"Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) Unavailable" and "Rear Cross Traffic Alert Unavailable" (RCTA) both came on suddenly on my dash screen in front of the steering wheel while I was driving on the freeway. There were no collisions, or anything like that to set those warnings off.
When I got to where I was going and parked the car a new warning flashed briefly, in addition to the continuous alternate flashing of the BSM and RCTA being unavailable while I was driving. This new warning said my Parking Support Brake (PSB) was unavailable.
While parked I turned the engine back on and went to the screen for the warning systems. Even though the screen kept flashing that the BSM and the RCTA were unavailable those were clearly marked as being on according to what the screen said. The only work around I have found to prevent the BSM and the RCTA from continuously flashing at me while driving is after I turn the engine on to go to the warning light screen and turn those 2 systems off.. It obviously doesn't do anything for the Parking Support Brake claiming to be unavailable, but that only comes on when I turn the car on or off.
When my wife brought the car to the dealer To have it looked at they? They tried to claim to my wife it was because I had the car lifted, which is BS because I've been driving that car for over a year now since I bought it and I had it lifted within a month after buying the car by a very reputable company that does this kind of aftermarket work all the time. And, of course, that would have nothing to do with the Parking support brake warning light coming on. Then when I talked to them over the phone shortly before my wife picked it up, they tried to claim to me that I must have been in an accident which would have damage the sensors for the the blind spot mirror and the rear collision traffic avoidance.. Which was flat untrue and, again, would not have affected the parking support brake warning coming on. And when my wife actually picked it up, they tried again to blame it on the lift. And charged her for the diagnostic since it wasn't under warranty the according to them.
Of course, this evening, when I got home within 5 minutes of a quick Google search. I found at least one person who had the same problem. I believe theirs's was a 2022 Sienna - it wasn't quite clear from what they'd written - but it was still a hybrid with the same basic electrical system as mine.
My plan at this point is to call the dealership back tomorrow and Insist on speaking to the service manager point out the facts of life to them and how much damage they could potentially do to Toyota's reputation and what happens to lower level employees when corporation thinks that their reputation is being damaged.
But I would also welcome a way to fix the problem if, as I suspect will happen, I get the run-around from this Toyota dealership's service department.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
"Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) Unavailable" and "Rear Cross Traffic Alert Unavailable" (RCTA) both came on suddenly on my dash screen in front of the steering wheel while I was driving on the freeway. There were no collisions, or anything like that to set those warnings off. When I got to where I was going and parked the car a new warning flashed briefly, in addition to the continuous alternate flashing of the BSM and RCTA being unavailable while I was driving. This new warning said my Parking Support Brake (PSB) was unavailable.
While parked I turned the engine back on and went to the screen for the warning systems. Even though the screen kept flashing that the BSM and the RCTA were unavailable those were clearly marked as being on according to what the screen said. The only work around I have found to prevent the BSM and the RCTA from continuously flashing at me while driving is after I turn the engine on to go to the warning light screen and turn those 2 systems off.. It obviously doesn't do anything for the Parking Support Brake claiming to be unavailable, but that only comes on when I turn the car on or off.
When my wife brought the car to the dealer To have it looked at they? They tried to claim to my wife it was because I had the car lifted, which is BS because I've been driving that car for over a year now since I bought it and I had it lifted within a month after buying the car by a very reputable company that does this kind of aftermarket work all the time. And, of course, that would have nothing to do with the Parking support brake warning light coming on. Then when I talked to them over the phone shortly before my wife picked it up, they tried to claim to me that I must have been in an accident which would have damage the sensors for the the blind spot mirror and the rear collision traffic avoidance.. Which was flat untrue and, again, would not have affected the parking support brake warning coming on. And when my wife actually picked it up, they tried again to blame it on the lift. And charged her for the diagnostic since it wasn't under warranty the according to them.
Of course, this evening, when I got home within 5 minutes of a quick Google search. I found at least one person who had the same problem. I believe theirs's was a 2022 Sienna - it wasn't quite clear from what they'd written - but it was still a hybrid with the same basic electrical system as mine.
My plan at this point is to call the dealership back tomorrow and Insist on speaking to the service manager point out the facts of life to them and how much damage they could potentially do to Toyota's reputation and what happens to lower level employees when corporation thinks that their reputation is being damaged.
But I would also welcome a way to fix the problem if, as I suspect will happen, I get the run-around from this Toyota dealership's service department.
- Michael B., San Francisco, US