Being nickel and dimed by software companies is nothing new, but certain members of the auto industry have also been eager to tap into the profitability of subscription services.
As spotted by The Drive, Toyota has doubled down on its Connected Services platform, which includes one of their vehicles’ most often used and practical functions: remote start. Marketing materials shared by Toyota confirm that after a certain period of ownership, owners will need to pay a subscription fee just to start their cars from a distance, such as in the comfort of their homes.
The subscription for Remote Connect (i.e., remote start) costs $8 a month or $80 per year, according to Toyota’s Connected Services table.
As reported by The Drive:
[…] A Toyota spokesperson confirmed to The Drive that if a 2018 or later Toyota is equipped with Toyota’s Remote Connect functions, the vehicle must be enrolled in a valid subscription in order for the key fob to start the car remotely. To be clear, what we’re talking about is the proximity-based RF remote start system, where you press a button on the fob to start the car while outside of it within a certain distance—say, from your front door to warm up your vehicle in the driveway on a cold morning before you get in. Your fob uses radio waves to communicate with the car, and no connection back to Toyota’s servers is needed. But the function will not work without a larger Remote Connect subscription.
“Key Fob Remote Start will not function if Connected Services are waived,” Toyota states. Remote Connect equipped vehicles built before November 12, 2018, no longer require a subscription for the key fob to perform a remote start, however.