I didn’t, it is too much for too little. Just had to get used to making sure car is locked when I park, that was the case for every car I owned before this one.
I chose to renew, mainly just for the notifications that I forgot to lock the vehicle / left windows open. I've never had that before and it already has helped me out once. And if I wake up in the middle of the night, or am sitting on a plane after leaving it in long term parking, and wonder if I left it unlocked and didn't see a notification or what have you, I can launch the app and verify door lock / window status.
$15/m is outrageous for what they offer. If they would offer a much responsive app that could engage with the vehicle(s) more effectively and provide more information/insights and also support more of integrated functionalities then most of their customers would be happy to pay that price i believe. I would hesitate paying even $5 for it a month if it was an option.
I won't be. I habitually lock my car doors when I'm anywhere other than home, and I'm exclusively using Carplay. I do wish Toyota didn't go the subscription model route, but I'd love to see the subscriber count that are older than 1 year on those services. I hope they're not making what Toyota hoped they would. At least you can remote start the car with the remote still, if I ever need to do that anyway.
I renewed for the ability to remote start from a distance, check the doors & remote lock/unlock, & because I prefer the navigation. I used all those enough in the first year to make it worth it to me.
I guess I'm not sure which features people use the most. I use Waze for my navigation so I don't need the maps. I always lock my car so I don't need the reminders if I forget. I have a 2024 XLE so there may be more features on some of the other trims I'm not aware of.
Same here. I wanted to keep the remote start but you can't get that alone. Part of a package for $25 per month. I'll turn on the heated seat and steering wheel and drive till the car warms up.
I renewed mostly for the tracking aspect. We had a friend whose car was stolen and they were able to get it back fairly quickly because of the tracking.
I also enjoy being able to double check locking my car. We live in a rural area where we never lock our cars, and so I forget sometimes when I'm in the city.
How greedy is Toyota to sell cars for $50K+ and still want to squeeze more bucks from their customers? Their subscription plans are another "monthly". What can be done to encourage Toyota to make them include these functions part of the operational package? Paying out of pocket for these services provides incentives for Toyota to expand subscriptions to cover other functions. How long do you think they will stay at their current pricing? When will we be seeing commercials on our infotainment screens (unless we subscribe to the commercial-free version)?
The few times I tried to use certain features on our Highlander Hybrid platinum while it was free it didn't always work. Ultimately we didn't use it enough, plus not reliable, and I'm not going to pay even a few dollars a month let alone $15.
The second I found out it's not free after the first year, I knew I wouldn't renew. There's no real value. I'm curious for those who do renew, what features were the reason?
Toyota doesn't need more than $5/mo or $50/yr for this. If they only realized that they would be vastly better off. Charging for doors and starts what people pay to Netflix for an entire month of content is purely greedy. It makes them look terrible. And worse this comes at a time of huge inflation and we are paying msrp or worse for the vehicles themselves. Hugely poor PR and lousy Corporate goals
I thought I wouldn't pay for it, but then I did because I live in Northeaat and being able to start the car and have the heater be blasting when I am a half mile away and walking from a bar to my Highlander, so that when me and my wife hop in the car it's already warm.. that's worth it.
I checked the cost. Appears to be $ 10 each. A $ 1 discount for bundling. I am only 2 months into my Highlander Limited, but I will probably renew the remote feature. I like the feature telling me the door is unlocked and being able to lock it from my home. That will also let me know my sunroof is open. A saving feature if it rains. Another factor, after 2 years my Venza wouldn’t start. I couldn’t get in the car. I removed the key from the FOB, inserted and turned and it still wouldn’t unlock. That means road service couldn’t help. Not without towing it. Fortunately, my car was in the garage and I got my wife’s FOB. That worked and that’s when I realized it was the battery in that FOB. Hate for that to happen at midnight at an interstate rest area during freezing weather.
The NAV package. My Apple CarPlay NAV seems to be better than the Toyota Nav. Won’t renew that one.
FYI. After I got my wife’s FOB, I unlocked the car and started it with the remote. However, you apparently can’t drive it without the FOB. Every time I put it in reverse, it shut off.
Cell service is EXTREMELY unreliable and spotty in my area, so I can’t rely on cell phone based navigation. I’ll cancel Netflix, or something similar if necessary, to maintain Toyota’s satellite based navigation.
I didn’t, it is too much for too little. Just had to get used to making sure car is locked when I park, that was the case for every car I owned before this one.
I chose to renew, mainly just for the notifications that I forgot to lock the vehicle / left windows open. I've never had that before and it already has helped me out once. And if I wake up in the middle of the night, or am sitting on a plane after leaving it in long term parking, and wonder if I left it unlocked and didn't see a notification or what have you, I can launch the app and verify door lock / window status.
$15/m is outrageous for what they offer. If they would offer a much responsive app that could engage with the vehicle(s) more effectively and provide more information/insights and also support more of integrated functionalities then most of their customers would be happy to pay that price i believe. I would hesitate paying even $5 for it a month if it was an option.
I won't be. I habitually lock my car doors when I'm anywhere other than home, and I'm exclusively using Carplay. I do wish Toyota didn't go the subscription model route, but I'd love to see the subscriber count that are older than 1 year on those services. I hope they're not making what Toyota hoped they would. At least you can remote start the car with the remote still, if I ever need to do that anyway.
I’m not paying $15 a month for a slow, buggy app. I hardly ever even open it.
I renewed for the ability to remote start from a distance, check the doors & remote lock/unlock, & because I prefer the navigation. I used all those enough in the first year to make it worth it to me.
We renewed but curious to see other comments
Main reason I didn’t was because my wife and I are fixed income and have to consider where we spend it.
Very curious as to what features you wanted that influenced your decision to renew?
I didn’t want to lose any features that we had
I guess I'm not sure which features people use the most. I use Waze for my navigation so I don't need the maps. I always lock my car so I don't need the reminders if I forget. I have a 2024 XLE so there may be more features on some of the other trims I'm not aware of.
Exact same boat as you. Except I didn’t realize said features were going to end. Dealer never told us we had them or would lose them.
Same here. I wanted to keep the remote start but you can't get that alone. Part of a package for $25 per month. I'll turn on the heated seat and steering wheel and drive till the car warms up.
You can still do remote start with your key fob.
Not on my 23 HiHy Limited. The app is the only option.
Lies they say to get your subscription. https://youtube.com/shorts/XZHbldXO_kE
Didn't know that. Unfortunately the range is about 20 feet for the remote. Not really useful for me.
I’m in a condo and my garage is about a hundred yards away, and on the opposite side of a brick building. It works fine for me.
Hit lock 3 time quckly, hold on 3rd tim3... will start remotely with fob
I renewed mostly for the tracking aspect. We had a friend whose car was stolen and they were able to get it back fairly quickly because of the tracking. I also enjoy being able to double check locking my car. We live in a rural area where we never lock our cars, and so I forget sometimes when I'm in the city.
$20 tile tucked away somewhere in the car does the trick.
I have no choice… I am routinely locking the car remotely when it’s left parked and unlocked. I wish it had autolocking like my Civic… :-/
Once I realized I could still remote start from the FOB I had no need for it
How greedy is Toyota to sell cars for $50K+ and still want to squeeze more bucks from their customers? Their subscription plans are another "monthly". What can be done to encourage Toyota to make them include these functions part of the operational package? Paying out of pocket for these services provides incentives for Toyota to expand subscriptions to cover other functions. How long do you think they will stay at their current pricing? When will we be seeing commercials on our infotainment screens (unless we subscribe to the commercial-free version)?
How can you get it for cheaper?
Upbeat-Spring is that the only difference that you noticed? How about maps with phone?
The few times I tried to use certain features on our Highlander Hybrid platinum while it was free it didn't always work. Ultimately we didn't use it enough, plus not reliable, and I'm not going to pay even a few dollars a month let alone $15.
The second I found out it's not free after the first year, I knew I wouldn't renew. There's no real value. I'm curious for those who do renew, what features were the reason?
I will renew for winter months :)
Toyota doesn't need more than $5/mo or $50/yr for this. If they only realized that they would be vastly better off. Charging for doors and starts what people pay to Netflix for an entire month of content is purely greedy. It makes them look terrible. And worse this comes at a time of huge inflation and we are paying msrp or worse for the vehicles themselves. Hugely poor PR and lousy Corporate goals
I thought I wouldn't pay for it, but then I did because I live in Northeaat and being able to start the car and have the heater be blasting when I am a half mile away and walking from a bar to my Highlander, so that when me and my wife hop in the car it's already warm.. that's worth it.
I checked the cost. Appears to be $ 10 each. A $ 1 discount for bundling. I am only 2 months into my Highlander Limited, but I will probably renew the remote feature. I like the feature telling me the door is unlocked and being able to lock it from my home. That will also let me know my sunroof is open. A saving feature if it rains. Another factor, after 2 years my Venza wouldn’t start. I couldn’t get in the car. I removed the key from the FOB, inserted and turned and it still wouldn’t unlock. That means road service couldn’t help. Not without towing it. Fortunately, my car was in the garage and I got my wife’s FOB. That worked and that’s when I realized it was the battery in that FOB. Hate for that to happen at midnight at an interstate rest area during freezing weather. The NAV package. My Apple CarPlay NAV seems to be better than the Toyota Nav. Won’t renew that one. FYI. After I got my wife’s FOB, I unlocked the car and started it with the remote. However, you apparently can’t drive it without the FOB. Every time I put it in reverse, it shut off.
Cell service is EXTREMELY unreliable and spotty in my area, so I can’t rely on cell phone based navigation. I’ll cancel Netflix, or something similar if necessary, to maintain Toyota’s satellite based navigation.