OK, I am not angry, though I am a bit disappointed in Toyota in getting some information. What started as a simple inquiry has turned into nobody being willing to help. I have all the TCH manuals in PDF format and one of the files describes settings that can be turned on and off by a hand held tester (according to the document). These settings appear to control lots of useful things, though some are not clear.

I started with my local dealer and spoke to several people in the service department who told me that the 2007 Camry is so new, they don't know what settings are available. I should contact Toyota to get more information.

I then e-mail Toyota's help:
I am curious about changing some of the settings listed in "Body Mechanical - Multiplex Communication". The ones I am most interested in are:

* Light Control
+ SENSITIVITY (Does this adjust sensitivity of the automatic headlights so that they can come on sooner after sunset?)
+ DISP EX ON SEN & DISP EX OFF SEN (Does this allow for further dimming of the climate control/radio backlight?)

I have checked with my the service department at my dealer and they say the 2007 Camry is so new that they do not know anything about these functions yet! The manual says my dealer can adjust these things for me.

Can you help?


So, in response, I get:
Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

We apologize, but are not structured to offer on-line technical evaluation, diagrams, or further repair or diagnostic information. To obtain the greatest level of technical service from Toyota, we recommend you contact the Customer Relations Manager at your local Toyota dealership. Our dealerships possess specialized technical knowledge in the areas of diagnosis and repair, and would have the opportunity to review you vehicle first hand.

Your email has been documented at our National Headquarters under file #{redacted}. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Toyota Customer Experience

So, apparently my dealer has "specialized technical knowledge" that they don't even know they have!

So, I am curious how the rest of you are finding your dealer in terms of knowing/helping with any issues, even small ones? Are they trying to help or passing the buck?

Thanks.

 

Forget issues ... none of the three dealesrhips we visited during the buying process had enough knowledge about TCH features.

 

It's not a TCH issue. It happens anytime a new design hits the streets. I got my 2004 Sienna two months after it came out (new redesign model year). It took my dealer about 6 months before they had the technical manual updates just to change the remote unlock function from 2 push to 1 push to open all the doors.

There are basically 3 choices:

1) finish and release technical documentation along with a new design. In this case the tech docs are almost always riddled with errors to do ongoing last minute design changes.
2) Wait until tech docs are ready before releasing product. In this case that means seeing thousands of cars in a parking lot with "not for sale" signs on them.
3) finish & release the tech docs after the design is finalized and product is on the lot. In this case, reality...

 

My salesperson was pretty knowledgeable, but he owned a TCH (his display showed 34.9 mpg - novice ). But if I went into the dealership with your questions I would expect the same response. However, it should be up to them to find out the info from Toyota.

As far as Toyota's response. It doesn't even seem that anyone read your e-mail. I'm guessing that they said "Tech support - send them the standard contact your dealership e-mail".

 

Show me where I, as a TCH owner, can get these manuals legally for free (yes, I know I can get them online by paying), and then I will sympathise with you.

I can't see why you are upset at Toyota for not wanting to support an end user who accessed documents that weren't designed for the end user. Learning how to hack the TCH is great, but you can't expect Toyota to help with every step.

TiVo was great in this regard -- they encouraged people to hack them (within reason), by encouraging people to explore and share. But they didn't assist in the hacking.

 

I think "hack" isn't the correct term here. To me, "hacking" would be doing things to the vehicle that weren't set up as configurable by Toyota.

This is simply changing settings on the car that need to be done by the dealer with their special "tool". I would equate this to changing BIOS settings on a computer (if this doesn't make sense to you, just ignore my analogy ).

I do agree that they probably don't want the public to have this particular document, but they SHOULD know how to make these adjustments.

 

Spiff, I agree. I would like to adjust the sensitivity of the auto headlights. I would also like to adjust how long it takes to turn on. Last week I was driving on a cloudy day. Every time I went under an overpass the lights would turn on, just to turn off a second later when I emerged on the other side. I would like to adjust the brightness of the radio display compared with the dash display. No reason these things shouldn't be customizable.

 

These customizable features are publicly confirmed via Toyota's own ToyotaiGuide.com website.

I took my TCH into my dealer, and had the climate control changed so it doesn't always default to "recirc" and had the fob changed so one click opens all doors, altho I rarely will use this.

I was able to follwo the instructions inthe manual to cahnge the keyless smart system so when I place my hand around the driver's door handle, all doors open atthe same time also.

 

rscott, as jbollt mentions, go to www.toyotaiguide.com. Follow the guidance until you get to the info for TCH. Go to "Other Features" and choose "Customizable Electronic Features". There you can find a number of items that can be configured as you choose. The dealer is supposed to be able to adjust these easily.

I'd like my sympathy, now, please.

 

Excellent analogy -- although I can't recall the last time I bought a computer where I had access to information about all the BIOS options. :)

To me, hacking is anything that a normal car owner doesn't know can be done. The options here -- light sensitivity and "DISP EX" are ones that I didn't notice in the manual (I'm actually creating a list of things that are mentioned in the manual that the dealer can change).

They should. But if I isn't mentioned in the manual, it's something that I wouldn't fault a dealer for not knowing, especially on a car that is only about 3 months old. :)

I must say, though, that I'm probably going to spend the money to get this manual -- I am very curious about other undocumented options. :)
-Scott