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Anybody have a remote starter on their Tacoma?

5245 Views 17 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  6shooter
I'm way up here in the north and nearly all vehicles have remote starts due to the cold in the winter. I asked a few stores and they've said they can't do the remote starter on my 08 Tacoma because I have a manual tranny and it's a liability issue.

I find it hard to believe that in 2010 we haven't found a fix for that old problem, and I also find it hard to believe that with all the trucks up north, NOBODY has a manual transmission.

I've tried to point out to the shops that I have a "clutch override start" button, and that perhaps they would simply need to tie into that. But I get a deer-in-the-headlights look (again, I find it hard to believe the Tacoma is the only vehicle in existence with a clutch override...).

So the question stands...anybody have a remote start system on their manual tranny Tacoma?
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i do know of a guy here in the bay area that knows how to do the remote start on a man. tran., it is possible
I have it on my auto taco as well as my manual corolla and almost all my previous hondas. Most shops just dont want to do the install because of liabity. Youll proli have to find a small private shops thats willing to do them.
Although mine wont let you start it in gear so you cant get in trouble. Its called compustar. Nustart is also a good similar brand.
I used to work in a Best Buy that installed remote starters into vehicles. The reason that most shops will not install one onto a manual tranny is because if you leave it in gear and start it, the truck could drive off. We had someone do that with a brand new Lexus that some hole in the wall shop installed a remote start into. When they started it, the car hopped the curb and drove into a tree across a small field.

It's a liability to the shops and if you forget to leave it out of gear, you could wreck your own truck. The installation instructions are the same as on an automatic tranny you just have to take the extra step of disabling the clutch override switch and basically trick the computer into thinking the clutch is pressed when it is trying to start.

Let me know if you have anymore questions about remote starts in our truck but the answers you are getting from those shops is to be expected and depending on where you are moving, remote starters on a manual may be illegal like they are here in VA.
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Look into compustar or nustart brand remote starters/pagers/alarm.
I dont know if theyre available in the US but its popular up here in canada.
It doesnt just bypass the clutch switch. It has a reservation mode that needs to be setup so the car is always in neutral for it to be remote started.
Just be sure they hook the ebrake up to the neutral safety switch so the ebrake has to be set and the car in neutral to start.
i have autostart, or arctic start, and it is great no problems at all and its 2 way!
How would a system like this know that the trans is in fact in neutral?
How would a system like this know that the trans is in fact in neutral?
There is a sensor that tells the engine control module if the truck is in neutral and/or park that is part of the starting circuitry.
There is a sensor that tells the engine control module if the truck is in neutral and/or park that is part of the starting circuitry.
The question was in reference to a manual trans. I can find neutral on my stick shift, but I can't seem to find park... :wiggle:
There is a sensor that tells the engine control module if the truck is in neutral and/or park that is part of the starting circuitry.
I should have been more clear, on the auto trans the system can detect the position of the shifter. On the manual trans, is there anything to detect shifter position? Likely not.
I should have been more clear, on the auto trans the system can detect the position of the shifter. On the manual trans, is there anything to detect shifter position? Likely not.
Unfortunately no. The auto trans has a P/N switch, and the manual trans has just the clutch switch.
i'd be all over this if there was a way to use the OEM remote or to program the after market remote to work with the factory alarm.
I should have been more clear, on the auto trans the system can detect the position of the shifter. On the manual trans, is there anything to detect shifter position? Likely not.
Unfortunately no. The auto trans has a P/N switch, and the manual trans has just the clutch switch.
Correct. I went a crosseyed chasing the colored lines around wiring diagram.

So as FRiZzo said, one should have it detect that the ebrake is set before allowing a start.
I'm way up here in the north and nearly all vehicles have remote starts due to the cold in the winter. I asked a few stores and they've said they can't do the remote starter on my 08 Tacoma because I have a manual tranny and it's a liability issue.

I find it hard to believe that in 2010 we haven't found a fix for that old problem, and I also find it hard to believe that with all the trucks up north, NOBODY has a manual transmission.

I've tried to point out to the shops that I have a "clutch override start" button, and that perhaps they would simply need to tie into that. But I get a deer-in-the-headlights look (again, I find it hard to believe the Tacoma is the only vehicle in existence with a clutch override...).

So the question stands...anybody have a remote start system on their manual tranny Tacoma?
Look for a shop (Best Buy sell and install it for you) that can a install the Viper Alarm. I have the Viper 5901 in my corolla 2010. Probably you will need to use a transponder bypass the factory anti-theft system with something like this
Best Buy wouldn't touch my manual transmission vehicle.

I bought the following from Crutchfield and it looks like I'm going to have to resort to doing it myself: Python 872 alarm system, and they included the XPressKit KX05 interface. They also gave me the following diagram. Hopefully this will all be relatively straight forward.....

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Can somebody recommend me the cheapest remote start possible? I mean cheap and basic. I'm a volunteer firefighter and in the winter it will help a lot with getting the engine running quicker. Else I'll have to get a block heater.
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