Toyota owners will now have to pay $8 a month to start their cars remotely.

Toyota is launching a paid subscription to take advantage of remote start. A subscription that can be “avoided”when buying a car.

Just a few years ago, when you bought a product, the deal was heard, the company got your money, and then you became the owner of that product. However, this model no longer enjoys the favor of many companies that are forced to constantly come and tempt the buyer to buy his products. The subscription has been there ever since. Including from car manufacturers. New example with Toyota.

Toyota launches paid subscription to take advantage of remote start

So this means that at certain times of the year, when the company had no new products to launch, more often than not, revenue could be low. It is for this reason that we are now seeing significant interest in another business model – the subscription model. By charging a certain amount per month, the business earns a more or less regular monthly income, whether or not customers buy new products. Such is the case today with Toyota, which is now asking its customers to pay $8 a month if they want to continue using the remote start dongle.

A subscription that can be “avoided”when buying a car.

For those who don’t know, one of the features of the latest Toyota vehicles is that the smart key that comes with the car can also start it remotely. This means that instead of getting inside and starting the engine, you can do it by approaching your car, which can be very handy in a number of situations.

That being said, according to a report from The Drive, for 2018 or newer models that feature Toyota Remote Connect features, owners will need to pay an $8/month subscription to continue to take advantage of this option. This, of course, does not mean that if you do not pay this amount every month, you will not be able to start the car at all, but simply that you will have to do without remote start using a smart key.

In addition, there is one more element to take into account: Toyota already has an offer with its vehicles, which is the Audio Plus package and the Premium Audio package. With the first, customers are eligible for a three-year free trial. With the second, the free trial period increases to ten years. In other words, depending on which package you decide to purchase, this paid subscription may not be needed for many years.