The Best Automatic Start Kits To Warm Your Car Up Fast

Buying Guide

Have you ever gotten into your car in the middle of a snowstorm only to have to wait for five or 10 minutes for it to heat up? Or, on the other end of the spectrum, have you ever gotten into the car on a scorching day only to feel a blast from the heat trapped inside? (Studies have found that your closed, sunlit car’s interior temperature can be more than 30 degrees higher than the outside air after just 20 minutes.)

Fortunately, there’s a solution: Get an automatic start kit for your car. This innovative product can make both of those scenarios go away. With an automatic start kit, you can remotely turn on your ignition — without having to go out into the cold (or the heat) to do so. Once your car gets to your desired temperature, you can enter it and be instantly comfortable. You’ll also be immediately ready to tackle the roads.

When you’re looking to buy a remote car starter, you’ll first want to check its operational range. It needs to cover the distance between your home — or wherever you wish to start your car from — and your vehicle. You may also want to consider the range from your workplace to its parking lot, or the distance from commonly-visited sites (like the grocery store, school or an amusement park) to your normal parking spot nearby. Note that obstructions will reduce the operational range. The minimum range is typically stated in hundreds of feet.

If you’re looking for an automatic start kit, you’ll also want to consider features like mobile compatibility, keyless entry, a manual cutoff switch, an alarm, or engine speed-sensing. Some more sophisticated car monitoring and control systems even have temperature gauges and other functions. If you’re just looking for something simple, though, you may want to prioritize durability.

• High-end automatic start kits have engine speed sensing to monitor engine RPMs. If on a very cold day, for example, the car doesn’t start the first time, the kit will be able to sense it. This feature also provides over-rev protection and will shut off if the engine speed is too high to avoid damaging the vehicle.
• Be sure to check for a hood safety switch or an emergency cutoff installed under the hood. This is an important safety feature that prevents remote start from working if the hood is up.
• Some automatic start kits for cars come with do-it-yourself instructions, but under certain circumstances professional assistance may be necessary. For example, putting a remote start feature in a car with an automatic theft system may be tricky. Please note that installing a kit incorrectly can be dangerous and ultimately expensive,.
• If several people drive your car, get a kit that comes with multiple key fobs. That way all drivers in your household will have the ability to remote start the car without having to switch keys constantly.
• Some automatic start kits have additional features, such as starting the seat warmers, turning on the rear defrost or opening the trunk.
• Getting a kit with two-way remotes is ideal. This way, you can send a signal to your car and it can send a signal back to you to let you know that the car is turned on. Otherwise, you may not know if the start command has failed or succeeded.
• Look for an anti-grind feature, which ensures that you cannot double start the car (by rotating the key in the ignition if the car has been remotely started).