My partner’s 2008 Prius works like that, with the “emergency” key in the fob. I don’t complain, especially since we got the toilet with a wand that has more controls than our TV remote.
I’ve lived my 50+ years and have never needed to remote unlock or start a vehicle from outside visual range. Any future vehicle will not need this feature, just a basic fob and no app.
My Volvo came with 4 years of service for the app, including remote start. It was -14C here last week for the first time this year. You can bet I preheated the car!
I was talking to a salesman who told me about when he and his wife drove to the coast in separate cars and on arriving discovered they had gone the whole way with the fob for her car in his pocket. Good thing they stayed close enough together (I believe the range of fobs is typically around 40 feet).
I’d be happy to start my car remotely from within visual range (via the fob). That functionality is going away once the app deactivates itself in 8 days.
Then why on earth would you post to a thread where we are discussing car phone apps. Do you think this adds to the discussion?
And that is wrong in every way shape and form.
As much as your admonishment of me does.
I have a 2023 Acadia and it has a functioning ap as long as you subscribe to OnStar. However, about the only thing I use it for is to start the car in advance of driving. However, it does store some handy information.
2021 Hyundai Sonata. Came with a free year old the app but I only used it a couple times to see if my doors were locked. Fob works fine for unlocking the doors or popping the trunk. No remote start but I don’t really want/need that anyway. I think the app cost was around $80/yr which felt like a lot to check my car doors or fuel level while in the store.
It only needs the fob to start, not to run. As long as they parked near each other every time, no problem.
That’s quite the Prius. My car doesn’t even have a bucket.
My mid trim level Nissan truck has remote start built into the fob, but my wife’s top trim Mazda only has it via an app. We haven’t bothered to try it yet, but probably should while still in the trial period. Doubt it’s worth a subscription though.
What I would enjoy is door fobs, that I could provide to my passengers to allow them to unlock the car but not to start it.
But tangentially related to time limited subscription service (first taste is free) is the Sirius radio free trial. And the streaming app associated with Sirius.) We have Sirius in our other car (and the one passed on to an adult child). There are a few channels I like. Our new car’s trial ended and rather than get a new car subscription I use it via the streaming app on CarPlay.
The car brand apps, subject of the OP, provide very little utility for the cost.
In the new car the music screen also goes through Apple and Amazon Music screens, both of which only connect by the screen if you have the Toyota App. No way to get those screens to not show as you flip through “modes” … but anyone who has those services otherwise can use them through CarPlay or the Android one without paying Toyota as well.
I wonder what fraction of people pay for these car brand app services to continue?
There’s a huge problem in the UK with Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles that have this feature. Someone has figured out how to intercept the signal and “clone” the key. I know two people who have had cars stolen this way and some insurers are now refusing to cover Range Rovers.
The Mazda app really is nice to have. I just wish I had known in advance that it would vanish one day.
I can affort the $10 a month, and I really want the app, but I refuse to subscribe on principle.
I acknowledge that I am amputating my nose to spite my face.
mmm
We keep our fobs in a faraday box to prevent this.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/autotrends-rfid-signal-blocking-faraday-box-small-0379850p.html
I only have real experience with two apps: Volvo and Tesla.
I don’t have experience using the Volvo one daily, just helping to get it setup, and it was a mess. The car runs Android, so it is never clear when you need to use your Volvo account and when you need to use your Google account. Once finally getting the app and the car linked up, it seemed somewhat functional at showing charge status and letting you turn on AC or heat. At the time, I don’t think you could even control charging from the app, just see what it was doing.
The Tesla one, however is good. Some of this is because I’m familiar with it, but lots of it is because Tesla has spent a long time refining a screen based user interface to the vehicle, and the app is a big part of this.
My car is grandfathered in to lifetime full connectivity, so I may get some of these details wrong. For free, forever, you can use the app to connect to the car and do most things except stream video from the car’s cameras:
- start AC or heat, including defrost and seats
- vent the windows, or close them completely
- lock/unlock the car
- open/close doors, trunks, hatches, as supported by the car
- honk and flash lights
- start the car to enable driving
- show the location, speed, current route, destination and ETA
- set a destination or route
- adjust the radio (from within the car)
- Actually Smart Summon, to move the car back and forth, or send it to a location in a parking lot
- schedule charging to start or finish at a certain time
- set charging limit
- start/stop charging
- view historical charging information
- contact service
That is lots of stuff.
Premium connectivity adds a few more things, and is I think $10/month. That is comparable to the price of adding a non-phone device (watch, tablet, &c.) to a mobile plan, and covers the added data use:
- live traffic updates
- stream live camera feeds from the car
- remotely view recorded security alert videos from the car
- stream music to the car
- various video streaming services while parked
Many of those can be easily replicated with a phone. You can use your phone as a hotspot to do the streaming stuff. The only thing hotspotting doesn’t get you is the live traffic updates, because access to the Google maps API does cost Tesla money, so it is understandable it requires payment, if annoying.
Ref this tidbit about Sirius.
AIUI … under their subscription system, one subscription is good for all your devices. And cars are just devices. So you should be able to contact Sirius customer service (or use their website from a real PC) to add the new car’s radio ID to your existing subscription at no additional cost from Sirius. Since it uses its own antenna to receive satellite signals with no dependence on Wi-Fi or cellular networks, you should find that working without any involvement from Toyota or Toyota’s app. Unless they nerfed it on purpose as a revenue generating gimmick.
On a semi-related note to the above …
What I have found with my BMW is my Android S24 phone sitting on the magnetic charge pad will overheat in about 2 hours of using Android Auto with the Google Maps nav app displayed continuously on the car’s screen and a streaming audio app playing music through the car’s sound system continuously.
If instead of using the phone’s streaming audio I use the car’s built-in Sirius receiver then the phone will never overheat.
Details will of course vary by charger, phone, car, etc. But it might be useful info for somebody.
The MyFord app that I use with my 2017 Ford Escape still works for free. I never ever remember to use it. Maybe once or twice a year I’ll start it remotely to warm it up. Every so often I check it to find my VIN if I need it.
When I went in the site on our account it was a family discounted extra but still extra to have another car radio activated.