Toyota has not been the quickest auto manufacturer to adopt Apple CarPlay. But in early 2018 it did confirm certain 2019 models would finally support the in-car system. And now it’s retrofitting some older models to get support as well.
According to a report from Car and Driver on Monday, Toyota has confirmed it will be adding support for not only Apple CarPlay, but also Amazon’s Alexa, to specific 2018 models. For now, those models include the 2018 Toyota Camry sedan and the 2018 Toyota Sienna minivan. At the time of publication, those are the only pair of models Toyota has confirmed for the retrofit.
Toyota will be reaching out to owners of both of these models in the near future. The company will be letting those folks know they can contact their nearby dealership to get the upgrade started. Toyota does say that there may be a “small service charge” associated with the upgrade process, but does not go into specifics. It is unknown at this time just how long a Camry and/or Sienna owner will need to set aside for the retrofit.
“Toyota says it will be notifying Camry and Sienna owners and ‘encouraging them to contact their dealer’ about the retrofit; the installation will be done at dealerships. We reached out to Toyota to ask if the retrofit costs anything, and a spokesperson for the brand said there ‘may be a small service charge’ and that dealers will be able to provide more information. Toyota doesn’t say how long it will actually take to complete the installation.”
These types of upgrades from auto manufacturers aren’t unheard of. For example, Mazda announced last year that it would be upgrading some 2014 and newer models that weren’t originally outfitted wit CarPlay with the feature.
We Want To Hear From You
If you own one of the supported models, do you think you’ll pay to get the upgrade to CarPlay?
[via Car and Driver]