2012 Corolla - Navigation Upgrade Problem

#1
I bought new a 2012 Corolla S with navigation. That was 18 months ago, and I want to get a refresh on map data because of new roads in my area.

Parts dept. at the dealer from which I bought the car told me there was no map update, but that I had to buy a navigation upgrade, PN 86272-HDD07-00 -- and by the way I could not install the upgrade myself: the dealer would have to install it for $100 or so. I'll skip the delay details.

Bottom line it took 2 months to get the software upgrade. All I received is a plastic card with an "activation code" on it, for $169 + tax.

After keeping my car for 2 days, my dealer's Highly Trained Service Technicians were unable to install the upgrade, and pushed the blame back on Toyota Itself. The story they told me is that Toyota refused to send to its dealers the software tool necessary to install the upgrade.

What a bedtime story, huh?

Does Toyota have an ombudsman for parts or service questions? Is there an 800-number I can call for a no-BS answer?

Should I just take the alleged activation code to another dealer? If so, how do I find a dealer that knows what a nav upgrade is?

Thanks in advance.
 
#3
Run-around from Toyota

I sent a message to Toyota through the Contact Toyota form on Toyota.com. They sent me to the dealer's Customer Relations Manager, who was very polite but only repeated what the service writer told me. I fed that back to Contact Toyota and am still waiting for a response.

I'm going to ask for my money back.
 
#5
No -- but I demanded to know if they sold me the right part. After 3 weeks, they're still not sure! Anyway, I'm taking it to the dealer on 2/23. They promise to figure it out then.
 
#6
I am very glad I contacted Toyota through the CONTACT TOYOTA button on the website. A real person took charge of my problem, and I was able to get the upgrade I paid for, through the dealer that first sold me the upgrade. It took too long, but going through Toyota was probably less stressful than submitting a consumer complaint to the FTC.
 
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