To me this says “we’re looking for additional revenue streams and have found a way to lock previously available functionality behind some XaaS where X is artificially paywalled”.

If this is the path they are going down then there’s no reason to suspect they will stop with that.

Sure, there are aftermarket options, but the issue (that I have, at least) is that the taste is now sour.

I was looking at a hybrid Rav4, but this makes me look elsewhere.

Imagine your garage door opener operating on this model: you have 5 free uses remaining this month, want some light? Simple IAP. What recurring value is Toyota providing by charging you per month for a fob to car signal transmission?