burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

You can take the boy out of the 8th grade, but you can't take the 8th grade out of the boy!

OldSchool-WI Loc: Brandon, Wisconsin 53919

Maybe they got the idea from that vicious-money-hungry ADOBE? But Adobe is even worse--new software they no longer support since they have it now under subscription is worthless as you must activate even when you have a shrink-wrapped DVD w serial!----nasty-nasty.------

SteveR Loc: Michigan

One good reason to buy a car other than Toyota. After all, a remote key fob is not a continuing service. When you buy it you buy everything that you need for the life of the car, except replacement batteries. Same with remote start. Remote start is especially useful for people when it's really cold. Better than sitting in the car for five minutes warming it up for the kids or running out to the car to start it and then back into the house. This will have an impact on sales.

JBRIII

The real problem with most things is that individually we know so little about so many things involving how things really operate. For example, getting access to full journal articles can be quite expensive if you have to pay for them. Many believe all gov't research should be available free immediately on publication. I completely understand, but as a former gov't researcher I can tell you that I would have had to publish less, much less at times, to cover the cost the journals wanted for free access. Research is extremely expensive and most of our funding 85-90% was gone before you did anything: salaries, benefits, maintenace of buildings, heat, electric, etc. Money at times was so tight that I could have published or done more work, but not both, not really a plausible choice as yearly evaluations required both.

We've all learned more about supply lines than we ever wanted to know. Maybe the cost to Toyota is much more than any of us know or maybe not.

A future knowledge thing may be where are food comes from. Apparently, 90% of tomato paste comes from CA, no water, no paste, no???????

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I seriously doubt it will affect sales much, one way or the other. Remote start is a nice feature, but you can use the fob for keyless entry without subscribing to remote start. Remote start is an OPTIONAL feature, not a requirement. It's similar to satellite radio (Sirius/XM) or the old Toyota SOS feature (similar to GM's OnStar) that's going away with the 3G cell networks. It's similar to the navigation system you have to pay to keep up to date.

If you have a smartphone, there is likely to be an app for any/all of these features.

Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.

Just another way to get their hands into your pocket.

junglejim1949 Loc: Sacramento,CA

You got that right Hal81

fetzler Loc: North West PA

You are probably right about subscription plans but I hope folks will get mad and put a stop to this.

The good news is:

1. I don't have a Toyota (One Uncle thought the best view of a Toyota factory was through the bomb sight of a B-29. I grew uo in Detroit)

2. My cars have remote start but I never found a need for it. My heated seats have also never been turned on.

3. My cars have built in WIFI but I don't need it either. (I have a WIFI hot spot that I can use when traveling even when I don't have my car)

I do pay for SiriusXM but this a fee for service like cable TV.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

GM's Onstar is not going away. In fact it is getting better. The hands free calling through Onstar is, however, going away.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

He's a lawyer who makes videos about unusual legal matters. You can find lots of information about his topics online. He's not making them up. Other people and news sources have commented on the many subscription plans now being promoted.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

One concern I heard about that - from Toyota - is that Toyota's service relies on the 3G network, which is being phased out. Some companies are adjusting to let those systems keep working, but not Toyota.

LittleRed

Their hands are in your pockets only if you want them. Like Burkphoto said, this subscription is an OPTION that you can either take or not. Your Toyota will perform flawlessly without it. You choose it when you buy the vehicle just like Toyota’s overpriced hood deflector or roof racks. That’s YOUR OPTION. You can take it or leave it.🤗
However, if you do want the ability to remote start your vehicle then I guarantee that the subscription method is the best (cheapest) way to go. I don’t know the true costs in the good old USA would be but I can give you them up here in Great White North (Canada). Now these prices are for a factory/dealer installed equipment. To have a regular Toyota remote start system installed when ordering would cost you $900CD plus tax for a total of $1020CD. For this you would inherit a second phob to carry around. Or instead you could download the Toyota app and pay them $10CD per month plus tax for a total of $10.50. So you can see by simple mathematics (1020/10.5 = 89 months, or over 7 years) that if you kept the vehicle for say 5 years you would save money with the subscription. That and you would have quite a few other perks that comes with it, such as checking/locking your doors remotely!
I know this as a fact as when my wife and I purchased our 2020 RAV4 Hybrid we opted to have the remote start installed. Because of certain problems in our area we wanted a system that would not be “problematic”. We do have the app installed on our iPhone but we found the reliability at the time was questionable. Sometimes it works good other time not at all. I’m sure as time goes by they’ll finally get it working as advertised. However we wanted it to work from day one so we opted for a true remote system. We have not been disappointed. So once our free trial is kaput we will not renew it.
Like I said it’s just an OPTION that you can get or not, it’s totally up to you. I think myself that had that system been working properly when we bought I would have “opted for the option”.

LittleRed (Ron)

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The older Toyota service must go away, because the 3G network it was designed for is going away next year. The electromagnetic radio spectrum it relies upon has been reassigned for other uses by the FCC (sold to the highest bidder!).

cwp3420

It’s easier for me to use my iPhone to remote start it than use the key fob. Too much arthritis in my fingers.

scallihan Loc: Tigard, OR

I bought a '95 Ford Explorer once that I loved until the third time the transmission had to be rebuilt.
I then got a Chrysler something that I kept for only 5 months - piece of crap. Went back to Toyota - my fourth. Then we got a Chevy Silverado for the 5th wheel that was great until it wasn't. Back to Toyota. I've never had ANY problems with my Toyotas. I will never again buy Ford or Chevy. Oh, I must digress. My first car was a 1965 Dodge Dart. I finally let it go in 1980 for my first Toyota. It was a great car, but technology was moving on and I did want a stick shift. Three Toyotas until that dang Ford.