Featured Toyota To Charge For Keyfob Remote Start?

I covered this topic on this thread for PP.
Toyota Key Fob Remote Start... is now Subscription based | PriusChat

PP does not have a remote start feature for its Connected Services, so this functionality of the fob does not exist, but I don't like the way Toyota is requiring owners to register and force the subscription for the Connected Services. I for one do not need any Connected Services feature and don't want to give away my vehicle data. So, as per the instruction given at Toyota Privacy Notice found at Privacy and protection I wrote to them to Deactivate my Connected Services...

This is the message I just received from Toyota Customer Services. WTH???

Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor North America regarding your personal information. As a Toyota/Lexus consumer, you have specific rights regarding your personal information, and it is our priority to keep your personal information safe and secure in our systems. Please be advised that exercising your rights with Toyota Motor North America does not apply to any Toyota or Lexus dealers, local Toyota dealer associations, private distributors, Toyota Financial Services (TFS), Lexus Financial Services (LFS), or Toyota Insurance Management Solutions. Please contact these entities directly to exercise your privacy rights.

To learn more about Toyota and Lexus privacy practices, review your personal information options, or to exercise your consumer privacy rights, please visit Toyota - Lexus Privacy Hub. You may also contact us at 855-226-4048, Monday – Friday, 8 AM – 5 PM Pacific Standard Time.

Additionally, if you are requesting to deactivate your vehicle data transmission for the connected services in your vehicle, you can do so any time through the Toyota app. You can click on 'Account' in the bottom right corner, then click on 'Data Privacy Portal'. Select your vehicle and proceed with managing your consents.

We hope this information has been helpful. Your email has been documented at our National Headquarters.

Sincerely,

Garrett R.
Toyota Brand Engagement Center​

 

It's stupid. But also not a bad idea. People can "sniff" most smart keys for their frequency and clone them. Boom, stolen car. But yes, I think this is stupid.

SM-N986U1 ?

 

For information, using a key fob to start a vehicle has been around for a long time. Many aftermarket remote engineer starters can program the OEM keyfob to start the engine. In addition, many cars come with an OEM engine starter built-in on the keyfob. Our 2014 Pathfinder has the engine starter by the OEM key fob. The point of the video or original article by DRIVE is not questioning the usefulness of the engine starter by a fob, but rather questioning Toyota's implementation of that feature requiring the subscription for the Connected Services for either $8/mo or $80/yr. Most newly purchased Toyota vehicles come with a free subscription for 1-3 years, but after that, you have to pay to have the key fob to work for remote start.

 

is this remote start, like from your house in the morning, or remote, like fob in pocket push start button that we have already?
if it is the first, the title is misleading

 

Push a fob button and send a radio frequency to start the engine. It only works in a short-range, same as the door unlocks from the fob. It requires no smartphone or telematics to connect to the internet.

 

thanks.
so misleading imo. they make it sound like the fob won't be of any use without a subscription

 

Yep, that's what I thought too first. But after examining, it seems the fob will work for keyless entry, push start, panic button, remote lock and unlock, and maybe remote hatch if equipped. I don't know about the Remote A/C, but I assume it should work as well on PP and other vehicles equipped with that functionality. It is just the Remote Start (engine) part that will require the subscription.

 

Is the remote climate function accessible with the fob?

 

On PP, yes. The remote A/C functionality was implemented for all PP trims regardless of the presence of telematics. For 2019 PPs and earlier, the telematics used by Saftey Connect was present only in Advanced trim. The Remote A/C functioned from the fob for lower trims and for Advanced trims. For newer than 2020 PPs, Saftey Connect came as standard, and Remote Climate via phone app became standard on all trims albeit very buggy. Still, the Remote A/C from the fob worked fine. I had my Saftey Connect disabled by opting out of the 2020 LE model, but the remote A/C from the fob still worked. I am now trying to deactivate the telematics on my 2021 Ltd, but Toyota has not confirmed the deactivation yet.

 

If Toyota is requiring a subscription for remote start to work on the fob, they very easily can require it for the remote climate of the Prius Prime to work.

Some owners report the fob remote start working without a subscription. Vague writing in an user agreement got people thinking fob use is tied to uConnect, and Toyota's statement to The Drive has it seem they are just as confused.

 

That's certainly possible. But one difference is that for Remote Start, the key fob has no dedicated button. For our PP, the Remote A/C function has a dedicated button on the fob. I certainly do not use either app-based or fob-based Remote A/C functionality, so I really don't care one way or another. But at least for my 2020 PP LE, RemoteA/C from the fob worked without a Connected Service subscription. I will let you know if my 2021 PP Ltd will do the same after confirming that my Connected Service telematic is deactivated.