NHTSA complaint #11638992

Owner complaint summary

I am experiencing (along with many other customers) software issues related to navigation. Toyota acknowledges the issue, wherein the head unit on the car gives bad gps data when it communicates with the phone via AirPlay. This causes the any navigation system to think that you’re in the wrong location. Symptoms include having the navigation think you’re not on the highway and it rerouting you every time there is an exit. I almost got into a car accident following erroneous routing. While it’s a software issue, (technically, the head unit is not clearing the memory in the onboard computer properly, there’s a memory leak) it makes the car undrivable and we bought it brand new. The most disappointing part is that Toyota says there’s no fix and we just have to live with it. We have 10.5 monitor that displays completely false and dangerous information. That’s like saying I buy an iPhone but my calling function on the phone doesn’t work and Apple saying your stuck with the faulty phone. Given the sophistication of a modern day car, I believe software problems are just as important as faulty brakes or airbags. In fact this issue is dangerous everytime you get in the car. I experienced this issue occurred when I was on the highway when I had no way to stop and could not rely on my navigation. It is so dangerous. It’s reprehensible that Toyota does not have to be held accountable for this. I don’t know what to do with my car. I don’t feel safe driving it. Just to be clear, my phone works on other Toyotas, so not a phone problem. I’ve also tried other phones on my car and all have the same problem. The master technician said he sees this commonly on cars but he has no fix. Toyota will not replace the head unit. They are unable to do anything.