Hey yall. This will be my first winter with my car and now that it's in dipping into the low 30s at night and in the morning this is becoming more relevant to me. I have an aftermarket remote starter that i use to heat up my car in the AM. As long as I leave the button for my heated seat depressed and the heat/front windshield defroster on when I turn off the car, then it will turn on the same way. However, I can't seem to figure out how to make sure my rear window and side mirror defrosters turn back on when I remote start. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

You can't.

You'll have to physically press the "rear-window/side-mirror defroster" button or input a voice command, after started up the car.

 

They make attachments that can control your defroster when paired with your remote start system...Viper does, anyway.

edit - Actually I just went to Viper's site and I don't see an accessory to control your defroster...my mistake.

 

If rear window defroster were to turn on upon ignition, it would suck up a lot of battery juice, from already weak OEM battery. If you are warming up the car for 5 minutes or so anyways, warm air should be enough to defrost windows?

I have remote starter on my TL, but rarely use it, other than -30C winter days. Not into burning gas/money when a few minutes of gentle driving will warm up the car faster.

 

TL's aren't the greatest for remote start because of our keyless entry system. Both viper and compustar allow the feature of rear defrost to go on with the remote start through tapping a wire however I would not recommend it as it's a feature that turns on upon remote starting your car all the time and again, it's hard on your battery and alternator.

The best thing to do is defrost it when you're in your car and/or driving. Also, I'm not 100% certain but your heated seat won't actually operate unless you're sitting on the seat. It's to prevent the elements from overheating. At least new cars have that feature.