File:ToyotaDataTransmission.png

Summary edit

So this is mostly anecdotal and I don't have solid evidence for an incident page, but I got a new 2022 Prius Prime a couple years ago and there's a small red sticker stating:

"VEHICLE DATA TRANSMISSION IS ON Your vehicle wirelessly transmits location, driving and vehicle health data to deliver your services and for internal research and data analysis. See www.toyota.com/privacyvts. To disable, press vehicle's SOS button. TO BE REMOVED BY OWNER ONLY"

Naturally, I hit the SOS button to disable any telemetry. I'd consistently get someone on the (car)phone who would essentially confirm I wasn't in an emergency, couldn't help with disabling (seemed unaware of the sticker), and when asked about off data collection, they'd forward the call to support for an android/iphone connectivity app, something I didn't have (you had to pay monthly for it).

I probably called the SOS button 5-10 times over the next 6 months (often nothing better to do on long drives), with similar results. At one point someone said to reach out to the dealer. Lol. So next free service I had, I asked about it, and they referred to me corporate. I gave up after that, but obviously turning off telemetry wasn't as simple as hitting the SOS button and asking..