I just put a deposit on a Prius V three. I'm waiting for it to arrive from another dealership. One option I would like is a remote starter. The salesman advised me that I would be better off having the dealership install an aftermarket unit than to get a Prius with the factory installed starter. He said that the aftermarket units are 1. less expensive; and 2. work properly from a much greater distance. I opted to have one installed after I get the car. 1. Any thoughts on the salesman's advice? 2. Any other helpful thoughts/comments/suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Here is another post( http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/62066-remote-start-toyota-vs-aftermarket.html) where it's discussed. I had an aftermarket model installed at the recommendation of the salesman. He said they have had a number of customers dissatisfied with the Toyota unit for the reasons you already mentioned.
My humble opinion is that a remote start on the V is meaningless. Go out and start your car on a cold day and note that your engine does not start....so what is the remote accomplishing? Aside from perhaps a heated seat, provided you turned that on before you shut it off the night before, is warming the battery worth $500? I almost had it installed myself but saw that the car was heating before I got out of my neighborhood so no go.
Actually, with the remote start, the engine does start immediately. As soon as you get in the car and push "Start", as you say the ICE doesn't start immediately but it does once you put it in either forward or reverse. In fact, even if you used the remote start, the engine will shut off until you put it in gear. Without the remote start, it takes several miles before you can feel any heat from the defroster. If you start it 5 minutes before leaving, it's warm within a mile. Our temperatures, even as of a couple of weeks ago, were -20F low and of -5F high. For my wife, she considered this a worthwhile expense on a car she plans on keeping a long time. At least for some times of the year. Others may find it useful to start the car cooling if it is miserably warm out. And others don't want to do anything that may lower their mileage.
Before I ordered my V I checked with a place that installed an aftermarket remote starter on one of my other cars and he told me that on the V I would need 2 fobs..which I didn't want. I opted for a factory installed unit instead which was one fob like my previous Prius had...it worked well.
The factory one is nice in that it is basically an extra ECU and a wire harness. No splicing or cutting any wires. I'm trying to install it myself, but am having difficulty programming it....
I had the Factory Remote installed by the Dealer for $500 and it works well. It uses the Factory Remote.
jzchen; Look at page 24 of this pdf for instructions on registering/programing remote starter. http://toyotapart.com/PT398-47091.pdf Note: Instructions are for Prius Gen III, but I hope it helps.
It's a shame that for the proper programming of the ERS it is necessary the Toyota mechanic's TIS Techstream computer to register the fob to the new ECM.
Wow, thanks you guys for the help! I installed the VIP security at the same time, but was only able to program the alarm. Thanks Chazz8. It will be interesting to see if there's a difference in the registration procedure. I'm really stumped because the hazzard lights do not blink at all, neither to tell me I was successful or unsuccessful during the procedure. They work fully otherwise, ie. with the remote buttons, alarm activation... I think mrbigh is right because the cheap eBay tool I have will not program the remote start. There is even a "Known Bug List" on the TIS website that lists Remote Start as one of them for Techstream Lite, and the Mongoose interface has been discontinued until the Pro version comes out. That Techstream is a whopping $7995. I can't do that. I'll update when I get the problem resolved. So I checked the instructions found by Chazz8 and the registration procedure is the same. My hazard lights do not blink at all, and it fails when Techstream and my MVCI tries to establish a communication link between the remote start ecu and certification ecu...
Two things I noted now that I got the dealer to program my remote start. The hazard lights blink a lot upon activation. They will blink for 20 seconds. Anyways, another annoying thing is that once you open a door, (or as the manual states "If any door is manually unlocked or via Smart Key"), it will shut off. For the warm weather I would most likely use this feature for then the car is getting warm again while I'm preparing to start off. The manual states that the range can be "up to 80 feet in an open space."
Don't forget you have leave the AC (or heat) running as you turn off the car to have it start running when you activate the remote start.
Sigh. After I put the car back together, I noticed that the remote starter doesn't work. It's currently at the dealer getting diagnosed!
Update. Dealer said they reprogrammed and it worked fine. I went to pick it up, and it didn't work. I suspected when I put it back together I did something. They were concerned because the selling dealer left an aftermarket alarm, which I didn't purchase, and didn't know that they left it there! They wanted me to get the aftermarket alarm removed because it might be conflicting with my Toyota one. Tonight I got a chance to take the door sill plate and kick panel off. I tried it and it started up. I put the kick panel back, and it wouldn't. I removed the passenger kick panel again and tried to make sure all the connections were secure and tidy up the wiring a little bit. I put back the kick panel and it started up, put back the door sill panel and it still started up! I drove it around to see if it would shake loose, and when I got back, it still starts! Yes, finally I'm at peace with the remote start gods. (I'm actually Roman Catholic so maybe I shouldn't really say that...) Still irritated though that it turns off as soon as you open a door. If I have a lot of things to put in the car it may be hot/cold again by the time I get in...
Trick that worked on my Ford Escape Hybrid for remote start was leave the heater controls on Auto/Defrost with warm temp. Typically "Defrost" forces the fan on and a high heat setting, assuming it's a cold day, which should force the Prius engine on and to defrost the windshield, the main reason for the remote start.
Personally I would like the remote AC like available for the standard Prius. No heat just cool. No start required, just needs a full battery.
That comes with the solar roof option but, even in this crazy hot weather, I find I don't use it at all. It pretty much ranks with the "fart button" as a useless option. If you are headed to the car it doesn't really have time to do anything. It wastes gas. Never used it for AC on the Escape hybrid. With defrost, if you have ice on the windshield in the AM at home, you can hit it five minutes before leaving for work and have clear windows, a big time saver on the morning the commute and adds to safety.
The A/C will turn on if you left it on before you left the car like Chazz8 mentions. When you open a door though it immediately turns off, which means you are getting cold/hot again while you are getting in.
