Remote Car Starters, any experts here?

[PlatinumGold]

what is good out there? how do they work with the remote entry systems that are already part of the car i bought, can they replace the original remote entry?

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold
what is good out there? how do they work with the remote entry systems that are already part of the car i bought, can they replace the original remote entry?

I think Viper and Clifford are two reputable companies that make auto starts; but I'd avoid the do-it-yourself deals at Costco and wherever. They can be a real pain. Let a dealer take care of the install for ~$150.

usually, if your car already has a security system, the dealer will charge a few bucks extra to add a bypass around it. You'll end up getting a new keyfob with buttons on it, and if you had power door locks and trunk release before, you'll still have them. Sometimes however, you need to purchase additional relays (~$25). Depends on the car and options, really. I last had one installed on a Saturn, which needed two relays and a security bypass, and including all that plus installation plus top-of-the-line Viper unit, the cost was like $449. Well worth it.

Go find a dealer (usually in window tint shops or car stereo shops) and they'll get you a more accurate estimate of what you need.

EDIT: The good Viper units are lifetime warrantied as well. OR, they used to be anyway.

 

[lokiju]

If you buy an after market alarm with remote start from a place like Frys, Best Buy, Hi-Fi Buys, Sound Advice, Tweeter or Circuit City they'll usually install it for free with purchase.



I should add that I have remote start added with my Viper alarm.

Cost me $500 for the alarm and remote start about 3 years ago.

But keep in mind that Viper alarms are expensive.

One thing that you should know also is that a lot of cars made from Ford or Chevy have a chip in the key that sends a signal to the car when it's in the ignition telling the car this is a legit key and ok to start. This was the case with my Tahoe and was a bit of an issue for the installers since they had to figure out how to bypass this when the remote start kicked on.

It ended up taking them like 3 days to get it working right and I still to this day have an issue where maybe one out of every 100 remote start ups it will fail to start, just turn over and sputter then cut off, when this happens it trips something in my cars computer telling it its trying to be started by an unauthorized method and activates a security measure that won't allow for it to start up until it's been locked and unlocked with the factory remote and then sits for at least 15 mins before trying to be started again.

Also just for your info, if you remote start a car and someone pops the hood, it'll cut the engine off as a safety measure and also if you hit the break while it's running via remote start it'll cut off the engine so that someone can't put it into gear while theres no key.