This is one of the many reasons the Grenadier appeals to me. Imagine paying a fee to be able to start your car with the key that is using technology that’s been around since the 1980s for cars and since the 1800s for radio waves in general.Here is the article from The Drive. https://www.thedrive.com/news/43329/toyota-made-its-key-fob-remote-start-into-a-subscription-service
Now, I do pay $14.99 per month for my cars On Star system, which allows me to start my car with my phone. It also gives me diagnostic info, fuel range, and location of the vehicle as well as enhanced safety services. But the car works fine without it, including the key-fob command start, and I don’t mind paying in this case because my phone has to connect back to GMC as does my car for these features, which I like, to work. And I get there are ongoing costs to this, and I know not everyone needs or wants these features so I don’t mind paying monthly instead of it being baked into the price of the truck. But a key fob has no such ongoing “call home” feature as the article states, and so to require a subscription is absolute madness.
I also note that some vehicles sold as recently as 2019 are about to be essentially bricked for any connected services because of the retiring of the 3G network in the USA. Imagine having a 3-year old car that simply won’t give you navigation, command start, etc. even though you shelled out a premium for those features.
The Ineos approach — “keep it simple and just set it up so folks can plug in their phones” - is looking better and better in an automotive industry that seems to care less and less about the driver and more and more about profit with every passing year.
Edit: it occurred to me that I don’t want to come across as bashing Toyota. I love the land cruiser, FJ, Tundra, Tacoma, and Hilux, and they’d all be welcome in my driveway. The issue is this practice of charging for things that should be part of the purchase price. BMW tried to do it with apple car play, and the article mentions rear wheel steering as being a subscription service for Mercedes. It seems this is where the auto industry is going, as contrasted to the Ineos approach. Just wanted to make that clear!
Now, I do pay $14.99 per month for my cars On Star system, which allows me to start my car with my phone. It also gives me diagnostic info, fuel range, and location of the vehicle as well as enhanced safety services. But the car works fine without it, including the key-fob command start, and I don’t mind paying in this case because my phone has to connect back to GMC as does my car for these features, which I like, to work. And I get there are ongoing costs to this, and I know not everyone needs or wants these features so I don’t mind paying monthly instead of it being baked into the price of the truck. But a key fob has no such ongoing “call home” feature as the article states, and so to require a subscription is absolute madness.
I also note that some vehicles sold as recently as 2019 are about to be essentially bricked for any connected services because of the retiring of the 3G network in the USA. Imagine having a 3-year old car that simply won’t give you navigation, command start, etc. even though you shelled out a premium for those features.
The Ineos approach — “keep it simple and just set it up so folks can plug in their phones” - is looking better and better in an automotive industry that seems to care less and less about the driver and more and more about profit with every passing year.
Edit: it occurred to me that I don’t want to come across as bashing Toyota. I love the land cruiser, FJ, Tundra, Tacoma, and Hilux, and they’d all be welcome in my driveway. The issue is this practice of charging for things that should be part of the purchase price. BMW tried to do it with apple car play, and the article mentions rear wheel steering as being a subscription service for Mercedes. It seems this is where the auto industry is going, as contrasted to the Ineos approach. Just wanted to make that clear!
