Remote Starter

[BG624]

So I ordered an X5 (loaded 4.8) for my wife and the dealer says that remote start can not be installed on the new X5. Being that I live in the Northeast with cold winters, remote start would be nice. Anyone know of a remote start system that works on the 07 X5?

[jlalanas]

dealer told me the same thing. although i've heard some adds on the radio that state they work with push button start systems. so i guess they're out there.

[Gilles]

What we can get on the European X5 is an Auxiliary Heater. It is Great.
It does not start the Engine but warm up the whole car. It 's a burner that runs on gaz or Diesel. I already have thsi feature on my 5 and Ilove it.
You just need to tell the car when you want to leave. The Start up time will be calculated automatically (on my 5).

The X5 option Code is 536 ( 1,600 EUROS , about $2000USD) .

[BG624]

Originally Posted by Gilles

What we can get on the European X5 is an Auxiliary Heater. It is Great.
It does not start the Engine but warm up the whole car. It 's a burner that runs on gaz or Diesel. I already have thsi feature on my 5 and Ilove it.
You just need to tell the car when you want to leave. The Start up time will be calculated automatically (on my 5).

The X5 option Code is 536 ( 1,600 EUROS , about $2000USD) .

Yeah that's a nice option but unfortunately it's not available here in the States. I used to have a car a long time ago that had auxiliary electric heat that came on instantly regardless of engine temp. Car companies should re-invent that option today.

[JCL]

I understood remote starters many years ago, particularly in the Yukon or Alaska, but consider:

• You have electric seats, optionally in 4 places
• You have an electrically heated steering wheel
• You have a heat reservoir to warm the engine quickly using stored heat
• You have synthetic lubes that are good to minus 30 quite comfortably, meaning cold starts are not much of an issue
• You have a 4 year warranty
• You have an incredibly complicated ignition circuit using coded keys for security.

Why exactly would you want a remote starter? Not only because the original reason (getting into a warm car) has been taken away, but because you will then idle a vehicle with no engine load in a cold ambient (very bad) and you will burn fuel unnecessarily (also very bad).

Am I missing the upside?

[BG624]

Originally Posted by JCL

I understood remote starters many years ago, particularly in the Yukon or Alaska, but consider:

• You have electric seats, optionally in 4 places
• You have an electrically heated steering wheel
• You have a heat reservoir to warm the engine quickly using stored heat
• You have synthetic lubes that are good to minus 30 quite comfortably, meaning cold starts are not much of an issue
• You have a 4 year warranty
• You have an incredibly complicated ignition circuit using coded keys for security.

Why exactly would you want a remote starter? Not only because the original reason (getting into a warm car) has been taken away, but because you will then idle a vehicle with no engine load in a cold ambient (very bad) and you will burn fuel unnecessarily (also very bad).

Am I missing the upside?

When the ambient temp. is very cold 20* F. or less, heated seats and steering wheels don't offer much. By the time the seats get warm your getting heat from the engine, besides a warm butt is not a warm body. As far as stored heat I'm talking about a car that's been sitting long enough so there is none. Regarding using fuel unnecesarily, if fuel usage is a major issue for you this is not the vehicle you should get, the little additional fuel used for 5 minutes on very cold days over the life of the car is meaningless. The flow rate of synthetic oil at cold temps. is such that the additional wear for those 5 minutes on very cold days over the life of the car is also meaningless. So to summarize, the reason for a remote start system is so the interior of the vehicle will be warm when I or my wife enter the car with our freezing cold bodies.

[trueX5er]

[quote=BG624]When the ambient temp. is very cold 20* F. or less,quote]

20? cold? It's been like 10 and below here!
And I do think they help....we lose a fair amount of heat through our hands.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by BG624

When the ambient temp. is very cold 20* F. or less, heated seats and steering wheels don't offer much. By the time the seats get warm your getting heat from the engine, besides a warm butt is not a warm body. As far as stored heat I'm talking about a car that's been sitting long enough so there is none. Regarding using fuel unnecesarily, if fuel usage is a major issue for you this is not the vehicle you should get, the little additional fuel used for 5 minutes on very cold days over the life of the car is meaningless. The flow rate of synthetic oil at cold temps. is such that the additional wear for those 5 minutes on very cold days over the life of the car is also meaningless. So to summarize, the reason for a remote start system is so the interior of the vehicle will be warm when I or my wife enter the car with our freezing cold bodies.

20F isn't cold. That is only -5C. Did you mean -20F? At 20F you don't need a car starter, you need a sweater. I didn't use an automatic starter at -40C. I did use a 120V plug-in car warmer (for the interior) at -52C. But then I also had a 120V battery blanket, two immersion block heaters, and a stick-on oil pan blanket.

On my E53 and E46, my heated seats are feeling warm after one block, long before the engine produces heat. My heated steering wheel is warm by the end of the driveway.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by BG624

Yeah that's a nice option but unfortunately it's not available here in the States. I used to have a car a long time ago that had auxiliary electric heat that came on instantly regardless of engine temp. Car companies should re-invent that option today.

It is available in the States, just not from BMW. The BMW system described above is made by Webasto. It is available in a petrol version, with automatic features and remotes. Before you blow several grand, however, check my post above. Just my $0.02

[xnsf]

too bad we don't have that option here