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Toyota to Gain Apple Car Keys Support

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Apple is preparing to bring support for its Car Keys feature to Toyota vehicles, evidence uncovered by MacRumors suggests.

iPhone-Car-Key-Kia.jpg

Toyota introduced its own Digital Key feature as part of the available Remote Connect package several years ago, which allows drivers to use their smartphone as a key to access and drive the vehicle. Now, the company appears to be adding support for Apple Car Keys, with the feature going live as of today on Apple's back end.

Introduced in 2022, Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle via the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in the Wallet, and unlocking can be completed by holding an Apple Watch or ‌iPhone‌ near a compatible vehicle's NFC reader.

Tapping on the door handle is enough to initiate an unlock, and while Face ID authentication is a security option, Apple offers an Express Mode that eliminates the need to authenticate for an even faster unlocking process.

It is unclear when Toyota will roll out support for Car Keys to its vehicles, and the company has not yet made any announcements related to the feature, but it is likely to be relatively soon since the feature is now live on Apple's back end.

At WWDC 2025, Apple confirmed that 13 vehicle brands would "soon" add support for digital car keys, including Audi, Acura, Porsche, GMC, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Rivian, Smart, Lucid Motors, Tata Motors, Hongqi, WEY, Chery, and Voyah.

Vehicles from BMW, Genesis, Kia, Hyundai, Lotus, Mercedes, Volvo, and more already offer car keys support, with a list available on MacRumors.

Article Link: Toyota to Gain Apple Car Keys Support
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/12/15/toyota-to-gain-apple-car-keys-support/
dannyyankou said:
Wow I’m surprised, I thought Toyota would keep trying to push it as part of their Remote Connect subscription. I’m planning on getting a Camry next month, so this is great news.
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My guess is that it will be enabled through Remote Connect using the Remote Connect digital key feature.
 
Toyota introduced its own Digital Key feature as part of the available Remote Connect package several years ago, which allows drivers to use their smartphone as a key to access and drive the vehicle. Now, the company appears to be adding support for Apple Car Keys, with the feature going live as of today on Apple's back end
Click to expand...

I pay for Remote Connect on my 2021 Toyota and am unaware of the ability to DRIVE with just the app. I don’t see it on there.
 
I'm glad to hear they are adding it but I'm curious if you'll have to have their Remote Connect subscription in order to utilize it. I have a late 2024 RAV4 Hybrid and would love to be able to use this feature but I'm not paying a monthly subscription for it.
 
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Edd70 said:
I pay for Remote Connect on my 2021 Toyota and am unaware of the ability to DRIVE with just the app. I don’t see it on there.
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They just started doing digital key in 2024, I think. And not every model. That's what allows you to give a digital key to others and they can drive it without the fob. I know for sure that the new Camry, Prius, and Crown have it, but only for the last couple years.

Check here to see if the model/year you have has a support doc for digital key:

Telematics Portal

toyotaaudioandconnectedservicessupport.com toyotaaudioandconnectedservicessupport.com
 
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if someone snatches your phone or if data gets hacked they will presumably be getting the access to your car among other things

too much integration can be harmful for health
 
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Dark enV said:
I'm glad to hear they are adding it but I'm curious if you'll have to have their Remote Connect subscription in order to utilize it. I have a late 2024 RAV4 Hybrid and would love to be able to use this feature but I'm not paying a monthly subscription for it.
Click to expand...
Without a doubt you’ll pay for the privilege. For my 2021 RAV4 Hybrid, you need the app to see tire pressure 😄. Not sure if that’s behind a paywall with the remote start feature but, for a generally smart company, I thought that was a dumb move. Cars costing $10K less have tire pressure on the dash.
 
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Edd70 said:
Without a doubt you’ll pay for the privilege. For my 2021 RAV4 Hybrid, you need the app to see tire pressure 😄. Not sure if that’s behind a paywall with the remote start feature but, for a generally smart company, I thought that was a dumb move. Cars costing $10K less have tire pressure on the dash.
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Really? That sucks. Thankfully I don't have to do that with my 2024 model. I can see the tire pressure from the dashboard widget as well as in the app without any subscription active.
 
I7guy said:
Toyota pretty much makes their own path. But bravo that it’s happening.

Come on Honda. I’m sure your 2026 vehicles have all of the hardware.
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Honda genuinely confuses me with some of their decision making. They use to be ahead of a lot of the car manufacturers when it came to some of the tech they put in their cars but they've gotten really complacent over the last 10 years and have fallen behind.
 
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Apple Car Key is a really good feature. I use this in my BYD, opening and driving my car only with my Apple Watch. Best
 
A shame that you have to pull your phone out for this to work. Really the best way is it just being in your pocket and you walk up to the car and open it. I am surprised actually that they can't do that. My previous car was a 2020 Subaru outback and that worked with the fob. I just walked to the door pulled the handle and it opened. Same obviously for my Tesla Y. Anything less feels like old tech.
 
hdolivera said:
Apple Car Key is a really good feature. I use this in my BYD, opening and driving my car only with my Apple Watch. Best
Click to expand...
Could you not do this already with your iPhone? I am assuming BYD works similarly to Tesla with an app on your phone?
 
wonderings said:
A shame that you have to pull your phone out for this to work. Really the best way is it just being in your pocket and you walk up to the car and open it. I am surprised actually that they can't do that. My previous car was a 2020 Subaru outback and that worked with the fob. I just walked to the door pulled the handle and it opened. Same obviously for my Tesla Y. Anything less feels like old tech.
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The Toyota cars do that with the fob too. But for the Apple Car Keys, it can use your Apple Watch instead of your phone and I believe you can set it up where you don't have to verify and it just works by getting close to the car.
 
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youteonduty said:
if someone snatches your phone or if data gets hacked they will presumably be getting the access to your car among other things

too much integration can be harmful for health
Click to expand...

Sure. Because when people steal your iPhone now they can go on a spending spree with Apple Pay.

Oh wait, they can't because you need to use FaceID to make purchases.
 
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