SOS -Safety Connect... Worth it?

My step mom was in an accident in hers, hit a telephone pole. Safety Connect talked to her, woke her and call an ambulance.

Not knowing a ton about it, in my HHR Onstar has helped me out when I have had car trouble, don't know if safety connect does that but I think for the crash response it's worth it.

My .03 worth.

 

SOS has not been available for an entire year.

@Toyota: Behind the Wheel

Rumors of SOS started last July, but I can't find anyone who received it prior to November 2009.

 

I have had it since October 2009, so my free year is almost up. I just received my renewal letter yesterday.

Safety Connect also provides stolen vehicle location, so that's one more thing you don't get with AAA. Having it also increases my insurance discount (Mass.) so the ~$11/month cost gets reduced (I forget exactly how much). But at less than $10 bucks per month, I plan on just resubscribing and not worrying about the cost.

 

SOS is a useless waste of money. There are no scientific data out there showing that these kind of systems (onstar etc) increase your chances of survival than if you didn't have it. If you get into a major wreck in a city, chances are there will be an ambulance there in 5 minutes anyways. If you're in the middle of nowhere out in the woods, you probably wouldn't even have any of the reception needed for the service to work. You can't even lock your keys in the car either, so forget the remote unlock.

And if you car is stolen, oh well? That's why you get comprehensive insurance on a brand new car. Personally i wouldn't want my car back if it was stolen. Who knows what the thiefs did to trash and ruin it. Priuses are one of the least stolen cars anyways since you can't drive it without the smart key unless you forget to turn the car off (with so many safeguards to warn you you might as well deserved to have your car stolen).

So personally id say dont waste your money on it. But since you already had it in your car, you might as well...

 

The real benefit I can see in keeping AAA as you stated in the beginning it covers the subscriber and not a car. That being said if you are in another car you are still covered. Can be helpful if you rent or borrow a car from someone. Also check with your auto insurance company. We are insured through Geico and for an extra $13.00 a year they offer roadside which is very similar to AAA or Allstate. That coverage is limited to the insured vehicle, much like Safety Connect. They also cover out of network tow fees, i.e county authorized road tow. Just my three cents. Those of us in the US, enjoy the long weekend .

 

If all you care about is roadside assistance, you might want to check your credit cards benefits. I know my AMEX provides free roadside assistance regardless of what/whose car I am in.

 

Has anyone actually had their Safety Connect canceled for not renewing? I haven't renewed yet in hopes that they will eventually offer me a better deal. As we all have learned with XM, never take their first offer. lol So I'm wondering if anyone actually got a better deal out of Toyota on this, or whether I'm waiting on nothing. Maybe its just too early to tell.. I say we all don't renew, let them see the low renewal rate, and then hope they budge.

 

I have On* for both GM vehicles, in addition to AAA (since I have 2 bikes.) It's not a game changer for me personally, but I know people who will never buy a vehicle without it.
I travel a lot and have been in very few areas where the cellular connection is not available, since both SOS and On* use multiple networks to stay connected. There are dark spots---but not nearly as many as any single provider...(unlike my cell phone!)
As for whether or not it's "worth it", that's a personal decision. I haven't compared or contrasted Yota's service with On* since my employer, who is also my cellular provider... ...didn't opt to carry this service for their vehicles.
If you're listening boss....I didn't in any way diss' AT&T's exemplary cellular service...

Like I said...for some people, it's a key feature. Others...not so much.
Yer call...

 

One other benefit of AAA is the discounts....don't get those with the Safety Connect.

I have the Safety Connect in the Lexus and also have AAA...I make money on my AAA membership every year...

 

Wow you sure sound bitter. Let me tell you why i am glad for the SOS system.
A few months after i purchased my Prius i was driving to work and had a medical emergency. For privacy i would prefer not to state what the emergency was, but i can tell you it left me extremely disoriented. I had just enough capacity too pull the car over to the side of the road. I can only remember bitts and pieces of what happened after that, but of those memories i remember seeing that SOS button above me. From what my wife tells me I had no idea where i was, and i could barely talk. With the cell phone i had and its poor GPS reception, it would have taken a while to find me even with Enhanced 911 service. The SOS operator was able to get the exact coordinates of my car and dispatch the paramedics. The SOS operator also notified my wife of the situation and kept her up to date on my condition until she could meat me.
I was in the city, but i was not in a wreck. to everybody else i was just another car parked on the side of the road. I am thankful for the SOS technology, and i will renew when the time comes.

P.S.
There are many places in Utah where you can go off the road and just disappear. Many of these places also have Cell coverage. People have died in these situations because they were to injured to call for help, and they took to long to locate. Safety connect has roaming agreements with multiple carriers. Even if your cell phone doesn't have a connection, Your car most likely does. I tested this on my way from Utah to Texas a few months ago. My cell would loose service in very rural areas, but the Prius was able to maintain a connection the whole way there. I tested this by watching the status light and pushing the sos button to see if it connected, and then pushing it again to cancel the call.

 

I can't believe that Toyota wants $140 a year for this. I also learned that if you sell the car you have to remember separately to tell Safety Connect since Toyota can't keep track of who has a car and who doesn't. There's nothing it does that the Auto Club doesn't do except to take to you automatically if you are in a crash that is bad enough to deploy the air bags. It sounds like a lot of money for a lot of hassle and just another scam to let dealer finance guys rack up some unjustified profit.

 

The dealer finance guys get nothing if you renew the service after the free year...

 

Lonewolf,

If it won't break the bank I believe the piece of mind you get is worth it, example Radarguy's story. The SOS Safety Connect option is not available here in my locale. But I wish I had that and the LKA which was also unavailable.

Radarguy,

Thanks for sharing your story with us it is not good that you had to press the button and actually use the service in an emergency. It is nice to know that it does and did work to bring you help, I hope all is well with you now. I also found it interesting that it connects with multiple networks to stay connected.

Don't mind the Col. thats just how he rolls.

 

Ditto - if it gives you peace of mind and its affordable, why not? It's your car and your time and money. Spend them how you want.

 

I plan to renew the service. We don't normally carry cell phones so the SOS button/Safety Connect features would come in very handy. $150 or so a year is totally worth it IMO.

 

I have dropped my AAA and renewed my Safety Connect, since the Prius is my only car. About every 6 months I do a test call on the SOS just to check the system out and it has always worked. There are other benefits to AAA like rental car discounts, trip planning, etc., so see if you can get them elsewhere at less cost, or keep AAA if these features are important to you.

 

Well this looks like an old thread, but is about the top result when Googling...

My question is: What happens if you don't subscribe to the service? Is that button just effectively dead? Seems hard to believe there could be an "SOS" button that just because you didn't subscribe to they would ignore you in an accident from a legal perspective if nothing else. Like how 911 works from otherwise "dead" phones. Also seems like they ought to be happy to take your money at whatever time you hit the button...

I like the idea of an SOS service, but I don't really want to pay for something I've yet to ever need in my life. But I WOULD like to have the option of using it if the need arose.(thinking specifically of roadside EMERGENCY(like "no phone and no one around, going to die if no one happens by" or maybe if it was stolen. NOT like "ran out of gas and have cell phone")

Thanks,
Levi