Toyota 4Runner Remote Start: The Full Rundown
Toyota 4Runner by Alexander Migl — CC BY-SA 4.0
Picture this: you’re getting ready for an early morning shift. It’s winter, and there’s a thin layer of frost on the ground outside. Your car is parked halfway down the block and the interior temperature is going to be just as cold as outside. On days like today it’s going to take at least 15 minutes for the engine to warm up enough to drive. Your first option is to leave the house early, turn on your frigid vehicle and shiver while the temperature gets up to a tolerable level. Or, if you have remote start, turn your car on from the comfort of your home and arrive not a moment too soon at a cozy and ready-to-drive car.
Remote starts are the latest automotive must-have that more and more makes are including in their new vehicle designs. In this article, we’ll be talking all about the timeless Toyota 4Runner remote start: how it works, some of the drawbacks, and how to get it in vintage vehicles.
What Is Remote Start?
Remote start is a modern car feature that allows you to turn vehicle ignition from outside of your car or truck. It’s ideal for warming up your car in icy temperatures, or cooling it down on a sunny summer day so you don’t have to wait in the sweltering heat for your air conditioning to kick in.
Remote starts usually work one of two ways. The original mechanism works through radio signals. A transmitter on your key fob, operated by a dedicated remote start button, sends a wavelength to a receiver hooked up to your car battery that then turns on the car. If you have an older vehicle or one that doesn’t come standard with a remote start option, there are a number of plug-and-play aftermarket kits available which you can use to upgrade your car.
Other more advanced remote starts are operated by an application on your phone, smartwatch, or voice-operated home assistant. The remote start is typically only a piece of a much more complex app which might additionally integrate security systems, infotainment, navigation, and more.
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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Toyota 4Runner Remote Start
Adventure vehicles from Toyota tend to put all their eggs in the fun-to-drive basket. Vehicles like the 4 Runner are powerful, built for performance, and are amazing at off-road oriented tasks such as accelerating up a sand dune or making crawling over boulders feel like cruising a paved highway. They are not known for their luxury. In fact, Car and Driver states that on-road driving in a 2021 4Runner is worse than off-road, which this vehicle in particular might take as a compliment.
But Toyota wants you to remember that you are in a modern vehicle while driving this mountain-climbing monster (their slogan for the 4Runner TRD is “Take the road never traveled”) and decks out the digital interior with all the infotainment bells and whistles you could possibly hope for.
True to form, the 4Runner has both a utilitarian approach to remote start as well as a more advanced app-based solution. Standard with TRD trims comes an easy-to-operate fob-remote start for the technologically impaired. Simply click the lock button 3 times in succession at a range of no more than 80 feet, then hold the lock button for at least 3 seconds, and your 4Runner will start.
For those who live on their phones, there is a more sophisticated app-based solution which allows you to access Toyota Connect via your smart device, Amazon Alexa, or Google Home. One of the more robust vehicle applications on the market, the Toyota Connect app allows you to turn on your car, locate it, lock or unlock the doors, keep track of how fast your kids might be driving it, get status alerts related to fuel levels, doors and windows, and control interior climate.
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To link up with the Toyota Connect app, follow these steps on your smartphone:
- Download the application.
- Create a new Toyota Owner’s account, or log in if you already have one.
- In the app, tap “Activate Remote Services,” and authorize this action via your email.
- Get into your 4Runner and turn it on.
- Enter the code that appears on the media display into the Connect app.
And you’re done!
Toyota 4Runner Remote Start: The Downsides
We compliment the inclusion of a fob-remote start in the Toyota 4Runner as this mitigates some of the frustrations owners might run into with the app.
The Toyota Connect application is a wonder of technology, on par with connectivity apps from other major car manufacturers. A combined ability to remote start the car and create a 4G wifi connection lets us know that the future is now. The only real downside of Toyota Connect is the cost.
New Toyotas automatically come with a 12-month free trial of Toyota Connect services. After that, the price goes up to 8 dollars a month, or 80 dollars per year if you pay all at once. It is however one of the less expensive connectivity services on the market and for many represents a negligible amount when considering everything you get for the price.
Of course, the added downside of having an app-based remote start system is that you will need to have a charged phone in order to access ignition and other security features. But the fob mechanism makes this a non-issue if remote start is your primary concern.
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Toyota 4Runner Remote Start Over the Years
Toyota remote connectivity before the year 2018 required owners to have a paid subscription in order to use even fob-remote start on their 4Runners. This has since been phased out, and owners with remote connect functionality should be able to use their fob to start their automatic Toyota vehicle. Newer 4Runners similarly have indefinite use of key fob remote start function.
More advanced fob connectivity, known as Audio Plus, is available on 4Runners years 2018 through 2020 for 3 years, after which a subscription is required. Certain trim levels can enjoy the same services for up to 10 years before owners have to pay.
Toyota 4Runner Remote Start: Other Options
If you have an older 4Runner without remote connect service installed, you can find fully capable aftermarket remote start kits which are easily installed either at the dealership or by a certified specialist. These kits cost between 50 and 400 dollars but are yours as long as they last: no subscription required.
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