Subscription services

If people were still buying large numbers of Prius we'd have long threads on here about how to hack or work around all these greedy subscriptions, as well as updates on lawsuits against Toyota for charging customers for monthly/annual access to the systems their car came with when purchased. These lawsuits have been effective against other manufactures in the past. But sadly, there's just not the type of Prius popularity with brand new, only with the older models.

 

I've never been a privacy crank but you have to admire the chutzpah of a company that would hoover up everything you do with your car and ask you to PAY for the privilege!
Navigation subscription?
Isn't that like paying for a long distance phone call????
AI?
(for YOU or THEM?)
Not so sure about the other 'connections' but for ME PERSONALLY, they would not be a 'value add.'
(disclosure) All of my vehicles are wireless - so I'm already "connected" to the vehicle during the 5-10 minutes for me to refuel.

All 4 of my cars (trucks) have IMEI numbers, so MY presumption is that the mothership can check in on me whenever they want.
I'm NOT going to PAY them to do it, since I already HAVE a fairly decent phone...

"free trials" that require payment info - AREN'T.

You've already PAID for the car!!!
(or you hired a bank or finance company to pay for it for you....)
Shouldn't THAT be enough for them???

I bought a 2023 truck from GMC - and YES, they're 'almost' as scummy as Toyota of North America.
I made them promise me with a handshake that if they strapped me to a chair and made me watch some 'presentation' about wireless this, or subscription trials that I would walk away from the dealership, leaving the vehicle with them and I would dedicate the next nine months or so becoming their next social media nightmare.

I was in and out in less time than it took their "technician" to put the first tank of fuel in the truck!!!

In the nearly two years that have elapsed the only correspondence that I have gotten from them was the "Thank You" card that the sales person sent me a week after I drove away.

THAT is the kind of 'relationship' I want with my car company!

 

When i got my 2025 Camry they had me activate all the subscriptions that did not require a credit card. Everything except the useless Wi-Fi stuff.
Satellite radio is separate and, i believe, automatically activated the first time you try it. Complimentary subscription lengths vary by model tri and are usually listed in the sales brochure.

 

(These are US trial subscription lengths. They don't apply to those of you in Canada or Europe)

10-year Trial Subscriptions:
Safety Connect - Emergency Assistance Button, Enhanced Roadside Assistance, Automatic Collision Notification, Stolen Vehicle Locator
- not important until you need it, but then it's really important

Service Connect - Vehicle Health Reports, Vehicle Maintenance Alerts, Maintenance Reminders(on phone)
- nice to have, but not critical - it allows Toyota to get data from the car, so people with privacy concerns probably wouldn't like it

1-year Trial Subscriptions:
Remote Connect - Allows you to use your phone to control aspects of the car - remote start/stop, windows, locks, lights, most climate functions - also allows phone to act as a key fob
- utility depends on where you live and how much you hate carrying around a fob - now that I'm out of my trial period, I tend to subscribe for the coldest months of winter to get full remote start

Drive Connect(no free trial on LE, XLE, or Nightshade) - enables car navigation(software is based on Google Maps) - required for Traffic Jam Assist on Prius Plug-In
- not super useful in a time where most use their phones for nav - I can't speak for Waze or Apple Maps, but phone-based Google Maps can send instructions to the multifunction display just like the car nav - might possibly be worth it for PHEV owners in large cities that use Traffic Jam Assist - I'm neither, so that's another thing I can't speak to.

1-month Trial Subscriptions:
Integrated Streaming - allows the car to natively stream music from Apple Music and Amazon Music
- I don't really know why someone would want this when the car already has wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but I also don't use either of those two streaming services for music - it may be useful for some people

Wi-Fi Connect - Allows the car to be used as a hotspot - service through AT&T
- probably not worth it except for maybe carpool/ride share situations - for families, it's probably cheaper to just set up a phone as the hotspot instead of the car


Connected Service packages once the free trials expire:
Music Lover - includes Integrated Streaming and Remote Connect - $15/month
Drive Anywhere - includes Drive Connect and Remote Connect - $15/month
Premium - includes Integrated Streaming, Drive Connect, and Remote Connect - $25/month
Wi-Fi Connect - $25/month - through AT&T, not Toyota


Personally, I tend to only subscribe to Drive Anywhere in the middle of winter or if I'm on a road trip to an unfamiliar area. Maybe four months out of the year at most. I'd subscribe to just Remote Connect instead if that was an option, but Toyota only sells it with one of the other services bundled together.


A general FYI: As long as you have any trial or paid subscription, your fob can remote start the car. So you've currently got 10 years of that. Just know that it's flakey, the range is terrible, and there's no feedback as to whether or not the start was successful. I only use it if I can actually see the car while I'm trying it(say through a window while I'm getting ready). To activate, it's three presses of the lock button with a hold on the third press (press - press - press/hold). If you want reliable remote start, you'll need Remote Connect.

 

I, personally, find Safety Connect and Remote Connect to be of value. SC in case I have an accident I can summon help or it will do it automatically. It can provide location info to law enforcement if the car is stolen. Remote connect enables Remote Start and notifications if I leave the doors open etc. SC has a 10 trial but RC is pay as you go after the first year.

 

i thought Wi-Fi Connect was data bound, not time bound.For my Camry XLE it was up to 3GB.To sign up for the trial requires a credit card. I did not sign up for mine.

 

Technically both. Up to 30-day or 3GB.

 

I don't have any of the subscriptions. Never activated any of them

 

With the exception exception of Wi-Fi all my trial subscriptions were activated when I took delivery.

 

When I took delivery, my salesman carefully walked me through the subscriptions. If they were already activated, how were they tied to your Toyota account?

 

My email address was given to my sales person who used it to activate the subscriptions at time of delivery.

 

Same here for me. Most of them last a year or more without paying. I use the Toyota Nav Map instead of Google Maps (only because their nav map is so much better for viewing both at night or day. (in my opinion) The Toyota Nav will update (places, roads) over time with the subscription, but I'm not willing to pay for it. I choose not to pay $15 per month to drive MY car.

 

My son has driven Prius vehicles with Toyota Navigation ever since 2005. In no case did he stay with the Toyota Navigation, In prior vehicles, he used a Garmin GPS.Every new car he would try Toyota navigation & then give up on it.

 

Why dont they just allow a subscription for Remote Connect only? Im paing $15/mo for Drive Connect when I have Android Aiuto...need Remote Connect so guess im stuck..