Goldenpony

Remote start with a manual trans-really bad idea.
If something bad CAN happen, it will, just a matter of time.

ronemca

Welcome to the 21st century! In fact, the tech exists to SAFELY put a remstart in a MT vehicle. BUT...


You must leave it running and in neutral before hopping out and arming the system. Only then will it shut down and arm. If you DIS-arm and/or open the door etc., you have to reset the system by stepping through the same sequence. BUT...


It remains unclear whether there is a BYPASS MODULE in existence for PTS cars (with MT) That's the rub.

Norm Peterson

Until somebody finds a way to install a mechanical parking sprag in their MT, with a reliable interlock between it and the starting system, it will not be nearly as foolproof - or as painless to work with - as remote start is with an automatic.


Norm

DRAGUL

I remember that. He was lucky no one was run over, hurt or killed. Just not worth it.

ronemca

I completely agree that -- if it is even slightly possible to start a car remotely when it's in gear -- that is not acceptable. Danger - injury - damage - death. No argument. BUT...


If the electronics have disabled the cars capability to access the starter unless certain conditions are met (trans in 'N' and park brake on) then it is safe.


Okay - sure - there are always going to be those luddites that say: "Yeah - but what if the electronics fail?!" or "Would you trust your daughter's life to a bit of software?" Well...


We do it every day. We blaze along on the highway at 70, 80, 100 mph with total confidence in the car. And by extension we are placing our lives -- and the lives of everyone around us -- in the hands of the electronics. And the software. And the engineers that assembled those two parts of the system. So what's the difference? When compared to that [high speed] scenario...the likelihood of injury/death from a lurching car -- coupled with the probability of it even happening in the first place -- is very, very slight.


This is just an opinion - I am not discounting the views or opinions of others. But I will offer a prediction: Remote start capability will very soon become completely ho-hum. It will be offered as a routine option -- either OE or AM (or both) -- with no more concern than auto-closing windows.

Norm Peterson

Transmission in neutral and P-brake set is not reliable enough with respect to other consequences. Like parking on a slope, which includes many parking garages.

That's why I'd insist on a park sprag, the same sort of thing that automatics have had to have for decades now. Doesn't need the P-brake to be set other than for making it physically easier to un-set the sprag when you're ready to go.


Not that I can ever see myself using remote start myself, regardless of the transmission type fitted to the car. If I ever get so lazy or so feeble that I'd be unwilling to walk out to my car and start it myself, or so unwilling to deal briefly with cabin temperatures too hot or too cold for ideal comfort - perhaps I should no longer be driving in the first place.


Norm

ronemca

Understood, Norm. It is very much a different drummer sort of thing. In my part of the world we get some serious snowfalls, which of course includes some serious ice build-ups on the windshield and fogging of the interior glass surfaces. Getting the car to start three or four minutes before actually hopping in makes a huge difference to the amount of time that must pass before it is safe to move. The engine is much closer to the temp where it can deliver warm air to the defroster (or perhaps it is already doing so) which makes the scraping/chipping of ice faster & easier.


If the car is in a parking garage it would be less likely to require pre-heating (or scraping or chipping, for that matter). I didn't have remstart in any of my previous vehicles...and simply dealt with the consequences. But since I've had it in my current vehicle for the past three years or so I have to say I like it VERY much.


A strong case can always be made for either scenario (to have or not to have remstart). A similar argument could be made for remote garage door openers; there are always gonna be some people who think it's silly (or unnecessarily costly, or a sign of laziness or who knows what) just like there are people who think it's wonderfully convenient, and absolutely worth the price. Certainly the risk factor is vastly different between those two conveniences, but I stand by my prediction that the car makers (and/or the A/M engineers) will soon find a foolproof way to make remstart available/commonplace in M/T vehicles.