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Can I get a Remote Car Starter on A Manual Transmission?
We are asked this question all the time. The short answer is: Sure you can! But I am confident that you want more information than that! Read on.
A Little History
We used to stay away from remote car starters on manual shift cars. Back in the day, there were all kinds of methods to do a remote start in a standard shift. One manufacturer had little lights that you had to line up to ensure that the shifter was in the neutral position. What a joke that was. There was nothing out there that appeared to be both safe and reliable.
Today, installations in standard transmission vehicles make up about 20% of our car starter business. So what changed our minds? A couple of years ago, our remote starter vendor came up with a very easy to use, reliable and safe method. That method has been improved upon and today, is very foolproof.
What’s the Big Deal?
There are several issues with installing a remote starter in stick shift. First of all, you must have the emergency brake on. Second, the vehicle must be in neutral. If either one of these conditions does not exist during the remote start sequence, the result could be deadly. The car could buck forward and roll down a hill. Not good.
So in order to make a remote starter function safely, it needs to be able to monitor both the E brake and the shifter.
How do we do that?
The first one is simple. Most vehicles have a wire attached to the emergency brake. If the brake is not engaged, the remote car starter realizes this and will not let the vehicle start. But what about the shifter?
In most cases, the shifter is a manual device and there is not a wire that can tell the remote starter without a doubt that the car is in neutral.
Our vendor has a very effective way of doing this. First of all, when you are ready to get out of your car, you need to engage the emergency brake. You do this before you shut off the car. This is a sign to the remote car starter to keep the car running even after you turn off the key. Next you actually turn off the key and the car stays running. Now you make sure that the car is in neutral and get out of the car. When you close the door, the car shuts off. Why go through all of that? If the car is still running when you get out of the car, obviously it had to be in neutral.
When you want to remote start your vehicle, simply press the button on the remote. As long as no-one has opened the door since you exited, the car will start. If the door was opened, the car will not start. This is a safety feature to ensure that no one has gotten in the vehicle and put it back in gear. Opening the door interrupts the specific series of events that needs to happen in order to start the car remotely. Once the door is opened, you need to repeat the process outlined above before remote car starting.
We feel that this is a very easy, effective and safe way to add a remote car starter to your vehicle. Please stop in anytime for a free estimate on a remote car starter for your standard shift vehicle.
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I have 2003 Subaru Legacy 5 speed and would love an automatic starter, but I have to push the clutch to the floor in order to start the car even if the gearshift is in neutral. Can a remote car starter be installed in this vehicle?
Thanks
Absolutely!
I have a 2007 Ford Ranger, that is a manual transmission. I was wondering if i could put an automatic car starter in it.
Absolutely! Find yourself a great local shop and they can do it… And if Mobile Edge is within 100 miles… Well.. We’re worth the drive!!!!
Hi I bought one today under advice from a professional, but upon reading the manual I realized it says ” not for convertibles or soft tops” well my car is a vw 88 cabriolet.! Also my car is a manual and he installed it as an automatic because my emergency brake signal is ” sticky” and will sometimes flicker when not engaged- the brake works though….should I be worried?
I can’t find answers to this question anywhere! Please help.
I have no way of knowing the specific details of this install. Perhaps they took other precautions. Perhaps the brand that you had installed has different options that allow for safe installations in these cases (though I’ve never heard of anything like that)… That being said, based on the information that you provided, it sounds to be very unsafe. This would never be the way that we would do it. And I’m a little embarrassed that someone in my industry would do this. Gives us all a bit of a black eye. What you need to do is go back to that shop and ask them to explain exactly how this vehicle is safe and how ALL of the required safety functions perform properly. Be nice but firm and don’t take “well it just is” for an answer…. Make them show you. If they cannot, I would politely ask for them to take it out and refund all of your money. Injuring someone because of this potentially bad install would be horrible to live with.
I have a 2007 G6 and I was wondering about a automatic starter. With my car it has to be in reverse to remove the key so netural and e brake isnt an option. I figure the answer to my ? is no the automatic starter wouldn’t work but I could be wrong so will it work?
I haven’t run across that before. Is this a defect in your switch, or the way it was from factory?
hi! i have a 92 5.0 with a manual transmission i was wondering if i can put an automatic starter on it ??
Xavier, assuming it is fuel injected, yes you can! Stop in anytime with the vehicle and we can provide you with a firm price quote.