What's the "popular feature" that's subscription only after the 3 year trial period?

I've had car apps of a number of brands and only one had a feature I would describe as "That's okay to have". The rest of the features have not been particularly useful.

No remote start is kind of a deal breaker for me. Didn't get it ib ny wife's last car because it simply wasn't an option and I was advised not to go after market. I'm car shopping with her now and would not be happy abouf it being subscription. I'll ask to be aware of any subscription services.

Hmmm I have a Mazda 3 DH has the 6. We live where's there's WINTER and the remote start is a feature that is on our fob and one we RARELY use. Waste of gas. If this Subscription deal sticks and affects ANYTHING we want with the cars then these will be our last. The Mazda is already a distracting car to drive as all it's controls are not intuitive and take more than one action to make work. I would never ever let a teen drive one.

Maybe this is regional but I wouldn't say that remote start is either popular or indeed ever used, in my experience. Of no value for me anyway as our cars are kept in the garage.

If I'm not mistaken, car manufacturers advise against leaving cars idling when first started in cold weather. The best way to warm up a car is to start it and drive it gentle for the first few minutes to allow the oil to start circulating. True in any weather.

" as all it's controls are not intuitive "

To say that its controls are not intuitive is a comment that can be applied to most cars these days.

If you had an electric car, you could warm up the cabin remotely without putting extra wear on the engine. Of course, if you had an electric car, it wouldn't have an engine at all, so there's that.

I use my Tesla app all the time to pre-warm (or cool) the cabin temperature, check the car's status, and open/close the doors. I love the walk-up and walk-away locks.

Here in the frozen hinterlands, remote start has some limited utility. Back when I used to work in an office, if it sleeted/snowed and then melted on the windshields, the nice thing about remote start is that it turns on all the defrosters. So if I knew the car was encased in ice, I could start it from my office window and by the time I got to the car enough ice would have melted to make the remaining clean up not hard.

That's the only time I ever used it. Otherwise it just seems like a big waste of gas and adding to emissions for no real good reason.

Last fall we replaced our ’08 honda with a ’21. I’m still trying to figure things out. Nothing is intuitive, some things are controlled on a screen but not all. And even in a category: I can adjust the temperature and fan speed on the dash. I can also adjust the fan speed on the screen. I can only turn the AC on and off from the screen. In fact, I can see WHETHER the AC is on ONLY on the screen.

The radio is controlled on the screen. I figured out how to do it on the steering wheel. Either method calls for me to look at either the screen or the dashboard.

Why do they want me to take my eyes off the road to control things?

Five minutes to find the hazard light switch yesterday. By the time I found it, I didn’t need it.

Re: remote start. I didn’t think I would like the auto-unlock, where I walk up to the car and it unlocks when I put my hand on th door handle. But I like it. I have, however however, turned off the walk-away lock feature. I can’t imagine wanting remote start, though, and think it would be dangerous. A couple near us died from carbon monoxide poisoning when the car was started from inside the house. Whether it was accidentally started, or they meant to go out but didn’t, who knows.

" Five minutes to find the hazard light switch yesterday. "

Whenever I rent a car, or drive someone else's car, that's always the final thing I do before driving it - adjust the seat, adjust the mirrors, and then find the hazard lights. I think too many people find themselves in the same position as you did.

How many times in your driving "career" have you needed to turn on the hazard flashers?

I wouldn't consider that to be anywhere near the same importance as adjusting the seat and mirrors. These actions are needed before driving away - turning on the flasher, rarely if ever so.

re “warming up the car,” my understanding is it’s not recommended for more than 30 seconds to a minute or so in typical conditions simply because it’s not needed in modern engines so it’s generally wasteful. I don’t idle my car minutes on end, but I’m fine with not being in the car for the few extra minutes often recommended on particularly cold days. Or to let the A/C kick in a bit on a hot day.

Ford and I believe GM equate an hour of idle time to driving 33 miles, and I know Ford trucks and probably others have an idle time tracker to give a better indication of engine use. I’d be very concerned if a manufacturer were to state that their engines aren’t properly lubricated at idle.

Do many of you try/tend to get well oiled while being idle?

o j - just over three years with no car, two with no licence

OJ, I see you didn’t say how long without ”oil”. 😉

Last fall we replaced our ’08 honda with a ’21. I’m still trying to figure things out.

Similar sceanrio here, though not by choice. 2008 was totaled in 2022 and dh decided to replace with same. So much to learn. He didn't try out the remote start until earlier this year. It's a godsend in our miserable summer heat!

I guess that’s why Toronto Vet does it last. When I rent a car, besides the lights etc, I also check out where the wiper switch is.

Hazard? We used them when we were carrying a load up top that had us driving more, um, cautiously than usual. And we use them whenever stopped where one might not expect a car to be parked. It’s not always that the car is in trouble, but also when the car itself might be a hazard to someone else. It also shows that ”I’m here for only a moment, hold your horses, I’ll be out of here soon.”

@Elmer....Doesn't your BMW have seat memory? I get in, hit the button and the seat adjusts itself to a preset.

I also don't use the auto start, we have heated seats that get hot within a few seconds. When leaving the house, we have a heated garage, so the vehicle is already warm inside.

Most cars I've owned DO have 3 years of FREE maintenance. Mine just ran out. I did like that.

How many times in your driving "career" have you needed to turn on the hazard flashers?

It's not how often you need them that's important, it's how quickly you need them when you do. They can be important in an emergency. In my opinion, knowing what you need to do in an emergency is pretty important, even if an emergency only happens a few times a year.

Yes, nicole, seat memory can be useful. My last few cars have had it. The only time I need to use that feature is after the car has had a trip through a car wash, to a dealership for service or is driven by a valet. Usually such drivers are shorter than I am so I need to push the button before I get in,to move the seat to be able to get in. Otherwise, my wife drives her car, I drive mine, and we don't seem to drive the other's often and I don't need to use the memory button much.

The BMW app is not a high value-added feature, at least not for the one I had. I used it when the car was new for a few things just for curiosity's sake but I soon took it off my phone. It wasn't useful.

" It's not how often you need them that's important, it's how quickly you need them when you do"

You should have more confidence. You don't need to prepare for quick access to something rarely if ever used.

Do you also check to see where the preset jack lift points are for when the jack needs to be used? Did you know there are such things? Oh, and where is the jack?

Our ’08 didn’t have seat memory, but since you could only move the seat forward and back, with a lever, it was in our memory to do so every time.

The ’21 (or is it a ’20?) has a power driver seat. No memory. It’s a pain, because in this vehicle I have to raise the seat significantly, while DH can’t even get in if I was the last driver. He would love to be able to easily reset it. And I would like to, too; I have too many resets. I told DH, even though we usually keep our vehicles a long time, the ”driver experience” in this one is not cutting it for me. To paraphrase George Costanza’s father on Festivus, ”I have a lot of issues with“ it.

OTOH, it has heated seats. Aaaaaahhhh. (My brother says his car has heated steering wheel. More goals for me.)

I think I’ll go car shopping, and see if there are any without a screen. But with a CD player.

"Maybe this is regional but I wouldn't say that remote start is either popular or indeed ever used, in my experience. Of no value for me anyway as our cars are kept in the garage."

When at home, my car is in the garage, so there is no need to use the remote start. But, there have been times when we've taken my car when going out to eat, and summers in the greater Sacramento area can be quite warm, to say the least. It's nice to have the remote start to get the air conditioning going, which also gets the ventilated seats cooling, too.

Lindsey, I would say that while we live in the same state, you and I live in very different "regions", weather-wise.

Driving tendencies are most definitely regional, I think. When I lived and worked in Kansas City, driving in the city, my concerns and "norms" were considerably different than what I deal with out here in the boonies.

I would love to have remote start, but my SUV doesn't have it. No garage, cold winters, remote area. It would be lovely to stand in the house and push a button to get things thawing and warming up. Or in the summer, 100+ heat, it would be nice to open vehicle windows and start the AC before I actually get out there. NEXT vehicle will definitely have that function! LOL

As for using the hazard lights ... living where I do, with hilly and curvy roads, no shoulders, I use my hazards at least a couple times a month especially this time of year with much roadwork going on. Even with BIG YELLOW SIGNAGE giving advance notice of upcoming roadwork and lane closures, folks don't slow down until the last moment. So when I'm the last person in a stopped or extremely slow (creeping) lane, I automatically engage my flashers. It gives the next person cresting a hill or coming around a curve, at least a couple extra seconds to change speed. And, more often than not, they also engage hazards to alert whoever comes behind them.