Toyotalink

[hallett505]

Thought I would give a bit of feedback about the Toyota Link Service.

The Toyota Link service is standard in the Presara and is included free for the first 3 years.

Soon after purchasing my 2007 model I pressed the Toyota Link contact button located on the roof behind the rear vision mirror and was connected with the Toyota Link Call Centre. The very professional and polite operator explained the service and was able to sign me up on the spot offering me the option of paying either $20 a month or an annual fee of $240.

This service features the following:

Fully monitored alarm I think this is the best feature as how many people do you see responding to a car alarm in a carpark? Also, this was tested recently when I left the car at a dealer and as I got on the train around 15 minutes later I received a call on my mobile asking if I knew where my car was as someone had just disconnected the battery - Brilliant service!

Vehicle monitoring when you are driving - they will tell you if your car is starting to overheat

Battery monitoring - If your car is parked and they notice the battery voltage is dropping they will contact you

Full roadside assistance included in the price - The great thing is that they contact the roadside assistance company and via your GPS coordinates they pinpoint your location for them (great if you are in the middle of nowhere and you can't give a street name)

Internet login pagehttp://www.toyota.com.au/toyotalink where you can, and I love this bit, 'find your car' and in around a minute it will tell you where your car is and show it on a map

Emergency assistance button This can be pressed after an accident when you may be a bit shaken and they look after everything for you

[Morequick]

Sounds very useful.

Reminds me of the BMW in Die Hard 4.0 lol

Except they could remote start the engine without a key, can Toyota Link do this?

Edited September 26, 2010 by Morequick

[DJKOR]

I'd merge the threads, but just so you know, should you have done a search, you would have found a thread where it would have been more appropriate to post this instead of starting a new one:

Toyotalink Appreciation Thread

Fully monitored alarm I think this is the best feature as how many people do you see responding to a car alarm in a carpark? Also, this was tested recently when I left the car at a dealer and as I got on the train around 15 minutes later I received a call on my mobile asking if I knew where my car was as someone had just disconnected the battery - Brilliant service!

Vehicle monitoring when you are driving - they will tell you if your car is starting to overheat

Battery monitoring - If your car is parked and they notice the battery voltage is dropping they will contact you

Full roadside assistance included in the price - The great thing is that they contact the roadside assistance company and via your GPS coordinates they pinpoint your location for them (great if you are in the middle of nowhere and you can't give a street name)

Internet login pagehttp://www.toyota.com.au/toyotalink where you can, and I love this bit, 'find your car' and in around a minute it will tell you where your car is and show it on a map

Emergency assistance button This can be pressed after an accident when you may be a bit shaken and they look after everything for you

My opinions:

Fully monitored alarm - Pretty pointless even with monitoring. If I smashed a window on an Aurion and unlocked it's doors, I could raid it's contents and take the head unit in a matter of minutes. How would the monitoring stop me if the car alarm is pretty much useless because people just look an stare.

Vehicle monitoring when you are driving - If you don't notice your car starting to overheat, then you should learn to pay more attention.

Battery monitoring - I guess that could be helpful, but in all honesty if I leave the car with the lights on etc, then I deserve what I come back to.

Full roadside assistance included in the price - $74 per annum RACQ membership gives me roadside assistance. And if I don't know where I am, my phone certainly does.

Internet login page - Bit of a gimmick in my opinion. I would only find his useful if the car was stolen. But then again, I think I would be fine with the risk of it getting stolen without the Toyotalink because the car isn't exactly the easiest to steal.

Emergency assistance button - That's what insurance is for. They can't really sort everything for you because you're the one that has to speak with your insurance company after the accident.. shaken or not.

At the end of the day, I personally would think that the $240 annual fee is a bit of a waste of money when you can get roadside assistance for as little as around $74 per annum and it can do most of what Toyotalink is there to offer. Each to their own.

And here's something for you. The backup battery in the Toyotalink will eventually go flat. One person has quoted about 3 years, but yours may vary. And the replacement battery cost? Well here's what he has said:

Presara toyotalink

PLease also be aware that the Mayday Backup Battery for your system requires replacing every three years. The cost of this is $300.00 ($100 for each year). So, essentially you are paying $340 per year for the privilege of using the Toyota Link Service. Ask yourself if this quirky gagdet is actually worth it or should you use a less extravagent NRMA service.

Except they could remote start the engine without a key, can Toyota Link do this?

No.

[fuel miser]

Haven't replaced my battery yet - 3 and 1/2 years, but good scare mungering. Also what sort of battery costs $300.00?

They can turn it off remotely and lock the doors, this is against the law in Australia thou.

I know this because at the original activation during delivery I asked the remote operator to do this. The sales guy and I were locked inside the car with the key fob but could not open the doors etc or start the engine.

Maybe they can start it remotely, I didn't ask them to do this.

[DJKOR]

Haven't replaced my battery yet - 3 and 1/2 years, but good scare mungering. Also what sort of battery costs $300.00?

As said, yours may vary. In this case, good if it lasts you longer. And $300 for a battery doesn't surprise me when considering this is what Toyota had quoted at one point in time. It's just like how Toyota asked $27 for a replacement battery for the Smart Entry remote, when you could get the same battery from Jaycar for $4. Or how Toyota can charge you $600 for a single tail light that is nowhere near that value.

[Morequick]

ultimately I think it comes down to balancing the chance that someone will rock off with your Presara (depending where you live, this may be very low chance or very high) and the cost of a yearly fee.

[Ingres]

Internet login pagehttp://www.toyota.com.au/toyotalink where you can, and I love this bit, 'find your car' and in around a minute it will tell you where your car is and show it on a map

This alone will make me give it up... freaking easier for the gf/missus to trace your whereabouts..NOT a good idea for many of the guys.. hahahah

[Freddo]

lol i smell a hater.

from my experience i have stayed with toyota link.

they use mondial for their roadside assist which is way better than RAC i found. rac hire anyone nowadays... if u can answer 60 multi- choice questions and get more than 50 right then you are in. i think mondial is about $99 p/a so if u dont go toyota link then sign up with these guys. i had these guys out when my battery died on my 07 pres.

left my lights on a few times during the day coz i am used to it cutting off when i "take the key out" like in my subi, and left the door agar in my garage coz i was too busy attending to my kids. and they rang me before my battery went flat. yay.

as far as tracking... well yeh its a nice to have but at the end useless. unless u wanna catch your cheating spouse lol. for me i'd want this for my porsche.

mondial replaced my battery for $170 for a 600CCA one.

if u can afford a presara then u can afford the toyota link :P

[fuel miser]

Well I finally got the call from Toyota link saying the backup battery was giving a low voltage alert.

Having read the earlier posts and prior to starting to disassemble the car I rang the local Toyota service boys and got a quote for $72.00 for the battery. As this is the first replacement I will buy an original and use the old one to work out what I will need if I have to replace it again.

As nobody has posted a picture of the replacement for reference, when I pick it up I will post one and the internals of the black box mounted under the parcel shelf showing where the battery actually goes.

[Beep Beep]

The Toyota Link service is standard in the Presara and is included free for the first 3 years.

Soon after purchasing my 2007 model I pressed the Toyota Link contact button located on the roof behind the rear vision mirror and was connected with the Toyota Link Call Centre. The very professional and polite operator explained the service and was able to sign me up on the spot offering me the option of paying either $20 a month or an annual fee of $240.

When I took delivery of my Presara in October 2010, I didn't have to pay for T-Link because it was already included?

Did you purchase new or used?

I think Toyota Link membership may not be transferable......?

[RedSportivo]

With the Theft thing DJKOR,

Theres theives out there thesedays they have a program that helps them unlock any toyota, they go to your car get the vin number off your rego sticker, and they will program the key to work for your car. and then its just unlock start engine drive off.

Happened alot in sydney was reading it on the news one man got with about 50 Toyota Hilux's and they seized about 4 TRD aurions from his house.

[fuel miser]

I am pretty sure there is no Toyota Link in a Hilux or TRD.

The Toyota Link web page doesn't list them as having the option.

No Toyota Link, no tracking, if you disconnect the battery this triggers an alarm to Toyota Link and they ring the owner.

[Foss]

I don't think he was suggesting that TRDs and Hiluxes have Toyotalink, so much as referring to what DJ said about Aurions not being easy to steal...

Internet login page - Bit of a gimmick in my opinion. I would only find his useful if the car was stolen. But then again, I think I would be fine with the risk of it getting stolen without the Toyotalink because the car isn't exactly the easiest to steal.

Red, never heard that, but if theres any truth to it its a bit of a worry. I'd have thought your key encoding would have been linked to more than just your VIN though? Bit of a bad oversight on Toyota's part if its not!

[Adamsy]

Even if you could somehow program a key and cut it to open the door of an Aurion what are you going to do about the whole starter button problem on Presara, ZR6 and 3500SL? it's going to take a few moments to get around it and let’s be honest if you’re in a car park looking for a car to flog why would you choose the 45k -60k Aurion of all cars? You’d go for an early model Corolla or some crap box magna or something wouldn’t you?

[Adamsy]

With the Theft thing DJKOR,

Theres theives out there thesedays they have a program that helps them unlock any toyota, they go to your car get the vin number off your rego sticker, and they will program the key to work for your car. and then its just unlock start engine drive off.

Happened alot in sydney was reading it on the news one man got with about 50 Toyota Hilux's and they seized about 4 TRD aurions from his house.

What you've described is a easier process then what we go through to program keys and remotes? how could theives know a Toyota system better them Toyota themselves? & make shortcuts?

[Foss]

You'd go for an early model Corolla or some crap box magna or something wouldn't you?

Why? Surely if you were going to go to the effort of stealing a car you'd make it worthwhile?

[fuel miser]

Well here are the pictures of the backup battery and where it lives.

I have also included pictures of the antenna and connections.

Looks like I might have to do these separately.

[fuel miser]

Connections to Mayday unit etc.

Edited February 20, 2011 by fuel miser

[Beep Beep]

I'm just wondering if anyone out there has had a Toyotalink backup batter fail on them?

Does the backup battery get charged by the car's electrical system while the car's running?

I saw my Toyotalink indicator go red and stay red about a fortnight ago. I pushed the toyotalink call button and spoke to the operator there who told me that all systems are good, except for low battery.

I've booked it in to get looked at tomorrow.

I think from memory the dealer changed the battery at the 15,000km service too, and 4,000km later the battery has dieded again?

What's up with that? . Does this mean the backup batteries have to be changed all the time and they don't recharge off the car when it's running??

Surely NOT!

Cheers,

BB

[DJKOR]

The battery would be charged at some interval one way or another as it is of a rechargeable type. As for how it charges I'm not sure, but one would hope it lets it discharge a bit first before topping it up. It appears they use NiCd batteries which are so last century and are well known for their 'memory effect'. My guess is that they just wear out faster than what you may be used to with normal rechargeable batteries.

Maybe a DIY NiMH conversion is in order. Following fuel misers details above, I'd imagine it wouldn't be that hard to change it over yourself. Just open it up, take the old ones out and make up a new set.

[Beep Beep]

Thanks DJKOR. :P

NiCd? WTF.. C'mon.. It's an MY10 (Sept) Car.. SURELY they'd have Li-Ion cells ...... I haven't used NiCd batteries since my high school days...... (and that's a long while ago....)

The NiMH convers sounds intriguing though............. Hopefully the how to's been posted in a previous thread. Time go thread hunting.....

[Beep Beep]

Just had a thought. If I start diddling around with the Toyotalink box, that's a deal breaker in terms of the warranty.

Maybe the best thing is to just keep hassling Toyota each time the battery dies until the NCW runs out......... After that do the battery mod (assuming if I'm keeping the car and WANT Toyotalink, that is).

Hmmmmmm..

[DJKOR]

The NiMH convers sounds intriguing though............. Hopefully the how to's been posted in a previous thread. Time go thread hunting.....

Unfortunately it hasn't been mentioned here. May need to span your search outside of this forum. That said, it shouldn't be too hard. Just take the old one out and measure it. They should be 6 cells so just look around for individual cells that would match up in size when formed into a 6 cell battery. Get some ones with solder tabs and make it yourself or get a battery shop to spot weld them.

Edit: I just thought, depending on what size the battery is, you may be quite lucky with changing it over to NiMH. From the pics and as a guess, it looks like it would probably be of a generic size. This means you may be able to use a Tamiya battery . At least it will already be made up.

Just had a thought. If I start diddling around with the Toyotalink box, that's a deal breaker in terms of the warranty.

Maybe the best thing is to just keep hassling Toyota each time the battery dies until the NCW runs out......... After that do the battery mod (assuming if I'm keeping the car and WANT Toyotalink, that is).

Hmmmmmm..

This is true... however one must ask whether they would know. Like would they have a need to open it up to check?

[Beep Beep]

So, here's an update :-

Dropped it off at City Toyota in Northbridge at 8.45am today.

Customer service guy (a very polite, helpful fellow too btw) gave me the paperwork to sign, got the keys from me etc etc.

The one thing I did NOT expect was him saying the car won't be ready for pickup until 4.30pm today . Yep, this is despite him telling me himself that it is a straight warranty replacement of the backup battery.

Don't get me wrong, but does it really take that long to change the backup battery? What do they need to do to get to it, take the entire rear end off, disassemble the the suspension or something? Or, does the new battery come with airtight seals and requires high end precision robotics to align the interface and reset the computer systems + calibration with a geostationary satellite uplink? Yeah.... nah, I didn't think so.

It's just a friggin battery pack FFS.:o

So, unexpectedly I won't have my car for the whole day today. With site meetings to get to, I'm stuck with using one of the sportswagon pool cars instead. Gawd, I hope at the very least one of them has got a full tank of Fuel... .

BB

[DJKOR]

Service centres can be a real nuisance sometimes. Despite giving them a simple job to do, they tend to still throw you in the queue and don't prioritise the quick jobs to be done sooner.

That's what I like about my prefered service centre. Drop the car off, they will ask what time you want it back by, give them a realistic time and they will try to have it done by then.

Unless they actually don't have the battery in stock there and they need it to come from one of their distribution centres which usually have delivery runs during the day. In that case they probably will be waiting till the afternoon at some set time for the battery to arrive and then they will fit it. But I dunno how they operate and whether they do it like that.