Front Parking Sensors

[blue verso 56]

I know this has been discussed in depth in various threads but having bought a new T-Spirit and specified front sensors which the supplying dealer was unable to provide on advice from the Toyota technical department does anyone have the email for the Toyota Technical department as I object to using the 09 number provided by Toyota helpline which costs £1-50 a minute .

I am hoping that the technical department will give a full explanation as to why there is a compatibility issue as other dealers have fitted them with no effect on the IPA

Thanks for the help

[blue verso 56]

I contacted Toyota customer services regarding the front sensors asking why they are incompatible with the IPA when some Toyota Dealers are able to fit them without any problems and could they pass my query onto there technical department for an explanation.

There response is below

In response to your query, this type of technical information is certainly available from the Technical Department at Toyota (GB) Head Office. However, please be aware that due to the nature of the information you are looking for, this is chargeable.

What happened to there customer first policy !! I did point out that I had just spent £24,000 on a new Toyota and it is not unreasonable to ask the question as the dealer was unable to answer it .

I asked them to escalate my complaint .

[Dacre]

You could always email the CEO of Toyota UK - Jon Williams

Look at this site and it will give you his email address

http://www.ceoemail.com/#ukcompanies

[blue verso 56]

Thanks Darce for the very useful link .

I will give them a chance to do a proper reply first

[Red Yaris 54]

I contacted Toyota customer services regarding the front sensors asking why they are incompatible with the IPA when some Toyota Dealers are able to fit them without any problems and could they pass my query onto there technical department for an explanation.

There response is below

In response to your query, this type of technical information is certainly available from the Technical Department at Toyota (GB) Head Office. However, please be aware that due to the nature of the information you are looking for, this is chargeable.

What happened to there customer first policy !! I did point out that I had just spent £24,000 on a new Toyota and it is not unreasonable to ask the question as the dealer was unable to answer it .

I asked them to escalate my complaint .

Don't get this out of proportion!

You have spent £24000 on the car

You have spent quite a lot of time and energy emailing Toyota

Would it not have been a better idea to spend a few pounds on that phone call to Toyota Technical help line

Surely the relatively small cost involved to answer your query would have been far less hassle?

Suppose it depends on how quickly you want a reply

[Ancient Nerd]

I contacted Toyota customer services regarding the front sensors asking why they are incompatible with the IPA when some Toyota Dealers are able to fit them without any problems and could they pass my query onto there technical department for an explanation.

There response is below

In response to your query, this type of technical information is certainly available from the Technical Department at Toyota (GB) Head Office. However, please be aware that due to the nature of the information you are looking for, this is chargeable.

What happened to there customer first policy !! I did point out that I had just spent £24,000 on a new Toyota and it is not unreasonable to ask the question as the dealer was unable to answer it .

I asked them to escalate my complaint .

Don't get this out of proportion!

You have spent £24000 on the car

You have spent quite a lot of time and energy emailing Toyota

Would it not have been a better idea to spend a few pounds on that phone call to Toyota Technical help line

Surely the relatively small cost involved to answer your query would have been far less hassle?

Suppose it depends on how quickly you want a reply

One dealer tells you an option is unavailable

Another dealer has fitted it.

You have to pay Toyota to tell you which is correct!

Perhaps the Toyota technical department needs to recover the cost of the phone call to Japan that they must make to find the answer.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Toyota GB.

Over the last ten years we have had four new Toyotas. During that time, Toyota support has deteriorated from first rate to one that has no clue, and really doesn't care.

[blue verso 56]

Red yaris

Don't get this out of proportion!

I have not

You have spent quite a lot of time and energy emailing Toyota

No not really :D

Would it not have been a better idea to spend a few pounds on that phone call to Toyota Technical help line

I have better things to spend my money on than subsidise Toyota technical department for information which should be available to owners ;)

Surely the relatively small cost involved to answer your query would have been far less hassle?

At £1-50 a minute it could end up not such a small cost and why should a customer pay for this information ? I do not think it is unreasonable to know exactly why Toyota are saying these sensors cannot be fitted when some Toyota dealers are able to fit them

[Lorna2]

Blue Verso, if one dealer tells you the front parking sensors can be fitted and another dealer is saying they can't, why not go to the dealer who says they can't fit them and say 'I was at ... and they can fit the sensors so why are you saying you can't do it?'

Maybe the member of staff you spoke to dosen't actually realise they can fit the sensors - who did you speak to, sales? service? Maybe not very many customers at that dealership get those sensors fitted so the person you spoke to didn't know. I'm only trying to look at this from all angles.

The dealership that can fit the sensors,is it very far from where you live? If not,maybe you could just let them do it. Or if its the other dealership you prefer to use, get a written quote from the place that will fit the sensors and show that to the ones who say it isn't possible.

[Parts-King]

According to my list, you cannot have sensors fitted to a T Spirit, now then, that is not to say it cannot be done. I know what the answer is going to be, if the listing says NO, then the answer will be NO, even though it might have been done by somebody else. You are not going to have the manufacturer tell you it is possible to do IF it is not recommended on your car. Even if it was possible to do, you will not get the information on how to do it off Toyota

As for getting the advice for free, I dont think you appreciate how many calls the manufacturers get regarding technical info, you would need hundreds of technical people to answer the phones, the types of customers ringing range from complete novices to garages requiring information, and the manufacturer BY LAW has the right to charge you for information, to cover their expenses, and this is usually done by use of a premium phone number. I appreciate you have bought a car off Toyota, but so have 58,000 other people this year, and to have the resources to handle even a fraction of those customers is immense

Kingo

[kithmo]

Blue Verso, do you have such problems with spatial awareness that you need front parking sensors or are you just trying to make a point ?

I have never had parking sensors, front or rear, on any car I've owned in 38 years of driving

They're not a priority to me but I must admit, although I don't need it, I like the rear view camera.

[Cougar]

I know this has been discussed in depth in various threads but having bought a new T-Spirit and specified front sensors which the supplying dealer was unable to provide on advice from the Toyota technical department does anyone have the email for the Toyota Technical department as I object to using the 09 number provided by Toyota helpline which costs £1-50 a minute .

I am hoping that the technical department will give a full explanation as to why there is a compatibility issue as other dealers have fitted them with no effect on the IPA

Thanks for the help

All I can say is that if it is not listed on the accessory list for the T-Spirit then Toyota GB cannot, and will not recommend to have front parking sensors fitted. All you can presume is that they have tested it and not feel it is applicable for whatever reason.

It is Toyota Europe or Toyota Japan that will make a list of accessories for your car and whether they are applicable and not TGB. Who ever is fitting these sensors on a T-Spirit is doing so at their own risk, if there was an issue then they are liable for fitting them. If TGB say they cant be fitted then they should'nt, they dont have to justify it.

Its like

[Opifex]

Blue Verso, do you have such problems with spatial awareness that you need front parking sensors or are you just trying to make a point ?

I have never had parking sensors, front or rear, on any car I've owned in 38 years of driving

They're not a priority to me but I must admit, although I don't need it, I like the rear view camera.

Well, I wish I had your abilities and confidence.

The Prius is the first car I've owned without a "real" bonnet and I do find it difficult to know where the front end is when I can't see beyond the end of the dashboard. Driving up to a wall is bad enough, but even worse is parking up to a low fence or line of boulders which can't be seen once you are less than several feet away. As a result I err very much on the side of caution and probably leave a much bigger gap in front than is necessary. This stops the bumper being scraped but probably means that manoeuvring in tight spaces could be done much more efficiently if I could actually know just how much space there was. Front sensors would definitely help. A front camera would be even better so that I could know when I am within the white lines in a parking space.

Incidentally, I recently had side protection strips fitted and was also offered front and rear bumper corner protection strips. Not as useful as sensors but may provide a bit of protection if I do get it wrong.

[blue verso 56]

Some interesting replies but I would like to know the technical reason why they are unable to fit them rather than they cannot be fitted full stop with giving an explanation

Regards going to the dealer that will fit them a 700 mile round trip is not really in the equation .

Parts King I thought it would be just common courtesy to give an explanation it is hardly an in depth technical question to which that I will benefit financially from it is more a sales enquiry !! maybe Toyota PR who visits the forum would care to respond but I do not hold my breath

[Parts-King]

Parts King I thought it would be just common courtesy to give an explanation it is hardly an in depth technical question to which that I will benefit financially from it is more a sales enquiry !! maybe Toyota PR who visits the forum would care to respond but I do not hold my breath

Just wanting an explanation to know why it can't be done is a completely different scenario to knowing how to do it

If that is all you want to know, I suggest you contact the customer relations department and get them to get the answer for you from technical

You can contact them at

customer.relations@tgb.toyota.co.uk

Kingo

[Cougar]

Some interesting replies but I would like to know the technical reason why they are unable to fit them rather than they cannot be fitted full stop with giving an explanation

Regards going to the dealer that will fit them a 700 mile round trip is not really in the equation .

Parts King I thought it would be just common courtesy to give an explanation it is hardly an in depth technical question to which that I will benefit financially from it is more a sales enquiry !! maybe Toyota PR who visits the forum would care to respond but I do not hold my breath

If you are so botherd about the question why not spend the money and ring Toyota Technical.. Problem solved. Or get your dealer to do it for you??

[Jan&tone]

'tis not because the t-spirit has the IPA sensors on the front and the sensors you want would interfere with them is it?

[blue verso 56]

Thanks Parts King for your suggestion that is exactly what I did and was told that they know the answer but I would have to pay for the explanation

Couger

The dealer who supplied the car was unable to get an explanation from Toyota I am told so I have been down that route and with regards spending £1-50 per minute to answer what is a basic customer service enquiry ! I am not so easily parted with my hard earned money .

It is a simple question with a simple answer

[Flaninacupboard]

could be as simple as "there's only space for the clips for one wiring loom. that is taken up by IPA. there is no approved place to secure the loom for the sensors".

Just go to a different dealer, they -can- be fitted.

[blue verso 56]

Jan&tone

Yes you are right about the IPA but why does it stop the front sensors being fitted . The rear ones can be fitted hence I just wanted en explanation why .

I had read on these forums when the Generation 3 was released in 2009 Toyota were working on the problem and a fix was going to be released soon after launch

Flaninacupboard

That is a very good point and a fully understandable explanation so why could not Toyota just say that as you have done if this was the case . The reason for having Toyota approved accessories is the 5 year warranty on them

[kithmo]

Blue Verso, do you have such problems with spatial awareness that you need front parking sensors or are you just trying to make a point ?

I have never had parking sensors, front or rear, on any car I've owned in 38 years of driving

They're not a priority to me but I must admit, although I don't need it, I like the rear view camera.

Well, I wish I had your abilities and confidence.

The Prius is the first car I've owned without a "real" bonnet and I do find it difficult to know where the front end is when I can't see beyond the end of the dashboard. Driving up to a wall is bad enough, but even worse is parking up to a low fence or line of boulders which can't be seen once you are less than several feet away. As a result I err very much on the side of caution and probably leave a much bigger gap in front than is necessary. This stops the bumper being scraped but probably means that manoeuvring in tight spaces could be done much more efficiently if I could actually know just how much space there was. Front sensors would definitely help. A front camera would be even better so that I could know when I am within the white lines in a parking space.

Incidentally, I recently had side protection strips fitted and was also offered front and rear bumper corner protection strips. Not as useful as sensors but may provide a bit of protection if I do get it wrong.

LOL, if I were you I'd avoid tight spaces (or maybe get a Yaris hybrid) :D

Seriously though, I think everybody is the same with a new car, including me, leaving ever decreasing gaps as you get used to the size of it, it's just practice really. Luckily, when I was a newbie driver in 73 just about every car had a substantial metal bumper and it didn't matter so much if you nudged a wall or another car's bumper, there was no damage and you could err a bit whilst practising.

Have you tried raising your seat, I have my seat at its lowest and I can see the front of the bonnet, but I am 6ft tall.

[Sagitar]

There's a useful thread that started on September 10th and indeed some earlier ones if you search for them.

Some of us do have Toyota-fitted forward facing sensors on Gen 3, T Spirit, Prius. So clearly it can be done.

Mine were fitted by Stephen Eagell Toyota in Milton Keynes in September 2009.

[blue verso 56]

Thanks Sagitar for your reply and confirms what I had read on these forums but why are Toyota still refusing to accept that they can be fitted ? they could at least provide a reason why in there opinion it is not practical .

[Sagitar]

Thanks Sagitar for your reply and confirms what I had read on these forums but why are Toyota still refusing to accept that they can be fitted ? they could at least provide a reason why in there opinion it is not practical .

I assume that your question is rhetorical and not addressed to me, because I have no basis for answering it.

Why don't you speak to Stephen Eagell? They obviously know how to do the work and if they have now received instructions from Toyota not to do it any more, they should be able to tell you why.

[blue verso 56]

Thanks Sagitar I have a new Prius with no front sensors and to be honest do not find it much of a problem and I am £466 better off .I was just curious to why Toyota are saying they are unable to fit them when they can .

I will post if I find the reason from Toyota

[Red Yaris 54]

Thanks Sagitar I have a new Prius with no front sensors and to be honest do not find it much of a problem and I am £466 better off .I was just curious to why Toyota are saying they are unable to fit them when they can .

I will post if I find the reason from Toyota

For someone who does not find it a problem not to have front sensors you have made rather an issue of getting a solution to your problem

You have been offered many suggestions on here as to a possible solution.....including contacting a Toyota dealer who has fitted the sensors to a T Spirit, however you seem unwilling or unable to follow these leads.

Good luck with persueing Toyota GB for an answer, but as has already been said by Parts-King.......You may have to pay for an answer!

Just make sure that you do not spend more than £466 or you will find yourself out of pocket ;)