2020 Easter Egg: Has built in remote start...not detailed in owners manual

My 2016 OR can do this too. No tech package, factory FOB. And I don’t even know what remote connect even is…

 

Remote start via the fob works fine on my 2020, except...

Every so often (generally when I'm in a hurry to get to work), I'll start the truck and then when I go to open the door, expecting the engine to cut off, it will just continue running. But then if you touch anything, say go to shift into drive, or even hit the start/ stop button, it will shut off and I presume the security immobilizer activates, because it won't start via any means for around 10 minutes. It's very frustrating and makes me not want to use the feature at all, since then I'm 10 minutes late and can never predict when it will happen. Any ideas what's causing it?

 

Toyota says the fob should work for 2 years past the free 1 year trial of Remote Connect. They have had several system crashes over the last couple years making the transmitter inside the vehicle will quit working resulting in a lot of service bay visits & angry customers. From what I've heard these issues have been fixed by now so if your having issues with the fob it's probably a timing issue with the button. I know I've done it wrong quite a few times

 

How in the hell does that work? 2 years? I'd love some clarification on how they can limit this one. It's not setup on a service at all.

 

Looking through this for solutions. This is not a correct statement. I have the SOS and the connected services and remote start doesn't work for me. I have tried so many times. It just blinks like it would before starting however, it never starts.

I was told you had to have the premium audio feature for remote start to work.

 

I'm not sure they must have some way to disable the module unit for the fob to quit working. For as much confusion as this has caused they should of just made it standard for all TRD & Limited models.

On our old 2018 Rav4 I found the factory module in the driver's side kick panel & replaced it with an aftermarket remote start with smartphone unit cuz the factory fob start was so finicky & had a terrible range of sight

 

I have a 2020 OR and can confirm I’m able to start my truck with the factory fob and have no subscription to any Toyota services. I’ve also had it not restart once after running via remote start as mentioned in a post above, hasn’t done it since so no way of knowing what caused it. Its very a finicky system and I’m not a fan to be honest. I’d rather support my local car audio joint than pay Toyota to use my remote starter if it turns off at year 2…

 

Didn't work on my 2020 TRD offroad.

 

click lock twice then hold lock for 4 sec?

 

Yes, I got the blinking lights after the third hold. no starting. I assume my free year has gone by. bought in 2020 may.

 

I read an article that mentioned the connection to DCM and that Toyota did all this "unknowingly" and they "apologize" etc etc... Quite frankly it's bullshit. But if this is the case, after year 2, I agree with @TheWhole9Yards and I wouldn't pay Toyota a penny to use it. The problem with that is it means carrying another key fob and that is something I really don't want. I guess only time will tell. I don't think there is anyone that's had these systems for over 2 years yet, and definitely no one that has had it for 2 years after the trial subscription ended. Correct me if I am wrong, but this started in 2020, right? Mine comes with a year free of that useless crap which means I would have about 3 years until I find out if it's going to work or not. At that point, I'll probably just not use it anymore if it doesn't work rather than pay Toyota for it or have another key fob. I dunno... we'll see just how much more lazy I get by the time I am 40

But still, eff you Toyota for doing this. A biiiigggg eff you.

 

It's supposed to be 2 years after the subscription ends. It's odd that yours is blinking and not starting, but given the nature of this thread and the issue at hand, doesn't surprise me. Sorry man, keep trying, lol. Fix it the russian way...

 

Yea I'd say it's pretty overpriced but it does have some added features that my aftermarket remote start doesn't have such as being able to look at the app to see if the windows or sunroof is open when it's raining outside.

We have a 2019 Rav4 that was supposed to have Remote Connect but once the paperwork was signed we found out that it didn't. The dealership did refund us the cost of the aftermarket unit that I put in it. All this confusion about which Camry, Rav4, Tacoma etc has remote start & which doesn't is just ridiculous. The sales people at the dealerships are just lost on what to tell customers!

The 2021 Rav4 XLE we have has the Remote Connect & was special ordered through a fleet sales totally loaded but not an XLE Premium but has the Premium Audio. Wife didn't want leather seats but wanted everything else. The Remote Connect/Toyota app is pretty nice but not sure if its worth $80/yr vs $40/yr for my Carlink CL6 app

 

I agree about the dealerships being just as confused, because I had to confirm 3 times that it did and the day it arrived the first thing I wanted to see was if it had it or not. Of course, this was before I knew about all this subscription crap and the cost of it, and the possibility of the "normal" remote start being tied to it anyways. I was prepared to not accept the truck if it didn't have remote start. At 42k, it damn well better. But as for the features that show all these things and communicate them to the dealer if need be, for the complications the app causes and how invasive it is as well as always needing to run in the background and have a notification constantly on the phone, I see it as the opposite of it's intended purpose. It's more invasive, clunky, and problematic than it is helpful. Even worse, if you connect your phone to the vehicle through the USB, that stupid entune notification ALWAYS pops up, and the newer trucks cannot even use it! There is no way to disable it either. Everytime I plug my phone in it pops up and I have to hit cancel.

Basically, Toyota needs to figure this shit out, because it's broken and enough of us are mad about it for there to be articles on it and Toyota to issue a half ass apology about it. Stop apologizing, and fix it. They've had plenty of time to figure out a solution and still nothing.

 

Just a heads up. If you mess up the timing on the button press, you need to wait a minute for the system/alarm to reset before trying again, otherwise you just get beeps and blinking lights. I think this only happens if you go from locked to unlock and back to locked. The timing on the FOB is a little finicky. If you are having trouble getting it to work, I’d say try waiting a minute before consecutive tries. Hopefully this helps somebody hopefully it doesn’t just make everyone waste some more time trying to get it to work!
There is always the possibility that I don’t know what I’m talking about as well! FWIW!