Remote start function?

[Monkey1000]

Hi all,

I am due to receive my Rav 4 in March and was wandering if it comes with a remote start ? Cheers 

[Mikeyjd]

Is it an optional extra? And if so, did you order it? I would check with your dealer.

[Buff69]

Hi I think this is for other markets ( something else not for us ) but could be wrong 

[Mikeyjd]

I am assuming it is the system for starting your car and warming it up inside for the winter. Quite a few cars have this. I cant start my other car (Jag) and set the temperature using an app on my mobile phone. With many cars it is an optional extra. I would assume Toyota would offer this on some models.

[Monkey1000]

Gents thankyou for your feedback as Mikeyjd said I was wandering if you could start your car and warm it by remote/app. Cheers

[Garth-1]

Sorry to put a dampener on this discussion, but didn't someone in the States get crushed to death only a few days ago when someone remotely started the Lexus he was looking at, intending to buy?  As an ex driving instructor I always told my pupils never to leave a car unattended with the engine running.

[FROSTYBALLS]

In the UK it isn't legal to leave an unattended vehicle with its engine running whilst parked on a public road.

[Stivino]

8 hours ago, Garth-1 said:

Sorry to put a dampener on this discussion, but didn't someone in the States get crushed to death only a few days ago when someone remotely started the Lexus he was looking at, intending to buy?  As an ex driving instructor I always told my pupils never to leave a car unattended with the engine running.

I read about that on the BBC news app. Here it is.

 

[Mikeyjd]

19 hours ago, Garth-1 said:

Sorry to put a dampener on this discussion, but didn't someone in the States get crushed to death only a few days ago when someone remotely started the Lexus he was looking at, intending to buy?  As an ex driving instructor I always told my pupils never to leave a car unattended with the engine running.

In my Jag. The option is only available in the automatic version and the car has to be locked and left in park mode. It can then only be driven if somebody with a key enters the car and then has to put their foot on the brake before putting the car into drive. It is correct that it is illegal to leave a car running with nobody in it, but that does not apply to cars parked on private land.

[PeteB]

21 hours ago, Garth-1 said:

Sorry to put a dampener on this discussion, but didn't someone in the States get crushed to death only a few days ago when someone remotely started the Lexus he was looking at, intending to buy?  As an ex driving instructor I always told my pupils never to leave a car unattended with the engine running.

As it says in the BBC news, that Lexus was a 2002 model, and factory fit remote start wasn't available on that model then.  Various reports state that the Police investigators believe it had to be an aftermarket deice fitted since the car was originally bought.

Apart from being illegal, if a car left unattended with the engine running is stolen, the insurers will refuse to pay if they find out.

Apparently some RAV4s in the US have remote start, possibly by an app, but I've seen one report somewhere on YouTube of one that works if the Lock button on the remote is held in for a few seconds then pressed four times rapidly (tried in on mine just in case, but no luck).  Apparently, as soon as the car is unlocked, the engine stops.

[PeteB]

20 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

In the UK it isn't legal to leave an unattended vehicle with its engine running whilst parked on a public road.

It's also illegal to leave the engine running in traffic queues or at the side of the road:  "Rule 123:  You MUST NOT leave a parked vehicle unattended with the engine running or leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road. Generally, if the vehicle is stationary and is likely to remain so for more than a couple of minutes, you should apply the parking brake and switch off the engine to reduce emissions and noise pollution. However it is permissible to leave the engine running if the vehicle is stationary in traffic or for diagnosing faults.  Law CUR regs 98 & 107".  Some 'expert' legal opinion has suggested that "unnecessary" does include using heating or A/C to be a little more comfortable, but where a vehicle in stranded, e.g. due to weather conditions, major road holdups or mechanical failure, it is allowed.

This can also apply in car parks to which the public have access, and recently there has been a lot in the news about the effect on local pollution and the fact that the government is planning to increase the fine from £20 to £100.  They are also looking for ways in increase the likelihood of offenders being caught and fined.

I certainly wish some of the many people who sit in their cars at beach-side and clifftop car parks around here with their engines running would get caught.  I often end up moving upwind, mostly because some of them are extremely clattery diesels (some very expensive Mercs, Audis and BMs are horrible for this, but then I suppose they have quite large engines) and some give out a smelly exhaust that reminds me of an old paraffin room heater with a very badly adjusted wick.

[Thermal]

If, like me, you ordered a RAV4 without leather seats, (I hate leather seats anyway), you probably ended up without heated seats as well. I don't mind sitting in a cold interior, because that warms up quickly enough in the RAV.
However, I do not like having to warm up a stone cold seat with my behind, which seems to take forever on a freezing day.
That's why I use a Dunlop 12V car seat heater during winters.
Warms up quickly and is very, very comfortable.
After ~5 minutes or so I switch it off, and it stays off for the rest of the trip.
It's like Airconditioning in your car: once you had it, you never want a car without it!
They anywhere between €15-€30.

Something like the attached pic.

[Catlover]

Aldi do similar for less then £10.

[Thermal]

Beware, that's excluding shipping.  My reputable Dunlop was €15 including shipping 😁

[flash22]

On 12/18/2019 at 12:24 AM, Garth-1 said:

Sorry to put a dampener on this discussion, but didn't someone in the States get crushed to death only a few days ago when someone remotely started the Lexus he was looking at, intending to buy?  As an ex driving instructor I always told my pupils never to leave a car unattended with the engine running.

That was an early IS200 (2002 iirc) it had an aftermarket remote start that was poorly fitted or deliberately had the fail safes disabled e.g. Handbrake and reverse/neutral switch

 

re. seat covers make sure they are air bag compliant ones