I interested on some feedback regarding the Acuralink Subscription Service. Has anybody had much experience with it, Do you think it is worth the cost? I have read a number of posts with people having problems with Remote Start and sending an Address to their vehicle.
I already have the 5 Button Remote on my Elite so Remote Start is not a lot of value for me, but had thought of the "Find my Car" feature and the "Send a Destination" feature might be worthwhile.
Comments?

I am trying to gather some feedback before my "Free Subscription" runs out.

DavidH

 

 

The Send Destination to nav feature is complimentary, no subscription required.

https://acuralink.acura.com/#/availability/2019/RDX

 

Madd Dog I should have clarified, it is not the "Find my Car" feature, I meant the "Stolen Car Locator" feature.

 

 

 

To get slightly off track. I'm picking up my RDX Tuesday from a dealer that is not local to me, in other words I can not run back to her to get help.

What do they are I need to do the get Acuralink working?

 

Your VIN needs to be registered. You signup for an account, link your VIN and you are done. Very simple!

 

Thanks. I registered on the app and signed in so looks like I now just need an RDX.

 

The AcuraLink options are very confusing and was very difficult to get signed up for (at least for me). One problem was I already had a Honda login so that interfered with AcuraLink recognizing me. Even worse, the original information on line was for the 2018 cars.
I don't have a need for the consierge package but I wish I didn't have to buy 2 packages to get all the other options.

 

Sorry to hear you found it difficult and confusing...I did not have that same experience. I, too, already have an account for my 2018 Accord Touring. Just create a separate account for your Acura and call it a day.

 

The 6 month Remote and Concierge US trial subscriptions are about ready to run out for me in a few weeks. I have no interest in the Concierge one, but am going to do a pros and cons assessment on the Remote one. The cost for one year is $110. There are a couple of elements of this subscription that look like they have some usable value to me, mainly the remote start, security alarm alert, and stolen vehicle locator. I guess I need to research these a little more. Anyone close enough to the 6 month expiration of the trial period to have taken a look at this? I may check with my auto insurance and see if any of these features result in a discount off my premium, I doubt it, but it is probably worth the phone call.

 

 

So a couple of thoughts since my original post. I have used the Remote Start capability a number of times and is really convienent. Sure the Key FOB has that capability and is good at home, but it does not work when you are in a mall, a store and it sure is nice to open a car door with a warm car, heated steering wheel and defrost on full blast to get rid of frost or snow. Secondly I like the idea of the Stolen Vehicle Locator, I know it is a low probability but when/if it happens, it sure would be nice to have some help if it does. I also like the idea of a Security Alarm Alert, it may just help prevent your car and belongings from getting stolen. I think you have hit the nail on the head with these three items, they have enough value to support the price of the Remote. I do not require nor would I use the Concierge Support.

Just my two cents.

DavidH

 

 

AcuraLink subscription or Netflix subscription...first world problems!

 

 

If you aren't getting the fuel range, tire pressure and oil %, create a case with Acura. They have to do something on their end to fix the issue as it should happen automatically and they have been having server issues. I created a case with Acura and in 2 days all was working great.

 

 

I'm late posting this, but instead of leaving you to your own devices struggling to set up AcuraLink, your sales guy / service department should've done the sign up procedures FOR you ahead of time.

Mine was already fully set up before I even showed up so that by the time I drove off with my new car I was totally good to go with AcuraLink. And I was coming from a 2017 RDX for which I already had an existing subscription (they ended up sending me a prorated refund because I still had a few months left). AcuraLink service is based on the VIN number.

After reading posts like this, I'm beginning to think I really have an exceptional dealership that thinks about all the little details to take care of their customers.

I have everything right now on a free trial; in April, I will not renew Concierge -- like you, I don't need that superfluous service and pay the exorbitant up-charge for something I might actually use either never or very, very rarely.

 

This might be a very stupid question on my part, but have you tried tapping the blue refresh "circle" icon on the top right next to "Vehicle Status" to contact the car and get it to return tire psi, door lock status, gas range, oil %, and odometer information back to the app?

Here I just blacked out my gas range and odometer info (I don't know why - just felt like it...lol).

 

cool - that worked for the tire pressure so I bet if I start the car it will show the gas/oil.... will check that later - thanks!

 

Now if only there were a way to show the tire pressure in PSI instead of kPa without affecting the units in the rest of the Canadian app.

 

Mine was also showing everything except the gas/oil/mileage info. The fix for me was to open the acuralink app (on the car), menu on the top-right, and somewhere in there was an option for acura to collect vehicle data. Mine was set to blocked. Switching it to Allow immediately let the remaining info show up on the phone app. The phone app really should have a message over the missing info that the data is being blocked by the vehicle rather than just making everyone think the car/acuralink/app is broken. Hope that works!

 

 

@kboo74656 ...that is very normal for an app to lose connectivity even though it is "suspended" and supposedly running in the "background". Most apps require reauthentication and, for me, not a big deal to have to restart the app.

I do agree that keeping the services, minus concierge, is a good investment and that is what I have done as well. Merry Christmas!

 

Huh. What makes you so special?

For me, the app is happy to "send" the destination, but it never gets from the server to the car unless the latter is running, or at least turned to "accessory" or "ON".

And I have succeeded in breaking the app's "status" updating, which was working fine before I upgraded to D.1.0.7. Since I don't find "status" terribly useful, I'm not really distraught about it, but it hints at deeper issues.

By "suspended" do you mean running in background but not the active foreground app?

 

Potentially dumb question - can you change the SIM for the Acuralink/LTE hotspot to use a carrier other than AT&T?

 

 

 

Not at all a dumb question, but sadly the answer is almost certainly "NO".

There is a discrete embedded "telematics module" ( AKA "Telematics Control Unit" or TCU ) that is responsible for cellular service. It's a literal black box with no knobs, dials, SIM cards, DIP switches or anything else aside from a couple of connectors.

 

 

IMHO I think the feature of AcuraLink that is worth the price of admission is that the system will call 911 for you if you are knocked unconscious during an accident. It is an insurance policy of sorts.

 

It's definitely worth the price of admission, because if you link a smartphone to the system, I believe it will do that for you without any paid subscription. ( Thanks to our resident tail-wagger, I just repeated this process ).

As for the paid subscription, meh.

But if you think the pricing is bad for AcuraLink, check out the plans for new Audis. And it looks like the Audi infotainment systems are pretty crippled without it. Talk about a cash grab.

 

If your butt hurts when you're holding the phone, you may be doing it wrong.

Heal well.

 

^^^

One should not read comments like that while sipping a cup of coffee. Now, where's the paper towel......

 

 

So mine is connected to the car because it can read all the gauges and knows it’s location, but anything beyond that and it fails. It won’t start the car or send a location. I even went through with tech support for an hour to get it connected.

I’m beyond frustrated with it and I believe the auto start should come standard on the key fob rather than having to pay to subscribe to a piece of crap that doesn’t work to auto start your car.

Does anyone one know if a key fob with autostart is purchasable? And, if so, how much it costs? Also, anyone have any idea what I could possibly be missing that is keeping the app from working right? It usually says it can’t find the car when I try to connect, even when it isn’t in a garage or any other type structure.

 

 

That's why I'm getting the acuralink sub, it's cheaper over my 3 year lease than getting a remote starter installed. Of course if you are keeping the vehicle longer then the dealer option may be cheaper. Plus my office is up on the 3rd floor and my parking space, while visible from my window, is set back a bit and I think I need the extended range.