What 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime Owners Think About Toyota’s Connected Services

Unless you’re one of the many Americans who buy a car, they cannot really afford, you probably match the type of car you drive. After reading a whole bunch of reddit posts and surfing through Facebook, I have come up with 2 stereotypes of people who drive a 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime. If this does not describe you, let’s just say you’re special.

By the way, if you are interested in buying a new car, check out our recent article on how dealerships are slowly getting back to normal.

So, if you drive a 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime, you are either an environmental activist who wishes to save the world but really doesn’t like Tesla or EVs, or you are a family man or women with kids who live in the suburbs and take a trip to the beach once or twice a year. Those are two completely different people, yet they share one thing in common…they are both financially stable. Now I am not the type to judge someone but if you are financially stable and can truly afford a 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime, you probably also like “extra services.” I define an extra service as something that is available for a product you buy but it costs just a little bit more to enjoy that. Things like Sirius XM or the Spotify Car Stereo.

With that being said, a recent Facebook post showed just how these “affluent” owners of the RAV4 Prime really feel about these extra services which Toyota calls its “connected services.” Kind of like GM’s OnStar but better. On Facebook’s Official Toyota RAV4 Prime group, Ken Roney said, “What do you think about the Connected Services offered by Toyota (Safety connect, remote connect, dynamic navigation, service connect, destination connect, wi-fi connect, etc.) that come with free trials?” Before we get into what owners said, I personally think all of it is just another way for Toyota to get a hold of your pockets. About 90% of these services can be offered for free through your phone.

Paul Prose said, “I renewed the safety connect so that in case my car is stolen the police can use it to locate my car.” Now these are all monthly prices so if you pay for 3 years’ worth of these services, you’ll only use it once because it would be highly unlikely you get your car stolen once per month.

Anthony Hsu said, “Safety connect works best - even if I am driving defensively, getting knocked unconscious is possible and minutes matter during the golden hour of trauma.” He has a great point. I can see now why almost every modern GM car owner has OnStar installed in their vehicle. It also seems that Safety connect is probably one of the more popular of the portfolio of services. Now if you want to ascertain your reasoning for renewing these services, ask yourself this one question. Do I have something cheaper that I can use instead? Because like I said above, 90% of these services are available for free on your phone if you have a good data plan.

be sure to check out our new article about the 2023 Toyota Sequoia's one fatal flaw.

What do you think? Would you get these services? Let us know in the comments below.

Harutiun Hareyan is reporting Toyota news at Torque News. His automotive interests and vast experience test-riding new cars give his stories a sense of authenticity and unique insights. Follow Harutiun on Twitter at @HareyanHarutiun and on YouTube at Toyota Time for daily Toyota news.