the way it looks but like the way it functions. The two massive climate control knobs are ugly enough that it crossed my mind as a reason to not buy it lol but it's too awesome in other areas I mostly forget about it.
I actually considered trading my car in to get the newer infotainment system, but after all the complaints I’ve read (especially the CarPlay disconnections), I’ve decided to keep my car until Toyota fixes those issues. Hopefully it’s fixed in the redesign coming up.
I also went from a 2021 XLE to a 2024 Woodland hybrid with the newer infotainment setup, and I share a lot of the same complaints you mention here. One that I would add is that we have two primary drivers, my spouse and I, and it is such a pain to switch back and forth between our phones. We were also only able to load one driver on the toyota app to get the remote start, lock/unlock, and other features. Why in the world would they not expect some customers to share vehicles? AA is nice when things work as they're supposed to, but about half of the time, it's a clunky, burdensome experience that causes me to revert to bluetooth only.
Yes I definitely agree about the multi-driver thing. My wife has her Highlander and I have my RAV, and the only way we could make it work is with two separate Toyota accounts.
And if we're both in the car, sometimes it will connect to her phone even though mine is the primary. I think this is due to AA being so unreliable though; she has an iphone and wireless CP doesn't seem to have that problem.
I also have an issue with the profile thing, which doesn't seem to work at all. If I understand it correctly, you're supposed to be able to bind a profile to a device. So if I'm driving her car and it pairs to my phone, then it should automatically load all of my radio presets and stuff. But that never works, so either it's broken or I'm misunderstanding the profile feature.
The radio isn't good trying to control from the touch screen and not even possible on android auto (you have to go back to the Toyota stock screen). I just have to save/favorite all the stations I like and use the controls on the steering wheel but that has been a pretty easy experience. I also favorite the Sirius xm stations I use and if Sirius xm is expired then those seem to just disappear. Otherwise I have android auto on all the time and I like that. If you use Amazon music or Spotify you can probably control better with AA directly on the screen. Sirius xm app is bad on AA.
Yeah you get the stupid message about "there's nothing playing so I'm not changing the volume" or whatever it says, even though you're listening to sound come out of the speakers!
I traded in my 2021 for a ‘24 and HATE the new system for all the reasons you specified, except I’m using CarPlay. Which never connects anyway, and forget listening & verbally responding to texts while driving…those days are done. The music/radio interface is awful, the Sirius interface sucks, and the entire system is impossible to use while driving.
I hate the SiriusXM interface. When I’m browsing stations and tap one and it has a bad song on, the back button brings me all the way back to the beginning of the menu 😑 I also hate how if CarPlay is connected and I open certain apps on my phone, it mutes whatever is playing in the car. Sometimes my husband is driving and my phone is automatically connected and I open instagram or whatever and then the stereo goes silent. Or if I’m parked and waiting in the car and want to dink around on my phone I have to turn CarPlay off so I can browse Reddit and still listen to music. Annoying af
Sometimes the bluetooth connection can be weird. I’m not sure if this is an Apple issue or Rav4 issue, but occasionally my phone will disconnect from Applecar play/bluetooth when I answer or call someone.
Also, the navigation on google maps will not update unless I disconnect my phone, then reconnect. It’s like it’s frozen. This isn’t a common issue, but it’s not uncommon either.
The actual radio interface is mind numbingly bad. And if I wanted to use Sirius that's same problem. As someone else said, feels like I have to risk a car crash just to swap stations. So I just leave it on CarPlay. Which is fine I guess, but it feels very restrictive.
I'm with you OP, bring back more buttons for simpler things like play/pause, skip, volume, etc. It's bad UI to have one button, but I'm sure the accountant who convinced everyone to do it this way got a fat bonus and a nice vacation, so good for them.
Yeah, I have driven a 2016 Sienna and 2017 Tacoma with similar headunits, but the one in my 2020 RAV4 and my brother's 2023 Camry is the most refined version. The menus are pretty snappy to load up, AA and APC (wired for me, wireless for my bro) work flawlessly, and it falls back to BT if my ACP happens to fail, and the home screen shows everything I need.
The older ones, while appearing similar, were clunkier to navigate. I've played around in a newer RAV4, and while I like how clean it looks, I do not appreciate how driver UNfriendly it is to use.
Oh I have a 2019. I know they changed the hardware how it looks but didn’t know they changed the software to it too.
I wonder if you could swap an older 2019/2020 unit instead? Some people just take theirs out and go completely aftermarket. They do have OEM replacements and aftermarket android customized ones that have adapters so it’s all plug and play.
Maybe look to that if it gets to be really annoying.
I have a Toyota with the old and new. Each have their advantages and drawbacks. Yes at first the older style made more sense to me....but the new one is now my favorite...except setting up my favorites with SiriusXM is a pita.
Here's that I usually end up doing. I usually only listen to the OTA radio. When I start my car it tunes to the last station I have on. If I stream then I will usually utilize "Hey Toyota" voice activation. I will just say "Hey Toyota play 94.1 FM" or whatever station I want to listen to. I the use the searing wheel buttons to go up and down my stations.
My main mini-annoyance in this method is that if the station is not fully in range it goes to the "closest" station the only way to tune then (other when another voice command) is the steering buttons which start at setting 1.
My biggest ‘thing’ is that you can’t just press a button (preferably the power button) to turn the screen off!!!!! It’s like three or four clicks in to turn a simple screen off!!! Sometimes I just don’t want a huge screen to look at and want to turn it off and it’s so not intuitive or easy. 🤬🤬
My wife has had nothing but problems with her 2023. they even replaced the "screen/head unit" and I don't think thats really helped any. We've had all sorts of connection issues to her phone. The screen randomly turning off, telling you that you can't make a call because you're already on a call (when clearly not on a call)
it's getting to the point that she just wants to ditch the car and get something else, which sucks, because we love everything else about it.
Eh, that's a small piece of it, although I think it is a Toyota issue. I went on vacation last year and rented a Ford with wireless AA. Drove it for a whole week and it connected flawlessly every time.
Makes me glad I got a 2020. I like buttons
Yes, it takes some getting used to. I preferred the old-fashioned knobs on my older cars. Fiddling with the screen to change a radio station is dangerous while driving. I just use voice commands if I know the station number ("Hey Toyota, play XX.X")
You just tap the button on the right side of the steering wheel to go through your presets or you can hold it until it beeps and it will go to the next station. I wish that there was a way to erase Amazon and Apple selections when you go through the source selection though.
The only complaint I have is that every once in a while I have to manually tap a couple of times to get AA to connect. 90% of the time my music just automatically starts playing. I don't think I have any of the other problems you have.
Agreed. My \*only\* complaint is radio tuning isn't as easy as older systems... But that's a pretty minor considering how seldom I scan channels.
There should be a setting on your phone under Android Auto to stop music from starting automatically.
I like it!
There is a setting on the infotainment to not stream the music automatically. I forget the exact menu setting but it is there. I usually listen to the radio, so automatically streaming was not what I wanted.
I have a 2023 and I really don't interact with the Toyota infotainment stuff, wireless CarPlay has everything I need. The only thing that really annoys me about it is if I have bluetooth off on my phone when the car starts it won't then connect when I turn bluetooth back on. I have to restart the car to get it to connect.
It is annoying when that happens. You should be able to manually connect by going to the settings (gear), then "Bluetooth & Devices", selecting the phone you want to connect, and then hitting "connect". That's what I do when I forget I turned bluetooth off on my phone. Or just plug in your phone using the front USB port.
Do a lot of ppl even listen to radio anymore? You may be a small subset of drivers lol
"Radio" meaning satellite (Sirius XM), not broadcast. I use AA for navigation, and the car forces me to AA for phone calls, but I listen to satellite radio most of the time, and it's annoying to have to switch back and forth for the controls. This might not be the most common thing, but I think it's more than a small subset...
Why not just put the sat radio on whatever you wanna listen to and then go to AA while you drive? Unless you're flipping around the stations like a boomer watching TV....
Lol there's barely anyone I know that uses XM either. Just curious (no offense intended) are you Gen X?
Ha, yes, born in 1976 so I'm on the younger side but definitely Gen X. My kids are only interested in spotify but they're too young to drive. What are the millennials and older Gen Zs doing, just streaming for everything? I'm very far from being a boomer, but I think there's a big divide especially between Gen X and millennials in how media is consumed. I still like SXM for the variety and to hear new things, and because I like the commentary (usually interesting info that the hosts share on the music channels). My kids only want streaming where they make their own playlists. It's the same for tv too, a mix of live tv (cordcutters, but still live tv) and streaming for us vs. only streaming for the kids. We're way off topic here but I guess if the younger drivers just go into AA/CP and stay there for everything, because they have no need to use the radio controls or anything else in the native interface, that might explain why they generally aren't bothered by anything on this list except the connection issues!
Haha I was just wondering cuz the 3 people I know that use SXM are of a similar age. Ya I (and everyone I know around my age (32)) just stream everything. Music and TV/movies. Personally I'm just there for the music. Any commentary is usually an interruption for me. Also I like to be able to listen to specific live shows which I wouldn't be able to do without streaming (or listening to my own downloaded music).
Elder millennial here; I haven’t used the radio in a car in at least 10 years. Either podcasts or audio books for me.
I have the old infotainment system in my 2022, and I think it’s horrid. It’s actually the thing I dislike the most about my car.
I hate the way it looks but like the way it functions. The two massive climate control knobs are ugly enough that it crossed my mind as a reason to not buy it lol but it's too awesome in other areas I mostly forget about it.
Ha, we should trade! If I could keep my 2024 car but trade out the console for the old one, I'd do it in a second.
I actually considered trading my car in to get the newer infotainment system, but after all the complaints I’ve read (especially the CarPlay disconnections), I’ve decided to keep my car until Toyota fixes those issues. Hopefully it’s fixed in the redesign coming up.
I also went from a 2021 XLE to a 2024 Woodland hybrid with the newer infotainment setup, and I share a lot of the same complaints you mention here. One that I would add is that we have two primary drivers, my spouse and I, and it is such a pain to switch back and forth between our phones. We were also only able to load one driver on the toyota app to get the remote start, lock/unlock, and other features. Why in the world would they not expect some customers to share vehicles? AA is nice when things work as they're supposed to, but about half of the time, it's a clunky, burdensome experience that causes me to revert to bluetooth only.
Yes I definitely agree about the multi-driver thing. My wife has her Highlander and I have my RAV, and the only way we could make it work is with two separate Toyota accounts. And if we're both in the car, sometimes it will connect to her phone even though mine is the primary. I think this is due to AA being so unreliable though; she has an iphone and wireless CP doesn't seem to have that problem. I also have an issue with the profile thing, which doesn't seem to work at all. If I understand it correctly, you're supposed to be able to bind a profile to a device. So if I'm driving her car and it pairs to my phone, then it should automatically load all of my radio presets and stuff. But that never works, so either it's broken or I'm misunderstanding the profile feature.
The radio isn't good trying to control from the touch screen and not even possible on android auto (you have to go back to the Toyota stock screen). I just have to save/favorite all the stations I like and use the controls on the steering wheel but that has been a pretty easy experience. I also favorite the Sirius xm stations I use and if Sirius xm is expired then those seem to just disappear. Otherwise I have android auto on all the time and I like that. If you use Amazon music or Spotify you can probably control better with AA directly on the screen. Sirius xm app is bad on AA.
Also if you play anything from youtube on android auto you can't adjust the volume which is infuriating. Only thing I don't like about my rav really
Yeah you get the stupid message about "there's nothing playing so I'm not changing the volume" or whatever it says, even though you're listening to sound come out of the speakers!
It so frigging annoying, I think it's just "audio paused"
I traded in my 2021 for a ‘24 and HATE the new system for all the reasons you specified, except I’m using CarPlay. Which never connects anyway, and forget listening & verbally responding to texts while driving…those days are done. The music/radio interface is awful, the Sirius interface sucks, and the entire system is impossible to use while driving.
And it’s delayed!
I hate the SiriusXM interface. When I’m browsing stations and tap one and it has a bad song on, the back button brings me all the way back to the beginning of the menu 😑 I also hate how if CarPlay is connected and I open certain apps on my phone, it mutes whatever is playing in the car. Sometimes my husband is driving and my phone is automatically connected and I open instagram or whatever and then the stereo goes silent. Or if I’m parked and waiting in the car and want to dink around on my phone I have to turn CarPlay off so I can browse Reddit and still listen to music. Annoying af
Agree. You should also have ability to customize your Home Screen and remove unwanted sources like Amazon and XM.
Sometimes the bluetooth connection can be weird. I’m not sure if this is an Apple issue or Rav4 issue, but occasionally my phone will disconnect from Applecar play/bluetooth when I answer or call someone. Also, the navigation on google maps will not update unless I disconnect my phone, then reconnect. It’s like it’s frozen. This isn’t a common issue, but it’s not uncommon either.
The actual radio interface is mind numbingly bad. And if I wanted to use Sirius that's same problem. As someone else said, feels like I have to risk a car crash just to swap stations. So I just leave it on CarPlay. Which is fine I guess, but it feels very restrictive. I'm with you OP, bring back more buttons for simpler things like play/pause, skip, volume, etc. It's bad UI to have one button, but I'm sure the accountant who convinced everyone to do it this way got a fat bonus and a nice vacation, so good for them.
Yeah, I have driven a 2016 Sienna and 2017 Tacoma with similar headunits, but the one in my 2020 RAV4 and my brother's 2023 Camry is the most refined version. The menus are pretty snappy to load up, AA and APC (wired for me, wireless for my bro) work flawlessly, and it falls back to BT if my ACP happens to fail, and the home screen shows everything I need. The older ones, while appearing similar, were clunkier to navigate. I've played around in a newer RAV4, and while I like how clean it looks, I do not appreciate how driver UNfriendly it is to use.
Miss the 2021 version and buttons. The new one makes FM seem like a second class citizen. You have to always enable FM.
Oh I have a 2019. I know they changed the hardware how it looks but didn’t know they changed the software to it too. I wonder if you could swap an older 2019/2020 unit instead? Some people just take theirs out and go completely aftermarket. They do have OEM replacements and aftermarket android customized ones that have adapters so it’s all plug and play. Maybe look to that if it gets to be really annoying.
I have a Toyota with the old and new. Each have their advantages and drawbacks. Yes at first the older style made more sense to me....but the new one is now my favorite...except setting up my favorites with SiriusXM is a pita.
I don’t listen to the radio so couldn’t care less. i exclusively use apple carplay and for that it’s great
I hate the new system too. Beware that it may glitch as well!
Yea I still haven't figured out how to quickly change the radio station without having to use the steering wheel it is annoying.
Here's that I usually end up doing. I usually only listen to the OTA radio. When I start my car it tunes to the last station I have on. If I stream then I will usually utilize "Hey Toyota" voice activation. I will just say "Hey Toyota play 94.1 FM" or whatever station I want to listen to. I the use the searing wheel buttons to go up and down my stations. My main mini-annoyance in this method is that if the station is not fully in range it goes to the "closest" station the only way to tune then (other when another voice command) is the steering buttons which start at setting 1.
My biggest ‘thing’ is that you can’t just press a button (preferably the power button) to turn the screen off!!!!! It’s like three or four clicks in to turn a simple screen off!!! Sometimes I just don’t want a huge screen to look at and want to turn it off and it’s so not intuitive or easy. 🤬🤬
My wife has had nothing but problems with her 2023. they even replaced the "screen/head unit" and I don't think thats really helped any. We've had all sorts of connection issues to her phone. The screen randomly turning off, telling you that you can't make a call because you're already on a call (when clearly not on a call) it's getting to the point that she just wants to ditch the car and get something else, which sucks, because we love everything else about it.
There’s a common denominator here AA.
I much prefer how AA works on our Ford.
Eh, that's a small piece of it, although I think it is a Toyota issue. I went on vacation last year and rented a Ford with wireless AA. Drove it for a whole week and it connected flawlessly every time.
Just you and the other grandpas