AcuraLink Smartphone App - Type S

[Integra23]

Subscription for what?
I have tire pressure, door locks, and fuel range. I also use it to schedule maintenance.

Standard is free for 3 years. They have 3 tiers.
https://owners.acura.com/AcuraLink/nextgeneration/

 

[seca400]

My acuralink is identical to the hondalink in my 5 year old Si. Pathetic. I don't see where they think it's ok to take ASpec features away from the Type S?
No sunroof available for "helmet room", yet no launch controls or track apps on the screens.

 

[Integra23]

My acuralink is identical to the hondalink in my 5 year old Si. Pathetic. I don't see where they think it's ok to take ASpec features away from the Type S?
No sunroof available for "helmet room", yet no launch controls or track apps on the screens.

Sunroof removed for weight savings and structural rigidity

 

[SierraOne]

I mean not everyone has the same use case as me, but this is how I view the different features:

Vehicle Services:
Digital owner's manual is nice but it's not the end of the world if I don't have access to it. The alternative is a PDF, or God-forbid, a paper copy.
Maintenance Minder messages are nice as well, but we get the popup on the dash too, so it's just an extra feature.
In-vehicle service booking would be nice, but none of the dealers in my area participate in that, it just links you to their website to schedule.

Real-time Traffic:
Not applicable for any of us, since there is no built-in navigation. Whether or not Acura/Honda should have built-in a navigation system is another discussion entirely, the fact remains that it does not currently exist so this feature is useless.

Smartphone Integration:
I might just be an outlier but I have not listened to an Internet radio stream in like, 5 years. And whenever I do need a stream it is accessible through Android Auto/Apple Carplay. Never have I had to access Yelp, Facebook, etc. in my car while driving, and while stopped the UX on mobile will be miles ahead of anything in the car.

Real-Time Vehicle Status:
This is probably the most useful featureset, since you can check how much gas there is and maybe plan extra time to fill up before work, etc. Lock/unlock remotely I have used in the past, but it's not as critical as on other car brands where the key is now optional. The Type S requires a physical key to drive, so there's only a very niche set of users who would need the car to not auto lock when walking away, and then lock it later when out of line-of-sight.

Mobile Assist
This sounds nice to me, but I've never used it. The security features are kind of redundant, seeing as how just about every dealership builds in a $300-500 security package that is non-optional, but whatever. I can see why it could be useful.

Cloud-based Navigation
Again, useless since there is no built-in navigation.

Live Assistance 24/7
Lol so this books hotels for you and then sends the details to your phone? Instead of...booking it with your phone? And before you come up with the "but it has a live concierge doing it for you!", a lot of credit cards offer this service too. You know, through your phone.

 

[nawfoo]

I don't see a reason to continue AcuraLink after the trial ends. I only use it to schedule maintenance and after that I'll just take it to a mom and pop shop.

Also no sunroof is better for anti body roll and overall rigidity.

 

[VtecBuddy]

Real-Time Vehicle Status:
This is probably the most useful featureset, since you can check how much gas there is and maybe plan extra time to fill up before work, etc. Lock/unlock remotely I have used in the past, but it's not as critical as on other car brands where the key is now optional. The Type S requires a physical key to drive, so there's only a very niche set of users who would need the car to not auto lock when walking away, and then lock it later when out of line-of-sight.

Wait so to clarify, you're saying the Type S has remote lock/unlock if you pay for the subscription? So what exactly are the differences between the Type S and A-spec Acuralink then?

 

[nawfoo]

Both vehicles get AcuraLink for 3 years which includes remote lock and unlock.

 

[VtecBuddy]

Both vehicles get AcuraLink for 3 years which includes remote lock and unlock.

Ah okay, so what's the difference people were talking about in the earlier comments?

 

[vexingv]

I wasn't aware of what connected features are available on the A-spec, but it's disappointing that none are not available at all for the Type S.

In our family car, a 2023 KIA, the smart/connected features are pretty handy--mainly remote lock/unlock, but also locating the vehicle and being able to precondition the vehicle to cool or warm the cabin is convenient, not to mention remote start and being able to take photos using the car's surround view camera (although irrelevant on a manual car without surround/360 cameras). But even my 2016 BMW has connected features to lock/unlock the doors and locate the car. Having an additional means of lock/unlock by smartphone is really useful.

 

[SierraOne]

Both vehicles get AcuraLink for 3 years which includes remote lock and unlock.

Actually, in my post I was addressing AcuraLink in general. But I don't believe the Type S has Remote features, including lock and unlock, unless someone who has already taken delivery can confirm otherwise? I tried with the VIN from the other post about the first "second-hand" Type S, this is what I get:

Edit:

Also because this is the featureset on that same page, it doesn't mention remote unlock.

Edit 2:

And it does show remote unlock under the Remote Package, which is not available for Type S.

 

[SierraOne]

I wasn't aware of what connected features are available on the A-spec, but it's disappointing that none are not available at all for the Type S.

In our family car, a 2023 KIA, the smart/connected features are pretty handy--mainly remote lock/unlock, but also locating the vehicle and being able to precondition the vehicle to cool or warm the cabin is convenient, not to mention remote start and being able to take photos using the car's surround view camera (although irrelevant on a manual car without surround/360 cameras). But even my 2016 BMW has connected features to lock/unlock the doors and locate the car. Having an additional means of lock/unlock by smartphone is really useful.

As per my earlier post, I can see the remote lock/unlock for some use cases, although I still get the feeling that it's a "use it because it exists" and not a "need this to exist" feature. Maybe I'm wrong.

Precondition and remote start aren't available for the Type S, because Remote Start is not enabled. AFAIK Remote Start on a manual transmission requires a clutch bypass, and whole host of safety features. Of course, precondition requires the engine to be running (which is something I only recently encountered as my new BMW doesn't have remote start, but it keeps telling me about preconditioning, which doesn't work).

 

[vexingv]

As per my earlier post, I can see the remote lock/unlock for some use cases, although I still get the feeling that it's a "use it because it exists" and not a "need this to exist" feature. Maybe I'm wrong.

Precondition and remote start aren't available for the Type S, because Remote Start is not enabled. AFAIK Remote Start on a manual transmission requires a clutch bypass, and whole host of safety features. Of course, precondition requires the engine to be running (which is something I only recently encountered as my new BMW doesn't have remote start, but it keeps telling me about preconditioning, which doesn't work).

True, with a manual remote services wouldn't really work. I forgot to clarify that our KIA is a hybrid, so preconditioning primarily uses the battery from what I've seen. My BMW is older (2016 F22) and doesn't have remote start so it's preconditioning is pretty basic as it only runs the fans to ventilate the cabin.