[pylon]

As a car business guy, and someone that used to install these hack devices, let me give you some advice.

DO NOT PUT THESE IN YOUR CARS.

Back when I did them, I would always use this analogy. It is like using a road flare, to ignite the engines on the Space shuttle.

Electronics in cars are highly sophisticated, top quality, and usually German engineered. I believe they are classified as class 'A' devices. Remote control car starters, are cheap, junky, made in Taiwan pieces of garbage, that barely fall into the level of quality a cheap toy would. So you are taking that piece of junk made at some anonymous factory in Asia with zero quality control, and tying it into your factory engine computer, and engine management system made by a top tier company like Siemens or Bosch.

Also with all new vehicles, they are equipped with transponder based anti theft devices. Basically an antenna detects the proximity of the key, to an antenna around the ignition tumbler or near it. Why they ask for a spare key, is they are typically in most cases, opening up your steering column, and taping, or gluing the entire key, or the transponder portion of it, right next to the antenna, to make it think there is a key in the ignition at all times. You are now kicking it old school, and simply relying on the physical skeleton pattern on the key as security. What does this mean? You have basically given up your factory electronic anti theft device with billions of codes which makes your car essentially theft proof, and are now relying on a simple relay as your ignition cut, which can be over ridden very easily.

Combine that with the fact that a lot of these things are installed by absolute hacks, who have no qualifications to be working on the intricate electrical system in a new car, let alone a Atari 2600.

If you are going to put one in, they do have plug and play options available now. Basically no wiring alteration is required, as they plug right into the molex connector, inline with the engine computer, but they still usually require the anti theft over ride. So I still don't trust these things.

If the thing ever cooks your engine computer, you are SOL. The manufacturers and installers all "claim" they will cover any damages that they may cause to the starter (by cranking without cutting the start signal) or the engine computer, but being on both sides of the fence, I have never ONCE seen an electronic company step up, and fix a mistake. They will give you the run around until you get fed up and pay.