lesz

I would agree that the $499 I paid for the remote starter was a waste of money. The remote starter (and a couple of other items) are options that I have only because they happened to be on the vehicle that was otherwise equipped the way I wanted it to be.

Still, there is something that bothers me about having to pay for options when I buy the vehicle and then having to continue paying monthly or annually to be able to use them. It would bother me less to pay a bit more up front and not have to buy those monthly or annual subscriptions. As I said in another post, between the Sirius XM, Sirius Nav Weather, Sirius Nav Traffic, Lexus Safety Connect, Lexus Destination Concierge service, RES+, etc., a Lexus owner could be paying around $500 a year to use features of the vehicle that he/she had to pay for at the time of the vehicle purchase. I don't mind paying for features when I buy the vehicle, or I don't mind paying monthly subscriptions to use features, but I do have a problem with paying for features at the time of the initial purchase and again to be able to use them.

Mike728

Yeah, mine was already on the car, too. Never would have wasted my money otherwise.

I had SmartStart in my last car, which is an aftermarket app controlled remote starter, similar to RES+. It cost around $50/yr and did less than the RES+. $72/yr would be worth it to me. As far as the other stuff you mentioned goes, no way. Nav weather and traffic are a joke. I have no use for the concierge service, or safety connect. I paid for another year of XM, because I always have had it. It sounds so bad in this car that I barely use it, though. Probably won't make the mistake of doing that again next year.

Amy19355

The after market remote start in my honda works from 50' away or more, depending on the 'line of sight' which has proven to see through walls at my office on a direct line, or don a long row of cars at the parking lot. I have beamed the signal from the fourth floor window down to the lot below, and i have even caught it in passing while riding the airport bus to the economy lot.

This is what i want for my lexus.

ElliotB

"Open your mouth? I don't think so..."

It is a little silly BUT it does work. This works because it concentrates and directs the signal being transmitted. It is basically the opposite effect of what a satellite dish does.

Not sure why Lexus didn't give the remotes a more reasonable range. I have not measured how far I can be from the car using this method but I estimate close to 100'.

lesz

As I said in a previous post, I've tested my Lexus remote starter at a measured distance of 100 feet, and it still worked. So, are you saying that what you want from Lexus is for the remote starter to only work up to a distance of 50 feet?


While I certainly would not describe the Lexus remote engine starter as a "long range" starter, it is an exaggeration to say that you need to be "right next to the car" or to say that "it only works if you are 20 feet from the car". Also, I wonder what effect the condition of the fob's batteries has on the working range of the starter.

Mike728

Then mine must be defective. Mine will not work until I'm about 50' away. Maybe it depends what side of the car is facing you. Did you aim it at your chin and open your mouth? Like this -->

lesz

What I did was to turn my back to the car, stick the remote up my butt, and bend over before pressing the buttons.

Seriously, the car was parked in the garage when I did the test, and the rear of the car was facing me. I chose a distance of 100 feet because that is as far away as I could go without having to climb over a fence. Also, there were no obstructions between me and vehicle. I'm sure that there are a number of factors that can have an effect on the working range.

FastTags

yep, mine does same thing. Just called my dealer to see if I can get $ back or work something else out. This $500 unit is unacceptable.