Honestly there just aren't that many times I will ever need to do that...maybe if you lock your keys in the truck...maybe but otherwise there just doesn't seem a reason for it.

 

the smart start option?

you may not, but plenty of people do. say your at a downtown party. have to park a long ways from your truck well outside the range of a key fob with buildings around. its 0F outside. it would be nice to have it all toasty by the time you get to the truck right? living in a northern climate without a remote start...i dont know how people do it. all my trucks have one and have since i started driving.

i will agree it is a bit over kill with the smart start, i just use my 1 mile range key fob as i'm normally not far enough from the truck to loose contact. plus the alarm has stopped a few break in attempts

 

Yeah, the 1 mile range and 2-way confirmation that the truck has started is nice when you are at an event (hockey or football game etc) and have to park a long way from the stadium. without the 2-way, you end up pressing the start button every couple minutes on your walk "just in case it didn't start". Great for skiing too, since those parking lots are often huge.

I've had both, and I think 2-way is THE key feature of a starter.

 

I totally understand the starting your vehicle when it is cold (I have been thinking at it more and more everyday and it has only been down to 32 here...lol)...I was just talking about the unlock your car from another state etc. the only reason I see needing to do that is if the keys are locked in the car.

 

I just shopped for all this... The Viper smartstart with phone controls was like $600 and $50/year there after... I chose to pay $160 so I can usemy current key fobs to remote start truck.... maybe the $600 unit someday but I gotta pay for the truck now...

 

I had the smart start on my 08 F-150 and it was great, I used to have to park 5 blocks from work and the mile range they advertise for the remotes is best case, I can tell you it doesn't work within 2 blocks if there is enough brick and concrete between you, so it was really nice to start it from my phone before I left work so it'd be nice and warm after walking those 5 blocks in the dead of winter. With that said, there are some niceties to the factory systems that is difficult to accomplish with aftermarket systems, even though I had mine so wired in it'd turn on my but warmer at the right temps. For example the factory one doesn't turn on the accessories, so when it times out your radio isn't sitting their blaring away, it turns on the butt warmers and coolers at given temps for both passenger and driver, it sets the climate controls auto-magically depending on temps and it will also turn on the defrosters…. But the range sucks, there is no two way and my pet peeve… there is no takeover mechanism to keep the truck running so you can take the key out and run into the store, as is you have to shut it off and then restart with the remote, stupid… Whereas the aftermarket systems will do that and have great range.

They have been coming out with aftermarket systems that integrate with the factory remote start, so for example you can have that smart start cell phone feature with a factory system, but last I checked they couldn’t do it with the factory systems on the F-150’s

 

i get what you are saying. the main reason is like the other poster. having to park far away..ect BUT you can start it from another state..its just that extra cool factor.

the one thing i really like about my vipers is if the battery gets down to a set limit it will start the truck to charge the battery as to not come out to a dead battery! best idea ever. perfect for going on vacation and leaving the truck out in the cold.

yes i did spend $700 installed for my alarm/remote start. but its soooooo worth it.

 

Great info here.... gonna follow the advice

I cancelled and returned the Best Buy parts and install... Ordered the 100 series Plug N Play from dealer... Should have it friday afternoon... a Little more $$ but no Wires will be cut...

Now I just need a thread to show me how to do it and program the new keys... will search here and on youTube to see if I can find any helpful stuff

 

the one thing i really like about my vipers is if the battery gets down to a set limit it will start the truck to charge the battery as to not come out to a dead battery! best idea ever. perfect for going on vacation and leaving the truck out in the cold.


Can you override that low battery feature? Just thinking about a situation where you leave the vehicle in a garage.

 

yes i'm sure there is a way(never looked into it), i dont worry about it since my garage is detached so if it starts in there its no big deal. infact i normally let it run 5-10mins in the garage before leaving in the morning.

 

My truck never sees a garage. I personallly wouldn't be with out it !! (Mine is a factory FORD unit).

 

from a security aspect, it is one step closer to handing someone the e-keys to your vehicle allowing them just to drive off with it.

 

I believe with a properly set up remote start that the key is not in the ignition so column is locked, and I am being told the FORD systems are designed to stall out if someone tried to get in and put it in gear...

Will find out Friday...

 

any remote start will die when you hit the brake(so long as its hooked up correctly), plus like stated above the steering wheel is locked. think about how much easier it is if you start it with one key and just lock it with it running to warm up. boom break the window trucks gone! happends ALL the time here. its actually illegal here to leave your car/truck running with the keys in it unattended. but a remote start is legal because the ca/truck cant be driven.

 

Well think about this.....the systems are desined by engineers, not IT security experts. The vulnerability of these and any "common use" wireless system is very great, in SoCal, even the law enforcement community still does PSA's during the holidays to "not lock your car using a remote". I'm sure this is posted on you-tube somewhere, but a few years ago 60 minutes did a show on the security of the wireless systems and fraud....they met with a gent, who with the 60 minutes staff, sat parked in their BMW near an intersection in downtown Los Angeles financial district, with their laptop/notebook they downloaded over 200,000 secured financial data transactions on individuals....now I can guantee you, the systems the financials use are much more advanced and maintained than that of any car company. If you can "read" the lock-down" code, you now know the "unlock" code....meaning I can gain complete access to any IT-based security system.

To put this in even greater perspective, you are relying on a piece of engineered equipment, built in china (circuit boards) and costing around $15 plus shipping.......what price do you place on your vehicle.