I thought you were kidding... then i found this: https://shop.mbusa.com/en-us/connect/

I assumed it was $35/yr for the entire Mercedes Me Connect package (remote start, lock/unlock, monitoring, etc).

Well, looks like I'll fiddle with these features for one year then forget about em.

Whoever came up with the grouping/naming of those services needs to be taken out back and shot.

Vehicle Setup ($15/yr) includes:
Remote Door Lock & Unlock
Personalization
Theft Notification and Parking Damage Detection

Vehicle Monitoring ($15/yr) includes:
Vehicle Locator
Vehicle Tracker
Valet Protect

Stolen Vehicle Assistance ($25/yr) includes:
Stolen Vehicle Assistance

So basically you have to pay $55/yr if you want anything useful (full theft/damage notification and locator)

Still MB says they are not greedy and asking for a fair subscription price . I would say we are lucky enough that they didn't say heated steering wheel and heated seats are also free for 1 yr and start quoting $$$ to use it after 1 year.

I had an aftermarket remote start fob with 3000' range on my old Lexus. It had two way communication. It worked to at least 1000'. I'd remote start it on the way to the back 40 in the parking lot and in the ten minutes it took me to get to the Lexus, the interior was very comfortable. The heated seats were on, the HVAC was working fine, and I miss that feature a lot with my GLE. A lot.
I was in a secure building where I couldn't take my cellphone so the fob was the only way to use remote start. It was reliable, I never had a time where the fob didn't work, and that was to at least 1000'. Sigh.

It's called "Capitalism". The same reason we all pay for internet service every month. It would be wonderful if I only needed to pay for everything once in my life and never have to pay again. It's a subscription service. If you weren't aware of it before, you are now. Nothing you can do - either subscribe or not. This is the business model for many corporations. Call it greed if that gets you through the day, but that's how business operate. Without multiple streams of cashflow they will cease to exist.

Subscriptions are fine, but imo there has to be a somewhat valid reason for it. Like one subscription for all remote services makes senses because cell service costs money.
The subscription also paying for the development of future features that get added on for free also makes sense to me.
But right now, you pay a subscription for one feature, that helps MB develop a new feature that you then have to pay separately for. Feels like a money grab.

Subscription is a good model - netlix, Microsoft Office 365. They keep adding new features / titles during your subscription. BTW internet is not a subscription model (it is utility like your gas / electricity). Nobody is opposing subscription service by MB. But don't disable a feature (key fob start) just to promote your subscription. The hardware is already in the car MB need to enable it with a software update.

Audi has already introduced heated seat subscription (for customers who did not buy it initially during the order). Wondering what next from MB? Pay $1 for every 10 hours we play USB drive music in the car's system?

I can see that very well from reading your recent posts. Lol
I wasn't even replying to your post. Why so sensitive? Lol. But since you mentioned, yes, your GLE, as all GLEs, lacks the ability to start the car from the fob. It also lacks the ability to let the car keep running when door is opened.

Lots of people here saying that M-B "disabled" their key fob's remote start. I don't think they ever offered it, at least this century. They probably chose not to include it.

Mercedes has a history of doing more things with "safety" in mind, such as refusing to use touch screens until the video crowd started demanding them. Also their anti-hack keys, the "thick but safer" steering wheels, and of course the other things they've pioneered.
Early adopters of anti-pinch windows and sunroofs, anti-lock braking when everybody was afraid of it, other stuff.

Some might not like the implementation, and if it's objectionable enough, they can choose not to buy.

My biggest complaints are that it's too easy to press a button on the fob while working around the house, opening the tailgate or sounding the alarm.
And the length of time the Splash Screen stays up, when I change suspension or drive mode settings.
Not enough to sell the car, though. Not enough even to start a thread!

I have a 2018 GLE 350 4matic. This is my first Benz with remote start capability. I have been driving Chevy pickups for years now. No manufacturer beats GMs remote start capabilities. Key FOB and cell phone app. Turns on the heat/air, seat warmer / chiller and steering wheel heat all depending on the outside conditions.
So my question is... does my Benz do any of that? Haven't noticed the seats or steering wheel being warm at all the past couple of mornings. Temps below 30F. I am assuming the HVAC comes on to the last settings but I don't know that for sure.

That's a steal compared to UConnect app that RAM / Stellantis uses. They charge ~$25 per month for similar services after there subscription ends, and it doesn't even come close to the Mercedes offering.
On my RAM, the remote start would never work reliably (most of the time taking several minutes to activate, when it did at all), and the app was atrocious. Also (on RAM at least) it lacks all the MB telemetry like range, fuel level, mileage, tire pressure, mpg, etc, for the low low price of $312 per year.

And that doesn't even include the XM subscriptions if you want real-time traffic on your Nav. Those are also extra as well after your subscription ends.

Cheers,

Thanks @Neurobit for a dose of reality.

I think the reality is that all companies are being greedy with these subscriptions.

I would agree if we're talking for heated seats. However, it makes sense, although I don't want to pay either, for cloud based activities such as remote start. They need to continuously enhance security and other things so there is a cost to that which cannot be recovered any other way unless you want to pay more for the vehicle.

I have less of an issue with the price than I do with the fact that the options are not grouped logically. Remote unlock/lock, start, and the ability to send navigation to the car should be in a single package. But that's three different packages. Theft notification, vehicle locator, and stolen vehicle assistance should be in the same package, but again, that's three different packages. And it'd be one thing if every single option was separate, but it's not, so you wind up having to get more packages than you probably want (or run the risk of missing out on a feature because it was inexplicably in a separate package).

I suspect the reason it's broken down this way is due to vehicle capability across different models, but it doesn't change the fact that none of this stuff is all that new, and things should be better.

which package do we need to send map address to MBUX?

1) The hardware components are already in the KEY FOB and Car. It is just MB choose not to activate it to promote subscription. This can be enabled by a software update even now.
2) MB doesn't even care about customer feedback (as long the sales are good). It is the loyal customers who get upset when there is negative feedback on MB!

It isn't specifically called out but I believe you need the Vehicle Monitoring package since you use the feature by clicking on the "Your Location" button. And this is kind of my point, things are all over the place.

I didn't know that my key fob has a button that can remote start the car. I only have 4 buttons.
Which button, and what software can update it?

Don't confuse a question asking for clarification, with a Fanboi comment.

My question in this post is the former.

I wouldn't be surprised if MB could reprogram the car to initiate remote start after receiving the "unlock" signal from the key fob for 10s straight or something. Hold unlock on the keyfob for 10s, and boom remote start. Doesnt require a specific button or a new key.

(I'm just conjecturing of course)

That would conflict with other functions, like enabling/disabling door unlock for driver only or all doors (press & hold unlock for 5-10 seconds if I remember correctly), but yeah, it could be done I suppose.
I just don't want our key fobs to become humongous by adding more buttons like other brands do. They're fine just the way they are in my opinion.

I'm still waiting for my first MB ever so yea I dont know what the default sequences are on the MB key fobs, but you got what i mean anyway. Could be any combo, maybe holding lock button or both buttons, etc.

Personally I don't see myself using remote start ever, but I can see the pros and cons of each.
Having an app that tells you whether or not your car actually started, and being able to do it from afar is nice.
Being reliant on a yearly subscription and cell signal is a nuisance when you're usually parked within line of sight.

existing key in remote can be used with a software update to enable this function. The FOB will just trigger the same remote start command our app sends. It is feasible technically. Will MB do it? never, this will impact their subscription revenue.

I am not a Fanboi , I don't get irritated when someone criticizes MB . We all purchased GLE becoz we liked it, but doesn't mean that we cannot talk about the cons in the car.!

I definitely agree that people get all defensive when an opposing opinion is presented. Don't know why they seem to attack a different opinion, instead of accepting it as an "opinion."
Must be the Cancel Culture going around these days.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I was referring to your previous post that referred to the OTHER posters, not yourself.

My opinion is that the Fobs and their functions are so complex, that reprogramming them would probably be futile, if possible.

So when I first got this GLE for my wife, I looked it up to see how I can start the car with the fob because I like that feature on my X5. I landed in one of the MB site and it had description something like this but not the unlock button but the panic button. I was so excited and the next time I drove hers, I tried it. Not only did it not work, I got that look from her. Lol. Apparently this was how it was done at sometime in the past.

Of course it can be done. They just don't want to implement for whatever reason. For BMW you just hit the lock button three times and it will fire up the car.

Sure they have to compete with Hyundai. Remote start is not free. It's part of the Premium Package 2. They charge for it just like MB but in a different way and people don't seem to be bugged by it.