Some cities are now implementing the "no idle" policy where it's illegal to leave your care running when stopped (like Burnaby does).

Although it doesn't say it, this would technically make remote starters illegal since the only purpose they have is to start and idle the car for period of time when the driver isn't even in the car.


This is Vancouver, I don't see the reason for a remote start. It doesn't get cold enough or hot enough to need to run your car to make it comfortable by warming/cooling the interior. In some areas I can see the use, especially in winter.

before i had my old car, there was a certain way to activate autostart.
idle without stepping on brake, pull up hand brake and turn car in off position then pull key out and car will still be running idle. when u get out and close your door, engine will shut off and gives u a beep code that autostart has activated. well thats how it was done on my car dunno about the newer autostart alarms

compustar has to have the car in "reserve mode" for autostart to work.

when u park the car, handbrake up, gear in neutral, take out key with foot not touching the brake, the car will continue to run. when u exit the car and close the door, the car will shut off and arm itself. this is "reserve mode"

had it on the prelude. used it less than a handful of times because i always park the car in gear (for fear of handbrake failure, as backup)

now that im back to an automatic, the compustar autostart is EASY. press and hold button 2... thats it! :D

absolute best part, i leave my headlights on as it has an auto shutoff function (thank you lexus!), so when i autostart the car, the headlights turn on, and i can actually see where i parked the car, especially if ur a tad forgetful these days like me! sucks in the day time, but great at night!

I just start it when im in bed, and crawl into some new clothes, and hop out the door to smoke and my car's nice and toasty in the winter.

Yay carbon footprint.

Your ebrake should always be able to stop the car from rolling even on the steepest hill when it is at the strongest position.

it is also bad for your car engine and a waste of gas to leave it running idle

It's even worse to drive your car when the engine's cold and unsafe when the windows aren't clear.

You dont have to idle your car for 20 minutes... idle it for 2-3 minutes you're set.

in case! in CASE. its always good to have back up (like parking in gear) especially on a hill.

Remote start is not needed anywhere really. The idea behind it is simply convenience and comfort both in the summer and winter. Could we live without it? Of course! But as a convenience feature since a lot of us park outside all year 'round, its a very valuable option.

Actually, the alarm does not bypass it, the installer does using a relay.

This is where common sense should be used. Even though you have a remote starter it does not mean you must always have it engaged. Safety should always be a priority over convenience. As was said, most modern vehicles should be able to support their own weight when the e-brake is applied regardless of being on a hill or not. I prefer to er on the side of caution.

Compustar's 'reservation mode' as !SG pointed out is a failsafe way to have a remote starter system safely installed into a manual car. Any other way is an unthinkable liability issue and I don't know any installers that would do this.

Funny you mention this, because one time I parked on a verryyyy slight incline after a hard drive, fully engaged the hand brake, but for whatever reason, I didn't put it in gear.

I came back about 3-4 hours later and found my car had rolled forward about 10 feet from where I orginally parked it :eek:

I know it's because the brake discs cooled, and 'shrunk' a bit, so the hand brake lost it's clamping power! Always a good idea to leave it in gear as a failsafe

having garage to park car in, minty. i really, really want to get a compustar alarm for my car, but i dont want to loose the "beep"...

i remember leaving my car, and it didn' tmove, but i came back after 30 mins, and my car was in the middle of a street... lol, thank god it was a small sidestreet.

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