Four visits. Five months. One loose USB port. Still broken…read more
I want to be clear up front about how simple this problem is, because that's what makes Culver City Toyota's service department so damning. Our 2023 RAV4 Prime has a loose USB plate -- the wired connection that runs CarPlay. Plug in, and the audio crackles and the power cuts out while you're driving. Bluetooth works fine. It's the dash USB connection, and it's obvious. We demonstrated it on a test drive on day one, using different cables and different phones to rule those out. The rep saw it, acknowledged it, and wrote it down. Then they spent five months not fixing it.
VISIT 1 -- April 9, 2026, 10am. Rep: Adam Nadler.
Replicated the defect with Adam on a test drive; he noted it. Told a couple of hours. Five hours later: no call, no text. We call, sit on hold 15 minutes, and Adam says "oh, your car's been ready." Did you replace the USB plate? "Yes." We're barely off the lot before it reappears -- same loose connection, plate obviously never touched. We call back and Adam, now dismissive, claims "we weren't able to replicate the problem." Five hours, and they did nothing to the one issue we came in for.
VISIT 2 -- May 20, 2026, 8am. Rep: Adam again, despite my asking for someone else.
He opens with "have you tried a different cable?" -- the exact thing we tested with him on April 9. I explain again that Bluetooth CarPlay is fine and the wired USB connection cuts out while the car's moving. "We'll test it. Ready at 11." Noon comes and goes, no update. The front counter has no information and pages Adam, who's at lunch until 12:30. He offers an Uber; after 4.5 hours I take it. I call at 2pm, hold 10 minutes, and learn they now want to replace the screen -- which they don't have in stock. Did you check the USB port while driving? "The USB port is fine." Another lie.
VISIT 3 -- May 29, 2026, 10am. New rep: Sam Bond, finally someone less dismissive.
In for the screen replacement, the technicians' theory for the cutting-out. Told three hours; take the Uber. Five hours, no contact. We call; they can't find Sam, but "the car's ready." Within minutes of driving off with the new screen: identical problem. This is when we start calling Toyota US directly to file a formal complaint -- and when I notice Culver City Toyota sits at 2.9 stars across 2,000+ reviews. We call Sam, who says he'll order the USB part. The part we flagged on April 9.
VISIT 4 -- August 6, 2026, 7am.
My wife brings it in after Sam confirms the USB plate finally arrived -- what we hoped was the last trip for a five-minute fix. Zero communication, as always. Six and a half hours later she calls and it's "ready." Sam tells her "some of the cables we tested worked, but not the long one." He also mentions he "needs to check on the warranty" -- coverage we were told applied, since this started four months and 5,000 miles ago while the car was under warranty. Next day I drive it: same loose plate, same crackle, same CarPlay dropping out, across multiple cables.
The verdict.
This is, without exaggeration, the most frustrating experience I've had with an auto shop in my life -- and I've dealt with dozens. Four visits, five months, a simple and repeatedly demonstrated defect, and a certified dealership from the highest-rated manufacturer in the world couldn't fix it -- or wouldn't be honest about not fixing it. The 2.9 rating is generous. If Yelp allowed zero stars, that's what this would be.