8 ms·
Remote starter. They are hack jobs to install. 435 MHz is the frequency the remote uses to start the car.
by AmVess 4y ago
Remote starter. They are hack jobs to install. 435 MHz is the frequency the remote uses to start the car.
- GekkePrutser 4y agoWhat is the usecase for a remote starter? I don't really understand why someone would want this. Could even be dangerous if it's left in gear.
- carom 4y agoMost people in the US do not drive manuals. You can get them in manuals but you have to hack some stuff, and yea, it will stall your car out if you start it in gear. In the US they are largely for convenience so you can heat or cool your car before you go out.
- GekkePrutser 4y agoAh I forgot about that. All my own cars were manuals. And I've lived mostly in countries with pretty mild climates so there wasn't any need for this. Though even in the Netherlands this could be handy in the middle of winter or summer. Beats scraping the windows.
- hirvi74 4y agoNo manual I have ever driven will even start without the clutch engaged, so I assume a remote starter can bypass that somehow? I always leave my manual car in gear in the opposite the direction the car would be likely to roll if the emergency brake ever failed. (If the car would roll forward, put it in reverse. If it would roll backwards put it in 1st).
- avidiax 4y agoThere's nothing preventing the engine from turning backwards. Engage the highest gear if you are worried your handbrake will give out.
- WalterBright 4y agoPut it in 1st to stop the car from moving. Put it in 4th to push start it.
- gsich 4y agoSubaru Forester and XV do that. No gear in - car starts without clutch.
- WalterBright 4y agoMine will.
- dilyevsky 4y agoYou haven’t driven a lot of manuals then. My friend’s dad once got his hyundai up the porch starting it with a gear in.
- BayAreaEscapee 4y agoI think that modern cars have electronics that keep you from starting the car without the clutch pressed. Cars I owned in the 80s and 90s would engage the starter when you turned the keys. Cars since then won't engage the starter unless the clutch is in.
- mtrower 4y agoEven my 80s and 90s cars have a clutch switch (though the 87 is Japanese, can't speak for American cars in that decade). No pedal, no start.
- eurasiantiger 4y agoIt’s not necessarily a good thing. Imagine stalling on the train tracks and being unable to start the engine. You could still move the car using the starter motor, but not if it refuses to with the clutch engaged.
- dilyevsky 4y agoMy 2004 audi a4 def didn’t have any switch like that but yeah seems like they started installing it everywhere some time in the last 10-15 years
- eurasiantiger 4y agoJust to clarify for less automobile oriented people: The clutch is engaged when the pedal is not being pressed, and disengages when pressed. Starting a manual car in gear without the clutch pedal fully pressed leaves the power train connected to the motor, and so the car moves when the starter motor turns the engine.
- hirvi74 4y agoI am the GP of the comment, and that was my mistake. Thank you for the clarification because I did not know this. I meant, "the clutch pedal fully pressed" in my GP comment.
- ealexhudson 4y agoThere's plenty that do, and in fact UK driving test examiners would frequently slip a car into gear before the candidate makes their first start. If they hop the car, it's an automatic fail, before you even get out on the road.
- GekkePrutser 4y agoAll the cars I've owned in Europe (all manual) had no lock out whatsoever.. No need to press the clutch or brake for the starter too work. Having said that, when I still had a car I used to drive old cars. My newest car was a 2005 Volvo S40. But this was also perfectly capable of starting in gear and with the clutch engaged. My first car still had a choke :)
- hirvi74 4y agoAll of my vehicles were owned in the USA, and maybe that has something to do with it? Every model of car I have driven had this -- late 80s BMW, multiple Volkswagens, and a Jeep Wrangler. Hell, the John Deere farm equipment I grew up using (tractors, old lawn mowers, etc.) all had this too. > My first car still had a choke :) What car? Was it a Datsun by chance?
- nickthegreek 4y agoTo heat your car when it’s cold outside, prior to your entry.
- pixl97 4y agoAlso to cool your car when it's hot outside. Was 105F/40C today where I live. The parking lot will can significantly hotter than that in direct sun on tarmac surfaces.
- shotta 4y agoLiving in winter. Preheating the vehicle. (That’s what I use mine for, which is factory installed.)
- dahdum 4y agoCold weather primarily. You need the engine to warm up before driving and it’s much nicer to have the heater warm up the car and loosen ice on the windows. You can run outside and start the car then come back, as I did growing up in a cold region, but remote start is sooo much nicer.
- GekkePrutser 4y agoMakes sense yeah. Sometimes I'd do this manually but because I used a shared car park I'd need the spare key to do this safely with the main key in the ignition. I didn't consider this option. I haven't owned a car for many years and the last one was already pretty old :)
- sokoloff 4y agoThe one I installed tied into the brake light circuit, such that pressing on the brake would kill the remote starter’s completion of the “run” circuit. That’s a simple and fairly effective way to prevent a casual drive-off.
- mgbmtl 4y agoCars built in the last 15 years usually don't need to be warned up: https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/car-technology/a19086/warming-up-your-car-in-the-cold-just-harms-engine/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/car-technology/a19086/... But yeah, icy/foggy windows are a pain to clear. I live in Montreal, and when I had an ICE car, most days, it was fine to just de-icing the windows, then start the motor, and slowly roll out of the alley. Admittedly, most winter days, it's not that cold. Kind of drives me crazy, the smell and pollution from idling ICE cars :/
- AnimalMuppet 4y ago> Cars built in the last 15 years usually don't need to be warned up: They don't need to be warmed up for the engine. They still might need to be warmed up for the driver, though.
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- NikolaNovak 4y agoIt's hyper super duper useful in rough climates. Primarily when it's minus 40 outside and you have kids, it's nice to warm up the car slightly before entering it. If you get spoiled, you might then also remote start it when it's plus 40 outside and you want ac to at least start. Also note that "if it's left in gear" is virtually irrelevant in North America, fwiw - something like under 2 percent of cars here are manual. Vast majority of vehicles and models do not have it as an option.
- GekkePrutser 4y agoThanks also, I get it now. I used to do this manually sometimes in the Netherlands to warm up the ice to make it easier to scrape off. But it involved the spare key to relock it while running and also to set the heat to full blast. We never get minus 40 though and where I live now it doesn't even freeze :) And as we also have pretty tiny engines here, it takes a long time to heat up this way because first the cooling water needs to get warm which takes ages with the engine running stationary. So I only did this once in a while if it was really needed. My old Volvo did have an option to open all the windows with the remote though which was great to let the heat out in summer.
- oogali 4y agoAlmost every car I’ve recently owned and/or rented has this option: unlock the car, then hold down the unlock button to roll all the windows down (and in some models, additionally open the sunroof).
- tfigment 4y agoI hate this feature with all my heart. Ive never needed it or wanted it and can easily roll down my own windows. 4-5 times ive come back to my car and windows rolled down after shopping or working as i must have accidentally activated it.
- lodovic 4y agoSame for the remote trunk opener. I can't count how many times people rang my doorbell at night to alert my the trunk is open.
- LorenPechtel 4y agoI've looked at remote start systems. The specs always require an automatic transmission. The use case is simple: Today's high is 111F (44C), if the car is parked in the sun it's going to be a lot warmer than that inside. In those conditions we typically open the doors and wait a little bit before entering--using a remote start to turn the AC on a minute or two before getting in would be nice.
- forinti 4y agoWhat an interesting coincidence, I was just watching a video on how people keep their cars warm in Yakutia, and this is the sort of thing they use.
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