First..I dont own a Honda Civic hybrid..I have an Lx..but this forum is the best resource I've found so far on the net. It will be great if any of you can help me out.

I was offered the remote starter for $395...she went from 700 to 395..but once she knew i was interested..she wouldnt go down on the price..

anyways..she says it has to be line of sight..will go through other cars...

I cant decide if it will actually go through other cars..my work parking lot is really huge..prolly a size of a big movie theatre..can I expect it to work?

how long does it take to warm up? is it good to let the engine run on idle?

and is it worth getting it? i live in Chicagoland its freezing here most of the times.

Thankyou

It's all personal preferrence. If you like to be warm in winter, then get it. IMO, it is just a fuel economy killer and you would be causing more air pollution by letting the engine idle to warm up. You're better off starting the car manually, give it about 30 seconds, and start driving. It will warm up quicker under load and cause less pollution.

Hope this helps..

I second what Ralph said.

Additionally, I'll add the following response to your questions:
It is NOT good for the engine nor the emmissions equipment (exhaust, sensors and cat converter) to let a vehicle idle for long periods of time... particularly as a result of operating a remote starter.

Instead, try spending your money on a block heater. It is more environmentally responsible and helps the engine and emmission equipment more far more in colder weather.

Cheers;

MSantos

So, is remote starting mechanism very different from the regular warming of the car?
I typically idle warm the car upto 5-10 min before driving. I live very close to the freeway..and I don have much time frame before I hit the freeway..So i cant really start driving the car slow. Will that make a difference?

Thankyou for your help

All a remote starter does is start the engine like you would with a key.

Things to note are that most new cars have keys with chips in them so you can't just get a key cut and use it, you also need the key programed. This means to use a remote starter you need to buy some sort of bypass module for it to work.

The price seems pretty hefty for a remote start. Also, figure on $100+ for installation if you aren't going to do it yourself.

I live in chicago too. It realy isn't freezing most of the time. I would say I use my remote start maybe 10 times a year at most.

As far as poluting more, that depends on how dirty the air is in the area. It could be that letting the car idle would actualy clean the air if you live in a more polluted area.

As far as distance goes, that is totaly dependant on model. Some have ranges of over 1 mile.

My hydroponics experiment

You ever notice how hard it is to lip read cartoon characters?
"Crazy is what the sane call Delta Flyer"

you're talking about a honda civic lx with SULEV. i'm sure warming up at idle wouldn't cause that much pollution during load. if it was a v6 or v8...yeah

If you idle your engine to warm it up you are using that amount of fuel plus the amount you would use to drive the car to warm it up. At 16 pounds of CO2 produced per gallon of gasoline burned, it all adds up.

so your telling me when gas is not applied during idle, you get the same pollution under load? in that case they should band smog checks.

my remote starter cost 99 bucks.

never new you had to pay more than that.