Remote start alarm on a hybrid

[coocho]

Pretty much what ^^^ he said. It all depends on the installer. I've seen some interesting installs from from the bi boxes, but the same holds true to the indies. It's all a matter of finding an installer that actually takes pride in their work.

 

haha i see you made the here links all caps now. Lets hope that gets their attention

[VBLUE42]

Turn the ac/heat off and let the engine idle for a couple minutes, what happens? The engine shuts down right? You don't want that to happen when it's remote started because then the car doesn't warm up. The only way to keep that from happening to have the heat or ac on when you want to r/s the car.

 

I have an 05 civic hybrid. The above does not happen on my car. I can start the car and leave it running as long as I want and it will not auto stop. The only time it will auto stop is if you come to a stop with the ac on, as long as your foot is on the brake it will auto stop. If you lift your foot off the brake it starts again. So, getting back to the rs option, do you guys see any potintial issues with a remote start on this hybrid car.

[tillithz]

YEs! as indicated in many many post prev.

 

the car does not function like a traditional vehicle. its a hybrid, why fool with that, ac on or ac off or whatever. As a whole Id say no to hybrid personally, but a few select models is fine i suppose, cept the prius in prev. years I have seen that car not start until shifted into drive, something like that, i had one for 1 day as a rental. But irregardless, running the vehicle for 10-15 minutes as with a remote start sure as hell aint enviromentally sound, hell its actually doing harm, the car only needs about 2-3 minutes.. maybe 5 to warm up. and get running properly, of course check your owners manual on that though. I would think the reason you bought the car is to conserve fuel, and have a more green vehicle... a remote start is kinda backwards, besides wouldnt you want to try to save some of that extra cash you paid for that vehicle vrs. a non hybrid?

 

Please dont tell me, or try to flame me on how the vehicle is cheaper in the short/long run cuz it just doesnt add up... sorry.

[VBLUE42]

I save 1500.00 to 1800.00 dollars a year on gas. Id say that does add up. Unless im missing something here, please inlighten me if I am, but the regular maintaince and other things that cost money over the life of the car is no more expensive then any other car. Never the less, I did buy the car to save money particulerly on gas as prices will allways go up, I will just be able to go a longer distance on the same money as every one else. I am keeping track of my savings and it has definatly already paid off. As far as the remote start, I dont think a 5 to 10 minute warm up is consituting me not being friendly to the environment and it would not burn enough gas to really lower my gas milage. It is a nice feature and I think you will begin to see this on hybrids from the factory soon.

[coocho]

You think it adds up huh? So we are talking about more than a 7k different between the base hybrid civic and a base civic sedan. Unless you are comparing your car to an SUV/sports car, I dont see where you get this 1500 to 1800 dollars saving in gas. Gas cost me about 3400 a year, at about 65 dollars a week (premium, ~14k miles/year, and less than 20mpg). SO a regular civic would probably be 1700 a year in gas (regular and 35mpg). After about 8 years of driving, then you will have broken even with paying that premium over that regular civic.

 

hybrid

$22,600

50mpg average city/highway

 

civic dx sedan

$15,010

about 35mpg for city/highway

 

(I used 3 dollars a gallon for regular)

[tillithz]

ok, you wanted to get into it... a civic hybrid sells for.. what... $22,600 not counting the 'special' markup california dealers were charging ($2,500), so lets go with that $22k... you can buy a regular civic for $15,000 (dx) and since the dx is pushing 140 horses vrs. the hybrid at 110 thats actually more car for the money at $15,000 but is the closest we could get for this example.

 

Now, thats a difference of $7,600 right off the bat. Fortunately, the hybrids with regeneritive braking (spelling is wrong i know) have the benefit of brakes lasting much longer then a non hybrid.. so we will chalk a portion of that 'special' markup mentioned above to that. Not all, just some. Now, assuming you bought one of the first hybrids that was in 04 i think, meaning the vehicle is now 3 yearsish old. ok 4, for the sake of this example.. just keep in mind I am really over estimating on the hybrid owners side.

 

Now, lets take your math of $1,800 a year savings in just gas... that only equals $7,200 (4 X $1,800/year). shy of about $400 meaning you havent broken even yet, let alone saved money. Lets examine that number though $1,800 SAVINGS a year.. that means you have to be driving MORE then $1,800 a year to save that much.. right? yes. So, what is $1,800 translated into gallons? 1800/ 3.25 (hope math is right here) that equals just above 553 gallons. So lets explore that a bit.

 

The dx civic gets 30/38 so we will say 35 (nice round number) and which for a 60,000 mile a year vehicle which is INSANE, (average is 12,000) thats 1,714 gallons of gas totaling about (1,714 X $3.25) $5,570 annually spent on gas.

 

Stay with me please.

 

For the hybrid on 60,000 miles a year thats 1,200 gallons (1,200 X $3.25) $3,900 annually spent on gas.

 

Making the difference of 514 gallons and $1,670 (close to the $1,500-$1,800 you boasted earlier)

 

Do you really think we believe you drive 60k miles a year? ok ok, maaaaaayyybe. but no. Also, keep in mind the gas price of $3.25 is/was on the low side considering it wasnt until the first part of 07 the gas prices really shot up where they are now at nearly $3.30 / gallon So that makes the difference and mileage even more insane since to get the SAVINGS of $1,800 / year, you have to drive more to spend more to save more.. see? yes. And this all comes down to the fact that the price of the hybrid doesnt save money until (by your savings quote) for at least 4-5 years. Then you start working on saving money, and not before then.

 

Something else to note, the EPA mpg rating for an 04 hybrid civic was less (48 not 50) and the dx civic at about 38 not 35, making the example different less favorable for the hybrid. Not to mention there is much debate over the EPA rating system, and many reports testing mpg's have found a variation (usually under) the stated figure, meaning the hybrids having a larger rating (mpg) is subject to the same % of variation in actual mpg's then the lower rated civic dx, basically (for example purposes ONLY) lets say 5% error in mpg rating, well that means 2.5 gallons less on the hybrid and the dx civic looses only 1.75 gallons... since the number is smaller for the non hybrid.

 

Now, to address the 'special' markup again, because afterall theres a tax break being offered for hybrid vehicles. I think this kinda washes out the difference between the 'special' markup and the braking system/tax credit between hybrid and non. Because, in the end its a CREDIT not a gift, meaning you have to have spent it, to get a credit back.

 

does this clear it up for you? it does me! it just does NOT add up like i said. BTW, thats 923 hours a year spent driving if you do 60k miles a year and at 65mph which i doubt you do, theres got to be some time you drive much slower then that. AFterall, the hours worked per year (for a full time job no overtime) is a little over 2k. If your spending nearly half that in the car, id say you got other problems then owning a hybrid. LOL!

 

p.s. damn coocho jumped in there before me while i was still typing it all up!! lol right on bro

[tillithz]

you know, im thinking he MEANT to say, he has saved $1,800 total over the years he has had the hybrid.. assuming he had it for a few years, and drives exceptionally high mileage, cuz even 120,000 miles a year still doesnt brake even on the vehicle for 2 years.

[wrx614]

DEI has the hybrids in their tech sheets so I don't see where the problem would be.

[tillithz]

listed? do they explain the effect and how a hybrid works with their rs? Would rally like to know how they address the vehicle shutting off. That really seems like a huge obstacle since THATS the way its suppose to run...no?

[cntrylvr79]

if you call them, they'll say the same thing I said. Make sure to tell the cutomer to leave the heat or ac on. Otherwise the vehicle may turn off.

[VBLUE42]

Alright, so I got the Viper 771XV and it works great except for one problem, the led keeps flashing at me to indicate the last trigger but its doing this as im driving. It says in the manuel that this is suppose to reset when you start the ignition. Any ideas on how to clear this or reset the unit?

[tillithz]

is ignition connected properly, and if i remember right its going to do that for a certain amount of time (once ignition is on) and then resets after that.

[cntrylvr79]

Main igntion wire is not hooked up properly. IF it was it stops flashing as soon as the ignition is turned on.

[scrupul0us]

It's all a matter of finding an installer that actually takes pride in their work.

 

ill drink to that... the only way to know that an installer did a good job or takes pride is when you get the car back and everything is as if you never gave the car to the installer in the first place

 

when i do installs for friends i go over the fine details, tell them what dash stuff i will be removing, where i might be mounting things and how, ask them if they have any concerns and so on and so forth... ill even ask them to hang out and help if they want (this is to a degree of course.... 2 can be a crowd when doing installs)

 

just do what makes you feel comfortable

 

i for one would gather as much information about it as possible and then as suggested, kinda quiz the guy... i for one often find that doing my homework often leaves the OTHER person feeling stupid and lets me know that maybe that isnt the right person for the task

 

the comment about the orange loom... that would be a great little quiz item to see if he even knows about it (if its relevant to the install of course... you wouldnt ask a guy about replacing a lifter if he was rotating your tires... but i digress)

 

good luck dude