It sounds weird, even with after-market remote starters you usually have to either cut a cable (or similar) to explicitly tell the unit that it's an automatic c

It sounds weird, even with after-market remote starters you usually have to either cut a cable (or similar) to explicitly tell the unit that it's an automatic car or go through a procedure in manual transmission mode that's designed to prevent remote start while in gear (a usual one is the remote start turning the car off when the door is closed to ensure it's in neutral and only allowing remote start from that state).