‘All car manufacturers are doing that now’: Woman pays $60K for Toyota Grand Highlander. Then the $15 per month subscription runs out
A frustrated Toyota customer is calling the company out on TikTok over its subscription service. It's required for what some may consider an essential feature.
"I have a bone to pick with Toyota... I have a Grand Highlander. $60,000 car. And my subscription just ran out, so now I have to pay for it," Tori Posey (@posey_fam) says in a video that's been viewed over 62,700 times.
"Because I don't have the app anymore, my navigation doesn't work. $60,000 car and the navigation doesn't work," she adds.
In a later video, Posey demonstrates what happens when she tries to access her vehicle's built-in navigation system. The screen reads "Experience Drive Connect" and asks her to subscribe to the service.
"Then we click 'Get Started' and the screen goes black," she says. "And you have to fix your subscription on the app. Now my screen's black, by the way. I pretty much have to cut the car off and cut it back on to get it to come back."
Do you need a Toyota subscription?
As Posey mentioned, Toyota generally offers a free trial period of its subscription services for new car owners, although the amount of time seems to vary. But she isn't the only customer who's ended up surprised at the lack of functionality after the trial period ends.
The Toyota subreddit and other online forums are filled with frustrated car owners who don't understand why they need to pay a monthly fee to access features on their pricey vehicles.
There's also confusion as to what features require payment. According to Toyota's website, GPS should work without a subscription, but won't be updated without one. Actual car owners seem to report varying experiences with this. Some have said the navigation becomes outdated quickly enough that it's essentially useless.
For customers who decide to keep on with the subscription services, the bundled Drive Connect and Remote Connect subscriptions currently cost $15 per month. They include "real-time traffic elements, 24/7 live agents and new voice commands, and the ability to start their vehicles and lock or unlock doors through their phone app, respectively.
There is another option for people who need navigation and don't want to subscribe through Toyota. Both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto allow users to connect their smartphones to the vehicle and have options like Google Maps pop up on the screen.
Subscriptions are taking over
Toyota's subscription service is part of a growing trend in which companies are encouraging, or even requiring, customers to pay monthly for access to things they would have previously purchased once and owned forever.
Software and apps have been the forerunners in switching to this model. Meanwhile, HP stirred up controversy earlier this year with its printer and ink subscription service that prevented people from printing anything without a valid subscription.
There are times when a subscription model makes sense, and there are plenty of people who are happy to pay them. But the confusion surrounding specifics, unpredictable price increases, and normalization of ongoing payments in areas they didn't previously exist have left plenty of people frustrated.
@posey_fam @Toyota USA the $15 a month isnt the problem its just the reality of the situation..
"I was considering a Highlander hybrid until I found they have subscriptions for functions that are already paid for with the vehicle," one viewer commented on Posey's video.
"One would think navigation and the app would be free as much as vehicles are," wrote another.
"Hate to tell you but all car manufacturers are doing that now," a third added.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @posey_fam via TikTok message and Toyota via email.
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