Toyota owners whose car models are from 2018 or later need to pay $8 a month to keep using their key fob’s remote start feature.
Unless they’ve read the fine print, owners may be unfamiliar with this recurring payment. This is especially surprising to those who’ve been able to remotely start their cars using their key fob for years but are unable to do so anymore.
It’s because the functionality is part of Remote Connect, Toyota’s subscription package that comes bundled with the car purchase in a three- or 10-year trial if the owner chose the Audio Plus or Premium Audio trim options. Owners who bought their cars in 2018 with Audio Plus may find their trial has expired and will need to pay to keep using the feature.
As noted by car magazine website The Drive, Toyota’s decision to put the functionality behind a paywall is “a bit egregious,” given that the key fob requires neither online connectivity nor phone pairing requirement to function. It simply relies on proximity-based radio frequency.
Source: The Drive