Infotainment Subscription

Biggles181

I purchased a car  and it came with an infotainment system.  After just over a year I was contacted by the company to say that my “Free Trial” of this system was over and to continue to use it I would have to pay a monthly subscription.

This was the first I knew about this, and indeed that the infotainment system I had was in anyway a "Premium Service".  The car was sold like this with no mention of future subscription costs or that I was getting a "free trial".

I have been forced to subscribe because the standard version of the infotainment system is so crippled that it is virtually useless.

At no point was I informed of this "free trial"or future subscription service.  There is nothing in my T&C’s from the company or in any pre sales offer.

I feel I have been mislead and am now at ransom to the subscription service.

Should such a future subscription service cost be made prominent and clear in any pre sales or T&C’s?

MX5huggy

What car? 

born_again

Go on give us a make of car is it?

Sandtree

Was this a new car or a secondhand?

Should also confirm what aspects you lose by not maintaining the subscription, I know with an after market one I had you lost all the "live" data (traffic, road closures etc) and map updates but it still functioned as a satnav etc without the subscription.

Jenni_D

I have an Infotainment system ... the only subscription element (that I've never taken out) relates to remote support and assistance, and the ability to have a SIM card fitted to provide a data connection. (I just connect my own phone to the car via Bluetooth and cable, and generally use Android Auto).

Biggles181

Its a Tesla MX. Brand new out of the showroom.  It's now made VERY clear its a subscription service obviously after complaints such as mine, but when I purchased it was not.

Jenni_D

https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/support/infotainment

Do I automatically have access to all improvements and features with the Infotainment Upgrade?
Some features are available only on Wi-Fi for Standard Connectivity. A Premium Connectivity subscription can be purchased to access features over cellular.

Does this mean you could retain some of the features by using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot?

Does the system work with Android Auto / Apple Car Play? ( Edit: it seems AA can be made to work via a 3rd party app - https://www.techtimes.com/articles/269577/20211220/how-to-use-android-auto-tesla-evs-tesla-android-auto.htm )

Biggles181

Well you can get something when you are stationary, but its a process that is a phaff and the results are less than satisfactory.  For example you have to con the web browser into loading via a crappy screen mirror. Waze for example which is then rendered at about 1/3 the screen.  But here is the real bummer, as soon as you select drive it cuts the hotspot and reverts to its onboard sim connection. Any mirror you had to your phone is lost until you stop and go through the phaff again.  So the option to use another Satnav / traffic routing programme is totally barred.  Its Tesla Premium which is not great or Tesla standard which is much like TomTom of 15 years ago.

Premium connectivity is now a "thing". It seems complaints has forced them to be VERY transparent about this ongoing charge.  And to be honest, had I have been told about it I would have said OK I understand, like I did with my previous Mercedes.  I knew that after 3 years I would no longer get free mapping upgrades for example.

Tesla claim all the information about this was available to me on the internet when I bought my car.  But I didn't buy mine on the net, I went into the showroom and bought it face to face with a salesman that neglected to inform me of the the subscription in future.  It is not mentioned anywhere in my T&C's either.  

My argument is that the Subscription and Free Trial should have been a Key Fact at the point of purchase, not as they are now serving me up, an internet document that is copyrighted 2 years after I bought my car which states other things I am entitled to such as some free charging each year which they now say is a mistake on the same document they are relying on top prove I was given correct notice of the subscription.  They have currently lost 1 case and the right to appeal like mine and won another similar but not the same as mine.

born_again

Biggles181 said:

Well you can get something when you are stationary, but its a process that is a phaff and the results are less than satisfactory.  For example you have to con the web browser into loading via a crappy screen mirror. Waze for example which is then rendered at about 1/3 the screen.  But here is the real bummer, as soon as you select drive it cuts the hotspot and reverts to its onboard sim connection. Any mirror you had to your phone is lost until you stop and go through the phaff again.  So the option to use another Satnav / traffic routing programme is totally barred.  Its Tesla Premium which is not great or Tesla standard which is much like TomTom of 15 years ago.

Premium connectivity is now a "thing". It seems complaints has forced them to be VERY transparent about this ongoing charge.  And to be honest, had I have been told about it I would have said OK I understand, like I did with my previous Mercedes.  I knew that after 3 years I would no longer get free mapping upgrades for example.

Tesla claim all the information about this was available to me on the internet when I bought my car.  But I didn't buy mine on the net, I went into the showroom and bought it face to face with a salesman that neglected to inform me of the the subscription in future.  It is not mentioned anywhere in my T&C's either.  

My argument is that the Subscription and Free Trial should have been a Key Fact at the point of purchase, not as they are now serving me up, an internet document that is copyrighted 2 years after I bought my car which states other things I am entitled to such as some free charging each year which they now say is a mistake on the same document they are relying on top prove I was given correct notice of the subscription.  They have currently lost 1 case and the right to appeal like mine and won another similar but not the same as mine.

Many documents/\websites show the copyright date as 2022 now, despite being online for a long time.

Eg:© 2022 BBC, which has many historic articles.

You did not need to take the subscription out. System still works without it.

tonyh66

Why as a buyer of an £80k car are you crying about a £10 p/m subscription?

JJ_Egan

OP  take the dealer to court .