I need the prompt assistance of the AR15.com auto enthusiast army. [:D]


I just bought a new SUV (a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe) and am contemplating having a remote vehicle starter installed.

Should I do it?

What are the downside(s)?


There is a local auto electronics dealer who will install a DEI 551r unit for $389 (installed).

They charge $55 for each additional remote control and $150 to interconnect it to the vehicle locking system. (to avoid me having to carry 2 remotes)

My main purpose behind considering this is to have a "warm and toasty" vehicle with the push of a button. [;)]

Thoughts?  

Thanks!!

There are no downsides other than boosting your laziness factor, and weakening your bodies response to the cold, if you want to consider those downsides [:D]

Get it. Why not?

You may get to be warm and taosty, but I've heard that it's bad for the engine on some cars.  I'd cruise the chevy truck forums and do a liitle research before biting on this.

Let us know what you find out.

Make sure it can control the air conditioning for heating AND cooling, so you don't have to remember to leave the heater on when you power off the car.
They are good if you want your car to stay warm, or at least start once in a while to prevent it from siezing up, etc...but you do not want it auto-starting in an enclosed space like a garage.

Rbad, That price seems high, Shop around. You should be able to get the starter and alarm together in one unit. It will also work your power locks.

installation of aftermarket electronic devices may void your factory warranty.  be sure to ask how they do it.  i was told by GM a couple years ago if they cut wires don't do it.  if it pugs into the harnees it'll be ok.  i would check with the dealer who will honor your warranty. and see what they will cover.

my boss has one on his truck and the remote is really sensitive.  the truck is always just starting up and idling away, while he is busy working.

on his lincoln he had one installed and he push the button to start the car and the moon roof opened.  don't forget they have 17 or 18 year old kids installing this kind of stuff on a regular basis.

Just be careful when you're working on the engine.  We don't want to start calling you lefty.

I don't care how new a car may be, 99% of engine damage is done in the first minute of cold start-up.

Remote start would do you good as you can get some idling in on cold startup, thus in theory boosting the life of your engine, at the expense of some gas.

It's a new one.   I didn't mind the old one ...  It had heated leather seats.

This one has COLD cloth seats. [:D]

Wow !!  I forgot about the AIR CONDITIONING factor.  

I'm beginning to think that this is gonna be a great gadget. [:)]

First thought is... what line of work are you in?

SSD

Let me get this straight, you're saying that it's bad on the engine to start it?

Whether it's started by a key or by a remote, what's the difference?

No offense, but, I say -
just get yer lazy ass outta bed and start the GD thing after you finish your 3 mile jog....

I've been in the car business for 8yrs. Never had any trouble with remote starters. Most units, reguardless of price are similar. I wouldn't pay more than $230 or so installed for any unit with 2 remotes. Anything more than that and you're getting burnt.

is it part of a vehical alarm system for that price?

How many people jump into their cars in the dead cold morning, and just sit in there for 2-4 minutes while your car reaches a good engine temp?

Not many, but if you did, generally speaking, you'd see a longer engine life.

go for it!  told ya that before.  i love it.  i had pool league tnite and its been snowing here.  started my car from inside the bar and got into a nice warm car. [:)]

[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=157342&w=searchPop[/url]

its bad for disels to idle for periods of time

Most new vehicle manuals advise against a long idle, even at start-up.  It really is better to drive away in a couple min. rather than idle.

I do not own one of these gadgets and do not want to.  May be warm to get in but mine sit in the garage and are not that cold anyway.

Can you see that the "check engine" light is functional?  That the O.P idiot light went out?  Can you hear that the starter disengaged?  Are you SURE you left it in park?  Etc, etc, etc.

I thought we went through this already.  I use mine 98% of the time I start my rig.  Downside..... Dude you're a Rock Star... Gitter Done!

I put one on my truck, and have never regretted it once.  Best accessory I ever bought.

Thanks guys !!   I'm going for it. [:)]

That's bullshit!
Newer cars (fuel injected ones especially) only need about 60 seconds of warm-up time before they are ready to go.
If you let an engine idle too long it will warm up but it will not get to operating temp (meaning hot enough to burn off the condensation, fuel vapors and other nasty stuff in the engine).
Now you don't want to hit red-line in each gear right after you have done a 60 second warm-up, you want to take it slow and easy.
You are right that start-up is where most of all engine wear occurs.
Most of the worst pollution comes from a cold engine that is idleing.
In the case of someone who uses one of those auto-starters you should limit the time that the engine is spent idleing.

My 7 year old Clifford alarm runs my garage door opener and the home security lights in addition to doing all of the regular stuff car alarms buttons do. If I wanted to add an auto-start to it the cost would be about $150.

RBAD, I think it's a great idea, I have installed a number of remote starters for customers and they were all very happy that they did it. There are no downsides to it provided it was installed by a competent shop. Just make sure the installer is reputable and will give you a warranty because you have to cut into the ignition wires under the column, and tap into the door locks and a sloppy installation could do serious damage to the truck later on. All of the systems I installed had common features but some had longer range remotes. You want to make sure that the doors stay locked when it's running and it should have an ignition kill when you unlock the door or more commonly when you step on the brake to put it in gear.

None.

I was just advising that a little research could save him a lot of trouble (we don't ask Q's about AR's on car boards do we?[8D] .  Again, this is just something I "heard".  And the bottom line as to whether or not it's "bad" really comes down to splitting hairs.

However, purely for argument's sake, howz about some excerpts borrowed from R. Sikorsky's book [u]Drive it Forever[/u] (1993) - Chapter - The Cold Start

..."no more than 15 seconds of engine idling should be required."

..."do not try to warm the engine with prolonged idling. Years ago this was the accepted practice, but with today's engines and increased knowledge of the mechanics of engine wear and fuel economy, most engineers are in agreement that prolonged idling of a cold engine will only do harm."

..."cold idling engines won't warm as fast, lubricate as efficiently, or burn gasoline as completely as one that is in gear and moving.."

..."a cursory check of a number of new car owner's manuals will show that most manufacturers are in agreement with the above.."

..."on a very cold day, a car may never reach total efficiency, as parts such as transmission, wheel bearings, axles, and tires never have a chance to become fully warm."

..."much of the enriched fuel mixture is never burned and some finds it way into the oil, where it has a diluting effect and upsets of the protective qualities of the lubricant."

..."forget what your dad and grandad told you about warming up an engine-you are dealing with a new breed of engine, fuels, and oils."

Now I'm capable of taking the above with a grain of salt and realize that successful writers prosper when they hypothesize, BUT, did you ever pick up a copy of the Jerry Kuhnhausen's "Bible" on the 1911?  One thing that struck me was that he says that you should never dry-fire your .45!  And that's advice I've never followed (never will either)

I have to disagree with some of these statements.  Idling is bad.
The reason cars needed to be warmed up in the past is that they had carbs, which don't like to work right when the engine is cold.  It was a tradeoff you had to make to be able to actually drive the car.

A cold start isn't good for an engine, but there's really no way around it without a dry sump oil system and a pre-oiler, which is really pointless on a street car.

The real killer is not the mechanical wear, but the chemical.  As the engine slowly heats up, the burning fuel and oil (oil, because the tolerences are bigger in a cold engine), cause corrosive by-products to condense on the cylinder walls.  This slowly etches the walls, causing problems later.  You want to start driving as soon as the oil is through the engine (give it 30 seconds), but don't get on the gas hard until you get the temp gauge into the operating range.

Of course, if you don't intend to hold onto it long, it doesn't matter  (i.e. sell it after a few years, or a leased vehicle).  But if you intend to hold onto it, it's easier and more cost effective not to trash the engine.

Rob

Huh?  You're kidding right?

RBAD,

That low class community you live in won’t let you put a garage on your trailer?

If you want, give me a set of keys and I'll warm it up on my way to work.

Mike

P.S. We should have a North Jersey winter pistol shoot.

Of course he is kidding.  Diesels can idle for hours on a pint of diesel fuel.  Notice all those 18 wheelers idleing @ the rest areas.