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posted by martyb on Tuesday December 14 2021, @11:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the send-out-your-kid dept.

Toyota owners have to pay $8/mo to keep using their key fob for remote start

Automakers keep trying to get a piece of that sweet, sweet subscription income. Now, it's Toyota's turn.

Nearly every car company offers some sort of subscription package, and Toyota has one called Remote Connect. The service offers the usual fare, letting owners use an app to remotely lock their doors, for example, or if they own a plug-in vehicle, to precondition the interior. But as some complimentary subscriptions for Remote Connect come to an end, Toyota owners are getting an unexpected surprise—they can no longer use their key fob to remote-start their vehicles.

In terms of technology, this remote-start feature is no different from using the fob to unlock the car. The fobs use a short-range radio transmitter to send the car a signal that is encrypted with rolling codes. The car then decrypts the signal and performs the requested action, whether it's to lock or unlock the doors, beep the horn, or start the engine. RF key fobs have been around since the 1980s, and GM added a factory-installed remote-start option in 2004 (no subscription needed).

Key fob remote start has nothing to do with an app, nor does the car or the fob communicate with any servers managed by Toyota.

Toyota has been offering factory-installed remote start on 2018 and newer vehicles equipped with Audio Plus or Premium Audio. To use it, owners have to be within 50 feet of the vehicle and double-press the fob's lock button before holding the lock button down for a few seconds.

Yet recently, as 2018 Toyotas have passed their third birthday, owners have been discovering that the fob's functionality is dependent on maintaining an active Remote Connect subscription. Vehicles equipped with Audio Plus receive a free three-year "trial," while Premium Audio vehicles receive 10 years. Once those subscriptions expire, though, the key fob remote start stops working. Toyota didn't change the rules, though that detail was buried in the fine print. When the time comes, Toyota simply cuts off access to one of the functions on the key fob already in the owner's possession. To get the feature back, owners have to pony up $8 per month or $80 per year.


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  • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Tuesday December 14 2021, @03:24PM (2 children)

    by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday December 14 2021, @03:24PM (#1204979)
    Yes, it's the remote start feature. They are trying to do this by bundling it with their "cloud" services like remote unlock (from a phone, not the fob), wifi hotspot, and things like that. The cars have a built in cellular modem so they can phone home when they please. I'm sure as you said, they have a check-in window before they decide they can't retrieve the license and disable the features.
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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 14 2021, @03:59PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday December 14 2021, @03:59PM (#1204994)

    So, at least in theory, if my 2018 Toyota is kept out in the boonies, where there is no cell service, then my key fob remote start feature will keep working?

    More to the point, if I can disable the cell antenna before the remote start feature is turned off, I'll continue to enjoy this feature. I recognize that the antenna may be integrated into other electronics and not very obvious...

    • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday December 14 2021, @06:37PM

      by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday December 14 2021, @06:37PM (#1205033)

      That could work, assuming that it hasn't already had a "free trial enabled until 2022 only" message sent to it earlier. It depends on how the system is organised.