Lexus remote start rip off

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My Lexus RX350 just turned 1 year old. I recent noticed the key fob remote didn’t work to start the car remotely. I used to work it by pushing lock 3 times then holding it down and it would start the engine. The dealer told me that if I wanted it to work for the rest of my lease 2 years it will cost me $320 to have it turned back on.
Lexus IS lumping the key fob remote in with the Enform software system. I think this is BS I am never buying another Lexus nor will I recommend them to anyone. I just feel that this is a feature that was there and they turned it off. I have no problem with the fee if I was using the web to access it .
LEXUS HAS DISAPPOINTED ME!!
The RX has been a bad vehicle since day one at least I only have 2 more years to be stuck with it.
 

mmcartalk

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I used to work it by pushing lock 3 times then holding it down and it would start the engine.

The dealer told me that if I wanted it to work for the rest of my lease 2 years it will cost me $320 to have it turned back on.

I think this is BS I am never buying another Lexus nor will I recommend them to anyone.

LEXUS HAS DISAPPOINTED ME!!

I'm sorry that you're disappointed, but did you read the lease-contract...or the documents that came with the car? On the Lexus web site, it clearly says that the Lexus Enform feature is complimentary for the first year....which means you pay for it after that. Even if the key fob is linked into the Enform system as you state, it still doesn't change the fact that the Enform system itself is not free for the full three years.

http://www.lexus.com/enform

The Lexus Enform Remote* mobile app lets you lock and unlock doors, start the engine and climate controls, find your vehicle in a parking lot and monitor guest drivers. And it’s complimentary for the first year of ownership.

With all due respect, I don't see any reason why you should be blaming the manufacturer or dealership for this. Technically, you've actually got a better deal than GM gives. I have a new Buick, for example, and GM only gives 3 months free service on the OnStar and XM satellite radio. Used to be a year, then 6 months....now three. After that....start writing those checks.

The RX has been a bad vehicle since day one at least I only have 2 more years to be stuck with it.


As for the RX350 itself, even with the huge polarizing spindle-grille, it sells (and leases) like free beer at Clancy's Bar.....so Lexus must be doing
something right. ;)
 
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My Lexus RX350 just turned 1 year old. I recent noticed the key fob remote didn’t work to start the car remotely. I used to work it by pushing lock 3 times then holding it down and it would start the engine. The dealer told me that if I wanted it to work for the rest of my lease 2 years it will cost me $320 to have it turned back on.
Lexus IS lumping the key fob remote in with the Enform software system. I think this is BS I am never buying another Lexus nor will I recommend them to anyone. I just feel that this is a feature that was there and they turned it off. I have no problem with the fee if I was using the web to access it .
LEXUS HAS DISAPPOINTED ME!!
The RX has been a bad vehicle since day one at least I only have 2 more years to be stuck with it.
Hello Brian:

So let me get this straight:
You Fob works just fine.
The Enform Remote App enabled it to start the car.
Now that the Enform subscription has ended that particular feature is disable.
Again the Fob works as normal fob should?

How has the RX been bad for you?
I will be picking up mine in a day or so.

slackrl
 
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Hello Brian:

So let me get this straight:
You Fob works just fine.
The Enform Remote App enabled it to start the car.
Now that the Enform subscription has ended that particular feature is disable.
Again the Fob works as normal fob should?

How has the RX been bad for you?
I will be picking up mine in a day or so.

slackrl
When I bought the vehicle I knew it was a free 1 year subscription for the remote start using your cell phone. But I was never informed that the key fob that communicates directly to the car not through the internet who’d be disabled after 1 year. I can’t see spending $16 a month for a feature I only use a handful of times a year. This was the first car I ever owned that charge for remote starting using the short range hand held remote. The rx350 in general is ok not as good as other suv I’ve had but not the worst either. There are other features that are annoying like the heated seat doesn’t get hot enough, heated steering wheel only heat at 9 and 3 o’clock rest of wheel stays cold. In a $55,000 suv there shouldn’t be these difficulties. My next vehicle will not be a Lexus. Overall it’s way overrated, it’s OK I expected it to be great. In the bast in suvs I’ve owned a envoy Denali, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer I hope you like yours I am counting the days until my new yet to be decided on suv arrives next year.
 
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Hi Brian:

Thanks for your prompt response and explanations...much appreciated.

Features that are annoying;
Heated seat doesn’t get hot enough...
- Will have to wait for winter to return as I am in the So CA area
so it could be relative as to how cold of an area one lives in to determine if the seat will heat up enough.

Heated steering wheel only heat at 9 and 3 o’clock rest of wheel stays cold.
-Mine is with wood and leather so I did not see on the Lexus site that it would heat the wood.
Must people don't stir from the 3 and 9 position so a stirring wheel without the wood and heated all
the way around would be a plus on cold days.
Will have check that out also.

After I pick up my Lexus I will give more feed back, and mention this at my Lexus Dealer.

Thanks
slackrl
 
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Hi Brian:

Thanks for your prompt response and explanations...much appreciated.

Features that are annoying;
Heated seat doesn’t get hot enough...
- Will have to wait for winter to return as I am in the So CA area
so it could be relative as to how cold of an area one lives in to determine if the seat will heat up enough.

Heated steering wheel only heat at 9 and 3 o’clock rest of wheel stays cold.
-Mine is with wood and leather so I did not see on the Lexus site that it would heat the wood.
Must people don't stir from the 3 and 9 position so a stirring wheel without the wood and heated all
the way around would be a plus on cold days.
Will have check that out also.

After I pick up my Lexus I will give more feed back, and mention this at my Lexus Dealer.

Thanks
slackrl
Pardon the delay. Been in the new RX350 coming up two weeks this Saturday.. Liking it a lot!
I did ask my Lexus dealer about the app tying into the vehicle's fob and disabling the start engine command,
he confirmed that it is true.. Will have to see how I feel about 12 months from now.

Features that are annoying revisited ;
Cooling seat doesn’t get cool enough...
- Will report again, tried the seat cool but did not set it right, jury is out on that one until I try it again, weather is warming up here
today's was high nineties.

Remote App is requesting that I call the dealer on certain requests ie...
-Lock Car
-Unlock Car
-Start Car

- Error code: Unable to Process
"We are unable to process your Door Unlock request. Please tray again. If you see the message repeatedly,please contact your
dealer. (TDU062)"
Should hear from them on tomorrow.. Will post ASAP.

slackrl
 
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Pardon the delay. Been in the new RX350 coming up two weeks this Saturday.. Liking it a lot!
I did ask my Lexus dealer about the app tying into the vehicle's fob and disabling the start engine command,
he confirmed that it is true.. Will have to see how I feel about 12 months from now.

Features that are annoying revisited ;
Cooling seat doesn’t get cool enough...
- Will report again, tried the seat cool but did not set it right, jury is out on that one until I try it again, weather is warming up here
today's was high nineties.

Remote App is requesting that I call the dealer on certain requests ie...
-Lock Car
-Unlock Car
-Start Car

- Error code: Unable to Process
"We are unable to process your Door Unlock request. Please tray again. If you see the message repeatedly,please contact your
dealer. (TDU062)"
Should hear from them on tomorrow.. Will post ASAP.

slackrl
Pardon the delay.
Remote App is requesting that I call the dealer on certain requests....
Problem solved, it appears that after my wife made a call to SOS.
SOS did not hang up, continued to flash green, so Remote App's
-Lock Car
-Unlock Car
-Start Car

- Error code: Unable to Process
"We are unable to process your Door Unlock request. Please tray again. If you see the message repeatedly,please contact your
dealer. (TDU062)" was generated.''

Along with this symptom, no audio would play in the RX 350, no audio from navigation system, navigation system would no recognize
voice input commands. End SOS Call operation returned to normal.

FYI: Also in talking with tech support I was informed that when the vehicle reaches 1/4 tank of gas or below you may not be able to start the
remote from app this feature is to save on gas.

And there you have it all wrapped up in a nutshell.

slackrl
 

Rockville

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The remote start and destination assist are subscription features. After one year you are asked if you want to continue with either or both. Some things have changed however in 2018. The hardware that enables remote and SOS features must be active. In 2017 this would expire after one year. In 2018 this was extended to 10 years! One model the GX does not apply.
So now if you want to subscribe to Lexus Enform Remote it will cost only $80 per year. Same with Destination Assist on Navigation equipped RX’s. This is very reasonable. Another attribute of the RX350 which is reasonable is that it uses regular
87 Octane. This is the gift that keeps on giving. That savings alone would pay for the remote start.
 
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So now if you want to subscribe to Lexus Enform Remote it will cost only $80 per year. ….This is very reasonable. Another attribute of the RX350 which is reasonable is that it uses regular 87 Octane. This is the gift that keeps on giving. That savings alone would pay for the remote start.

We love our new RX350, and were made aware of the Enform annual fee in advance. That said, I believe that Lexus made a big mistake by electing to charge any fee at all for a feature that is already installed on the car. Their manufacturers expense is already sunk and this decision is a pure money grab. In my opinion, this low return decision is one that will leave a bad taste in the mouth of many consumers in the luxury segment. In fact, just the idea of this almost had us test driving an Acura. Maybe we will next time.

Not sure how using 87 Octane is relevant or any sort of a gift.
 

Rockville

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Since your post was about money and you went as far as rip-off I brought up other positive things about the RX350 that are related to money and certainly not a ripoff. How much does your cell phone service cost per month? Well starting the car is related to the built in cell phone in your car. There is a cost incurred by the manufacturer to keep the lights on so you can remote start your car.

You mentioned the Acura and here again is a comparison. It wants Premium gas ⛽️ To be happy. What do you think is more?
$80. Per year or the 60 cents more per gallon. The RX retains value well also. When you finish your accounting audit you come out ahead. Big picture vs. microscope.
 
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Since your post was about money and you went as far as rip-off I brought up other positive things about the RX350 that are related to money and certainly not a ripoff. How much does your cell phone service cost per month? Well starting the car is related to the built in cell phone in your car. There is a cost incurred by the manufacturer to keep the lights on so you can remote start your car.

You mentioned the Acura and here again is a comparison. It wants Premium gas ⛽️ To be happy. What do you think is more?
$80. Per year or the 60 cents more per gallon. The RX retains value well also. When you finish your accounting audit you come out ahead. Big picture vs. microscope.

Lexus is free to do/charge whatever they want. The consumer is free to buy/spend their money on whatever they want. I guess my point is this. I have domestic cars with remote starters and none of them require a subscription. My guess is that most Lexus dealers are not educating the customer up front that they will one day have to pay for their remote start to work. I think the sediment of that is likely to resonate in a negative way with many consumers. It may or may not be the deciding factor as to whether or not to buy a Lexus (obviously is wasn't for me), but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Not sure if that bad taste is worth the $8 per month that Lexus may/may not end up collecting from me. I suppose only time will tell, but I am willing to bet that they will rethink this strategy in future.
 

Rockville

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Due to the age of this thread some information has changed. The previous years up to 2016 had a subscription fee of $165 per year fro Safety Connect (SOS) services. On top of that you had $135 for Destination Assist which gives navigation input to your car remotely. Then the $80 if you elected to keep Remote start. You have to have the SOS active to get remote so really you had to spend $245 per year to keep remote start and you had the SOS emergency too.

In 2017 these fees were adjusted to $80 each and if you wanted the whole package it was $240. Remote plus SOS was reduced to $160.

In 2018 the subscription to SOS was eliminated entirely and it is good for 10 years standard now. This means remote start now costs $80 and the same for Destination Assist per year after the first year. Lexus has added a lot of safety content as standard equipment so everyone gets to take advantage of dynamic radar and lane keeping and auto high beams all the way down to the new UX crossover which bases in the mid thirties.

Lexus cares about its owners obviously.
 

Rockville

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Lexus is free to do/charge whatever they want. The consumer is free to buy/spend their money on whatever they want. I guess my point is this. I have domestic cars with remote starters and none of them require a subscription. My guess is that most Lexus dealers are not educating the customer up front that they will one day have to pay for their remote start to work. I think the sediment of that is likely to resonate in a negative way with many consumers. It may or may not be the deciding factor as to whether or not to buy a Lexus (obviously is wasn't for me), but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Not sure if that bad taste is worth the $8 per month that Lexus may/may not end up collecting from me. I suppose only time will tell, but I am willing to bet that they will rethink this strategy in future.

The $8 per month route is good for matching lease terms that are less than a year remaining but $80 per year is less then $8 per month. You largest cost of ownership is depreciation. It is behind the scenes and only rears it’s ugly head when you trade in or sell you car. This is how a domestic brand can cost more than a Lexus. Jeep and Ford are two popular brands that illustrate this. Leasing is a form of protection against market forces because you can compare your lease payment and mileage and up front costs at least. When you purchase these blanks are not filled in until trade in/sale.

You can concentrate on the remote start feature but depreciation is far more costly and you have a sweet ending to your story when you bring your Lexus to trade. Along the way treat yourself to some ice cream because all of the other Luxury SUV’s in this class use Premium gas. Ouch!
 
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The $8 per month route is good for matching lease terms that are less than a year remaining but $80 per year is less then $8 per month. You largest cost of ownership is depreciation. It is behind the scenes and only rears it’s ugly head when you trade in or sell you car. This is how a domestic brand can cost more than a Lexus. Jeep and Ford are two popular brands that illustrate this. Leasing is a form of protection against market forces because you can compare your lease payment and mileage and up front costs at least. When you purchase these blanks are not filled in until trade in/sale.

You can concentrate on the remote start feature but depreciation is far more costly and you have a sweet ending to your story when you bring your Lexus to trade. Along the way treat yourself to some ice cream because all of the other Luxury SUV’s in this class use Premium gas. Ouch!

I think you are reading too far into my comments. We love almost everything about the car. and there really are only two things that we do not understand. First, the instrument panel and technology seem a bit yesteryear; especially for a car with such a modern looking exterior. Second, is the fact that you have to pay for remote start after the first 12 months. Everything else is fantastic and we love it otherwise we would not have bought it.
 

Rockville

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I think you are reading too far into my comments. We love almost everything about the car. and there really are only two things that we do not understand. First, the instrument panel and technology seem a bit yesteryear; especially for a car with such a modern looking exterior. Second, is the fact that you have to pay for remote start after the first 12 months. Everything else is fantastic and we love it otherwise we would not have bought it.

Technology is my passion. I am very familiar with your model and it is generation 9. Do you have navigation?
Without it your are losing a lot of content. This can be mitigated by using an iPhone which adds Siri to the mix.
You may want to start a new thread about how things function and we can answer any questions you might have.
You will get the most out of your RX. Very few makes give you radar all speed dynamic cruise with lane centering, lane departure alert and auto high beams as standard equipment. Intelligent clearance sonar is another plus. Most RX come with
Blind Spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert. Pre Collision is standard.

Voice commands give you the safest and most efficient way to control the systems. They do require practice however.

Rock
 
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Technology is my passion. I am very familiar with your model and it is generation 9. Do you have navigation?
Without it your are losing a lot of content. This can be mitigated by using an iPhone which adds Siri to the mix.
You may want to start a new thread about how things function and we can answer any questions you might have.
You will get the most out of your RX. Very few makes give you radar all speed dynamic cruise with lane centering, lane departure alert and auto high beams as standard equipment. Intelligent clearance sonar is another plus. Most RX come with
Blind Spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert. Pre Collision is standard.

Voice commands give you the safest and most efficient way to control the systems. They do require practice however.

Rock

We have Nav and everything else you mention. I have done a pretty good job of figuring everything out. I guess I should not have said the technology seems a bit yesteryear. What I should have said is the interiors appearance looks to be something from 2008 not 2018.

Do you sell/work for Lexus or something? You seem to be easily agitated and take criticisms of the car very personally.
 

Rockville

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Ha ha, like I said I am passionate about Lexus. Not agitated though except if someone blogs with inaccurate information.
I have YouTube videos about Lexus and because Lexus Enthusiast is a good source of information about the brand I will crawl out from under my rock and make a comment every once in a while. Sorry if you thought I came on too strong. I have worked with our dealership for 22 years. Maybe I am an old crab!
 

Ian Schmidt

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Remote Start has been problematic for me in the past, but it's worked great on my LS500 (and with the weather we've had this year in Maryland I've used it quite a bit!) I do appreciate that it's cheaper now, as well.
 
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I just bought a RX450 hybrid - and the remote start will start the car, but nothing heats up, even if I turn all the settings up to max before I turn the car off the night before. What's the point of having remote start if it doesn't heat or cool the interior of the car? I'm sure there's a setting that's not right, but since this is my first Lexus I have no idea what it is. Any advice?