Your check engine light is on. Time for a trip to the shop to find out why? No. You drive a 2021 Toyota Sienna. You can just ask your car.
“Joya, why is my check engine light on?”
No More Printed Owner’s Manual
The 2021 Toyota Sienna will not come with a printed owner’s manual. Instead, Sienna buyers get Joya – a personal assistant that recognizes natural speech questions and answers them in a pleasant voice. Much like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri, Joya is a voice-activated virtual assistant. She can be downloaded as part of the Toyota Driver’s Companion app on the driver’s phone.
It allows users to ask questions and “receive immediate answers via voice, display and interactive input.” Joya has the same information as a conventional owner’s manual, so drivers won’t need a printed copy. They can just ask Joya for the proper tire pressures before topping them off at the gas station.
The Sienna currently sits at the top of our list of the best minivans of 2021. It offers up to 101 cubic feet of storage space behind the front row and class-leading fuel economy. Sienna prices start at $34,460, plus a $995 delivery fee.
Uses Google Assistant Tech
Joya uses Google-developed artificial intelligence technology, Toyota says, to “let Sienna drivers ask personalized questions and provide real-time assistance in the moments that matter.”
Joe Moses, general manager, Toyota Vehicle Marketing and Communications, says, “Toyota Driver’s Companion, offered exclusively on the all-new 2021 Sienna, will allow Sienna drivers to access information about their vehicles in a seamless way thanks to the technology powered by Google.”
The Driver’s Companion app is available for free download today. It works only with the 2021 Sienna, but Toyota describes the system as a “pilot program,” which suggests that it will come to more Toyota products in the future.
