Toyota is going to make you pay to start your car with your key fob(theverge.com)
theverge.com
Toyota is going to make you pay to start your car with your key fob
https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/12/22831105/toyota-subscription-remote-start-key-fob
8 comments
This makes me happy to have an older car. I paid for it in cash. The fanciest tech on it is ABS and fuel injection.
I tried new cars recently, and they're tethered to the manufacturer by subscription services, short-lived tech, amd a dependency on dealerships.
It's weird to pay so much for something that is not yours.
I tried new cars recently, and they're tethered to the manufacturer by subscription services, short-lived tech, amd a dependency on dealerships.
It's weird to pay so much for something that is not yours.
This concept isn't new. OnStar a third party service has been providing this for cars for a long time. I think a few vehicle manufacturers have bundled OnStar in the past, maybe Cadillac, Buick, GMC, maybe Chevy? I want to say there were others as well. They can remotely unlock or lock your vehicle, send medical and law enforcement to your location, detect if you were in an accident, do hands-free calling for help. Now I sound like one of their old commercials. OnStar handles key fobs remotely too.
Hmm doesn’t this inherently build in a general failure mode of cloud subscription validation going offline.
Seems like a great opening for aftermarket integration devices - like no subscription remote start.
Seems like a great opening for aftermarket integration devices - like no subscription remote start.
Toyota bet on hydrogen and lost. Now they're doing subtractive marketing on the remote controls which modern carmakers have eliminated altogether.
Title is missing a crucial word: remotely.
The title does point out that remote start is with the RF keyfob your car came with. It's funny because cars have had that feature for years and never got a subscription or internet connectivity involved to use it.
https://web.archive.org/web/20200919112906/https://twitter.c...
Really taken to a new level