I'm looking at getting a remote start for my 02 Max

Went to Best Buy and was told that its $160 installed and that they need an extra key to put in it to make the system bypass the alarm system.

Called Nissan they said it was $425 installed and that yeah, they use a key, that they make for you

1. When I was leaving bestbuy I was thinking to myself... Hmmm... I'm going to put a key that starts the car... and leave it... IN THE CAR?

Am I the only one who thinks this isn't very safe?

I want the remote start, but I'm not sure from a theft POV its safe.

Any ideas guys?

Is there a way of doing it without the key?
any thoughts?

 

Unless you plan on advertising which system you have (window stickers, etc.) how would anyone know what system you have and that there might be a key in the car? Not like it will be visible.

 

Chris,
I've got remote start on mine 2002 and yes I was worried at first about putting a key in the car but I found a spot where it's really tough to find...and there's plenty of places to hide the key.

 

Ok i'm thinking of going thorugh with it....


What are your opinions of BestBuy and Circuit City?

Better or worse than car stereo places? Not just in price, or selection... More-so, in Quality.

Main thing I don't want them to F~~~ up my car.

What do you guys think is the best option?

 

get heated seats, so you don't need to pre-warm you're car. Assuming that you live in a cold climate....

 

what if you cut off the key portion and just leave the chip and the part you actually hold with your hand, i think that should work.

 

i had one installed and i didnt need a seperate key.
I just press the lock button 3 times and it starts.

 

what brand is that?

 

I have the starter from best buy ... love it works great A/C Heat all come on when started
The key is in a boX under your dash so there not getting it unless they tear up your car!!!
if they want it there is not much you can do to stop it.
da club maybe

 

trunk popper too!! extra 60 bucks
sucks because my factory had 1 and i had to pay for it on da new one

 

i very curious as to how this was done. not saying that i dont believe you but if this can be done then this is the system that i will use also.

 

I dont know much about it, I had my audio shop install it for me for 150. I think its made by Audiovox and all of the stock functions still work. THe remote start is integrated into the stock FOB.Windows, trunk a/c, everything works normal.

 

You have to leave the key in to make the remote start work??? That's dumb.

 

Hey, you gotta get some more info on what brand and model you have. I've been looking for a remote start but I didn't want to get a seperate key or have an extra remote. I haven't heard of any of them that do what you say yours does.

 

i work at circuit city in the install bay, so i pretty much have alot of knowledge with installing remote starts. The reason for leaving another key is because the vehicle immobilizer wont enable the car to start unless you have the chip for the specific vehicle, and since nissan isnt going to release that information to alarm companies such as audiovox or dei you need a key to you can have the key send the signal to the immobilizer before the car can be told to start... not as complicated as it sounds...

And as far as choosin which remote start alarm to go with theres ups and downs about both dei is #1 with alarms and gives you 2500 if your car is stolen in the 1st year of install but audiovox is coming out with a new add on to any of their alarms in about a month which will allow location of your car through gps kind of similar to low jack... thats only a rumor tho... but either way best buy or circuit city your guaranteed installation for as long as you own your car so dont worry about it and the prices are almost identical so go to which ever one makes you more comforable

 

All I can say - wow! You've got one hell of installer if they've managed to do that WITHOUT taking one of your keys.

 

that sounds interesting killer.. which shop did u go to... i live in LA so it might not be hard for me to stop by and get that.

i was looking for a starter alarm, and i had no idea you could use your stock remote with it..

does the alarm u have roll down the windows too?

 

Hey, its right near CSUN, near the 99 cent store, let me know if you need more details. My car didnt require an immobilizer and everything works normal. The only thing that does work it once you remote start, you cant roll the windows down with the remote, but you could do it when its off.

 

so lets say the car is off.. how would u open the windows then? u said remote start is pressing unlock 3 times, and whats opening windows. im really interested cauz i wanna keep my stock alarm and remote.


i'll pm you after my leg gets a little better and i have some time.

 

to roll down the windows you hold down the unlock button for about 5 seconds on the stock FOB and they roll down. To start i press LOCK 3 times so the car stayes locked.

The parking lights turn on as a courtesy and someone somehow gets in your car when its on, as soon as they press the brake, which is required to press to shift the car turns off and kills the starter until the key is inserted.

 

can u please let us know the brand????
thanks killer

 

i'm still skeptical. sorry but everyone i talked to about this says its impossible without a key.

 

i think its possible without a key. i dont know much about this, but i've never seen a remote start alarm taht required the key to be in the car when pressing the start button. yet again i didnt know a stock alarm remote could be used with this

 

I did a little research on this.... Most remote starts don't need the key. Only cars with the chips in the keys.

From what i've read, there is a way around using another key. However, this would bypass the whole system. I don't know the specifics on this, so don't ask me. Basically it involves wiring around the system to make the system always have the code. This disables any benefit to the security of having a chipped key.

I'm not an installer, nor do I know technical details. I just did a search here and read every thread on remote starts.

I'm going to get it done at some point, but since I don't have a valet key... I need another key to have best buy or circuit city do it.
I have 2 quotes from dealers, one at 425 one at 325. I think I may just go to the dealer. I am pretty sure those are out the door prices where Bestbuy will charge me 20 for the bypass box, 160 for the remote start with install, 10 for "parts" and I'll still have to buy a key from a dealer for 100. yeah, bestbuy would be cheaper... but a dealer may save me the hassle.

 

As skeptic as you may be, I handed them one key with a FOB and got 1 key with a FOB back with a car that remotly starts.

The brand I believe is Audiovox.

 

I am skeptical as well but - anything made by one man can be hacked by another sooner or later . Point is if someone invested enough time into that i can imagine it working. The only reason keeping my skepticizm is that overall level in autoservice is quite low and this task is too specific to invest too much time into.

 

As far as i know the only way to do it with out a key is to not have a chip in the key... but there are alot of electrical tricks thatwe can do to get around things... but seriously i have never heard of remote start on a car with a chip and not having to use a second key...

my only guess is they disabled the immobilizer some how ...

 

This might be a dumb question, but if a remote starter requires a key being left in the car at all times, doesn't this in effect disable the immobilizer function of the chip in the key making the car easier to steal?

 

The DEI remote starter was the first mod that I did to my car. I had a little audio shop in Atlanta do it for less than $300. He had to use my key to make the system work. He took the black ring around the ignition and hid it somewhere. The black ring has the sensor to detect the chip in the key. Those two things have to be together in order to start the car. I start the car with my original remote by pressing the unlock button twice and I use a valet key that he made for me. I can also start the car by pressing the unlock button twice on the driver side door. I love it. Just don't believe that 1/4 to 1/8 mile starting distance crap they try to tell you. It's not nearly that far, but it's a pretty good distance, around 300 yards or so.

 

I"ve been installing car alarms and immobilizers for 3 years and I guess I have a good idea of how it works. When you insert the chipped key it tells the system ( I skip the details ) to enable starter and then you can start your car. Honestly this is a strange way to protect your car because you can jumpstart engine with just 1 cable - connect starter + to the battery + . Smart installer can bypass the immobilizer connecting to the wire that goes to the starter relay AFTER immobilizer. In this case you don't need a key in your car. I think this is what NISSAN installers do when they install remote control system.
I may be wrong , but this is what I've been doing when installing remote start systems on cars with immobilizers and it worked 95 % of the time. The one and only case when is does not work is when immobilizer is using multiple circuits to disable engine, starter and fuel pump. I doubt NISSAN would do it , because in case of immobilizer failure it would leave the car completely disabled.