Remote Start - Permanent or "Subscription-Based"???

[icegradner]

The wife has a 21 highlander and neither one of us had any idea.

It's only available on the top level trims, with the high end audio system from Toyota, you won't notice till the trial period ends if you do have it.

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[clavicus]

Just to reiterate, Ford has an agreement with AT&T to allow their modems to have connectivity for vehicle functions (i.e. Ford app remote start, telemetry, user data gobbling) without an AT&T data subscription.

Who knows if they’ll change this agreement in the future but I am guessing they sell user data or find the value of it enough to offset the cost. Or does AT&T pay Ford or provide the service free for the opportunity to make $$ on data plan exclusivity? I dunno how the business end of it works.

 

[icegradner]

Just to reiterate, Ford has an agreement with AT&T to allow their modems to have connectivity for vehicle functions (i.e. Ford app remote start, telemetry, user data gobbling) without an AT&T data subscription.

Who knows if they’ll change this agreement in the future but I am guessing they sell user data or find the value of it enough to offset the cost. Or does AT&T pay Ford or provide the service free for the opportunity to make $$ on data plan exclusivity? I dunno how the business end of it works.

We've seen Toyota deprecate the feature on some models that shipped with 3G modums, since phone companies are starting to turn off 3G networks as the move to 5G. Eventually that is what will happen with the Maverick too. No idea what kind of modum it has, but I'd guess 4G LTE, so it's day will come.

 

[MLowe05]

What Toyota is doing is so much worse. They are charging a subscription for the remote start button on the key fob in your pocket. Not even the app.

I see a lot of you guys that keep saying this, and it is simply not true. Here is a photo of a 2020 Highlander Limited's key fob:

Do you see a remote start button on it?

There isn't one. If you subscribe to the connected services, apparently you can press lock-lock-lock and the car will start. That will not happen without the subscription. This is not the same thing as them putting a dedicated remote start button (like Ford does) on the fob, then disabling it if you don't pay(that would be unacceptable). This is simply an added bonus that is otherwise not available on other cars that work this same way.

My mother has a 2017 Elantra Limited. It has subscription based remote start via BlueLink Telematics. Its remote has no remote start button, and no combo of button presses will work whether you pay or not. What Toyota is doing is not new, not controversial, and not uncommon.

Personally, I just want a button on the fob. I don't care about starting it from my phone.

 

[atomguy245]

I see a lot of you guys that keep saying this, and it is simply not true. Here is a photo of a 2020 Highlander Limited's key fob:

Do you see a remote start button on it?

There isn't one. If you subscribe to the connected services, apparently you can press lock-lock-lock and the car will start. That will not happen without the subscription. This is not the same thing as them putting a dedicated remote start button (like Ford does) on the fob, then disabling it if you don't pay(that would be unacceptable). This is simply an added bonus that is otherwise not available on other cars that work this same way.

My mother has a 2017 Elantra Limited. It has subscription based remote start via BlueLink Telematics. Its remote has no remote start button, and no combo of button presses will work whether you pay or not. What Toyota is doing is not new, not controversial, and not uncommon.

Personally, I just want a button on the fob. I don't care about starting it from my phone.

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/12/13/toyota-remote-start-subscription-key-fob/

 

[Caper]

Personally, I just want a button on the fob. I don't care about starting it from my phone.

This is what I want as well. I won't be connecting through Sync.

 

[SeniorChiefMM]

Don't let BMW off the hook on this either

You are being too polite about it. It's TOYOTA doing this. And backtracking to the 2018 model year to start this key fob remote start subscription BS

Don't let BMW off the hook on this subject. They're guilty of the practice too. It's another revenue stream.

 

[MLowe05]

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/12/13/toyota-remote-start-subscription-key-fob/

Did you read my post?

Toyota key fobs have no remote start button. These articles are being written as if the fobs have remote start buttons that are suddenly not going to work if you don't pay. That is 100% misleading. The fobs will instead prompt the car to start by pressing lock-lock-lock, so long as you have a subscription.

This is really no different than subscribing to remote start on any other brand, which has been going on for a while.

 

[icegradner]

Personally, I just want a button on the fob. I don't care about starting it from my phone.

I feel the same way, I'm not planning to use the phone app at all. With my current vehicle the fob works from my front door, that's more than good enough for me.

 

[Dechion]

I think I read somewhere that I would have to set up the fordpass app and the trial subscription in order to get the $210 worth of ford points.

I don't plan to use it, I'll have the button on my key fob, but may have to activate it for a short while.

Otherwise I'll be turning that off along with several other features I didn't really want but got stuck with in the lariat luxury package.

 

[Turtle]

You do not have to pay for the remote start feature in the app. Ever! I have had three Fords the past 10 years and I can assure you of this. The AT&T plan is for Wi-Fi hotspot etc. Not for the remote start.

I have been using the remote start from the App and the Key Fob for 3 years on my Escape. No charge.

 

[Traegorn]

Did you read my post?

Toyota key fobs have no remote start button. These articles are being written as if the fobs have remote start buttons that are suddenly not going to work if you don't pay. That is 100% misleading. The fobs will instead prompt the car to start by pressing lock-lock-lock, so long as you have a subscription.

This is really no different than subscribing to remote start on any other brand, which has been going on for a while.

Just because your Toyota has no remote start on the keyfob doesn't mean there weren't ones with that capability. It's not a separate button.

 

[daddio211]

What Toyota is doing is so much worse. They are charging a subscription for the remote start button on the key fob in your pocket. Not even the app.

This is borderline extortion!!!

 

[Platinum2]

Seeing news lately about auto manufacturers selling vehicles with remote start and buyers are finding out too late that the mfg. only allows that feature for a 'trial period', after which the poor buyer has to pay an annual fee to keep the feature they thought they paid for when they purchased the vehicle active. Does anyone around here know if this is something that applies to the Maverick? I know it's a feature in the Lariat Luxury package but wanted to verify if it was permanent or a recurring source of revenue for FOMOCO.

Yes, this "everything in life as a service" subscription model got dumb a long time ago. It's gonna be so awesome for everyone to have 40 recurring subscriptions each month to track, pay for, turn on/off for everything in their life....forever.

 

[MLowe05]

Just because your Toyota has no remote start on the keyfob doesn't mean there weren't ones with that capability. It's not a separate button.

The "it's not a separate button" that you say is exactly my point. That's why this is not as controversial as everyone is making it out to be. There are no dedicated remote start buttons on Toyota fobs with the exception of the Prius Prime, which has a button labeled "A/C HOLD"

Also, regarding the Prius Prime and it's A/C HOLD button, which is its version of remote start, that one seems as though it will continue to work forever. Just not through the app.

My point is all of this is fake outrage at Toyota over something that other people have been doing for a while. I'm not saying I agree with it, just that I'm not sure why it is suddenly news.

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