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Comment by Loughla | Hacker News Reader

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Loughla·

Yeah - not sure why Toyota is getting hammered for this.

Subaru does this as well. You can get app enabled remote start from your phone, if you buy their subscription service.

I love Subaru, but that is a trash system.

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That feels like apples-and-oranges to me if you're talking about a smartphone app feature. A smartphone app has to be regularly upgraded to pay nice with new OS versions, has to have back-end servers, etc. Toyota is disabling remote start functionality between the key fob and the vehicle if the vehicle doesn't have a subscription. I'm not surprised a smartphone app requires a subscription but I am surprised and disappointed that a feature on a car's key fob does.

I too am highly disappointed in Toyota here. A remote start is something you can buy at any auto store and have installed by a mechanic for a couple hundred bucks. Will they block people from going that route now? They charge such a premium for their cars and this just seems petty.

The logical next step would be to ensure that you can't do that in the name of security or if you CAN do it then the "partner" that sells that service has to pay more than you would for the privilege of being allowed on the "platform".

I have remote start on my Subaru and I think it's essentially this:

https://www.subarupartspros.com/sku/h001sfl300.html

On that page it says:

> This Genuine Subaru Accessory is an alternative for customers who do not enroll in STARLINK Safety and Security Plus.

Subaru at this point is a sub brand of Toyota. (they're part of the "Toyota Group" as of last year)

Toyota owns 20% of Subaru, and Subaru is also invested in Toyota. From what I understand being an affiliate in the Toyota Group is not remotely the same as them being a sub brand of Toyota.

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