i am considering adding remote start to my truck since it won't fit in my garage and it's now winter here. i have found the one's on www.fordaccessories.com. i am wanting to know if anyone on here has one of these? i want a true FORD product and not some $99 piece of crap. i will be having the dealer install it for me, so i won't even try to tackle it myself. which one is the best one to have? i have the keyless entry, but not the keypad on the door. i don't think i have an "alarm" on the truck from the factory, even though the horn beeps when you lock the doors. i don't need something fancy, just something that will crank my truck from inside my house, and not mess anything else up. let me know what you guys think. this may be what Santa (aka: wifey) gets me for Christmas...

 

This is a good question and I was just considering this addition myself.

Here is another recent thread link on the subject; post #4 (after market) has great range, may be applicable; and another comment that the OEM control range is not that good.

https://www.f150forum.com/f38/add-remote-start-72732/

 

There is a brand call Astro Start that I really love. Excellent range, and its two way so it tells you if it starts or not. autostarts with short ranges, such as the stock chevy ones are pretty much worthless. The one I have cost like 380$ installed at the ford dealer but it works awesome and I will never own another vehicle without one!

 

i don't need long range on mine, since the only place it will get used is in my own driveway. and i can hear my truck once it cranks anyway, so i don't need it to tell me whether or not it did crank. i just don't want to get one that will mess up my truck in other ways, ie, the doors not locking/unlocking properly, the truck cutting off when i open the doors, stuff like that. i just want a "simple" one, hit the button, truck cranks and warms up, get in it 10-15 minutes later and drive off. no bells and whistles needed here...

 

Vipers base 2 way start is great, good range, and trust me, one day when you want to start it from somewhere besides your driveway you will appreciate it telling you that its started(and it most likely will happen, you cant know how handy it is until you have one) and I know many with it with a variety of applications and none of them had any problems with functionality or oem functions, and I've had several on many ford products with no problems...

 

yea, i wouldnt cheap out, the couple hundred extra from a cheap model to a good one is well worth it. The range is nice when you are inside buildings as that will cut down your range. I took the original fab off and just use the one from the autostart as it locks unlocks and starts the vehicle from much greater range and tells you if its actually locked or running or not. Also my dealer told me that you can only get them installed at the dealer as if someone else installs it you might void the warranty, however im not sure if this is true or if they were just blowing smoke trying to make a couple extra bucks. I used to have an autostart on a previous vehicle that didnt page back, and more than once I went outside to go to work and the bastard wasnt running cause I was just out of range. Its well worth it IMO

 

I have the Ford one-way remote start, and like you, only need it to work a short range to start my truck in the morning. It obviously does a great job of that and since I can see the truck, I really don't need two-way verification.

However I have started to use it when I leave my workplace, and from ~200ft away with me inside my office (middle of building, first floor) I can start my truck with the remote. Obviously this is where a two way system would be nice, as I can't see if the truck starts. I was quite impressed that the unit worked from that range and through a couple of office walls and a brick exterior wall.

Overall I'd give the Ford unit a thumbs up, though these aftermarket units are quite tempting. I got mine factory installed (aka: I checked it off in the option box, so I think it was factory installed) but if I had to have one installed later, I would look at all my options, not just the Ford.

 

Thats not bad actually, Kudos to Ford. i have a few friends with chevys with the factory ones and they have to be like 20 feet away, they suck and are nearly worthless, haha!

 

ok thanks guys. so if i were to purchase one from another manufacturer other than Ford, should i let my dealer install it? that way it's covered under warranty? my service writer, who is a personal friend of mine is great to deal with and they always cover my stuff if i let them install it. guess when you have bought as many new vehicles from the same dealer as i have, this is a good thing...

 

Ford factory remotes are made by Code One. If you can get a good aftermarket Code One or like I have an Ultrastart. The Ultrastart I have works ~1500 feet away locks and unlocks the truck etc. Good Luck