Some of these make sense though, considering the car needs an LTE modem and data connection in order to make these things work. That isn't free to the car company.
Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
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Re: Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
#32I can't wait to read about renters not only having to pay their landlords rent, but also extra subscriptions for common amenities, like central heating, A/C, and even shower. The dream is a subscription for everything.
one of those insufferable section 8 'get rich' influencers brags about doing this all the time on tiktok.
Re: Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
#33If you are considering responding negatively in these comments, and also work on or for a SaaS business (or any kind of aaS), I would like to hear your reasoning
Re: Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
#34Has Mazda made their remote start at all useful? My Mazda can only be started, I can't set the climate or control the seat or steering wheel heating. Some settings can be set before the car is turned off, if you remember, but some reset no matter what. And the few times I have tried remote start, it has stopped after a short while, as apparently the system requires continuous cellular connectivity to keep the engine running. So if the connection drops at all it shuts off the engine. And finally, if you do remote start, the engine shuts off as soon as you open the door, so you immediately have to start it again, which just seems bad for the engine.
Re: Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
#35As some in the comments correctly point out, this service requires a cellular connection. Which involves costs for Mazda. It's appropriate for them to charge a small monthly fee for the service. My only real complaint about this is discontinuing the keyfob-based feature. All that said, I see no need for remote start, anyway.
Remote start is very nice if you park outside during the winter and prefer not to sit in a car that's 20 degrees Fahrenheit for the first 10 minutes of your drive.
Remote start is accidental carbon monoxide poisoning waiting to happen if your garage is directly connected to your residence. I live in an area with brutal winters in Wyoming and just bought a new Ford Bronco, wish I could fully disable it (there's a button on the key fob as well).
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/13/business/deadly-convenien...
Re: Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
#36It was convenient that they wanted to update terms of service right as they were implementing this. I was able to just decline the terms, delete the app, and I think that lets me off the hook with them.
I'm much more invested in the notion that someone else can't remote start my car than that I can or can't, and my experience in the transportation industry is that security is pretty lousy.
I will miss the occasional reminder that I left the doors unlocked but mostly, nothing of value has been lost.
If I could get a car without such features I'd happily do it but it has to be a late model with warranty or I'm out, like most people.
Re: Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
#37Some of these make sense though, considering the car needs an LTE modem and data connection in order to make these things work. That isn't free to the car company.
It doesn’t need to use the cell network to remote start though, that was a bad design decision IMO.
Re: Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
#38I can't wait to read about renters not only having to pay their landlords rent, but also extra subscriptions for common amenities, like central heating, A/C, and even shower. The dream is a subscription for everything.
Well don’t we? Utilities are often a separate expense. I have to pay extra to get any parking space in our parking lot
Re: Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
#39I'll say as clearly as possible. I will go to extraordinary expense to avoid subscriptions in cars. If I have to spend 30k making an old car run and be road worthy, I'll do it solely out of spite. I can take this quite far: there is a lifetime Spotify ban in my entire household because the early Spotify client paused advertisements if you turned the volume off.
Remote start is not needed to make the car roadworthy.
Re: Mazda's $10 Subscription for Remote Start Sparks Backlash
#40As some in the comments correctly point out, this service requires a cellular connection. Which involves costs for Mazda. It's appropriate for them to charge a small monthly fee for the service. My only real complaint about this is discontinuing the keyfob-based feature. All that said, I see no need for remote start, anyway.
The service costs orders of magnitude more than what their actual costs should be. You can have an LTE connection for probably around 10c/month/sim at the scale of Mazda with tiny amounts of data (plenty for, say, 100 remote starts/month).
Not defending subscriptions, but it's not just data. You need developers for your apps, you need servers, the service needs to be secure, etc. On the data side, as soon you have data, other services also start working, like live traffic info and so on.
Again, not defending these expensive subscriptions, just pointing out that it probably costs more than 10c a month per car to keep all that stuff running.