Remote start - engine shuts off when opening door

Normally I love all kinds of gadgetry, but you gotta admit that the Tacoma remote start threads are a bit of a paradox. Buy a vehicle that's solely marketed towards the outdoor lifestyle / can't endure the elements for the five minutes it takes to get the vehicle to room temperature.





(No need to justify how convenient it is. I'm just sayin its funny, is all.)

 

I have had 2 Avalons, a Camry, and my Tacoma since '07. All have had remote start with keyless entry. They have all shut down when you open the door. Toyota has improved how well the remote start operates. The older vehicles you had to lock twice, than press and hold the lock button for the third time until the vehicle started. The '07 Avalon seemed like forever before it started. It was harder to remote start that vehicle than restarting after opening the door. I abused the Camry for 10 years with no starter issues. It was pushing 300k miles with the stock starter.

I would like to see them add something useful like a temperature sensor that turns on the seat heater and defroster because I didn't leave them on the night before. That is probably available in the Lexus. In another week or two, I will remember to park the truck at night with the seat heater and defroster on and I will be good until spring.

 

Remote Start with an H-Key

no auto-off when I open the door

 

Not having to take the fob out of my pocket ever...

 

That is not how the electronic transmission locks work on other remote start enabled vehicles. It is not about shifting into reverse or drive, the transmission prevents being taken out of PARK at all. It literally locks it in P. In other words, you cannot drive the vehicle unless/until you hit the start button again which in turn requires the fob be inside the vehicle. This is simply a better design than what Toyota uses.

I'm quite happy to have remote start on my Tacoma, but I'm not going to blindly defend a poor design choice. It's simply lazy design on Toyota's part. Period. Every other manufacturer has a safe and secure remote start system that DOES NOT require the door shut off the engine. I'm not sure why some people have a hard time understanding that.

Again, remote start is still a great feature to have.....but it's a silly design that Toyota uses. Both things can be true. lol

 

So you think other cars that don't turn off people can just jump in and drive away? Get real. All the cars that stay running die when you hit the brake so they can't be removed from park. This the right way to do it. The claims of this being so someone can't steal you car are laughable at best. Guess a thief won't just break the window and climb in?

No joke. I still love having remote start but the implementation is poor. People take stuff so personally here. Toyota can do no wrong and if you critique them you're lazy or an idiot and Toyota knows best.

 

Thanks for all the replies, both the informative and not so much ones. I'll still use the remote start if only for the sole purpose of not having to
hear my kids bitch about how freezing cold they are when they jump in the truck on the way to school. for some odd reason they'd rather
complain about being cold than wear a proper coat to school.

 

Got it, and I 100℅ agree. When someone comes out with a product that allows full takeover, then I'll be buying that product. I too can't stand when the truck shuts off. Even my 96 4runner had a Compustar remote start with full takeover.

 

This is true, I do miss not having to pull my key out like my old Mazda!

 

My 18 Tacoma shuts off when i open the door. However, the same system in my 19 sentra(and previously my 16 Rogue) does not shut off, and i simply need to touch the brake pedal while inside the car with the key.

 

love remote start. shut off when opening door is not an issue.

I will keep this on the clipboard for next remote start thread in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..........

 

Remote starters were never design so you can get in and drive off some older tech just did not have the ability to do what they can do now for safety. My Rogue factory starter with the push start and FOB you need to hit the beak and push the button to keep it running if you don't it will shut off as soon as you put in drive. Remote starters are nice to get the engine warmed up and get the cabin cozy.

 

The Tacoma does currently have a transmission lockout so It's not completely outside the realm of possibility that Toyota could reprogram the ignition system to not shut off and rely on the lockout system for security. My guess would be that since remote start was not an option for the 2016 redesign so the lockout was not originally designed to be strong enough to prevent someone from forcefully ramming it out of park and breaking the lockout. Increasing the robustness of the system would probably require a major tear up to the architecture and a lot of added cost.

I'm a design engineer in the auto industry and I actually work on transmissions. The industry is highly competitive and we literally fight to shave pennies off the final piece price of a transmission (or any component for that matter). As a consumer you look at things and say to yourself "I'd pay an extra $5 for that feature" but as the OEM adding $5 in cost is like signing a check for 1 million dollars depending on production volumes. Additionally if you add up all the small things you'd pay an extra buck or two for all of a sudden the vehicle price is $10,000 more and no one wants to pay for it. I also have experience working with some of the Japanese automakers and they tend to be extremely conservative compared to other OEMs. So I'm sure at some point they realized they could do it but decided not to for safety or liability reasons.

Just an alternative perspective from an industry insider. I doubt it came down to pure "laziness"

 

I didn't realize I had remote start until yesterday...lol But I was disappointed after trying it and then opening the door only to have it shut off. My wife's MDX requires you to put your foot on the brake and push the start button before you are allowed to do anything besides sit in it. To me it's pointless to start it as I'm walking up only to have it shut off when I get there... I wish it worked liked my wife's MDX but I guess it may come in handy. Better to have it and not use it than to need it and not have it!

 

I hear you. We still have rear drum brakes, after all. Another example of that conservatism you are talking about (or some might call it just being cheap). Either way, I have still loved my Tacomas!

 

Same. I didn’t figure it out until days after I picked up my 2020. I’m slightly annoyed at the door part, but it’s a minor complaint. I absolutely love having the option still.

 

WOW, losen your shit over the engine shutoff feature, whatcya gonna do when they introduce engine off at long stops? LOL

 

Does the Tacoma's remote start also heat up the inside or just warm up the engine? My previous vehicle also set the inside vehicle temp to 72 degrees.

 

It will start with whatever climate control settings you had set when you shut it off.

 

Exactly, also the default setting on most remote starts are 15 min, but can be changed from 7 to 30 min at least on the ones I sell.