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My ex bought a new Subaru last year and I was shocked to find out their remote start system is locked behind a similar subscription service. I worked in car sal

by 40four 5y ago

My ex bought a new Subaru last year and I was shocked to find out their remote start system is locked behind a similar subscription service. I worked in car sales for a bit years ago, and I had never seen this before. The models that had the option, only required the key fob, same as same as unlocking your doors. This is not the direction we want to go. Imagine if it was required the be on the subscription plan to use the remote at all, even to unlock your doors. And if you don’t pay the bill, you have to use the key by hand.

KennyBlanken 5y ago
Subaru disabled their telematics system in Massachusetts rather than comply with the state law requiring they give access to independent mechanics. They are incredibly petty.
- simondotau 5y ago
  Never ascribe to pettiness that which is adequately explained by laziness. As anyone who has built internal infrastructure knows, giving a third party access to a system never designed for third party access isn’t always trivial. Even if the tech is up to scratch, there would still be a need to audit the system top to bottom. Documentation will need to be checked and improved. Disabling a feature for a tiny number of customers is, by comparison, extremely simple.
- bubblethink 5y ago
  Now that we have the MA law, how come CA doesn't have something similar ? Is there something in the works ? Usually, CA is at the forefront of vehicle compliance laws.
  - callalex 5y ago
    CA is on the forefront of emissions controls and other environmental stuff. CA repair laws are owned by anti-repair companies like Apple.
Waterluvian 5y ago
I bought a 2020 Forester. The only stuff that needs a subscription are things that use the car’s built in cell service: - remote lock, unlock, start, check status - see where my car is - set alarm email notification if my kid leaves a predefined area or drives over a certain speed limit - blue button for concierge - red button for emergencies Three free years then they want $20CAD/yr. I’m usually cranky about these things but this seems like a no brainer. I’d pay that amount simply for the “human will see if your airbags went off and will cal 911 with your GPS position if you don’t respond.”
- throw_nbvc1234 5y ago
  Is there a good reason to require cell service to unlock a door or just car companies taking on external dependencies for no reason?
  - whoisburbansky 5y ago
    It isn’t “unlock a door.” It’s “unlock a door from your phone regardless of where you are as long as you have cell signal and the car has cell signal, it doesn’t have to be in range of the fob.”
    - Waterluvian 5y ago
      Correct. My fob works the way they have for decades. With this service I can lock my car from a different city. I can see where it is. I can set a polygon zone where it emails me if my kids leave the city and whatnot. It requires cell service and servers. So I get that it requires a subscription.
      - batiudrami 5y ago
        It'd be nice if you could put your own SIM in though.
        Waterluvian 5y ago
R0b0t1 5y ago
I was shooting heroin and reading _The Fountainhead_ in the front seat of my privately owned police cruiser when a call came in. I put a quarter in the radio to activate it. It was the chief. "Bad news, detective. We got a situation."
- hn_version_0023 5y ago
dylan604 5y ago
Next Up: Samsung says using the remote control for their TVs require a monthly subscription. /s It's just as absurd. I had an aftermarket remote start/keyless unlock installed on a car that didn't even have autolocks for less than a year's worth of proposed subscription fees for this. Greedy bastards justs being greedy.
- olliej 5y ago
  Of course not, it’s a free service that’s paid for by them displaying ads over your content. It’s so depressing that that isn’t even satire but an actual real thing.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    If they can make money on the sale of the item AND then make more money by selling your viewing habits from using the item, why not increase with a subscription remote service? The idea isn't any less asinine than the Toyota ploy. With the service, you can click channels up or down. Without, you can only change channels in one direction which forces you to view all channels similar to the scene in Toy Story. This also gives all channels impressions, so it would benefit them. Who cares about the user. Also with the service, the keypad on the remote can also be enabled so you can dial in the channel number directly. This is an upgrade of the basice service to the Pro version for an extra small nominal fee.
    - olliej 5y ago
      The joke was that Samsung already puts ads on peoples TVs despite them having paid for the TV.
- gnicholas 5y ago
  Or, you can buy your TV with Special Offers, so it listens to your conversations via a mic built into the remote and sends you better targeted ads.
  - dylan604 5y ago
criddell 5y ago
Which Subaru model? I think most of them still have the option for a traditional RF based key fob. I have that on my Crosstrek. For example: https://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru_2021_Crosstrek/Remote-Engine-Starter---Push-Start-Allows-vehicle-to-be/96954525/H001SFL301.html https://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru_2021_Crosstrek/Remote-Engi... Note that in the description they say: > This Genuine Subaru Accessory is an alternative for customers who do not enroll in STARLINK Safety and Security Plus.
- 40four 5y ago
  That interesting. I remember those little extra fobs now. It was a 2021 Outback. It’s possible the sales person didn’t make that clear, and just wanted to close the subscription deal. She bought later it later, after the sale, and never looked into it I’m sure. It’s still lame when you spend $45K on a car and you have to carry and extra device, if you don’t buy the subscription. They definitely want you to buy it though. Interesting to see Toyota try to force it on folks who are used to it being a given.
  - hsod 5y ago
    Uh in this case the “extra device” is your car key
grecy 5y ago
> This is not the direction we want to go You are correct this is not the direction consumers want to go, but it is absolutely without a doubt the direction companies want to go. I used to work at a very large Telco, and it was common practice at the end of the month for the Marketing team to sit around with their feet on the boardroom table and say things like "How about we introduce a $50 fee for event x (i.e. customer downgrades package / customer disconnects / customer changes payment method, etc.) - the event happens 10,000 times per month, so that means we just added half a mil in revenue a month. Done, the whole Marketing team gets a bonus. A few months later they think of another similar idea, get bonuses again, around and around. That is literally how it happens.

by 40four 5y ago

KennyBlanken 5y ago

Subaru disabled their telematics system in Massachusetts rather than comply with the state law requiring they give access to independent mechanics. They are incredibly petty.

simondotau 5y ago
Never ascribe to pettiness that which is adequately explained by laziness. As anyone who has built internal infrastructure knows, giving a third party access to a system never designed for third party access isn’t always trivial. Even if the tech is up to scratch, there would still be a need to audit the system top to bottom. Documentation will need to be checked and improved. Disabling a feature for a tiny number of customers is, by comparison, extremely simple.
bubblethink 5y ago
Now that we have the MA law, how come CA doesn't have something similar ? Is there something in the works ? Usually, CA is at the forefront of vehicle compliance laws.
- callalex 5y ago
  CA is on the forefront of emissions controls and other environmental stuff. CA repair laws are owned by anti-repair companies like Apple.

Waterluvian 5y ago

I bought a 2020 Forester. The only stuff that needs a subscription are things that use the car’s built in cell service: - remote lock, unlock, start, check status - see where my car is - set alarm email notification if my kid leaves a predefined area or drives over a certain speed limit - blue button for concierge - red button for emergencies Three free years then they want $20CAD/yr. I’m usually cranky about these things but this seems like a no brainer. I’d pay that amount simply for the “human will see if your airbags went off and will cal 911 with your GPS position if you don’t respond.”

throw_nbvc1234 5y ago
Is there a good reason to require cell service to unlock a door or just car companies taking on external dependencies for no reason?
- whoisburbansky 5y ago
  It isn’t “unlock a door.” It’s “unlock a door from your phone regardless of where you are as long as you have cell signal and the car has cell signal, it doesn’t have to be in range of the fob.”
  - Waterluvian 5y ago
    Correct. My fob works the way they have for decades. With this service I can lock my car from a different city. I can see where it is. I can set a polygon zone where it emails me if my kids leave the city and whatnot. It requires cell service and servers. So I get that it requires a subscription.
    - batiudrami 5y ago
      It'd be nice if you could put your own SIM in though.
      - Waterluvian 5y ago

R0b0t1 5y ago

I was shooting heroin and reading _The Fountainhead_ in the front seat of my privately owned police cruiser when a call came in. I put a quarter in the radio to activate it. It was the chief. "Bad news, detective. We got a situation."

hn_version_0023 5y ago

dylan604 5y ago

Next Up: Samsung says using the remote control for their TVs require a monthly subscription. /s It's just as absurd. I had an aftermarket remote start/keyless unlock installed on a car that didn't even have autolocks for less than a year's worth of proposed subscription fees for this. Greedy bastards justs being greedy.

olliej 5y ago
Of course not, it’s a free service that’s paid for by them displaying ads over your content. It’s so depressing that that isn’t even satire but an actual real thing.
- dylan604 5y ago
  If they can make money on the sale of the item AND then make more money by selling your viewing habits from using the item, why not increase with a subscription remote service? The idea isn't any less asinine than the Toyota ploy. With the service, you can click channels up or down. Without, you can only change channels in one direction which forces you to view all channels similar to the scene in Toy Story. This also gives all channels impressions, so it would benefit them. Who cares about the user. Also with the service, the keypad on the remote can also be enabled so you can dial in the channel number directly. This is an upgrade of the basice service to the Pro version for an extra small nominal fee.
  - olliej 5y ago
    The joke was that Samsung already puts ads on peoples TVs despite them having paid for the TV.
gnicholas 5y ago
Or, you can buy your TV with Special Offers, so it listens to your conversations via a mic built into the remote and sends you better targeted ads.
- dylan604 5y ago

criddell 5y ago

Which Subaru model? I think most of them still have the option for a traditional RF based key fob. I have that on my Crosstrek. For example: https://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru_2021_Crosstrek/Remote-Engine-Starter---Push-Start-Allows-vehicle-to-be/96954525/H001SFL301.html https://parts.subaru.com/p/Subaru_2021_Crosstrek/Remote-Engi... Note that in the description they say: > This Genuine Subaru Accessory is an alternative for customers who do not enroll in STARLINK Safety and Security Plus.

40four 5y ago
That interesting. I remember those little extra fobs now. It was a 2021 Outback. It’s possible the sales person didn’t make that clear, and just wanted to close the subscription deal. She bought later it later, after the sale, and never looked into it I’m sure. It’s still lame when you spend $45K on a car and you have to carry and extra device, if you don’t buy the subscription. They definitely want you to buy it though. Interesting to see Toyota try to force it on folks who are used to it being a given.
- hsod 5y ago
  Uh in this case the “extra device” is your car key

grecy 5y ago

> This is not the direction we want to go You are correct this is not the direction consumers want to go, but it is absolutely without a doubt the direction companies want to go. I used to work at a very large Telco, and it was common practice at the end of the month for the Marketing team to sit around with their feet on the boardroom table and say things like "How about we introduce a $50 fee for event x (i.e. customer downgrades package / customer disconnects / customer changes payment method, etc.) - the event happens 10,000 times per month, so that means we just added half a mil in revenue a month. Done, the whole Marketing team gets a bonus. A few months later they think of another similar idea, get bonuses again, around and around. That is literally how it happens.