Corolla S 2014 - hands free calls are hard to hear, but other Audio (music, etc) work fine

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TMac218

New Member
#1
#1
Hi, recently in my Corolla S 2014, my hands free incoming phone calls seem to be very low. Instead of the sound coming in on the door speakers, it appears to be coming out of the center of my console and is very hard to hear. People can hear my outgoing calls.
When I play music or play audiobooks from Audible/Overdrive apps on the phone, the sound is perfectly fine.
I have removed the phone's Bluetooth profile from the car, and removed the car's Bluetooth profile from the phone and paired them again. But it doesn't seem to help.
My phone is a BlackBerry Leap (OS 10.3.3.1463) but I tried my husband's iPhone as well. Same result.
The dealership says I have to buy a new speaker system ($400) to fix the issue. I hope there is another fix, like a firmware upgrade, that will remedy this. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!
 
J

jolly

New Member
#2
#2
Have you check if the "in-call" volume is at an appropriate level ? (Setup/Phone menu on the touchscreen) ?
I doubt the speakers are in cause, since you say they work fine otherwise.
I also doubt the sound come from the center of the console, since there are no speakers there... Unless it's from the phone itself ?
Maybe there are some settings to check on the phone ?
 
TSAM

TSAM

New Member
#3
#3
TMac218 said:
Hi, recently in my Corolla S 2014, my hands free incoming phone calls seem to be very low. Instead of the sound coming in on the door speakers, it appears to be coming out of the center of my console and is very hard to hear. People can hear my outgoing calls.
When I play music or play audiobooks from Audible/Overdrive apps on the phone, the sound is perfectly fine.
I have removed the phone's Bluetooth profile from the car, and removed the car's Bluetooth profile from the phone and paired them again. But it doesn't seem to help.
My phone is a BlackBerry Leap (OS 10.3.3.1463) but I tried my husband's iPhone as well. Same result.
The dealership says I have to buy a new speaker system ($400) to fix the issue. I hope there is another fix, like a firmware upgrade, that will remedy this. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Any update on your issue? I use 2014 Corolla S plus. From last few weeks i'm facing similar issue on my car. Has problem only with phone calls, rest of the music/radio/youtube video sound plays well. Hope your reply may help. Please let me know. Thanks in advance.
 
klebinek

klebinek

New Member
#4
#4
Make sure your phone volume is set adequately since it may be set too low and even though car volume is set high it'll still be to low. You would think that it should reflect phone's settings but I've had weird situations similar to what you're describing by adjusting phone's conversation volume.
 
TSAM

TSAM

New Member
#5
#5
klebinek said:
Make sure your phone volume is set adequately since it may be set too low and even though car volume is set high it'll still be to low. You would think that it should reflect phone's settings but I've had weird situations similar to what you're describing by adjusting phone's conversation volume.
Click to expand...
I checked all volume settings in phone and car, but nothing worked. In addition, i also verified with friends iPhones and Android phones, the result is the same. Music/maps apps like Spotify/Waze/Google Maps/All other apps work with perfect sound quality over bluetooth. Only issue with phone calls, low volume/cracking sound/only 1 side front speaker works with low sound. People on the other side of the call can hear my voice without any issues.

Not sure how to fix it.

2014 Corolla S plus, Bluetooth version is BU.70.27.

Went to the dealer today, he is asking to pay for the upgrade for BU.70.31. But not giving any guarantees that the upgrade will fix the issue. This makes me to rethink about upgrade the version to BU.70.31.
 
Last edited:
lar.smith

lar.smith

New Member
#6
#6
You probably know this already but the phone volume has to be set while you are talking on the phone to some one. It is completely separate from the music volume.
 
TSAM

TSAM

New Member
#7
#7
lar.smith said:
You probably know this already but the phone volume has to be set while you are talking on the phone to some one. It is completely separate from the music volume.
Click to expand...
I checked it too, no difference. The call volume, phone volume and ringer volume all are full. Still the speaker are not working for only phone calls. Planning to visit the dealer again. Will see if they can fix it without changing the entire set.
 
V

vahnx

New Member
#11
#11
Same problem here. I’m on BU.70.27 and was on 20.x ish when I got the vehicle but worked fine on BU 70 for months. I did notice a couple times before this issue happened that my phone call got merged with my Bluetooth music, so I could hear both coming from the Center dash or whatever. I have a feeling calls come from a separate speaker and that speaker is blown. I’m speaking with my dealership about it.
 
S

speedofcausality

New Member
#12
#12
Having exactly the same issue here. Tried several other phones, they all work fine in other vehicles for both calls and regular bluetooth, but calls in my 2016 Corolla S are very low as described by others, and seem to only be coming from either the dashboard or the driver's side door speaker. Can barely hear even at max volume. The people I call can hear me fine.
 
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mtsears

New Member
#22
#22
I literally just had this same issue start occuring in my 2014 LE Eco Corolla in the last couple of weeks. My driver's side speaker has been noisy off and on for awhile and I had just moved to my back speakers to avoid the static sound when music was playing... and in the last couple of weeks, my phone calls sound like they are far off in the distance and not coming through the speaker anymore. Thanks for the info @Rawdflow - hopefully it is an easy and relatively inexpensive fix.
 
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MNBex

New Member
#23
#23
E X A C T S A M E T H I N G ! This has been going on for nearly a year in my '14 LE. Every once in a while I try some troubleshooting again and end up throwing my hands up. All volumes are set appropriately (duh). Discinnected car/phone from each other and re linked. Nope. Upgraded firmware. Nope. I LOVED my integrated phone and want it back!!! Toyota, get smart, dang it! It's 2019 and my 2014 is getting up there in miles. Wanted a RAV4, but not if Toyota won't stand by their technology. Last firmware for 2014 is dated 2016???
 
M

MNBex

New Member
#24
#24
MNBex said:
E X A C T S A M E T H I N G ! This has been going on for nearly a year in my '14 LE. Every once in a while I try some troubleshooting again and end up throwing my hands up. All volumes are set appropriately (duh). Discinnected car/phone from each other and re linked. Nope. Upgraded firmware. Nope. I LOVED my integrated phone and want it back!!! Toyota, get smart, dang it! It's 2019 and my 2014 is getting up there in miles. Wanted a RAV4, but not if Toyota won't stand by their technology. Last firmware for 2014 is dated 2016??? Update: just checked all speakers in the car. On music and calls. Calls only come out on the tiny spearers located on the door near the side mirrors. Very tinny.
Click to expand...
 
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mtsears

New Member
#26
#26
Update - just got my car fixed today and the wires were detached in both front doors as @Rawdflow noted AND the wires were corroded and almost detached at the tweeter in both doors too. The garage was able to splice in new wire and weatherized them to hopefully prevent this from happening again. Thanks @Rawdflow for your help in getting this fixed!
 
F

Florin

New Member
#27
#27
Same issue here . I checked the connections at the twitters and looks ok . Mtsears, can you elaborate a bit on the location of the splice ? Are you talking about the small speakers by the mirrors ?
 
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mtsears

New Member
#28
#28
@Florin I wish I had gotten the garage to take photos - they often do for their reporting system through their NAPA app. From what they told me is that, like the photo posted by @Rawdflow on March 5, 2019, the wires were corroded at the speaker in both front doors as well as at the tweeter (I believe that is the small speaker by the mirror - the garage called them tweeters) in the door by the mirrors on both front doors. One was about 6 inches back from the tweeter into the car too and there was corrosion/damage along the wires, not just at the connection with the tweeter. I am getting some speaker feedback again on the passenger side so I assume there is another section further into the car that needs to be fixed still. :(
 
C

Chantale

New Member
#29
#29
So this is what they did to my car today (bill below) and my problem is fixed. Only after playing with the speakers (they turned down the speakers in the back and the front ones - the ones in the doors - weren’t working at all) did they realise that it wasn’t just a Bluetooth problem (and not hearing people on phone calls). The wiring to my speakers was corroded and they had to replace it all. I had an extended warranty which covered the wiring and the labour but didn’t cover the cost of the speakers (276$ for the two speakers). They estimate it would’ve cost me over 1400$ otherwise (what they are billing back to Toyota).
My car only has 80k on it so I’m hoping this isn’t going to keep happening....
Anyway, it’s done.
 

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Florin

New Member
#30
#30
Here we go,
Today I finally got to work on my 2014 Toyota Corolla . I have the same problem as all of you guys . The front speakers are dead . I opened the door panels which is fairly easy and found both speakers connectors to be very corroded to the point of wires being severed off the connector . The connectors had to be replaced with the OEM part number ( you can find online) 90980-10935. Also along with the connectors I had to buy the pig tail wires, part number 82998-12340 ( 4 pcs) . All together about 80 $ Canadian. The problem is that the passenger side speaker is blown. A working speaker should measure 3.8 ohms across the 2 leads. The splice has to be done with butt connectors as the oem wire is not solderable . Also you should cut far enough to get rid of the corrosion . If need it I can post some pictures but I think my explanation is sufficient
I am waiting on the speaker but I have at least one speaker working .
 
V

vahnx

New Member
#31
#31
I just had the garage look at mine in my 2014 as well. I was told these forum posts were spot on and there was corrosion (so much for another dealer who said this would not be the case). The dealership found a part to connect the wires back or whatnot. Anyways, 3 days later my left speaker stopped functioning mostly and is now staticky. Maybe the speaker is blown? Anyways, taking it back in.
 
C

Corster

New Member
#32
#32
SOLUTION: This generation of corolla seems to be very susceptible to rain or moisture in the door panel. If you ever left your window open and it rained... The water pools right on the speaker lower door speakers. The speaker connection happens to be right on the top; causing the corrosion and then failure of the handsfree calling/ lower front door speakers.

There are actually 2 issues I noticed. 1 The tweeter speaker connection can make a poor connection causing crackling in the hands-free system. Try this first because its easiest to fix and takes a few seconds. Just pull the top tweeter speaker directly towards you and it should pop off. Careful not to break the connection or speaker. unplug the connection. You will need a screwdriver to push in the little lock on the side. Clean connections if needed then reattach.

Now if this still didn't work you're probably in the same boat as me and turn on some music from your phone. then click sound on your radio and put the crosshairs all the way towards the front so only your front speakers will play the music. Right about now you realize your front bottom speakers are not working. You will have to take your inner door panel and check the connectors for corrosion. You can do 1 of 2 things. 1 buy new connectors and hope your speakers are still good or drill out the factory speakers and install aftermarket. I have included some links to parts and guides that will be helpful.

How to take your door panel off and install good speakers:
https://www.toyotanation.com/forum/...de-your-front-door-speakers.html#post11034737

Parts:

Connecter that seems to be the issue: Toyota Part No.: 90980-10935
 
S

Soska

New Member
#34
#34
I had the same problem with my 2015 LE. Took it to dealership, they said it may need a software update, didn’t work. I took it to a car stereo system shop today and asked them to check the speakers, wires and connectors, at first they didn’t buy it, but they were surprised to find that both driver and passenger speakers blown; wires and connectors corroded. I had to replace both speakers and wires 1 foot on each side.
Thank you so much for this post. It’s really helpful. I registered to this forum specifically to give you all credit; Happy to be able to use handsfree calling again
I’m putting pictures of the damaged speakers.
 

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T

The saint

New Member
#35
#35
TMac218 said:
Hi, recently in my Corolla S 2014, my hands free incoming phone calls seem to be very low. Instead of the sound coming in on the door speakers, it appears to be coming out of the center of my console and is very hard to hear. People can hear my outgoing calls.
When I play music or play audiobooks from Audible/Overdrive apps on the phone, the sound is perfectly fine.
I have removed the phone's Bluetooth profile from the car, and removed the car's Bluetooth profile from the phone and paired them again. But it doesn't seem to help.
My phone is a BlackBerry Leap (OS 10.3.3.1463) but I tried my husband's iPhone as well. Same result.
The dealership says I have to buy a new speaker system ($400) to fix the issue. I hope there is another fix, like a firmware upgrade, that will remedy this. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Did u get ur sound fix i have the same problem with my 2017 Corolla le
 
U

Usambhari

New Member
#38
#38
Usambhari said:
Same issue with my 2016 Toyota Corolla S.. Will check the speakers & wiring...
Click to expand...
This is what I did to fix the issue:
1. Removed the door panel
2. Removed the connector (90980-10935) from speaker
3. Crimped 'Insulated Wire Female Disconnect' to the wires coming from tweeter
https://www.acehardware.com/departm...ctrical/boxes-fittings-and-conduit/lugs/34535
4. Applied insulation tape to prevent weather damage
I have working front speakers. Total cost of repairs $2 :)
 
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