Remote Start Warm Up Engine Wear

No modern remote-start system allows someone else to just get in and drive away, whether it's aftermarket or factory. And when I say "modern", I'm referring to anything going back ~20 years.


Factory-equipped remote start systems have runtime options up to 15-20 minutes. They even allow you to extend the runtime.

True! I do appreciate the remote start on my 15 F150 Lariat. It does NOT shut off when the door is opened but does require a brake pedal activation and a start button push. I'm a ok with that. My 17 Subari Limited is all nanny! I'm not mature enough to have a "real" remote start so it shuts off when I open the door. I'm still awaiting my free pair of Birkenstocks from when I bought it new!
 
Any additional wear would be microscopic. The bigger issue is the waste of fuel and the higher probability of the vehicle being stolen.
Our Subaru came with remote start. We wouldn’t use it anyway, but it has an annoying feature where as soon as you open the door it turns off. I mean, it’s locked and requires the fob to unlock the door, so what’s the point?
 
My 17 Subari Limited is all nanny! I'm not mature enough to have a "real" remote start so it shuts off when I open the door.
but it has an annoying feature where as soon as you open the door it turns off. I mean, it’s locked and requires the fob to unlock the door, so what’s the point?
I've read about Subarus and how their RS works. That's really unusual and I wonder what Subaru's logic behind it is. They might have what they think are perfectly good reasons. 🤷‍♂️
 
The cloth seat part is tricky. I’m not sure why auto manufacturers don’t install heated seats in all upholstery options.
All things being equal, cloth seats aren't as cold in the winter or as hot in the summer compared to leather. It does seem to be very uncommon to have heated (or cooled) seats with cloth seating though. Not sure why...
 
All things being equal, cloth seats aren't as cold in the winter or as hot in the summer compared to leather. It does seem to be very uncommon to have heated (or cooled) seats with cloth seating though. Not sure why...
If I could get cooled cloth seats I’d buy the car just based on that. But it’s gotta have actual FLOW, I hate sticking to the upholstery…
 
Say's Tex.... Little different is some colder environments. Avg temp in Jan in TX is 59 with avg cold temp of 36. When temps hit the 20's or under (-10F coldest at my home) I do let it warm up for about 2 minutes before driving with low RPM until warmer. And it's not just your oil you have trans/CVT fluid to warm up a bit as well.
2 mins sounds reasonable. 15 mins sounds obsessive.
 
All things being equal, cloth seats aren't as cold in the winter or as hot in the summer compared to leather. It does seem to be very uncommon to have heated (or cooled) seats with cloth seating though. Not sure why...

Most of the Subarus I’m aware of in my area come with heater seats in the trim right above base models called Premium. I absolutely hate the tan cloth seats in my Legacy, but the price was right, so I overlooked it. The heated seats in the Legacy are also way more comfortable than the leather seats in the Forester, both with regard to temp and all other attributes.
 
I used to live in Chicago. I know this may sound crazy but humans are mobile organisms.

At least here in New England, cops will pull you over if you have southern plates and escort your butt back to the border. There‘s no way we would let you stay long enough to get “cold”.
 
At least here in New England, cops will pull you over if you have southern plates and escort your butt back to the border. There‘s no way we would let you stay long enough to get “cold”.
I would expect such
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I used to live in Chicago. I know this may sound crazy but humans are mobile organisms.
In Texas, do you have days or nights where your car is snow and ice covered and has windows covered in frost that needs removed either with an ice scraper or the vehicle's defroster ? This doesn't happen in 30 seconds or even 1-2 minutes. If you parked outside in Chicago in the winter, I'm sure you dealt with this.
 
Some people need to let them run more than a few minutes in order to get the windows clear, even after they are all scraped off. If it's -25F outside and the car is covered in snow and ice, it takes while for the interior to warm up enough to clear the windows. Of course, some people just drive off with a little cleared area on the windows, get in an accident and total the car ... then they don't have to worry about warm-up times anymore, lol.
 
In Texas, do you have days or nights where your car is snow and ice covered and has windows covered in frost that needs removed either with an ice scraper or the vehicle's defroster ? This doesn't happen in 30 seconds or even 1-2 minutes. If you parked outside in Chicago in the winter, I'm sure you dealt with this.

I shipped out from TX once, a couple of decades ago. I was told it would be warm and I was heading to warm countries. ONE day after arriving in San Antonio and it was below freezing. My sponsor ensured me this was VERY unusual. Lucky me!
 
Some people need to let them run more than a few minutes in order to get the windows clear, even after they are all scraped off. If it's -25F outside and the car is covered in snow and ice, it takes while for the interior to warm up enough to clear the windows. Of course, some people just drive off with a little cleared area on the windows, get in an accident and total the car ... then they don't have to worry about warm-up times anymore, lol.

At least around me, snow rarely falls too far below freezing. I have not personally experienced a negative snow storm that required a warmup. Most below-freezing snow storms are…fluffy
 
Some people need to let them run more than a few minutes in order to get the windows clear, even after they are all scraped off. If it's -25F outside and the car is covered in snow and ice, it takes while for the interior to warm up enough to clear the windows. Of course, some people just drive off with a little cleared area on the windows, get in an accident and total the car ... then they don't have to worry about warm-up times anymore, lol.
People with zero experience with that phenomenon just ignore that reality though and skip to "letting a car idle is bad, bad, bad".
 
People with zero experience with that phenomenon just ignore that reality though and skip to "letting a car idle is bad, bad, bad".
I've experinced it a lot with my first car in the midwest. Fired it up many times when it was below 0, and just driving off 1 minute later was not something people do in those kind of conditions. Having a block heater helped a lot to get the inside warm and the windows clear.
 
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