[tazzytazzy]

Hey. Thinking about getting the CT here. But, my question is if I should get the remote start. It gets hot here I the California valley - 110 or so in the summer. Would be great to get the AC going as I walk to the car from the office.

Does anyone know the range on the remote start? My friend has a 3rd party option for his old truck and is able to start it about 1/8 mile away which give it a couple of minutes to cool off while he's walking. However, for his wife's new Honda, he got the remote start option for that when get got the car new. And, it has the same range as the unlock/lock - about 30 feet. It doesn't work well and he wishes he didn't spend the money on it.

Does anyone have it? How's the range? Would you get it again? When you get in the car, can you just drive away or do you have stop/start the car??

Thanks.

-Mitch

 

[LA CiTy JB]

Hey Mitch. It is at least 10 degrees warmer in the valley vs. the temperature for us non-valley LA folks sometimes, especially during the summer! So, I see how having the remote starter makes more sense for folks like you who live in in areas where it gets very hot (or very cold).

Anyway, if I'm not mistaken remote starters usually have a range of about 30-100 feet (about same range as the normal remote), allowing you to start the engine to activate your air conditioner, heater, etc. I know in some past Lexus models, the car turns off as soon as you touch the door handle to get in. Once in the car, you'd have to restart your car. IMHO, this touch handle-shut off and then having to restart the car procedure defeats the purpose of the RS. And if you look at it, especially on regular engine cars, fuel economy would be affected a bit... but on a hybrid like the CT, maybe not so much.

With that said, I wonder if Lexus has developed an improved version of the remote starter that the CT uses. I've never needed it in other cars I've owned, so I didn't really consider wanting one on the CT. If you do get the RS, you're much better off working on a deal for the CT with it installed vs. getting it installed after taking delivery of your new car.

-JB

 

[tazzytazzy]

Anyway, if I'm not mistaken remote starters usually have a range of about 30-100 feet (about same range as the normal remote), allowing you to start the engine to activate your air conditioner, heater, etc. I know in some past Lexus models, the car turns off as soon as you touch the door handle to get in. Once in the car, you'd have to restart your car. IMHO, this touch handle-shut off and then having to restart the car procedure defeats the purpose of the RS. And if you look at it, especially on regular engine cars, fuel economy would be affected a bit... but on a hybrid like the CT, maybe not so much.

Yea, this is exactly what I was afraid of. I've emailed two dealers to see if they can budge on some of the accessories and/or extended warranty. Who knows, maybe I can get this on a discount.. But, I'm thinking there's no budging with prices right now. Maybe I'll wait for the 2012 models.

-Mitch

 

[jimmyc13]

Yea, this is exactly what I was afraid of. I've emailed two dealers to see if they can budge on some of the accessories and/or extended warranty. Who knows, maybe I can get this on a discount.. But, I'm thinking there's no budging with prices right now. Maybe I'll wait for the 2012 models.

-Mitch

Well I tried that on my special order this week, paying MSRP for the CT and when trying to negotiate on the accessories....ZILCH! They're raking us over the coals because they see how desireable the car is and how many people are putting deposits down. It's a dealer's market!

 

[tchris]

I know that some remotes advertise a one mile range. That may be under perfect conditions. I can vouch for a remote working from the 21st floor of an office building and starting a car about two blocks away. I suppose that must have been a couple hundred yards or so. This was not a CT remote however, so not sure what they are capable of. I ordered one with my CT. I will be disappointed if it doesn't work from at least a 75 yard range.

 

[jcpharm]

i just had my CT installed with remote start - it works at the same range as your key fob lock/unlock button. i can vouch it goes at least ~60 ft. from the inside of my house to the driveway but i haven't tested much more than that. it has auto-shutoff after 10 minutes of activity as well as when you unlock/open the door (to prevent car theft).

 

[Moongoose]

When talking with the sales guy at my local dealer during my test drive (haven't pulled the trigger yet) he mentioned that traditionally the built in Lexus remote start doesn't have the best range. He cited his wife's car as an example.

If you are really looking for long range - you can look into some of the 3rd party options that use your Andoird or iPhone (if you have one) like Viper... Can't vouch for them, but know they exist.