Want to Remote-Start Your Toyota With a Fob? That'll be $8 Per Month

[sam_gordon]

That’s what I was thinking. It’s easy enough to head to the shop down the road and have it installed. One and done. I’ve always wanted remote start not because of the cold but because of the heat. Wouldn’t pay a monthly fee for it though.

Although if the installation is $250-$300 (let's say $240 to make the math easier), vs $8/month, it would take three years to recoup your costs. I wonder if you could turn the Toyota thing on/off (maybe only have it the extreme hot or extreme cold months. That would really extend the ROI.

 

[ronandannette]

I am very much aware of vehicle block heaters, and are you aware that many people in snow country also have the interior heaters wired into that too?

Not sure where "snow country" is but I will NEVER concede that many people in Canada have those contraptions. Never. I would actually pay you $100 (CAD - ha!) for every in-car heater you could find in the first 100 cars you randomly checked here in Calgary - excluding your relatives of course. I honestly don't know where you get these ideas.

 

[NAB]

I have a 2020 Corolla and do not pay to use my key fob to remote start.

 

[sam_gordon]

I have a 2020 Corolla and do not pay to use my key fob to remote start.

According to the article, there's a year "trial". So come back in January of 2023 and let us know if your key fob still works.

 

[ronandannette]

According to the article, there's a year "trial". So come back in January of 2023 and let us know if your key fob still works.

I'm definitely going to mention this to DH. His car will be a year old in summer so he won't be routinely using the command-start, so he'll have to make a point of trying it after the anniversary date.

 

[tvguy]

Not sure where "snow country" is but I will NEVER concede that many people in Canada have those contraptions. Never. I would actually pay you $100 (CAD - ha!) for every in-car heater you could find in the first 100 cars you randomly checked here in Calgary - excluding your relatives of course. I honestly don't know where you get these ideas.

I get these ideas from riding in their cars with heaters under the dash on the passenger side of the car.

EDITED: Heard back from one of my cousins in Ottawa. He says the truck he bought this summer doesn't have either a block heater or an interior heater, his first in decades, because his new house has a heated garage.

 

[ronandannette]

I get these ideas from riding in their cars with heaters under the dash on the passenger side of the car.

Of how many people (that you're not related to)?

 

[tvguy]

Of how many people (that you're not related to)?

None. But I see a lot of automotive shops that advertise they install the heaters doing a Google search. So SOMEBODY is buying them. https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/portable-car-heater

 

[cvjw]

What model year did Honda start charging for this? I have a 2016 and I can connect my phone. I have remote start on my key fob. I used to use it to cool off the car in summer when the kids were in their car seats and I would get so hot buckling them in.

2019 Honda Pilot elite. The Honda link app is free for the basic app. You pay for extra services. $89 to be connected to a live advisor in case of an accident. $100 a year for the remote package - remote start, remote lock and unlock and vehicle locate from your app. There is also a higher level service that we don’t have.

 

[mom2rtk]

I just moved to a warmer climate like Seattle. Rarely too hot or cold. Although that 108 degrees was bit much last Summer.

So I guess we all need to relocate?

 

[mom2rtk]

I guess $30K just doesn't buy what it use to.

 

[ronandannette]

None. But I see a lot of automotive shops that advertise they install the heaters doing a Google search. So SOMEBODY is buying them. https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/portable-car-heater

They sell these too and probably at about the same rate as the in-car heaters.
https://www.autozone.com/lighters/u...2-8-chrome-pop-out-cigarette-lighter/3288_0_0

 

[dez1978]

Thank God, my car still starts with a key...

I haven’t owned a car that needed a key to start in 12 years lol

 

[MillauFr]

So I guess we all need to relocate?

Isn't relocating a far better option than paying an extra $8 per month????

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm a key loser, so I'm actually pretty happy that my 2019 Outback doesn't have push-button proximity keys -- they cost a bloody fortune to get spares for.

Remote engine starters work just as well aftermarket when installed by a professional, and are a lot cheaper than buying a fancy package if that is all you want. I predict that Toyota will back down on this and start selling the starter separately from the rest of that (and grandfather in the folks who already had it.)

 

[tvguy]

They sell these too and probably at about the same rate as the in-car heaters.
https://www.autozone.com/lighters/u...2-8-chrome-pop-out-cigarette-lighter/3288_0_0

LOL. They just don't give up as much heat. My 2018 Ford Flex has 4 power points, they just don't include the cigarette lighter itself from the factory anymore.

 

[ronandannette]

Isn't relocating a far better option than paying an extra $8 per month????

Why not? This is the DIS where the distance between the ridiculous and the sublime is really short. We've got people considering buying farms to raise their own Angus beef over on the pot-roast recipe thread.

 

[_19disnA]

Remote start can be a helpful feature if you park outside in colder climates. Cars don't instantly heat up and the windows/mirrors can get foggy or ice up making it a hazard to drive since you can't see as well. Even though it is a good feature, I would NOT pay any monthly fee to use it. Think that is a terrible idea for Toyota to want to turn it into some kind of subscription service. I suspect other auto companies will likely point out their feature is free in their advertising.

 

[wenrob]

Although if the installation is $250-$300 (let's say $240 to make the math easier), vs $8/month, it would take three years to recoup your costs. I wonder if you could turn the Toyota thing on/off (maybe only have it the extreme hot or extreme cold months. That would really extend the ROI.

But the after market system will always work while the other will not if you decide you’re tired of paying the $8.

 

[MillauFr]

raise their own Angus beef over on the pot-roast recipe thread.

Angus??? Who on earth would raise that mediocre beef? Wouldn't you get the real Waygu???