A 2024 Toyota Tundra owner’s short video offered another example of modern cars not living up to their hype.
TikToker Bigasiandumpling (@bigasiandumpling) recently wracked up over 671,000 views when he showed viewers what he hates most about his truck.
“Here’s what I hate about my 2024 Toyota Tundra,” he said before using his remote start feature key fob to turn on his truck. Unfortunately, the remote start doesn’t the keep the truck on when he opens the door.
It’s not just his Tundra
Multiple redditors on the r/ToyotaTundra subreddit expressed their own irritation with the remote start feature.
“Point of remote start is to heat/cool your vehicle based on weather. It is stupid how it shuts off though as you unlock,” one said.
“Yeah I get it is for heat/cool the vehicle, just feel dumb to re-push the start button and this is my first Toyota and first vehicle I need to do a such thing,” another replied.
A third user claimed that the issue has been around since 2010.
“This has been a ‘feature’ by Toyota since at least 2010. Literally 100% of people ever asked have disliked this function. Toyota has failed to listen on this one,” the redditor wrote.
What do the viewers think?
Commenters on Bigasiandumpling’s video agreed that the feature was practically useless.
“Remote start that stops when the door is open is the dumbest thing. like we started it were gonna drive it,” one said.
“My 2023 Tacoma does the same thing,” another replied.
Some claimed that it’s a safety measure.
“It’s probably an anti-theft thing so you can leave your car on but if someone has an emulator they can’t drive off by just unlocking your car and getting in,” a user explained.
“All Toyotas do it. It’s an anti theft system,” a second argued.
“Any keyless Toyota does this,” a third added.
But most felt that the feature was still pointless.
“Turning off when the door opens is useless, especially since most push starts don’t even move unless the fob is inside the car so thieves can’t really do anything without the fob,” a user countered.
When did Toyota introduce remote start?
The remote start feature dates back to 2010. The Venza, Highlander, Camry, and Yaris cars first. As a Toyota dealership blog notes: “As of November 2023, many Toyota models offer remote start as a standard or available feature, including the Corolla, Crown, Mirai, Prius, RAV4, Sequoia, Tundra, 4Runner, Sienna, Tacoma, GR86, and GR Supra.”
But why does Toyota’s remote start shut off my dang car?
Yes, the whole car turning off thing is intentional. As Toyota writes on its support forum: “To help ensure your safety, and anyone near the vehicle, the remote engine starter is designed to shut the engine off when it detects any attempt to enter or move the vehicle after a remote engine start.”
How does the Toyota Tundra rate compared to other trucks?
According to a review from US News, the 2024 Toyota Tundra has a great rating of 8.8/10. The Tundra has a five star safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and a great fuel economy rating with an EPA-rated 18 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. However, the new Tundra has also received an average rating for quality and reliability as well as a below average rating from critics.
@bigasiandumpling Who thought this was a good idea? #2024 #fyp #toyota #tundra #feature #terribleidea ♬ original sound – Bigasiandumpling
The Daily Dot reached out to Toyota via email and BigAsianDumpling via TikTok Comments.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
