“Now I feel bamboozled.”
It seems everything is a subscription nowadays. Things that you used to be able to buy once and own forever now require never ending subscriptions.
In the digital age, sometimes it feels like you never really own anything. Instead, you merely rent.
That subscription-ification of life has made its way to cars, and many people aren’t happy about it. They long for the days when you didn’t have to pay a fee to access basic features.
In a trending video with more than 33,000 views, content creator Elayasia (@elaysiaaa) says she has owned her Toyota for nearly a year. She was shocked to get a notification from Toyota letting her know that she would soon have to pay $15 per month to keep remotely starting the car through its app, she says.
“TOYOTA PLEASE!!!” the text overlay on the video reads.
Elayasia explains that the charge caught her off guard since she already pays $687 per month for the vehicle, plus another $37 for Gap insurance.
“So you telling me I’m paying $687 a month, and then I gotta turn around and pay $15 just to start my car with some [expletive] that you did on an app?” she asks.
Elayasia says she initially looked for a remote-start button on her key fob. When Toyota directed owners to the app instead, she assumed the company was simply taking a more modern approach.
But she didn’t realize continued access would come with another monthly bill.
“It’s getting very greedy, and, you know, good things don’t come to those that’s greedy,” she says.
Elayasia questions why Toyota couldn’t add the cost to her payments, particularly when she is already paying separately for Gap coverage. Mostly, she wants someone to explain why remotely starting a car she is still paying off requires its own subscription.
“Y’all, somebody break this down for me because I’m just kind of confused on the $15 a month,” she says.
“I love Toyota down but y’all could’ve added that on the bill. Now I feel bamboozled,” Elayasia wrote in the caption.
Toyota currently offers three main connected services plans for 2022 vehicles and beyond. Remote connect comes with all three. The company does not list a standalone remote connect plan on that page.
The $15-per-month music lover plan bundles remote connect with integrated streaming through an owner’s existing Apple Music or Amazon Music account. The go anywhere plan also costs $15 per month, but swaps the music features for drive connect. That includes cloud navigation, live navigation help through destination assist, and Toyota’s intelligent assistant.
Then there is the premium subscription. For $25 per month, owners get remote connect, drive connect, and integrated music streaming. Toyota also offers Wi-Fi connect as a separate $25-per-month add-on through AT&T.
Remote connect does more than start the engine. Depending on the vehicle, it can remotely control the climate system, headlights, and hazard lights; lock or unlock the doors and trunk, locate the last place the car was parked, and provide vehicle-status or guest-driver alerts. It can also sound the horn, for those moments when every car in the parking lot suddenly looks exactly like yours.
Quartz reports that the subscription model has spread well beyond streaming and software. Apple devices, Tesla features, HVAC systems, car washes, and even restaurant drinks can now require recurring payments.
For companies, the appeal is straightforward: Recurring revenue is predictable. A business would rather know another payment is coming next month than have to convince the same customer to buy something new.
Motor1 has previously reported that modern vehicles already contain computers, cameras, cellular connections, and software that manufacturers can update remotely. That allows automakers to keep selling features long after a car leaves the dealership. It can also simplify manufacturing if the company installs the same hardware in several cars, then uses software to determine which owners can access it.
Someone who passed on a feature at the dealership may be able to add it later without replacing the vehicle. Some subscriptions also pay for something that creates an ongoing expense.
But drivers tend to be less enthusiastic when the monthly payment unlocks hardware already installed in a car they bought. Quartz points to BMW’s abandoned attempt to charge owners a recurring fee for heated seats as one example. The company dropped the plan in 2023 after widespread backlash.
The distinction comes down to what customers believe they are paying for. An ongoing service can reasonably carry an ongoing cost. Paying forever for occasional access—or for something a customer thought was included in the original purchase—is a much harder sell.
Free trials make that line even blurrier. Motor1 has reported that a driver can get used to a feature for months or years before it abruptly becomes another bill. That also makes the vehicle’s true long-term cost harder to see at the dealership.
People in the comment section seem just as fed up and some shared their workarounds.
“Toyota better kiss my [expletive] and add it to the bill,” a top comment read.
“Baby, I use the unlock once, lock three, and hold on the third for remote start,” a top comment suggested.
“They can keep that app we gone start when we get to the car,” another wrote.
“Subscription on a car is crazyyyy,” a commenter added.
Motor1 reached out to Elayasia via TikTok direct message and comment. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.
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