Do/would you use remote start

[Nick R]

I know there is a very similar thread in Maintenance. I have remote start on my car, and I use it, everyday in the winter. I usually start it 3,4 minutes before I walk out the door so the heater and defroster can get a head start. My mom/dad have remote start on the 4.6L expedition, and also use it alot. More than I do, they will often start it anywhere from 5, to 10 minutes before we leave. It is nice to go out and have at least lukewarm air blowing, and it will start blowing hot air pretty fast.

I personally think that remote starts have no real detrimental effect on the engines. For this, I point to several things. Police cars. 4.6L Crown vics, and Chevy Impalas, Chevy Tahoes. Anyone who is familiar with this will know that Police cars spend a huge portion of their time idling. The crown vics usually later become taxis, and depending on where they are, idle a huge portion of the time too. The engines in all these are in just as good shape as ever. Can't speak from too much knowledge on this, but from what I know, before some states put the maximum idling time on big trucks, drivers would leave the engines running while they slept.

These engines all survive, so it leads me to believe that remote start does not harm the engine at all.

 

[Jim 5]

I've been using them for 10 years on all my vehicles with no adverse effect.

GM offers them as a factory option with no adverse effect on warranty.

 

[bepperb]

I really like mine, but only use it for a minute or two when it's in the 0's or -.

Obviously the idling does dillute the oil with fuel, but I agree it seems to matter very little.

 

[eoghan]

There are some places here that it is illegal to use them due to laws stating that you can't leave an unoccupied running.

It is a law to cut down on car thefts supposedly.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: eoghan
There are some places here that it is illegal to use them due to laws stating that you can't leave an unoccupied running.

It is a law to cut down on car thefts supposedly.



Huh?! It's remote start, there is no key in the car.... Generally if you hit the brake pedal the engines shuts back off?

 

[Bamaro]

Have it but never use it.

 

[demarpaint]

My 08 Jeep is the first vehicle I've owned with Remote Start, I think it's great. I open up the garage from inside the house, hit the remote start and in about a minutes time I'm in it ready to roll. I like to let an engine idle until it reaches about 1000 rpms or a hair under before I take off. A minute is plenty for the Jeep.

 

[Paul56]

The bigger issue for me with remote start is installation quality.

I don't want electrical problems down the road.

I also don't want to see a rats nest of wires and components of the unit dangling with one or no screws/bolts.

When it is cold I always give my engines a little warm up time. The remote start just means I spend less of that time actually sitting in the car waiting. Therefore, idle time is the same.

 

[LS2JSTS]

I rarely use mine.

 

[opus1]

I don't have it, but wish I did. 75% of the fleet is at my house and I only have a 2-car garage so the DD sits outside. There have been some mornings where the car was frozen shut and I didn't want to break anything by pulling on the door handles, so I had to spend time trying to break the door free by pushing on it. If I had a remote start, I could fire that sucker up and let the engine heat things up to loosen the doors.

 

[Ursae_Majoris]

I live in Alaska. Had remote starters in ALL of my cars. Love them. Never had electrical problems. It all depends on the installer. I got a good one; lifetime warranty on all his work, while I own the car.

When temperatures stay at 20 or below November thru March (except for a few Chinook days), you learn to appreciate the remote starter. Mine are all Astrostart (Canadian) brand.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: Paul56
The bigger issue for me with remote start is installation quality.

I don't want electrical problems down the road.

I also don't want to see a rats nest of wires and components of the unit dangling with one or no screws/bolts.

When it is cold I always give my engines a little warm up time. The remote start just means I spend less of that time actually sitting in the car waiting. Therefore, idle time is the same.


I agree, I have a factory installed remote start as part of the Limited option package. I would be uncomfortable with an aftermarket unit. Which is why I never had remote start before. JMO

 

[01rangerxl]

This is actually the first winter I even considered getting a remote start. Usually my truck is parked in the garage at home, but if the garage is blocked it's outside. Remote start would have been really nice on some of the mornings when I had to leave at 8:00 and it was below freezing.

That said, it's far from a priority for me and now that it is getting warmer I have lost interest in it again.

 

[Carbon]

I like my after-market unit. You need to remember to turn the wipers off when you park. Ideally, you also turn the defroster on when you park.

 

[KrisZ]

I really like mine and use it almost every morning in winter. I let the car idle for a minute or 2, this way I have warm air comming from vents in much faster

 

[DakAttack]

I had 1 installed early on when I had my 2000 dodge dakota, It was a great thing to have, but the door lock/unlock would never work right. I would close/slam the door sometimes and thats all it too for the system to not want to lock/unlock the door via the remote. When my wife was the primary driver of the vehicle she saw the remote start as a Neccesary feature to have. She comes from a warmer climate of living soo it was a life saver to her many times. Now with her new car that was the 1st add-on she begged for.

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: rudolphna
I know there is a very similar thread in Maintenance. I have remote start on my car, and I use it, everyday in the winter. I usually start it 3,4 minutes before I walk out the door so the heater and defroster can get a head start. My mom/dad have remote start on the 4.6L expedition, and also use it alot. More than I do, they will often start it anywhere from 5, to 10 minutes before we leave. It is nice to go out and have at least lukewarm air blowing, and it will start blowing hot air pretty fast.

I personally think that remote starts have no real detrimental effect on the engines. For this, I point to several things. Police cars. 4.6L Crown vics, and Chevy Impalas, Chevy Tahoes. Anyone who is familiar with this will know that Police cars spend a huge portion of their time idling. The crown vics usually later become taxis, and depending on where they are, idle a huge portion of the time too. The engines in all these are in just as good shape as ever. Can't speak from too much knowledge on this, but from what I know, before some states put the maximum idling time on big trucks, drivers would leave the engines running while they slept.

These engines all survive, so it leads me to believe that remote start does not harm the engine at all.


I've had several police officers tell me that the Impalas are nowhere near as good as the Crown Vics at idling for extended periods of time. Many have told me their Impalas have shut off on them.

Obviously, this kind of idling is not "normal" though.

 

[Shannow]

Never seen one.

But as I only drive manuals, wouldn't have one if they were available.

 

[Alan]

Hades yeah!

 

[Oldswagon]

I don't have one and don't want one. They only promote idling. Some people at work will "warm up" their cars for 30 minutes with the remote starters.

I instead use my block heater and oil pan heater with a timer. I typically start the truck and only idle it if there is snow to clean. Otherwise, it's in gear within 30 secs and gone. If it gets to around -30 or so, I will only idle it for about 5 minutes just to make sure everything is flowing first. But at these temps I like to start the vehicle myself anyway just to make sure nothing goes wrong. This winter, we never had those cold temps, so I don't think I cold idled the truck at all.

That said, those who mentioned the police car/taxi cab argument, there is one major factor you didn't consider. These cars typically are always up to operating temperature and idle when the engine is at operating temps. We are dicussing cold idle when the oil is thick, parts haven't expanded and combustion is inefficient.