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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.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Username on Tuesday December 14 2021, @05:09PM (4 children)
Yeah, I bought a $100 remote start kit too. I just tap the lock button on the stock keyfob three times and it remote starts.
Basically I unplug some connectors and plug in a tapped one in between. There's one for the ignition button to start the car, one for brake wire to step on the pedal, one for OBDII for lock signal, and one to copy and resend the key singal.
The car even comes with a remote start feature, but the cost of enabling that was well over $100. I feel better about having a third party one. Feels like I have more control over the car. Feels like I'm sticking it to the man.
Even if it was $10 to enable to cars remote function, I'd still buy the $100 third party kit.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by FatPhil on Tuesday December 14 2021, @05:16PM (2 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday December 14 2021, @08:06PM (1 child)
He's not trying to make "the man" shed tears, he's trying to keep the EVIL CORPORATION from causing him to shed them. "The Man," sheesh... it's a corporation, not the government.
The Stupid-Ass Voter Evisceration act: SAVE Trump and his family from prison
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday December 15 2021, @01:11AM
However, why did you object to my use of it - it was directly lifted from the post I was responding to, and put in quotes to show that I thought his use was a bit hyperbolic - it's a commodity market, you don't have to give any car brand any control over you.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by drussell on Wednesday December 15 2021, @12:33PM
The newer that vehicles get, the trickier they've become to add an aftermarket remote starter.
It is now common to have to buy rather expensive interface modules for certain vehicles which can be programmed to bypass any security, immobilizer, and key detection features... Much of those systems is now encrypted. Even many of the car's network signals are encrypted on the latest vehicles making advanced diagnostics extremely difficult, even with $5000-class scan tools.
You often now need to sacrifice a key that you mount permanently up under the dash to bypass the security systems and on some cars they charge you an arm and a leg for one of those additional/replacement magical encrypted comms keys...