excuse me for this complete noob question but, how does remote start work? I mean, does that mean you can drive the vehicle without the keys? or is there a kill switch or something? i was interested in one for the cold, snowy winter mornings out here in Southern Cali, :lol: , but thought i should get some more info. first. thanks
a dude with a BMW was showing me his remote start system the other day, i dont know the answers to your questions, but i think you can only get it on automatics, and the key needs to be in to put it in drive
There is a relay that is connected to the starter. When you push the remote, the realy engaugues the starter and the car starts. Remote starts cause nothing but electrical problems. That’s the reason why the shops that install them usually don’t offer any kinfd of warranty for their work because they would go out of business trying to fix remote start problems. It is only for use with automatic trannys, because if you leave a manual tranny in gear and remote start, off goes your car through the garage. or into a negbbors house or parked car. It’s very dangerous and I think you can ruin your tranny with it too. Forgot how though. So basically, stay away from remote starts and if you buy an alarm with a remote start, don’t install the remote start part of it.
remote start is over-rated. yea you can start your car and let it warm up the engine or warm up the interior with the heater or cool it with the ac but you got to remember to leave them on for it work. it can be install on manuals too but you risk damaging your car or property if you start it in gear.
Remote start is definately NOT overrated. I live where it snows and gets below freezing for 4 months od the year. Trust me, remote start is a VERY nice thing to have. Nothing better than getting into a nice warm car when it’s snowing outside.
And, FYI, my car is a manual tranny. There are VERY few manufacturers of this type of remote start, but they do exist. Auto-Start is one of them. Anyhow, they basically require you to put it in neutral, take your feet off of all pedals, and then hit a button on the starter remote which lets the brain know that it’s in neutral and as long as nothing is touched (if it is, the remote starter shuts off), the starter will start your car when you push the button later on. Works fine!! 
Anyhow, living in Arizona or southern Cali wouldn’t really warrant having a remote starter, but live in the cold for a while and DAMN it’s a nice thing to have, especially with leather seats liek me.
~Eric
yup, seen remote start on manuals before. costs extra of course, but yeah, up here, in Ohi-HOE, it would be nice to have. hrm…i should look into it.
Augie
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