Here in the US we are now facing another Chicago winter.
A friend has a remote-starter which allows him to start his car from his key-fob. He can start his car on the drive from his living room. It seems like an interesting toy, but of little practical use.
A more useful development would be a cellphone in the car connected to a similar gizmo which when dialled would start the engine. Why? I leave my car in the station car park all day. When I get back to the car in the evening you can imagine what it's like considering the temperature's likely to be around -20 degrees 'C' with a bracing 30MPH wind blowing.
With that, I could start the engine while at the previous station. And when I got to the car it would be toasty warm and ready to go.
Does anyone know of a device like this? Or can suggest any potential problems?
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Potential problem?
A perp could see your car with it's engine running, smash the window and drive off.
You get to the station and hey presto, no car, stuck in a 30mph freezing wind.
I've never heard of such a device but it would be possible I guess to wire it up to the ignition so that when the pager or phone rings it starts the car.
I can see a lot of logistical problems with it though.
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You should be able to switch the engine OFF remotely (for ex. if your train gets delayed at the last minute or stuck in the station before the one you exit at)
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Yes, webasto do one. You can have a timer, a remote start or even a mobile phone start. If you always return at the same time then it shouldn't be a problem to user the cheaper timer option. It doesn't start the engine but a heater to warm up the coolant so the theft risk shouldn't be any different. I don't think you could leave the car with the engine running unattended anyway. You certainly can't do it in the UK.
I have been considering buying one but at £750 they're not cheap.
teabelly
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The Webasto product burns the car's own fuel and as stated, can be initiated way of a timer, a remote control, or even mobile phone. Benefits are to the driver/passengers (comfort) and also to the car (supposedly reduced wear due to pre-warmed start).
In the UK Kenlowe have a long established product whereby the engine coolant is pre-heated by mains electricity. Therefore, can't be used in a remote location (unless you have an extremely long cord) ;-)
Both of these have been discussed in earlier years in previous threads...
Oz (as was)
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Your problem is it is illegal to leave an unattended car running on the public highway, which would include the station car park. This even applies if you hop out to close the gate to your driveway for instance.
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Might not be the case in the US though Alastair.
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Aha. Missed the reference to Chicago. Doh!
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My old 2001 Saab 93 Tid had this option. I could dial into the computer what time I wanted the pre heater to come on and away it went. About half an hour was enough to give you a beautifully warm car - and leather that wasn't freezing. What a car! S44B TD where are you now?
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Thanks for the very interesting comments.
I will look into the Webasto option and see what it costs here. It occurred to me I might be able to build something myself using the vibration of a cellphone left in the car to trip a switch connected to a cheaper solution.
As for the risk of theft, I'm not too worried about that as where I park theft from vehicles is unknown.
I don't think it's illegal to leave an unattended car running here. A lot of people without garages will come out in the morning with the car under an inch of ice, start her up with the heater on full blast, go back inside, get ready and finish their breakfast. That's what we had to do. And again I wasn't worried about theft.
Thanks again.
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