lexluva

I just got a viper smartstart vss4000 installed in my car (1997 es 300) yesterday at best buy. I only need the remote start as I have no issues with the stock alarm. The system can be controlled by a key fob that comes with the viper remote start or through an app on the phone.

My problem is when I ever press the remote start button the car starts and panic goes off so i have to unlock then lock the car so the panic alarm goes off and the car stays locked. I took it to the installer today and he was saying that since I am using the stock alarm that is normal. He looked at it and did some stuff and said to try it out again. I tried it while I was there and it worked fine. Tonight I tried it multiple times and it happened again. Does anyone else have/had the same issue? Is there a way to fix this.

Also since the es has the auto lights, at night time when i remote start the car the lights come on which is not an issue. My problem is if i remote start and the car turns off after its warm up the lights stay on, do these turn off at all? from my experience the only time the headlights goes off after the engine is turned off is by opening the door. Thank you!

dcapo

I think u need a bypass immobilizer to bypass the stock alarm, from what I've been told. I haven't been able to finish installing my remote starter yet, since its still so cold outside. I was just planning to reinstall a better one, that I just bought recently. Hopefully, it'll get warmer and I'll let u know. How come u didn't complain to the people who installed it (Best Buy)?

lexluva

Is bypass immobilizer when you put a key in the car? If that's the case my es is a 1997 and the key doesn't have a chip, I believe they started putting the chips in 1998. If not the case will this stop the alarm from going off when i remote start it?

I did complain yesterday and at first he told me that stock alarms tend to do that on Lexus. After I talked to him more then he did some stuff and told me to try it out, it worked at that time. I was in hurry so I only tried it once then later on in the evening it was still doing the same thing. I am going back today its either fixed or coming out of the car. You would think he would know as I asked if he worked on lexus before and told me yes.

xsh0tya

He might not have lied to you on working a lexus.... He may have worked on a lexus for sat radio, deck or speaker install. Might have been a newer lexus.... the big question is if he had ever done that generation lexus and that model for that type of install. The stock alarm often does add problems to after market remote starters because if you dont get the keyless entry option added (which is more money) than the factory you need to do just as you have which is unlock and lock after starting it up. Did they explain that to you at time of purchase or install? If not I would complain and ask them to add it for free, if they did you might get screwed a little because technically the install was performed and it was successful, so you can return the product but often you cant return the install, but best buy is pretty nice about things.

hzt30

I believe by auto lights you mean DRL. This is because when you remote start the car it turns on the ignition which in turn, turns on the lights. After the remote starter times out and since the door in not opened the lights stay on.

01ES300NYC

iTrader: (2)

if you dont want the DRL's to turn on when you remote start put the e-brake on when you park. if you turn on the car with the e-brake on your DRL's wont come on

lexluva

Thanks for all the replies. I didn't get a chance to take it to best buy so the issue is still the same. As for the lights I meant low beams. My car doesn't have the drl's as it was an option in 1997 and the original owner didn't get it. I leave my headlights set to auto so when I remote start my car and its dark out after the car turns off the lights stay on.

xsh0tya

By the way what kind of phone do you have?

lexluva

I have the HTC Evo.

dcapo

a bypass immobilizer is add-on to the remote starter module/stock alarm for the ones that do require it. its used just to bypass your stock alarm/security and tell it not to go off while u r using the remote start. i read somewhere that u might need to disarm your alarm 1st then be able to use your remote starter. but idk since i havent got to it yet to mess with it. but it seems logical?

http://www.squidoo.com/transponder-bypass

01ES300NYC

iTrader: (2)

i have a remote start in my 01, i dont have that problem... did they use the right bypass?

xsh0tya

I have the viper 5901 alarm/remote starter combo in my '99. I used a bypass module and have had no problem with my factory alarm but I also had tilt sensor, keyless entry, starter kill, rear defrost and trunk release added on... but looking to get either the smart start or android starter but I have a blackberry.... in Canada and not sure if the the firmware is up to par yet(def wasnt at time of purchase). I know its a little better for the Iphone right now but still not perfect.... Another issue I had with the whole phone versus the 2 way lcd remote was that the added range was a great in theory but not so much actuallyity(I may have made this word up) since my phone has a hard time getting signal at my work anyways.


They did if your car starts up and stays on yes they did.

lexluva

Are you using the stock alarm or aftermarket alarm in combination with the remote start?

I am not sure what the android starter is but the smartstart works on iphone, android and blackberry as of now. I have an android phone and downloaded the app from the market. The actual hardware and software is up to par from my experience so far but there is always a room for improvement. There are alot of bad reviews online and I believe its because the installers are not doing a good job in finishing the set up. For example when I got it the installer told me that everything was set up and I should be receiving an email within an hour to finish the activation of the system then I should be able to start from the phone. Three hours passed by and nothing so i called the viper tech support and asked them what was going on. They said that an account was set up under my name but the installer never activated a unit. So I was like ok can we do it now. They asked me for a code that belongs to the smartstart unit in the car. Luckily I took out all the papers out of the box so I can read about it. I found the code on one of the papers and gave it to the tech. He activated it and I got an email so we hung up. I had to input some information online to finish the activation. I finished and tried to start it from the phone and nothing works. I waited a little and still nothing. So I called best buy and talked to the guy who installed the unit, told him that he never activated and now that I have it activated the system is not working at all then he told me the code on the paper inside the box belonged to another smartstart unit that didn't work and he swapped it and the right code for the unit installed in my car is on the actual box it self. So I told him to activate it, he tried then told me that he was locked out and the only people that could activate it is tech support. So I called tech support again and told them the whole situation and they activated the unit using the right code. It worked this time but as mentioned above the alarm goes off when the car is locked and I start it. All of this could have been avoided if the installer activated the unit.

As for the software and hardware there is room for improvement. For example when I start the car I get a notification that the unit inside the car received the command and that's it. Same goes with all the other functions such as lock, unlock, panic, trunk I just get a notification that unit recieved the command. It would be nice if the unit inside the car and the app on the phone were communicating at all times such as if i start the car there would be a timer on the app to let me know how long its been running, if doors are unlocked for the app to let me know the doors are open and vise versa if locked. Basically provide all the info a two way remote provides, which I am pretty sure will come in the future.

But definitely got have internet on your phone whether its wifi or regular service. I am not sure about Canada but in the US the smartstart unit inside the car uses AT&T. So where ever AT&T has service the unit would work. For me it works well because a regular remote starter wouldn't work from my office to the parking. I hope this helps!

vdubill

Im not sure why the alarm is going off. I have a '98 and the factory alarm would not go off unless i reached in the car and unlocked the door and opened it, without disarming it first.

as far as the auto lights staying on.
I installed a RS system on my car and it came with a wire that was live for half a second after the remote start shut off. I ran this wire to the wire in the car that triggers the door open light on the dash when the door is open, thus tricking the car into thinking the door was opened. Now the lights shut off when the RS shuts off.

lexluva

I have the alarm going off problem fixed by a guy that installs car starters for the lexus dealer. One of the wires had to be switched and everything works perfect now.