ALE81

iTrader: (1)

My car hvac is in Auto mode 99% of the time. When I remote start, it heats or cools to whatever temperature I have it set to. Since we usually have four distinct seasons where I live, I find the remote start very useful.
I agree though, if you have a relatively flat seasonal temperature curve or you don't park very far away maybe it wouldn't be useful. I'm still in my free first year but will probably renew it.

GetKinetic

$24 a month isnt a bad deal for the cold months here.

Davew77

We all have our priorities and level of income. $24 per month is nothing to me, especially for the convenience of stepping into a comfortable car.

If you think that a remote start is useless in a hot climate then you've really never lived in one. When it's 100 degrees with 90% humidity your car will be an oven if you get into it without letting it run for a few minutes first. Having your legs burnt from hot leather while wearing shorts is no fun either. I'd pay $100 per month for that convenience... But if I were having trouble making my car payments then I would be trying to save money anywhere I could. I can live without remote start, I choose not to.

Htony

For ~200.00, you can have after market remote starter installed and after that you don't need to pay 24.00 every month. I always install remote starter and/or alarm myself when I get new car. Could removed one from old car and reinstall it but it is kinda hassle. People looking for a used car would like one with remote starter. Very handy in cold or hot weather.

Davew77

There are pros and cons with that. If you install one that uses the cellular service then you still have a monthly fee. I had a friend that looked into it. If you don't use the cellular service then you have a limited range. That range may or may not be an issue for some people though. It would be an issue for me as my car is about a mile from my location right now and I'm behind a few walls with a metal structure and metal walls. I barely get cellular service in the building. I doubt that any type of radio frequency transmitter would work in my circumstance.

I'm also curious how well an aftermarket remote starter would work with Lexus electronics.

Htony

You can use smart phone with 3rd party remote starter. You know what? My dealer suggested me to have after market one installed because Lexus one has poor range.
In Canada we don't have Enform but we can have 3rd party one installed which will wok with smart phone. Legally you can install it and it does not affect warranty. Just make sure good experienced guy do the job. Preferably one with MECP designation. Good installation will last life time of the car. My wife has one installed on here car in 2007 and she still drives the car and yet I have to replace a battery for the fob. 10 year old car has little over 40K miles on the clock, LOL! Really don't worry about getting one installed. I did it with Acura MDX, BMW X5, M3, 328i AWD Lexus RX450h, Honda CRV, Subaru WRX, Impreza, etc... Never had any problem.

Htony

Also you don't need to plug in for block heater. For an example you program the remote to start engine when temp. dips to xx degs. and run for 5 - 10 -15 mins.

Htony

You are speaking for yourself. I live up North. In cold winter remote starter is very handy. Later cars remote all does that. Opening door kills the engine. Also in summer you can get into cool car with remote starter, you also control defroster. There are so many options you can set as want you can even turn the dome light on or off, make the parking light flash or not or how many times it flashes., etc., etc.

Htony

Over 1000.00? Is it gold plated or what is so special about them? For that money I can install remote on 4 cars, not counting BMW(which needs special module, still does not cost a grand)

mjeds

not with the Lexus remote start which is what I am talking about and what this thread is about.

the Lexus remote start has 2 options, Start and Off. there is no configuration settings that allow you to pre-program any feature..

My 2005 Chrysler 300c, My 2010 Avalanche, and my 2012 Camaro:
Remote start determined the interior temp automatically regardless of the last setting the HVAC was on and enabled the AC or Heat based on that, NO NEED to remember to put the AC on before exiting. It also turned on the heated seats if below 32° (and the Avalanche turned on the cooled seats if interior was above 100°) and the Radio and interior controls and dash lights remained OFF, during remote start. It DID NOT kill the motor when you opened the door, you simply got in, inserted and turned the key and it flipped into full run mode and you drove off.


my 2015 Lexus RCF.
Remote start, HVAC does whatever the last setting was when you turned off the car, if you turned it off with heat running at 80° and remote start it when it is 100° outside, it is going to blow hot air into a hot car, not cool it.
dash lights up and radio starts to play at last volume when you turned the car off.
heated/cooled seats do not engage based on Temperature
car shuts off when you open door.

The Lexus system is useless if you don't remember to change all your settings when you exit the car. For an $80K vehicle that is 10 years newer and $40K more than my 300c; the remote features should be much more advanced, but the fact is, it is actually lower tech than a 10 year old POS Chrysler.

Davew77

Yes, I know that. The one you are referring too probably uses wifi or Bluetooth. They charge a monthly fee to use remote starters over the cellular network. If you know of one that uses the cellular network that doesn't charge a monthly fee then share it here. I have a friend that would love to have that. Every one he looked at charged a monthly fee and it was more than Lexus charges.

Edit: I forgot to add that the monthly service fee from Lexus also includes GPS location services for roadside assistance via safety connect. If you use AAA then you only need to push the button or wreck your car. If you are unconscious from a wreck emergency services will still be dispatched and it may save your life regardless of whether or not you use AAA though. That alone is worth a small monthly fee to me. What's your life worth to you? I may wipe out at 175 mph on a country road and not be capable of calling for help.

I agree with you about the lack of options. But why would your car blow hot air when set to 80 degrees when it's 100 degrees outside? I pretty much leave mine at 70 degrees year round and it heats when the temp is below 70 and cools when the temp is over 70...

I'm guessing that you turn off the A/C via the button. I never turn off the A/C. Air conditioning doesn't mean cold air. It means conditioned air. It removes the humidity from the air no matter what temperature it's running at. So I don't turn it off, ever. When I'm home in Florida it's pretty much needed every day anyway.

Oh, and my seats stay on whatever they were set on when I turned off the car.

mjeds

I don't drive with the AC on 90% of the time, yes I turn it off via the button, I also don't use the auto feature. I typically drive with the windows and sunroof open, so the HVAC controls are normally either off, or set on manual with the fan on low. So yes if I exit the car at night with the temp set to 80° and the fan on 2-3, remote starting the car the next day will blow hot air.

I typically drive with the windows down and the sunroof open unless it is raining, and I work odd shifts, for example last night I left work at 10pm, it was 58° out, so I drove home with the heat on 80° set to the "defrost" setting, windows down, sunroof open.. yes I know, sounds odd, but I have owned several convertibles and I drive with the top down and heat on high in the dead of winter, that is just me, I like the fresh air, but want some warm heat hitting my face and hands. Unless it is snowing or raining my windows and sunroof are open on the RCF.

But today I didn't go into work until mid-day, and it was above 80° outside. If I had remote started my car with the settings left from last night, the car would have been blowing hot air into the cabin, yes I have verified this, which is why I don't use the remote start on the RCF, I just used the express down feature from the remote and roll the windows down and open the sunroof to let the hot air escape as I approach the vehicle.

In my previous vehicles the setting I exited the car with didn't matter even if it was not on AUTO, the remote start would set it to AUTO and blow in air colder or hotter than the vehicle interior air based on the outside air temp sent to the computer by the Air Temp Sensor. Both the Chrysler and the GM vehicles have an interior and exterior temp sensors for this purpose. In the GMs it is a little circular vent above the driver in the headliner, in the Chrysler it is a square vent mounted in the over head console. Near as I can tell the Lexus does not have any interior temp sensor, only an exterior.

and yes the seats stay on whatever you left them on, so again in my example from last night I would have entered a hot car with the heated seats on this afternoon, not that it actually matters because the heated seats in the RCF suck anyway and never actually warm up.

Htony

Ditto, I leave it in auto mode most of time. I couldn't care less with factory remote on any car. If they were good there wouldn't be any after market remotes. Some remote has options user can pick and choose 4 pages long. More and more of them are becoming firmware based making it easier to install and more reliable.

Davew77

Fair enough. I guess I just happen to use the HVAC system in a way that compliments the remote start. I usually don't need to adjust anything. But on days when I know it's going to be really cold at night when I leave work I will go ahead and turn on the heated seats and raise the temp to 80 for when I remote start it later. It's not a big deal to me, and if I happen to forget to be proactive then the car is still going to be somewhat comfortable when I get to it since it's usually at 70 anyway. More options via the app would be nice though.

I hardly ever roll the windows down while driving as I don't want to mess up my hair.

But I do open the moonroof often if the outside temps are between 65 and 80. I still leave the HVAC system the way it is.

I also put a "little tree" car freshener on top of the cabin air filter. It really works well without having it hanging from the mirror.

mjeds

enform remote iPhone app had an update today, but I don't see any new features, other than I could no longer use my account name, it now requires the email address attached to your Lexus Drivers account. The interface is slightly different, but nothing added that I can see. I'm guessing they simply rewrote it to accommodate the new file system apple decided to launch with 10.3

I got a notice as well that there will be another update next month to enable touchID for the app on iphones.

oh yeah and I don't have any hair to mess up. not bald, but I maintain my Jarhead (zero sides, 1") flat top from my USMC days