gopherhock

For those that have the remote start feature - how far does the remote work from the vehicle? I'm having problems finding information on this feature. Is this something where you can start your car from a fairly good distance? Or is it fairly limited, which kind of defeats the purpose IMHO.

rxets

If my memory is correct, the answer is about "30-feet away". You can check Lexus' RX10 How-to videos.



Btw, you can use it to warm up the engine and heat/cool the cabin. The engine will be shut-off when you're ready to drive and you have to re-start it again, am I right?

gopherhock

Wow.. 30'. Not sure what good that will be in most cases. Start it up for 10 seconds before you get to the vehicle only to have it shut off when you enter. Perhaps there will be a way to extend that.

Living in Minnesota this feature would be really nice. My car is usually more like 200 yards from the office, and I'm not starting a vehicle remotely while its in the garage at home (even with the door open). Useless in both cases.

Was hoping not to have to buy aftermarket.

Btmnk21

iTrader: (1)

yeah pretty useless, after paying the guy was like "oh remote start, it's pretty useless" as he handed me the key fobs for the first time.....nice huh.

I can use it if I park real close to work/walk to the window/pray.

tfischer

I, and many of my friends, park their cars (or their second cars) in the driveway or in carports very close to the house, and the remote start is wonderful for warming up the car on cold mornings. So even though it may not be useful in all circumstances, for some it is a highly desirable feature.

Hal56

its also nice to start a few minutes early in warm climates to get the air conditioner going! (Not that AZ is warm--closer to very hot)

RXTexas

I work on the 4th floor of a professional building and I park right below my office. I have not problem remote starting my RX on a daily basis. If had to guess, I'm 75' feet from my car with a direct line of sight. Great for TX summer! When I get to my RX, it's nice a cool.

ladybugRX

mine doesn't seem to want to start until i'm 3 seconds from the car...hoping to be able to start it from my office in the heat and cold! Any way we can extend the range on that???

Seems to be something with how it saves batteries and won't recognize your car with your fob until you're within that radius to start the car. Anyone else noticed that?

snow001

+1 We park ours outside on the driveway at home and going home from work I'm on the 4th floor so I can start the car from my office window which is more than 30 feet away in the parking lot. Very usefull feature for those cold days here in the Northeast.

tazdevl

Just had remote start installed yesterday and I'm going to demand either the dealer or Lexus refunds my money. Already complained to Lexus.

Every other car... remote start means... you start the car remotely and drive away. This damn thing shuts off as soon as I touch the door handle and have to restart the car before you can drive off. Complete waste of money!

RX469

iTrader: (1)

Ensure your batteries are not low then try this: put the remote up to your chin then try again and see what range you get. Good luck.

b67

I negotiated the starter as part of the car price, I was also disapointed. Car starter is supposed to shut off when you step on the brake and the key is not in the car - not when you touch the car.

At least you can warm/cool the car - but the shutoff is totally stupid - probable the decision was made by the same person who thought of the Nav in motion lock - like when it lets you go 5 levels into the menu while driving but won't let you click on the final settting

tazdevl

I'd recommend anyone disappointed with this feature call Lexus Customer Service, complain and ask for your money back.

I did call customer service and they were under the impression the remote starter worked the way all the other remote starters work.

Look at the description on the Lexus site... it needs to be modified because it is misleading in its current state.

np0531

I live in Miami in the squelching heat.

When I got it the guy at the dealership said I'd never use it, and that it was only for people in cold weather.

I use mine all the time. Very useful for getting into the car without it being a sauna. My range is at least 30 feet since I start it from inside my home.

I also use it a lot for when I need to leave the car for around 10 minutes, like going to CVS or something, I turn on the remote start as I am walking away from the car so that when I get back the cabin/seat isn't hot.

The remote start will start the car but keep the doors locked, and it also won't move the drivers chair, so that when you get back to the car and put your hand on the handle the car will automatically shut off and you can get into the car without worrying that your seat/steering wheel has to reset first.

tazdevl

I'm not saying it's completely useless, I live in Phoenix, but it is not a true remote starter based on the way that every other remote starter out there works and the description on the Lexus website and in the Lexus RX brochure is misleading. You can drive off without the car shutting off in every other car I've come across, that's the standard and that's what set my expections.