sjkforever

since it's getting colder and colder by the day...i thought i should get a remote starter.....but i dont wanna give up my factory remote (only because i want the function where you could roll down all your windows....) so i was thinking is there something i could put on that comes with smallest remote possible so i could carry both my factory and my remote starter?? or has anyone got them yet and recommend particular one or website? thanx for the help guys.....

Acuracy

I and a few others here have remote start with our factory remote. I had mine dealer installed, cant remember how much but it was about 200 if im not mistaken.

Travis

jmbnova

How can you have a remote starter installed when the little identifier chip in the key NOT being in the car? How does it work?

mickey3c

It just wastes gas if you make a habit of starting the car well in advance of driving it... The engine is warm but the tranny is not. So there can be more wear on the tranny when people think that its ok to drive like you would with a warm engine.

Best way is to start the car and when oil pressure is up start driving the car and allow both the engine and tranny to warm up at the same time. No fast starts and stop and no full throttle, etc. In NE we had some sub zero weather in the past two winters. Those were the only times when I let the car idle for about 30+ seconds before driving it slowly away.

aznt1217

Well mine is in the stock keyfob, they use DEI's Valet Remote start system. It starts by inputting a combo of buttons and the car remains locked and will shut off if somebody tries to move it without the key. Additionally, you still do need the chip in the car in order to drive off because you put the key in the ignition regardless.

As to what Mickey3c said remote start is the same exact thing as starting a car... so I don't see how it would waste more gas, kill the tranny, etc. if you don't leave it on for a prolonged period of time. Just let it warm up the usual time interval as you would with a key.

sjkforever

so i guess i could just go to the acura dealer to get the remote starter?

zax123

As for the chip in key question... there are boxes that LEARN the code the chip emits and in turn emits the same code to the ECU at remote start time. Works very well. I installed my own remote starter and that part of it was a breeze.

Dumont

Makes sense if you car is garaged but if you have to scrape off ice you want to warm the car up (naturally including defrost the windshield and the rear window and mirrors) for 15 to 30 minutes depending on how cold it is. The stuff basically falls off and there is less risk of scratching the window with a scraper while it's ice still frozen solid.

A remote starter: $200-300

To be able to turn the car on and only come out when it's warm and only take 2 minutes to clear the ice: priceless

I sent an email to my Acura dealer asking about installing one since I'd rather they be responsible in case something gets f'd up rather than a third party, but no reply (what's new ) so I guess I'll call or stop by one day and ask.

Dumont

tweets24

I just recently put a remote starter in my 05 TL but i didnt go through acura i got it done at circuit city. i just carry around both remotes for the winter, no big deal. i was happy i didnt have to give up my acura one. costs about $200 and is well worth it.

oppnyc

From what I know when you keep your OEM keyfob from Acura and want to have remote start you can, but you will loose the memmory for the second driver.
So another word you become only one driver and if your wife wants to adjust seats she has to do by hands... No good..
Please comment and correct me if Iwas wrong.

broken_tweety

I talked about that with my dealer, he did not recommend it (you would think they want you to put everything in your car, so they can make more money). His reason was that it would damage your engine.

sjkforever

REALLY?????? damn....that's not good.....not good...hmmmm....

Dennis in NH

I have 6MT and it cost about $554 (and about 4-5 hours work). I pressed unlock and then pressed it again on the starter remote and and windows will go down as they do using my OEM remote.

My only complaint is that you have to press two buttons to get the trunk open. I do it now with the side of my thumb.

My dealer (Sunnyside Acura, Nashua, NH) recommended an installer down the road. I've used them before for my '04 MDX as recommened by the dealer.

Remote start is great; two-way is cool (e.g., the car confirms your command and shows a graphic that the car is running).

Dennis

Pizza4Everyone

I fell in love with my remote starter. I'm currently using DEI Viper series with paging remote. It's awesome. Someone tries to break in or tow your car, it will page you up to quarter mile range. So far, it paged me once since the installation. My brother kicked my front wheel because I stood him outside for long time lol. It won't false alarm from loud music anymore unless your car windows feel the impact from inside; zero false alarm occurred to me. The best thing is you can keep all the factory alarm features while using Viper at the same time. So you will have double protections. I bought the DEI alarm directly from Acura dealer and had them installed it. One of the supervisor put in 'words'
that if anything occurs in cause of that alarm, the dealer is fully responsible...which is very good. My Injen air-intake was installed with full warranty provided as well. Acura is just awesome!

tweets24

i havent used my second acura remote since ive gotten the car. i will try that out 2nite tho and see if what you are saying is true. So far everything else still works exactly the same. Had one in my old Honda also for 5 years and never a problem.

nfnsquared

Sounds like what I'm looking for....

I assume that you have to remember to leave the car out of gear?

Also, I assume it has a safety switch that disables the remote start if the car is left in gear? Thanks

Dennis in NH

In order to "arm" the remote starter, you must go through a "safety sequence".

It goes like this: I'm driving along, I stop, I activate the parking brake (which activates the remote starter), I take the car out of gear, I pull the key out of the ignition (the car remains running). I then get out of the car (and all passengers) and we all shut our doors; the last door to shut, turns the car off and locks the doors. At this point, the remote starter is active and you can remote start.

If in this state, if you open a door, you invalidate the safety sequence and remote start will be impossible (the idea is that if you open the door, you could've put the car in gear, etc. creating an unsafe situation).

Note that you can still open the trunk and not invalidate the safety sequence.

The installer can set it so that you have to activate the parking brake twice to activate the remote starter (this way, non-users of the remote starter won't freak out when the car is still running after removing the key).

You can deactivate the remote starter (when the key is out and car is running) by pressing on the foot brake.

IMPORTANT: if you perform the safety sequence and leave your key on the seat and then close the last door, the starter is armed, and the doors lock (with your keys inside)! Care must be taken so that this does not happen.

For me, if someone wants to drive my car, I will tell them to put on the hand brake after the key is removed so that the starter will not activate. Or just don't activate the hand brake (i.e., leave car in gear when parking).

The installer also puts a kill switch under the dash which I nicely mounted with some velcro so I can easily deactivate the thing -- for a service visit, etc.

I hope this helps.

Dennis

zax123

Hey Dennis,

I'm just curious, what brand and model of remote starter do you have? I'm looking for an alternative to the Compustar I have installed now.

Thanks!

Robert

Dennis in NH

I have the Astrostart 4204U; here's the manual -- you have to page through for
the English version. I did not get the "alarm option" installed (another
$200 -- no thanks).

One thing about the Astrostart 4204U (perhaps with other remote starters as
well) ... I've learned not to "mix" usage of the OEM remote and the starter remote
because the remote starter can get confused. E.g., after arming the remote
starter (and it locked the doors), don't unlock with the OEM remote because the
remote starter will think it needs to keep relocking the doors (I ended up disabling
the TL's auto-lock/unlock feature to help this issue). If the remote starter is
confused like this, I will unlock the car with the remote starter and it will be fine
again.

Dennis



http://www.astroflex.com/modules/AxialRealisation/img_repository/files/documents/193-127-310-10%20%20(Fr-An%202205U-4204U-5204U).pdf

zax123

Thanks Dennis! I'll consider it.

Acuracy

When u remote start your car your seats wont go to any memory posiition, i mean if u use mem 1 key then it wont go to mem 1 seating. It will stay the way it was set. so when u get into the car u just press either 1 or 2. But when u dont use the remote start to start the car everything works as its supposed to. Hope i helped out.

Travis

zax123

I wired up my remote start/alarm to put the seats and mirrors in memory position one when I unlock the doors. Was very easy. Used a trigger wire from the remote start unit and found the wire in the driver's door.

nfnsquared

Does anyone know anything about the Ultra Start brand of remote starters? They have a 2-way remote start/alarm for only $200 (not installed). It sounds very nice, but not sure about the company

Ultra Start 4500

TranTL

I am surpised nobody has mentioned the CompuStar yet. The 2-Way Remote Start/Alarm paging system works wonders! I had it in my Prelude which is sold.

Its Kind of like the Viper as mentioned above but way better. The CompuStar transmitter is a color screen remote that tells you when your car is started, tampered with, if you left your doors and trunk opened and way more.

My friend is a Authorized CompuStar installer and seller. He installed it in his Lexus as a Demo, it did the basic arm/disarm, lock/unlock, trunk release. He added a few extras to the transmitter such as, roll down windows and close, open sunroof and close and turn on/off his Xenons. If someone knows what they are doing, alot of things can be done with the transmitter.

The other nice feature about it is that it has a 2nd Car mode. If he and she both had the compustar in both cars, 1 transmitter can operate both cars if programmed.

Another cool thing is if you have a Turbo installed, the System has a built in Turbo Timer!

Going from the CompuStar to nothing just SUCKS! I traded the prelude in for a 330i. The Electrical system in the Bmw's is just a big pain in the ass, so I didnt want to have it put in, which was a good idea because i traded it in for my TL.

As for the Chip in the key, the installer would have to put in a bypass which means you have to sacrifice a key to be put in the Bypass box. My friend shaved off the teeth on the keys just in case. The Box transmit the chip signal to the car to be able to start. I know a lot of you are thinking, the Bypass just gives a car thief an easier way to steal your car. Bottom Line, If someone really wants your car that Bad, It will be Taken Alarm or no Alarm.

The CompuStar is a bit Spendy but worth every Penny IMO.

WWW.COMPUSTAR.COM

TranTL

SORRY ALL! I did'nt read all the way thru. Do you not like your CompuStar? Which Model do you have?

jeeper31

I was told that I couldn't use the factory remote becasue when the car is started it is disabled. They said there is no way to get into the car unless you turn ot off.

zax123

I have the top of the line CompuStar 2WSS-AS. I installed it myself without much difficulty. I had to tap into each door sense wire independently and diode isolate them, that was pretty much the trickiest part of the install. I have it wired up to do window roll-up and roll-down as well as move the seat and mirrors into the proper positions when I disarm. My problem is that sometimes, I'll press unlock on the remote and the car won't unlock even though I'm standing right next to the car and the little antenna symbol pops on and off. So something si weird there. The same thing happen with remote start. I just find the system a little flaky. I've installed Clifford Solaris' in two other manual transmission cars and they were AWESOME. This weekend, I'm installing a Clifford Matrix RSX 3.5 in my friend's new Accord and I have a feeling I'll like it more. Unfortunately, Clifford no longer makes units that are compatible with manual transmission.

The only high-end alternative to the Compustar for MT is Viper, but I'm not convinced I like it yet... we'll see.

I agree, though, that Compustar has tons of neat features, and I'd like to be able to keep them all. The Clifford Matrix RSX 3.5 does too. I might just find another RSX and put in some kind of failsafe if the car is in gear. We'll see...

Pizza4Everyone

that's a bald face lie.......lol who told you that? it gives you the option to bi-pass your factory alarm though. you can still keep all the factory alarm functions.

jeeper31

It think what he meant was that when you start the car remotely the factory fobs will not unloock the doors. I tried to unlock the doors with the factory remote when it was running and it didn't work.

nfnsquared

Zax,

Any idea about quality/reliability of the Ultra Start brand?
Ultra Start Remote Start/Alarm

excited

I'm getting a 06 TSX which has many new features similar to the TL such as memory seats and bluetooth. Through the dealership I was planning to get a Compustar like remote. They do not require the valet key. The installer told me I would lose the memory seat function. Just so I understand, if you don't use the remote starter to start the car and open the car with the Acura key fob and start the car with the Acura key, that the seat memory will work?

Do you lose anything else?

I guess with the Acura key fob you can set many things like the interior lights, how the doors lock etc. Do you still retain these functions?

Thanks. My new car should arrive soon and I am a little fearful of adding the remote.



Excited

AAP

I have an Audiovox 996A ... Alarm w/ Remote Start + the Telematics (Call the car to start it) ... Since I have an alarm ... I cannot use the factory remotes as they do not disarm the Audiovox.

What you loose: Power Window Roll Down, Memory Seats from remote ....

What you gain: Time (less time wasted waiting for car to warm up, less time cleaning off snow), Cool 'WOW' factor ...

Work Arounds I have found:
Window Roll Down: None w/o spending $$$ on a window module
Memory Seats ... wire up AUX channels to seats .. (I did not have this done, cost $60 in labor ... not worth it to me since I drive 95% of the time ... so it is just a matter of hitting 1 button).

Let me know if you want any details on the system I got ... the best part is the Telematics ... I dial a 800-number ... enter my pin ... select a function (unlock, lock, start car...etc) and it is done via the Pager networks ... no service charge per month either ... jsut the module cost + labor ... (It helps me becuase I need to park 3/4 of a mile away for work + cannot see the car, and even the 2-way remote in my system cannot reach the car ... but I can call and reach .. and assume it works ...)

BrandonClaps

not unlocking or locking when your right next to it is a common problem.....i swapped the antenna and remote with the FM series to cure that problem...not as long of range, but works when i need it to

TheNip73

Has anyone had any issues with rattles, etc. after install of the remote starter? How much disassembly of the dash, if any, is needed? I'm not a big fan of letting my car warm up, but it's been darn cold in MN and on those really cold days the autostart might be nice.

Anyone have any input?

AAP

As far as how much of the car was taken apart ... for my install ... the lower dash panel and driver's door panel were all that were taken off + the fuse box cover ...

All of the wires that they needed were available there ...

TheNip73

Thanks for the info. I might have a new Xmas gift idea...

Danoli

my last TL with remote start worked that way but you should also note that the oem key fob become useless after you use the remote start feature. need the key to unlock the door after 30secs. yours do the same thing?

Danoli

ohh come on. you cant drop a bomb like that and not give us the details.
specs?
pics?
parts list?
pricing?

this mod could be just what Im looking for

BrandonClaps

welcome to compustar's crappy technology... i had the same thing. I swapped my antenna and remote for the FM one which works 100% of the time. Wasn't worth it having to walk away from my car and freezing to get it to disarm.

edit: didn't know i already responded to that lol