Do you recommend installing a remote starter into this car? If so, what should I be concerned abuot with respect to the installation and subsequent use? Thanks for the help!
adri
No.
I don’t recommend remote starters unless they are built in at the factory. The potential for damage to the vehicle’s electrical system resulting from a botched remote starter installation is HUGE, and once the damage is done, it’s VERY difficult to rectify.
Forget the remote starter. Start the engine, no matter how cold it is outside, and, after about 15-20 seconds, drive “gently” away. Continue driving gently for the first few miles until the engine, transmission, etc., warm up. This is the BEST way to warm up a vehicle.
Remember, if you start the engine and warm it up, the REST of the vehicle is still ice cold when you start driving. Remote starters waste fuel. Forget them.
I would be hesitant to get one a original equipment, I certainly would not one as as after market. We see too many problems with them.
That said, I would not likely use on if I had it. Cars really don’t like to idle cold. They warm up better by being driven. Remember that not only does the engine need to warm up, but the transmission and suspension also need to warm up. Just drive at moderate speeds without any jackrabbit starts for a mile or two. Much better for the car and cheaper too.
all the other posts may be correct, but I had a after market remote starter in my previous vehicle, and I LOVED it.
On those bitter cold mornings, I would start the car from my living room and go out to a WARM car about 5 minutes later… Never had any problems and I could lock and unlock the car, open the trunk from a great distance. Great for making sure I locked the car from the store front.
We do? Who are we?
That said, I have had one in my Tbird for 60k miles, works great, was fairly complex to install, but not out of the realm of capability of a confident shadetree mechanic.
I worked on a standard transmission car recently that had a remote starter. Since it was a late model vehicle (Volvo S60), it had a starting safety switch- can’t start car w/o depressing clutch. I didn’t notice that the remote key fob was actually a remote start fob- that all had nothing to do with what I was doing to the car. When I parked the car after working on it, on level ground, I left it in first w/o engaging
park brake. Whoever had installed this aftermarket remote start had also disabled the starting safety switch. You would think that in this case there would have been a way to make it so car wouldn’t start w/transmission in gear because obviously one would have to bypass starting safety switch- how could you depress clutch pedal from inside your warm kitchen, say? A few hours later one of the cleanup guys
started the car w/the remote starter fob to bring it in and wash it. You guessed it- car started right up in gear and ran into another car nearby. Could have been much worse. I’ve gotta maybe take some blame here, but in Pa, anyway, it’s illegal to disable any safety device and this was a case in point.
I was afraid of that answer… But I appreciate the honesty. Thank you for the reply. I have such little experience with car stuff. I will probably forgo now. Thanks again!!