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My partner recently bought a newer Subaru. It’s great, and when we looked it up we saw it had remote start. Turns out it’s behind a subscription. When I found t

by willio58 11mo ago

My partner recently bought a newer Subaru. It’s great, and when we looked it up we saw it had remote start. Turns out it’s behind a subscription. When I found that out I essentially wrote off Subaru as a brand for my future car purchases. Catch me driving my 2017 civic into the ground before I pay a freaking subscription for basic vehicle functionality

readthenotes1 11mo ago
Remote start is basic vehicle functionality for you? You and I understand the word "basic" differently. I wish they'd offer a lifetime purchase option--but maybe they learned from the 2g remote start debacle not to rely on technology they don't control
- willio58 11mo ago
  In the age of push-to-start cars, yeah it does feel basic to me. If I can unlock my car with my key fob, why can’t I send a signal to start it? My 2017 Honda civic has it without a subscription so I was pretty shocked to learn that Subaru decided its customers would be cool with it being behind a pay-wall.
  - apparent 11mo ago
    Are you looking to remote start from the fob, or from an app? I agree that if it's done via the fob, that shouldn't require a subscription. But I understand that something requiring a cell signal will usually be paid, one way or another. I prefer it not be baked into the cost of the car, since some people (me) will not want that feature.
    - treyd 11mo ago
      Even if it was from an app, why can't I use wifi/bluetooth? Even if it depends on a relay server, why can't I load my own sim and run my own relay?
      - apparent 11mo ago
        This seems like a very HN-specific use case. It's not surprising that automakers don't have APIs that let customers host servers that they use to remotely start their vehicles. Security is obviously a huge issue, and almost no one cares about remote starting that much, and has the know-how to implement relay servers and such. I'm not happy with how consumer choice is boxed in by automakers, but for sensitive systems like ignition, I don't think that their approach is unreasonable.
        dietr1ch 10mo ago
        What do you mean HN-specific? I don't understand how cars got to require permanent cellular connections in the first place while Bluetooth would've been enough
        apparent 10mo ago
        I was referring to the fact that a very small sliver of the population would be interested in running their own relay server, or even figuring out what that means. They just want to press a button and have the car turn on.
    - willio58 10mo ago
      Key fob-based has worked great for me in a variety of living configurations (apartments, single homes) in the past 7 years with my 2017 civic. It can connect surprisingly far distances, and it doesn’t need a direct line of site or anything. Just good old RF. I get what you’re saying about app-based. My civic has that too and it’s for a cost. I’ve just never needed it since we have the free for life RF version. At $110/yr for cell-based remote start via Honda link, I’ve saved $770 over the years. Over the life of the car for me I could be looking at doubling those savings. That’s the power of avoiding needless subscriptions.
  - justin66 11mo ago
    My Toyota is charging a monthly fee for it as well.
rightbyte 11mo ago
I agree with boycotting subscription looked down cars, but what is the point of remote start? Defrosting?
- celsius1414 11mo ago
  Or the opposite: cooling the interior to a survivable temperature.
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
  - tartoran 11mo ago
    It could be for both defrosting and cooling.
- petre 11mo ago
  Gasing your neighbours and every living beign on a 100ft radius. I can't stand drivers that idle their cars while they're gone doing other stuff. Remote start should totally be a subscription feature, before it gets banned or regulated. Why? Because it's very annoying.
  - Thorrez 11mo ago
    Do you live in an area where it snows frequently?
    - triceratops 10mo ago
      Does it clear your driveway of snow? Otherwise I'm not sure why leaving a running vehicle unattended is useful. If the car is too cold when you get in, put a coat on. Too much ice on the windows? Scrape it off.
      - collingreen 10mo ago
        In MY day we walked to school in the snow, uphill both ways! Turn that light off! Just put a coat on! Get off my lawn!
morshu9001 11mo ago
There was an article not long ago about a Subaru vuln that allowed anyone to remote start, track, or unlock any new Subaru
- dotancohen 11mo ago
  Interpretation The First: One does not need to subscribe to enjoy this functionality. Interpretation The Second: These vehicles are maintained by a corporation that is both greedy and incompetent.
  - subaripped 10mo ago
    I took my wife's 2020 Crosstrek in for service a couple of years ago. The service writer told me (and documented) that the car needed rear pads when I came to pick it up. That's a little weird, I thought. I took it to a tire place for snows two weeks later. They inspect that shit for the upsell while the wheels are off anyway. Front and rear brakes: fine. Checked 'em myself. Sure enough, barely worn. That was the last time that car visited the dealer. I still have to pull the dash apart to bypass the spy box they never mentioned when selling the car. These dicks feel they aren't making enough money just making and selling cars they have to do shady shit. Well fuck that, I won't buy a new one again.
    - e40 10mo ago
      Honda dealer told me I had an oil leak. Odd, never saw oil in my driveway. Said no thanks. A friend mechanic looked at it and said there was no evidence of an oil leak. Never going to that dealer ever again.
    - hydrogen7800 10mo ago
      I have this[0] in my cart waiting to pull the trigger. It's supposed to allow you to pull the power from the data communication model, while preserving the functioning of the microphone and front speakers, which are routed through the DCM. [0]https://www.autoharnesshouse.com/69018.html https://www.autoharnesshouse.com/69018.html
- 10mo ago
whatevaa 11mo ago
Bettet write off Toyota too then, and many others.
deleted 10mo ago
[deleted]
cocoa19 10mo ago
I presume it needs a cellular subscription for this, which is not free nor basic functionality. I’d understand a complaint for heated seats subscription, but not for remote start.

readthenotes1 11mo ago

Remote start is basic vehicle functionality for you? You and I understand the word "basic" differently. I wish they'd offer a lifetime purchase option--but maybe they learned from the 2g remote start debacle not to rely on technology they don't control

willio58 11mo ago
In the age of push-to-start cars, yeah it does feel basic to me. If I can unlock my car with my key fob, why can’t I send a signal to start it? My 2017 Honda civic has it without a subscription so I was pretty shocked to learn that Subaru decided its customers would be cool with it being behind a pay-wall.
- apparent 11mo ago
  Are you looking to remote start from the fob, or from an app? I agree that if it's done via the fob, that shouldn't require a subscription. But I understand that something requiring a cell signal will usually be paid, one way or another. I prefer it not be baked into the cost of the car, since some people (me) will not want that feature.
  - treyd 11mo ago
    Even if it was from an app, why can't I use wifi/bluetooth? Even if it depends on a relay server, why can't I load my own sim and run my own relay?
    - apparent 11mo ago
      This seems like a very HN-specific use case. It's not surprising that automakers don't have APIs that let customers host servers that they use to remotely start their vehicles. Security is obviously a huge issue, and almost no one cares about remote starting that much, and has the know-how to implement relay servers and such. I'm not happy with how consumer choice is boxed in by automakers, but for sensitive systems like ignition, I don't think that their approach is unreasonable.
      - dietr1ch 10mo ago
        What do you mean HN-specific? I don't understand how cars got to require permanent cellular connections in the first place while Bluetooth would've been enough
        apparent 10mo ago
        I was referring to the fact that a very small sliver of the population would be interested in running their own relay server, or even figuring out what that means. They just want to press a button and have the car turn on.
  - willio58 10mo ago
    Key fob-based has worked great for me in a variety of living configurations (apartments, single homes) in the past 7 years with my 2017 civic. It can connect surprisingly far distances, and it doesn’t need a direct line of site or anything. Just good old RF. I get what you’re saying about app-based. My civic has that too and it’s for a cost. I’ve just never needed it since we have the free for life RF version. At $110/yr for cell-based remote start via Honda link, I’ve saved $770 over the years. Over the life of the car for me I could be looking at doubling those savings. That’s the power of avoiding needless subscriptions.
- justin66 11mo ago
  My Toyota is charging a monthly fee for it as well.

rightbyte 11mo ago

I agree with boycotting subscription looked down cars, but what is the point of remote start? Defrosting?

celsius1414 11mo ago
Or the opposite: cooling the interior to a survivable temperature.
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
- tartoran 11mo ago
  It could be for both defrosting and cooling.
petre 11mo ago
Gasing your neighbours and every living beign on a 100ft radius. I can't stand drivers that idle their cars while they're gone doing other stuff. Remote start should totally be a subscription feature, before it gets banned or regulated. Why? Because it's very annoying.
- Thorrez 11mo ago
  Do you live in an area where it snows frequently?
  - triceratops 10mo ago
    Does it clear your driveway of snow? Otherwise I'm not sure why leaving a running vehicle unattended is useful. If the car is too cold when you get in, put a coat on. Too much ice on the windows? Scrape it off.
    - collingreen 10mo ago
      In MY day we walked to school in the snow, uphill both ways! Turn that light off! Just put a coat on! Get off my lawn!

morshu9001 11mo ago

There was an article not long ago about a Subaru vuln that allowed anyone to remote start, track, or unlock any new Subaru

dotancohen 11mo ago
Interpretation The First: One does not need to subscribe to enjoy this functionality. Interpretation The Second: These vehicles are maintained by a corporation that is both greedy and incompetent.
- subaripped 10mo ago
  I took my wife's 2020 Crosstrek in for service a couple of years ago. The service writer told me (and documented) that the car needed rear pads when I came to pick it up. That's a little weird, I thought. I took it to a tire place for snows two weeks later. They inspect that shit for the upsell while the wheels are off anyway. Front and rear brakes: fine. Checked 'em myself. Sure enough, barely worn. That was the last time that car visited the dealer. I still have to pull the dash apart to bypass the spy box they never mentioned when selling the car. These dicks feel they aren't making enough money just making and selling cars they have to do shady shit. Well fuck that, I won't buy a new one again.
  - e40 10mo ago
    Honda dealer told me I had an oil leak. Odd, never saw oil in my driveway. Said no thanks. A friend mechanic looked at it and said there was no evidence of an oil leak. Never going to that dealer ever again.
  - hydrogen7800 10mo ago
    I have this[0] in my cart waiting to pull the trigger. It's supposed to allow you to pull the power from the data communication model, while preserving the functioning of the microphone and front speakers, which are routed through the DCM. [0]https://www.autoharnesshouse.com/69018.html https://www.autoharnesshouse.com/69018.html
10mo ago

whatevaa 11mo ago

Bettet write off Toyota too then, and many others.

deleted 10mo ago

[deleted]

cocoa19 10mo ago

I presume it needs a cellular subscription for this, which is not free nor basic functionality. I’d understand a complaint for heated seats subscription, but not for remote start.