tsmith167

Does anyone know of a solution to extend the range of the remote starter. I know some aftermarker systems work up to a mile a way. I need to extend my factory remote starter to about 1200.00 ft.

DaRacerz

Keep in mind that the aftermarket systems which claim 1 mile range are Spread-Spectrum based, which I don't believe is used by Toyota/Lexus on their remotes. So the best you might be able to achieve with an alternate antenna may be about 1/4 mile range. But I do not know enough about the factory system to know if that is easily doable or not.

jclem

While I'm not going to go along with "complete waste of money", I sure do question the Lexus implimentation. This is my first car with remote start and it was snowing is morning in MA, so I thought. "Great, I'll get to use the remote". It started fine (from about 10' away), but sure enough, when I walked to the car and touched the handle, the car shut off. Several of my wife's cars have had RS and they all worked the way you would expect--start the car, walk up, get it, drive off. What the hell was Lexus thinking??

Yes, it'll work fine to warm up the car(or cool it off, for you southerners), but this shut down is just stupid. Maybe they can come up with a fix--for free!!!
I agree, those of us with RS should complain to Lexus.

tazdevl

If you get a marketing survey from Lexus via email... be sure to put it on there too. I just did.

rftuck

By Lexus making you restart the car, it does protect that someone could not jump in your car before you get to it and steal the car.

tazdevl

Car isn't unlocked until you get to it and touch the handle. Unless they pull you out of the car and take your keys, which they could do regardless, not sure what the distinction is.

If anything you're more at risk because you have to restart the car. What if you're trying to get away from someone?

PatsSoxfan

I have to wholeheartedly agree that Lexus made a stupid mistake with this remote start. Not only should it not shut off when one touches the door handle, but one should be able to start it from several hundred feet away.

MMakoto

hmm... i agree with the touch handle-shut off and restart procedure, it somewhat defeats the purpose of the RS and it is definitely not fuel economical. my last car with an aftermarket RS worked fine w/o the need to restart. does it seem likely a software update would fix this? i haven't received my purchase survey yet, but i'll sure to put a sticky note on it and complain about this.

Brewdog

Hey did anyone actually get thier $$ back from Lexus on this issue? Just wondering if it is worth the time to try?? A RS that works form 30' is certainly worthless to most of us who park our beautiful RXs' at the BACK of the mall lots so we dont get dings.....30' allows no time to warm up/cool down before you get in.

kitlz

I'm not sure I would want to use the remote start in a mall parking lot. But it will definitely come in handy when the car is in the driveway. Which reminds me I have to check laws around here. It is illegal in some towns to leave a car running in the driveway unattended.

DaRacerz

I feel your pain fellas, but in all honesty, its not Lexus's fault. They never claimed 1-mile range. Most RS don't have long range either (30-100ft) range unless you specifically buy a 2-way 1/4 or 1 Mile range units, which I will admit, are becoming common today.

As for the RS off when Door Opened is actually noted on Lexus's website. I forgot where, but it was hidden deep. I've only managed to stumble upon it once. I can see your complaint there, but is it really that big of an inconvenience?

On a side note, has anyone investigated where the antenna is mounted for the remote and see if its possible to place it higher up to get better range?

But would be nice to see Lexus pick up its step as the Leading brand and bring 2-way RS systems into the picture with 1-mile range options. Feel like Lexus is starting to ride on its success now.

tfischer

One mile?? Why in the world would you ever want to start your car from a mile away? My understanding is that the RS is generally used to warm up a car which is parked outside in the cold weather, something I would like to have but I get along pretty well without it.
The RX is not a drone, although having it pull out of the parking lot by itself to meet me at the stadium gate sounds pretty good.

tazdevl

I called and complained. Got a $450 service credit that I can use at my dealer for anything. My advice, call consumer affairs, complain, take the money but let them know they need to also issue a fix for this.

Completely agree. Why would a remote start work further away than the remote itself? Only way that would work is if it was cellular or the transmitter was the size of a walkie talkie or you used the remote once and then had to replace the battery due to the juice required to send a signal a mile away. People's expectations are completely out of whack.

Second point... that's a recent addition to the website, probably because I complained that the information on the Lexus site was patently inaccurate and misleading, especially given the precedence established by every other car with a RS on the market.

Brewdog

Here is my promised update. I spoke to Lexus Technician today when I was in: he had found the antenna on a '10 RX and tried to add extensions to it to see if it helped with distance. Never mind he could not have DRIVEN the car with the extension, he just wanted to see if that helped. It did not. The issue is the weak battery in the remote itself. Not fixable unless Lexus steps up to issue a more powerful remote, something I bet could be done. As for this not being Lexus fault, that is incorrect IMO. They charged us for a dud feature and any remote attempt (pardon the pun) at a real user test would have told them such a short range was un-acceptable to a vast majority of customers. Lets hope they issue a more powerful remote so we dont have to go to aftermarket and pay (again) for the RS feature.

tazdevl

Mine works about 100 feet away from the car. No need for me to have greater range. Just need the car from having to be restarted.