Remote starter issues, 1998 Ford F150

General Discussion
1

I had a remote starter installed in my 1998 F150. The installers said that remote starters don’t work in some older Fords, because the keys have a “chip.” But when they checked my truck, they said it would work.

It does work great, wonderful for cold weather - remote starts from a long way away, I can unlock the doors as I’m walking up to it.

However, now that the weather is warmer, all I want to do is remote unlock the doors. But the first time I tried this, the alarm went off - thought I’d hit the wrong button. It happened again on another occasion, so I called the installers. They said that for Fords and Toyotas, the remote door unlock won’t work by itself - I would either have to use the remote starter first, or manually unlock the doors.

Does this make any kind of sense, and does anyone have a solution to this? Thanks!

2

This has been discussed at length here but the problem is that this remote starter is an “aftermarket unit.” Aftermarket companies rarely stay in business for very long. Give the company that made your remote starter a call and see what they have to say. The installers have very little knowledge about these units and how they work. It would be like asking someone who flips burgers at McDonalds about cattle farming.

3

To my way of thinking it’s the installers that he needs to contact. He’s paid them for expertise. They messed up. They need to correct whatever’s incorrect, and it’s them who should contact the system manufacturer.