Mazda remote-start subscription

In 2019, Mazda introduced Mazda Connected Services, a feature enabling remote start and other functionalities through the MyMazda smartphone app. In 2021, Mazda quietly removed remote start functionality from key fobs, limiting the feature to the paid app only. New customers were offered a three-year complimentary trial, after which continued access required a $10 monthly subscription. As these trials began expiring in 2023, affected users received notifications encouraging subscription enrollment.

Consumer impact summary

The Mazda Connected Services controversy highlights several trends in modern consumer protection:

• Shift from ownership to licensing: Increasing reliance on subscription models for basic features.
• Barriers to repair and modification: Legal restrictions on circumventing software controls tied to physical products.
• Privacy concerns: Reliance on cloud-based solutions may involve the collection and use of customer data without adequate transparency.

This incident also highlights the challenges faced by independent developers and open-source communities attempting to restore consumer autonomy.

Background

Historically, remote-start functionality was integrated into car-key fobs and did not require additional fees. With the rise of connected services, however, manufacturers have shifted these features to subscription models and framed them as value-added services. This transition has raised concerns over diminishing consumer ownership rights.

The service works by leveraging cloud-based infrastructure to enable remote features such as:

• Remote start
• Vehicle-health reports
• Status notifications
• Keyless entry

Users must connect to Mazda's servers to access these features, eliminating self-hosting or alternative server options, a feature that had previously been standard in many client-server architectures.

Mazda's Response

The Drive's Jose Rodriguez reached out to Mazda for comment:

"Since Mazda Connected Services launched in 2019, we have advertised to customers that they receive a complimentary three-year trial of Mazda Connected Services, after which time a payment would be required to continue use of the Connected Services. For customers who have exceeded this three-year trial period, we have continued to extend the complimentary trial period with the notification that the free trial would transition to a paid subscription service at a future date." They continued to say the paid subscription will launch in “about two months,” adding that existing three-year trials won’t be shortened. Also, going forward, customers who purchase a 2025 CX-70 will still get a three-year trial but buyers of all other 2025 Mazdas will receive a one-year complimentary trial.

Consumer backlash

Mazda's decision sparked criticism among consumers, many of whom argued that the subscription model effectively limits functionality of hardware they already paid for. Critics also pointed to broader concerns about diminishing ownership, as these features are entirely reliant on Mazda's continued support of their servers.

Legal and technological context

Efforts to bypass the subscription requirement have encountered legal obstacles under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Section 1201 of the DMCA prohibits bypassing digital locks, even for features tied to hardware consumers legally own. In October 2023, a developer who attempted to create an open-source solution to directly control Mazda vehicles without reliance on Mazda's servers received a DMCA takedown notice. The developer complied with the cease and desist letter. When Ars Technica reached out to the developer for comment, they said:

"When Mazda contacted me, my options were to either comply or open myself up to potential legal risk. Even if I believe that what I'm doing is morally correct and legally protected, legal processes still have a financial cost. I can't afford to take on that financial risk for something that I do in my spare time to help others"

The library is no longer available, and the Mazda Connected Services integration has been removed from Home Assistant in the 2023.10.2 patch release of Home Assistant released on October 12, 2023. In the same blog post, Home Assistant expressed disappointment that Mazda’s first recourse was not to reach out to Home Assistant and the maintainer but to send a cease and desist letter instead.

See also

• Right to repair
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act
• Connected car security
• Subscription-based features in vehicles
• Consumer ownership erosion