Posted: 10/30/2006 4:49:08 AM EDT
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Those of you that have them, do you ever have any problems? Does the steering column stay locked? I have to park my truck outside and sometimes it gets really frosted in the mornings, it would be nice if the windshield was clear by the time I got to the truck. About how much does it cost to get one installed? (I am not a DIY person when it comes to stuff like this) Thanks |
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I have had one on my truck for better than 5 years now. Only problem I have ever had was the battary in the remote taking a dump. Yes the steering column stays locked. I think I paid about $500 for my system and instalation. I have keyless entry, remote start, and alarm on mine. |
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I responded to a vehicle accident late one winter night a few years ago. A guy was about to leave his girlfriend's house late one winter night. He figured he'd use the remote starter to warm up the car before he went outside. When he finally left her house his car was gone. It seemed that he left the vehicle in gear. When he started the car remotely, the car drove off. The car was found AROUND the corner pressed up to a nearby neighbor's house. The car somehow went between two chainlink fence posts and under the top pole. The car had horrible scratches and dents. The house had minor damage. The home owner was in her seventies and did not know what happened. She didn't even know it happened, I woke her up and informed her. I wish I could post the pictures. I'll try to find my report and post it. |
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Yeah, its only a good idea if its an automatic. Also go ahead and get a decent one and have it professionally installed. decent means buy an alarm system that has it as an option and spend about $300 -$500. YES the $75 ones work, but you'll pay another $35 for the proper relay or resistor for a newer vehicle and the same another $100 to get it installed. The better units, will have additional features, such as starting in the case of sensing a power drain, a timer incase you accidentally start it and dont notice, some can even be set to start if the temperature reaches set points. 1/4 mile remote range, and a response to the remote to let you know if its running or not. Yes the wheel lock works, and if you push the brake pedal without putting the key in it dies, that way no one can drive off. Cheap ones have limited range and poor remote life. |
I called a local Car Mobile Electronics store (not a Big Box) and he said it would take about 3 hours and be $200. Now the wife wants one too. Great $400 gone now, same think happened when I bought my Bluetooth headset too. Come to think of it that is how she ended up with her AR too.
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Sounds like a DUI and good yarn to me |
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I have had one on my truck for 6yrs. Same battery for the remote too! I got it for a X-mas gift. 1)Steering stays locked 2)Will not work if the key is in ignition (meaning--if you leave your key in it turned off, and then try and use the remote) But that could be due to the make and mdl of my truck "Ford" and it has a micro chip in the key. 3)Mine will shut off, if you press on the brake peddle if the key is not put in the ignition and turned to the first position. 4)Shuts off if left running more that 15mins 5)Can be turned off the same way it was turned on All in all, I love it. And the damn remote has the longest range I have ever seen for a car remote. |
| I got one installed on my car for a Christmas present back in 2000, when the car was new. It was professionally installed by a place here in town and was the top of the line available at the time. It came with the keyless entry remotes too, and the only thing I've ever had to do is replace the battery in it. IIRC, it cost about $400. I absolutely love the thing, it works great. I have no idea what brand or anything mine is, but second and third those who said to get one installed by a place who knows what they're doing. After I got mine, a couple of my coworkers were jealous and went and bought the DIY kits, and had nothing but problems with them. |
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I forgot to mention that my friend is an engineer for a heavy construction company, they got hired by an insurance company to lift a 2000 Dodge Ram 3500 Dually out of a pool. it was owned by a spanish speaking fellow of illegal origin who had, You guessed it, just installed a Remote start and pushed the button to start it late one night. It went down the street and through a hedge and a fence and straight into the pool. He had Lots of Cool pictures from that, and there were some obvious extra aluminum containers floating in the pool.  Pretty sweet how they fabricated a frame that attached to the wheel lugs and rims and lifted it out.
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Hahaha....yeah they really arent recommended for manuals. Some of them when wired up, have to be wired to the Ebrake for them to work... I had a Crimestopper on my old car, the RS worked great however the alarm liked to go off by itself at random times. 
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I'd do that on my car, but: 1. it doesn't get that cold here, only occasionally would it come in handy. 2. my car is a standard, and I commonly leave it in gear (especially after it rolled out of a parking space with the parking brake set... so I got in the habit of leaving it in gear while parked) Neat, but not worth it in my situtation. |
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I have a Manual 2004 Tacoma and I had an AstroStart 2 way system put on my truck this past summer. Now that it is winter I don't know how I ever went without it. I can be a little over 1/2 mile away and it will still start. It was $759.99 installed. Alaska is typically more expensive than the lower 48...so you might be able to get it for cheaper. YMMV |
Cuz then you just locked your keys in the car with it running.  And in some places, it's illegal to let your car idle with the keys in it. 
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Meh. It's not good to let the motor (diesel owners need not comment) idle that long. You need to warm the motor up quickly, and the best way to do that is to...drive it. My winter morning ritual: Scrape ice/snow off windshield, brush excess snow off vehicle, start vehicle, wait about 30 seconds, drive it. You need to bring the engine up to operating temperature quickly. When I'm filthy stinking rich someday, I'll park my car on a chassis dyno in my heated garage.
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I have a spare set of keys to unlock the door  And I am reasonably certain I can legally have my car running in my own driveway of my house. |
The remote starter I have does not require a key in it to start it, and nothing else in the car is working, like the radio or wipers or anything. If you get in and try to put it in gear without the key, it just shuts off the engine. Lot harder for someone to steal it. And it will only run for 15 minutes, then shut itself off. So if you forget or get sidetracked by the phone or your kid or something, your car is not out there idling away forever. |
...but not if you live in Maryland. |
Here in the interior of Alaska, metal has a tenancy to act more like glass at -50. I let mine warm up for 1/2 hour before I even attempt to move it. I've always been taught that it's better to let it warm up slowly. This gives the different metals time to expand with each other, rather than expand at a different rate. |
And in teh next town over from us in Kansas, they enacted it a few years ago. Your car cant be idling in your driveway with no one watching it....invites carjackers more easily... And I believe most insurance companies "dont like it" when the keys are in it and its stolen.
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i will second the two way astrostart remote. excellent range, start verification, can be set to start every couple hours at cold temps (great for diesels) valet function (remove keys without shutting engine off) with leather seats i tend to use it more in the summer. mine was only around 500 installed, however if you want to install your own there is a dealer who frequents the diesel place.com |
The way both of mine are setup is it will start but wont turn the accesorys on. You have to put the ke in and turn it to run (which will unlock the wheel) Mine will shut off if you push the brake, it shuts off. Or you can push the start button to shut it off. On most newer cars/truck you have to push the brake to take it out of park so you have to have the key (or pick the lock ) to be able to move it. It always get me because I always push the brake before I turn the key so it always shuts off.
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