Don it shouldn't do that. The idea of remote start is to have your heat or ac running when needed.

 

It is obvious he knows nothing about cars much less about a class 8 truck... Cummins, Cat or Detroit diesel engines just to name a few. You don't spend over $100,000.00 for a truck with a engine that can cost up to $20,000.00 to rebuild and on a zero degree day, start it up and drive off without a warm up. Try claiming warranty on an engine that comes in with scored liners and bent rods.

 

Dirving a cold car in the winter will hurt your car more than letting it idle a few minutes (it only runs about 10 minutes before shutting off) to warm up, so remote start is good for the winter.

 

Unless its really cold out, you only need to warm up your engine by idling it less than a minute, just enough to get some good oil flow. Your engine will warm up a lot quicker by driving it than just idling. The absolute best thing to have on a cold day is a block heater.

Having said that, most people let their engines idle (via remote start or the old fashioned way) a good 5 minutes on a cold day so the windshield clears ups. Around here, even if you scrape the windshield, it'll fog up on the inside or ice up on the outside unless the defog is nice and warm.

Idling doesn't hurt an engine at all nor does driving a car if you haven't "warmed" it up. If you look in many car manuals, they even suggest 30 seconds of idling on a cold day is enough.

 

No one is talking about rigs or diesel engines. Isn't this a HHR forum and a post about remote starters in HHR's?

His point is absolutely true. Excessive idling (of a car) is a bad idea for many reasons....

 

I think you need to go back and read it again.

His quote: "This is particularly true of Diesel truck engines..."

 

The funny thing is 9 out of 10 times you have no choice but to let your car cold idle for a few minutes anyways (which is in no means excessive) simply because you need the windshield cleared otherwise you can't see anything, which means you'll run into some object you can't see which will damage your car much more than any amount of cold idling will

Personally, I usually wait until the RPMs come down to there normal idle range before I drive off regardless of the outside temperature which is usually 30 seconds to 1 minute in colder temperatures.

I'd love to have a remote starter for the winter months just so I can start the car, walk downstairs and have clear windshield so I can drive off without sitting in -20 degree weather lol.

 

Thanks Randy...you rock!! I have a regular key fob....just found out I have remote start thanks to your instructions!
J.R.

 

yada yada no remote start if the CEL/SES light is on.

No remote start if your 4 way hazards are flashing.. go try it.....

 

GM put remote start in the car and warranty it for 5 years or 100,000 miles.

I'm sure if there was a problem starting the car and letting it idle, they would Not offer it as an option.

I USE it on my Black Panel with the AC left on full blast and will USE it all winter with the Heater/Defroster on full blast.

I Enjoy getting into my pre cooled in the warm months and pre heated in the cold months car.

And I don't care how many extra pennies it costs in fuel to do so.