Remote Start

[omgwtfbbqcopter]

Has anybody added a remote start to their cars yet? I'd imagine it would be very difficult because of the kind of key our cars have. Opinions?

[Feyd]

I heard it wasn't possible because of the BMW vehicle disabling feature from the keys....

[jibaholic101]

if you have a manual....bad idea

[omgwtfbbqcopter]

I personally always park in neutral with the parking brake set. The parking brake on the 1er's works really well

[jibaholic101]

Originally Posted by omgwtfbbqcopter

I personally always park in neutral with the parking brake set. The parking brake on the 1er's works really well

bad idea to rely just on the parking brake.

i park in 1st with brake on an incline, if the surface is flat, just 1st

[Lester]

There is no way that can work. It is the equivalent of hot wiring a car. You need to have the key fob in the slot or on your person if you have Convenient Access.

[omgwtfbbqcopter]

I really wish BMW would make a remote start option. It's much appreciated for us who live in cold climates. I also don't have a long drive to work.. maybe 5 minutes at most, and i WILL NOT start my car and leave it running without me being there. Maybe I should just carry both keys on me so I can lock the doors while it's warming up.

[oneintheory]

Wear a coat.

Oh, and your parking brake won't always work well. Get in the habit of leaving it in gear. It WILL save you eventually.

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by oneintheory

Wear a coat.

Oh, and your parking brake won't always work well. Get in the habit of leaving it in gear. It WILL save you eventually.

And your motor will warm up much more quickly when driving than when idling.

Tom

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by oneintheory

Wear a coat.

Oh, and your parking brake won't always work well. Get in the habit of leaving it in gear. It WILL save you eventually.

If your parking brake doesn't work, you need to fix it.

There's no good reason for the brake to not hold the car, especially on relatively level ground. On steep inclines the parking brake is the BETTER way to stop the car from rolling because cylinders will leak down over time.

[john08135i]

Well ive heard liek on other cars wtih security keys you basically keep the key in the car and they move it to a hidden spot inside the dash...and then a basic auto start can be installed.

[Feyd]

i want to say that you can't lock the doors with the key inside if you have CA.

[Jay's128i]

Or you can do what I do. Get in, insert fob, Put foot on brake. push start. Push stop. remove key. Put foot on brake. push start again before opening door. Car starts. Open door. Close door. Lock car.

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by jeremyc74

If your parking brake doesn't work, you need to fix it.

There's no good reason for the brake to not hold the car, especially on relatively level ground. On steep inclines the parking brake is the BETTER way to stop the car from rolling because cylinders will leak down over time.

Definitely should get it fixed asap. But unless there's an indicator light or a fault code for parking brake then there's a chance you could find out the hard way that it doesn't work, ie park it on a hill and get out of the car only to see your baby start to roll away. So I'm pretty sure you want to put the parking brake up AND put it in gear (1st always unless you're parking downhill, in which case use reverse). Why risk it?

[jibaholic101]

Originally Posted by omgwtfbbqcopter

I really wish BMW would make a remote start option. It's much appreciated for us who live in cold climates. I also don't have a long drive to work.. maybe 5 minutes at most, and i WILL NOT start my car and leave it running without me being there. Maybe I should just carry both keys on me so I can lock the doors while it's warming up.

bad idea. idling is very bad for the engine for long times like that. if you want to get the heat going, you could turn the car on, let it sit for a minute, turn it off and then hit the rest button to allow heat and air flow

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by jibaholic101

bad idea. idling is very bad for the engine for long times like that. if you want to get the heat going, you could turn the car on, let it sit for a minute, turn it off and then hit the rest button to allow heat and air flow

The rest function only works after the car is warmed up. It's using residual engine heat to keep the interior warm. Running it for a minute won't do any good.

Also, it's really not going to hurt an engine to let it idle, even for extended periods.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

Definitely should get it fixed asap. But unless there's an indicator light or a fault code for parking brake then there's a chance you could find out the hard way that it doesn't work, ie park it on a hill and get out of the car only to see your baby start to roll away. So I'm pretty sure you want to put the parking brake up AND put it in gear (1st always unless you're parking downhill, in which case use reverse). Why risk it?

You can tell when an e-brake is worn out. I agree that it's a good idea to use both, but the Parking brake will do the job just fine...I mean....that's why it's called the Parking brake!


Besides, I'd be willing to bet that the majority of us aren't parking in anything more than a slight incline anyway.

[Lester]

Any car with a manual transmission should always be left in gear when parking. It should be in first gear if on level ground or any uphill grade, and should be left in reverse gear if parked on a downhill grade. You also need to turn the wheels towards the curb, or if there is no curb, in the direction to cause the car to go away from the road. Any other habit is dangerous and will eventually lead to your car being somewhere other than it was when you turned it off and parked it.

The parking brake is there to take the stress off of the transmission, but it is not a guarantee of stopping the car from moving. It is only a little drum brake, activated by a cable and could easily not work or not be set with enough force to be effective.

The owners manual says to leave the car in first or reverse (step 2 below). You will not find an owners manual for any car or any drivers training instruction manual that recommends leaving any car in neutral when being turned off. In some jurisdictions, you can get fined and found at fault if your car rolls and causes damage or injury due to being left in neutral.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by Lester

The parking brake is there to take the stress off of the transmission, but it is not a guarantee of stopping the car from moving. It is only a little drum brake, activated by a cable and could easily not work or not be set with enough force to be effective.

.

Under NO circumstances will a vehicle roll with a properly working parking brake. Drum brakes can be capable of MORE stopping force than disc brakes. That's why they're used on heavy applications like semi trucks. The fact that cars like ours use a seperate brake surface for the parking brake and the main rear brakes makes it nearly impossible that the pads will ever be worn to the point where they won't be effective in stopping the car, which is where this whole myth got started in the first place.

I'll say it one more time.....when parking on reasonably level ground, and car should NEVER move with the PARKING brake set. That's its whole purpose for being on the car and it WILL hold it.

There's nothing wrong with doing both, but there's no good reason why you can't leave a

[Lester]

Unless the cable or cable attachment were to break. Unless the adjustment is not set properly. Unless the person driving the car has a rotator cuff injury and can't actually engage the parking brake properly.

It all comes down to habits. If you have a habit of turning left across a double yellow line against three lanes of oncoming traffic each day going to work, then one day you are going to have a head on collision at that very spot.

If you have a habit of leaving your car parked in neutral, then one day you are going to find it in someones yard, or in a ditch. So why not develop safe habits, and do what common sense and the manual dictate? Park the car in gear.

[jeremyc74]

Originally Posted by Lester

Unless the cable or cable attachment were to break. Unless the adjustment is not set properly. Unless the person driving the car has a rotator cuff injury and can't actually engage the parking brake properly.

It all comes down to habits. If you have a habit of turning left across a double yellow line against three lanes of oncoming traffic each day going to work, then one day you are going to have a head on collision at that very spot.

If you have a habit of leaving your car parked in neutral, then one day you are going to find it in someones yard, or in a ditch. So why not develop safe habits, and do what common sense and the manual dictate? Park the car in gear.

As I said earlier, I'd be willing to be that a LOT of us park in areas where there's ZERO chance of the car rolling anywhere. I could park mine in neutral with no brake on and it would still be sitting right where it was when I get back to it.

You're trying to universally apply this notion you've got to everyone, and it just doesn't work that way. If you're parking on relatively level ground, there's NO GOOD REASON why you can't park the car with just the brake on so you can do a remote start system.

Obviously there are other reasons preventing remote starting of these cars, but for the majority of people, the fact that you have to leave it out of gear for the system to work isn't one of them.

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by Lester

Unless the cable or cable attachment were to break. Unless the adjustment is not set properly. Unless the person driving the car has a rotator cuff injury and can't actually engage the parking brake properly.

It all comes down to habits. If you have a habit of turning left across a double yellow line against three lanes of oncoming traffic each day going to work, then one day you are going to have a head on collision at that very spot.

If you have a habit of leaving your car parked in neutral, then one day you are going to find it in someones yard, or in a ditch. So why not develop safe habits, and do what common sense and the manual dictate? Park the car in gear.

Interesting that in the UK very few people park in gear, cars don't have clutch/starter interlocks and people are taught to use the handbrake (parking brake) when at a stop at any intersection, stationary in traffic or on a hill while waiting to move off AND you don't see crashed cars all over the place with failed handbrakes. Perhaps a case of "if you don't use it, you lose it" is the reason why parking brakes fail on North American cars? Also may be a case that every UK vehicle that is over 3 years old has to pass an annual road-worthiness test that includes testing the handbrake for proper operation and effectiveness.