Remote Car Starter?

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jayfk21

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I'm writing from New Hampshire... right now its 25 degrees F. This is about the high for the day...

I had a remote car starter in my old vehicle (Jeep)... I loved it. It is great for the car since the car gets to warm up... and it is great for me since its not freezing when I get in my car. I would love to put one in my 2003 330xi, but I don't know if I can with a manual transmission...

Anyone??? Any guesses???

Thanks,
jay
 
Bmw 325i 7803

Bmw 325i 7803

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You're not supposed to warm the BMW I6 up in the winter... it's bad for the engine. We had a guy on here that did $1,000 damage to an engine component by letting it idle to warm. He had a 330xi as well, you're supposed to start the engine and drive off (gently until its warmed up). Says so in the owners manual, so sorry you can't put a remote in the E46... not that you'd want to considering BMW electronics can be pretty whacky if you mess with them.
 
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epj3

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If anything - get a block heater. That's the only thing I think you could do without causing a problem - bmw probably sells them.

It's impossible and a bad idea with a manual transmission anyways.

Get a block heater.
 
frolf

frolf

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i almost got one a couple years ago, but not a fan of leaving the car in neutral. and yeah, it can jack your exhaust up too. moisture + idle + warmup = rust
 
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epj3

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frolf said:
i almost got one a couple years ago, but not a fan of leaving the car in neutral. and yeah, it can jack your exhaust up too. moisture + idle + warmup = rust
Click to expand...
Cold engine warming up unevenly with relatively low flow of cold thick oil also sounds pretty bad to me.
 
MrElussive

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You can get it installed on your car aftermarket. But the car warms up sooo much faster if you warmup by driving. Letting it sit there and idle makes it take forever to warmup.
 
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jayfk21

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Warming up the car?

Bmw 325i 7803 said:
You're not supposed to warm the BMW I6 up in the winter... it's bad for the engine. We had a guy on here that did $1,000 damage to an engine component by letting it idle to warm. He had a 330xi as well, you're supposed to start the engine and drive off (gently until its warmed up). Says so in the owners manual, so sorry you can't put a remote in the E46... not that you'd want to considering BMW electronics can be pretty whacky if you mess with them.
Click to expand...
WHAAAAAAAAAT? Is this really true? I've always warmed my car up... it's really bad for the car? Oh my... this is a huge breakthrough for me. Next you're going to tell me that the Easter Bunny isn't real???

Thanks for the advice... does everybody agree with this? Seems amazing to me!
 
selavia

selavia

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I've always heard (and the manual does say) one should not leave the car idling for more than 3-5minutes.

You are supposed to start your car and let the rpms steady (takes about 10 seconds) and then drive it to warm it up.

And not just BMWs, most, if not all, cars.

Also, like everyone else said, it's a REAL bad idea for a manual; especially if you usually put the car in 1st / Reverse when you park. Because if you press the start buttom when it's in gear, it'll start moving.

I thought BMW heat up pretty quick though? I didn't really think there was a need.
 
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epj3

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selavia said:
I've always heard (and the manual does say) one should not leave the car idling for more than 3-5minutes.

You are supposed to start your car and let the rpms steady (takes about 10 seconds) and then drive it to warm it up.

And not just BMWs, most, if not all, cars.

Also, like everyone else said, it's a REAL bad idea for a manual; especially if you usually put the car in 1st / Reverse when you park. Because if you press the start buttom when it's in gear, it'll start moving.

I thought BMW heat up pretty quick though? I didn't really think there was a need.
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I agree. I usually get warmer than outside air after only about 45 seconds, and hot heat after about 2 minutes. I've never EVER been in another car that could do that (except my e30!)
 
MrElussive

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I think you are supposed to wait 30 seconds because when you park your car overnight, it's all at the bottom of the pan. You are supposed to let the engine idle for around 30 seconds to a minute for the oil to circulate, and then drive it gently until it's warm.

It comes down to the fact that there is just no good way to warmup an engine.
 
Bmw 325i 7803

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jayfk21 said:
WHAAAAAAAAAT? Is this really true? I've always warmed my car up... it's really bad for the car? Oh my... this is a huge breakthrough for me. Next you're going to tell me that the Easter Bunny isn't real???

Thanks for the advice... does everybody agree with this? Seems amazing to me!
Click to expand...
If you'd like I can buy you some glasses or contact lenses and show you how to read the owners manual.

Now lets get back from the land of sarcasm...

Older model cars like your coveted Jeep for instance require a warm up of about a minute or so... The BMW I6 does not, now go ask everyone else who agreed with my statement and posted before your response.
 
Bmw 325i 7803

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MrElussive said:
I think you are supposed to wait 30 seconds because when you park your car overnight, it's all at the bottom of the pan. You are supposed to let the engine idle for around 30 seconds to a minute for the oil to circulate, and then drive it gently until it's warm.

It comes down to the fact that there is just no good way to warmup an engine.
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That's not in the owners manual, maybe thats for Nissans 3.5 V6 but not BMW's I6... It specifically says to start the engine and get going slowly... But that's definately closer to starting up and driving off instead of letting it warm up without driving.
 
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jayfk21

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a little harsh...

Bmw 325i 7803 said:
If you'd like I can buy you some glasses or contact lenses and show you how to read the owners manual.

Now lets get back from the land of sarcasm...

Older model cars like your coveted Jeep for instance require a warm up of about a minute or so... The BMW I6 does not, now go ask everyone else who agreed with my statement and posted before your response.
Click to expand...
I was just asking an innocent question... no need to get all pissy/rude.

Sorry to inconvenience you...
 
Bmw 325i 7803

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jayfk21 said:
I was just asking an innocent question... no need to get all pissy/rude.
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Hardly...

You're a little sensitive for a forum dont you think?

If you want you can continue to warm it up while parked...
 
selavia

selavia

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jayfk21 said:
I was just asking an innocent question... no need to get all pissy/rude.

Sorry to inconvenience you...
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I think it was a valid question. There have been many things which, for a while I believed to be true and was aghast / in disbelief when I found out. I have shared that experience, and I'm sure many of us here have...I remember when I found out I could put my windows up and down with my key. (I was playing with that for two weeks!)

Welcome to the BOARD! [welcome]

And ask all the questions you need or want to; regardless what you may think of them...you never know unless you ask questions. And wanting to know the reasoning rather than just the answer is a good thing...usually.

Welcome again.



Sean
 
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selavia said:
I think it was a valid question. There have been many things which, for a while I believed to be true and was aghast / in disbelief when I found out. I have shared that experience, and I'm sure many of us here have...I remember when I found out I could put my windows up and down with my key. (I was playing with that for two weeks!)

Welcome to the BOARD! [welcome]

And ask all the questions you need or want to; regardless what you may think of them...you never know unless you ask questions. And wanting to know the reasoning rather than just the answer is a good thing...usually.

Welcome again.



Sean
Click to expand...
Nobody said it was a bad question... I just find it rediculous to ask a question which can be answered by opening the owners manual and then when you get the correct answer to trivialize it. He can ask all the questions he wants, and hopefully they'll be answered accurately by someone on this forum...even the easter bunny one. If you don't ask you'll never know...[hihi]

I'd like to add that I'm not sorry for my response.
 
Militant-Grunt

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jayfk21 said:
WHAAAAAAAAAT? Is this really true? I've always warmed my car up... it's really bad for the car? Oh my... this is a huge breakthrough for me. Next you're going to tell me that the Easter Bunny isn't real???

Thanks for the advice... does everybody agree with this? Seems amazing to me!
Click to expand...
Wow, I had no idea that this was the case either.
 
andreyiv

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selavia said:
...I remember when I found out I could put my windows up and down with my key. (I was playing with that for two weeks!)

Sean
Click to expand...
Wait, you can do that? [ohcrap] I can close all the windows with the key but no matter how hard I tried I could never open them with the key. You must teach me this art of making glass disapear with metal objects.
 
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