closenough

Considering the remote starter accessory for the GX (and the RX too.) There may be different or better options but I'm only interested in the OEM solution.

Wondering if anyone out there has any experience with purchasing the unit from Sewell, with the great CL discount, and then having it installed. By a Lexus dealer? By a Toyota dealer? Somewhere else?

Thanks,

Joe

patgilm

I'll be honest with you, the OEM one is worthless. The range isn't all that great and the way you use it by pushing the lock button twice and holding on the third try doesn't always work. A friend of mine had an OEM one installed by the dealer on his LX470 and after a day of using it told them to take it off and replace it with an aftermarket one and he is much happier but the new one requires an extra fob which I don't like. He told me not to get the OEM one but I didn't listen and got it anyway thinking how bad can it be. Well he was right, it is pretty much worthless to me. Obviously this is just my opinion and others may like it.

nsaldanh

I have the OEM on my 2012 GX premium. It came with the car. It's a crapshoot to get it to start and the engine promptly shuts down as soon as you open a door.

MickeyS

I have the OEM and it works fine for me. It hasn't failed and it starts the truck when I need it to start it. I like the fact that is integrated with the remote so I don't have to carry an extra remote. I don't need to have a big range since I use it mostly in the mornings when it's below zero here in NY right on the driveway.

Craig B

What I don't like, as soon as you open the door, the engine shuts off...

rdr7600

I have the one that came on my 2012 GX and it works great! Does what I need it to do, starts the GX. As far as I can tell, most vehicles do turn off once the door is opened. My husband's King Ranch is the same way, no biggie to me.

SaniDel

The GX 460 electronic key ... let's call it the fob ... seems to work reliably and securely to lock and unlock the vehicle and to prevent the vehicle from being started unless at least one fob is inside the vehicle. In addition, a running vehicle alerts whenever all fobs have left the vehicle. We have adapted to their use so thoroughly that we don't think about unlocking, starting, stopping or locking ... unless one of us get's out of pattern!

Why couldn't the remote start be integrated with the fob so that a vehicle that was remotely started will recognize when a door is opened whether the 'opener' has a fob on their person, just the way it will recognize a fob to unlock the doors and to start the vehicle? Starting a vehicle on a cold winter morning, only to have the engine stall when the door is opened seems absurd, especially if it immediately needs to be restarted ... that's the START part of remote start!

The remote start as currently offered appears to be a kludge that wasn't well thought-out and certainly isn't well integrated with the fob. It reminds me of the first in-vehicle telephones that Lexus offered ... a $1,200 "base station" that had to be uninstalled and moved to a different vehicle at trade-in. Bluetooth obviated that and something better than what Lexus offers now should obviate their current remote start option.
Regards,

SaniDel


P.S. On the few times that I am aware of cars being remotely started I noticed no stall ... the owners started their vehicles as they approached, opened the door and drove off. Perhaps the stall-and-restart was mandated by Lexus' lawyers, which after-market systems avoid?

rdr7600

The reason I love the remote start is for when I want to heat my GX or cool my GX prior to driving it. The remote start does those things, so having to push a button when I am inside to restart is not a big deal (to me). Also, Lexus is not the only vehicle that does this. I've noticed it when with friends driving different car manufacturers other than a Lexus.

patgilm

That is the only reason I use it as well. I don't care that it turns off because I am just trying to heat or cool the inside but I have had it not start when I have done the sequence with the fob and it seems to be hit or miss. Since I don't trust it, I now have to go to one of the windows in the house and look outside while I am doing it to make sure it worked. Just kind of annoying when I see aftermarket starters work so much better. I just don't like the thought of another fob on my keychain so I will just suck it up.

closenough

My hope was to avoid another "tastes great/less filling" discussion about the Lexus remote starter and focus on experiences of buying an accessory from an online dealer that requires professional installation and then having a local professional (lexus dealer, or toyota dealer, or electronics dealer) install it.

Anyone?

rdr7600

I agree! Don't use it enough to warrant an extra fob, for sure!!!

canyoninn

Check out Auto Image-they have 5 stores in North and South Jersey. My sister in Freehold recommended their installations. I saw their YouTube video, and noticed they showed a 2010 Camry model they did an install on. Took my 2011 GS350 in to the Auto Image in Brick, NJ, and have been very pleased with its dependability...

ktm317

go aftermarket. viper or another brand. the factory only runs for a few minutes, you can not get out of the car and leave it running, and the range is the worst out there. of you are more than 100 ft away it is useless.

T4Fun

the oem starter plain useless. why would you shut it off after opening door? understandly so a thief doesnt take, but then it defeats whole purpose

Khandfw

iTrader: (1)

i use to have one in my old IS300, no issues what so ever and it only shut off when I applied the brakes if the key wasn't inserted