What the deuce is Toyota Safety Connect?

I just received something in the mail from Toyota in regards to my my wife’s 2019 Camry XSE. What the deuce is Toyota Safety Connect and do I need it at 85 bucks a year? Is this solely for the “SOS” button to call Toyota in the event of an emergency? If so, the missus has a cell phone …

I hate the pay for subscription in vehicles this day. Getting gigged monthly/yearly for car services makes feel like I’m being scammed.

Any thoughts/information on this would be appreciated. The little lady is concerned the maps in her nav unit won’t get updated.

 

https://www.toyota.com/connected-services/safetyconnect/

I'm not sure how a subscription you can simply say "no" to is a scam?

 

G-O-O-G-L-E

 

Then don’t get it. I might get the remote start when my free year expires, but I’m not sure yet (maybe just the winter months). I’ll might pay for the navigation for the month I go on vacation trips. I was just one one and Apple Maps is useless without cell service, good thing I still had the navigation in the truck.

 

All new trucks come with 3 year road assist so why the SOS button just another money maker for Toyota. I have not subscribed to any of their free trials or remote connect, safety connect etc etc.

 

You can remote start the truck from the key fob. And you can download offline maps for free on google maps if you're worried about not having cell service in the place you're visiting. I use this feature a lot when I'm going hiking/camping in remote places and want to be able to find food/fuel/directions when leaving the trail

 

Almost forgot - you may want to consider that while your missus may have a cell phone to call for help, if you keep the service the truck will send a notification if she is in an accident serious enough to deploy air bags. If for whatever reason she's unable to use her cell she'll still get help.

 

Chances if she gets into an accident that it would be in a populated area, have other people around with phones etc. Unless she is in the middle of nowhere even that SOS would not work without phone signals.Not sure if the SOS works from a satellite signal then that would be different altogether. Just saying.

 

FWIW, I worked EMS for 20 years. Yea, you would think that, and most times it does work that way...but not all the time. It always amazed me how people wouldn't bother to call stuff in because they assume someone else did it, and there would be a delay in people getting help.

Every person does what they feel is right for them. I've reached the age where I gladly pay for convenience.

 

Maybe to you because you have run into a lot of people around accidents etc which was part of your job. Usually people who do phone are standing beside you or near. I do believe some would ignore it or not give a damn like you said it does not concern you. I live in a remote area where signals are in and out so phones are useless but the local people are very good at responding at roadside accidents etc. So these services in our surrounding areas are a waste of money and I am at the age where I can afford them too.

 

I get it. Your situation is different and you're making the best decision for you. Nothing wrong with that and I think it's one of the biggest strengths of this forum. Ask a question and you get different points of view, some of which you might not have even considered before.

One thing I will not be renewing when the free trial is over is the Destination Assist (I have upgraded audio with dynamic navigation). I have yet to need a live operator to help me plug an address or POI name into my on-board nav and don't anticipate that I ever will.

 

Sadly, people these days are too busy videoing the area and not calling for help also.

But will these people call you to let you know your significant other was in a bad accident? With Toyota, you’ll probably find our fairly quickly.

 

Toyota's version of OnStar.

Subscribe or Deny.

Your choice.

 

Have you gone online to check your driver score? They monitor your driving habits and rate you.

 

You can opt out of that.

 

It rates you in the app but you have to opt in for the data to be sent to Toyota and used for insurance purposes.

 

I can confirm this answer. I worked as a Professional FF and finished out my career a few years ago. Many will stop but many will also pass by so it's a toss up on how fast the call actually gets called in.

As far as safety connect goes, It's kind of like someone else mentioned. It's basically Toyota's version of OnStar. We bought a new RAV4 Hybrid and it is loaded with every option available and it came with Toyota Safety Connect. Yes, it is a subscription based service and it will hold more value to some over others. I "think" (though I'm not 100% sure so don't quote me on this) that even if you don't subscribe, if you are involved in an accident where the air bags deploy, it will still automatically call. Again... I could be wrong on this.

Where it becomes worth it to me is the ability to know where the vehicle is at all times, the ability to lock unlock the vehicle from the phone, it will notify you if you leave your vehicle unlocked, and you can remote start your vehicle from anywhere. So, you're basically paying for convenience. As far as the map goes, it shouldn't affect it one way or another on your nav screen. I don't even use the imbedded nav system on the RAV4 since it came with Apple CarPlay so I just use Waze all the time.

So, it's a good service if you find it convenient or valuable. I personally do and plan on subbing when my free year is up. It's nice in the summer being able to start the vehicle from my phone and have it be cool by the time I get in it. I use it often while in a checkout line in a store. By the time I get to the vehicle it's cooled off inside. So you paying for the ability to connect with your vehicle and your vehicle to connect to you. But I also understand that there are people not like me and may not find this worth the money. Either way, your vehicle will still work the same as it always has. It's just a convenience feature.

 

Toyota Safety Connect is a service in which you pay the Toyota Motor Company to use (and sell) your data to help them make more money. If safety was Toyota's top concern, every vehicle they sell would be equipped with communication hardware to automatically send a 911 in the event of air bag deployment. Of course there is SOME value to the TSC service, but mostly for Toyota.

 

I would also add that our RAV4 came with 2GB's of WiFi available each month. I don't see the value in this unless you are on a long trip with children so they can stream shows on non cellular devices like iPads etc... But since all of our devices are connected to cellular anyway, I don't find this to be an option that I see using. Though I can see the value with people that use their vehicle often with children. But I don't need WiFi in my vehicle personally.

 

You can look at it that way I suppose? But if you sign up for anything, you are being tracked and your information is out there. If you have a smartphone, you are being tracked the entire time the phone is on. As soon as you buy a new phone be it Apple or Android I can promise you do not read the "user agreement" to use your new phone. You most likely do what I do and just hit "accept" not even knowing what you are agreeing to. So that argument holds no sway over me personally. If you use any app on your phone, do a Google search, etc... they know exactly what you are doing and in most cases your info is being outsourced to other companies. The only way to stop this is to not have a cell phone or computer connected to the internet. Otherwise? We lost privacy privileges quite a long time ago. Is it right? Absolutely not. But this is the world we live in now. So I just accept it and keep everything on my credit locked down at all times.