Hi all,
I had spent a lot of time reviewing remote starter threads on here and thought I'd post my experiences with my 2017 HL XLE. After a lot of back and forth, I decided to go with a Compustar system mainly because there's a shop around the corner from me with a really good reputation.
Upon visiting the install shop, I realized that with some remote starter brands, there are tons of options which you can't learn about just from reviewing their website. After I told the install shop I had a 2017 HL XLE with the keyless entry, we went through several different options. For me, I was only looking at a 1 button remote as I was trying to keep the size as small as possible.
Compustar has several options - one is more upgradeable in the future and can be moved from car to car. The other does lacks upgrade capabilities and movability. It also has a shorter warranty. I went with the more upgradeable version. With this version, the shop was able to program both of my Toyota remotes to work as a remote car starter. To prevent someone from accidentally starting the car by hitting lock 3 times, we set it to lock + unlock + lock. Another key item for me is that with the current Compustar software, I am not limited to only using the remote that started the car as the remote to unlocked the car. I can mix and match - e.g. start the car with the Compustar remote and unlock with my toyota remote or the proximity feature. The car still shuts off when you open the door, but that doesn't bother me. The shop also had to wiring something up with the canbus based on the auto lights.
With remotes, I could choose 2 way or 1 way remotes. With the 1 way remotes, there is the Pro R3 version with a 3 year warranty / 3000 ft range or the Prime R3 which has an 800 ft range and 1 year warranty. I want to say the difference was $40-$50. I went with the Pro R3 version.
Then there are the customizations - For $50 more, they could install a temperate sensor that would automatically turn on my rear defroster / side mirror defrosters. I live in the Boston area so this was definitely something that interested me. The shop set it at 40 degrees instead of 30 degrees since the sensor is on the inside of the car. The light doesn't go on in the dash when it's on, but it shuts off anyways when you open the door.
All said and done, total install price was around $515. Of that $210 was labor and tax was around $15. My install included two (2) 1-way remotes. The did a very nice job on the install (looks pretty clean) so I'm happy with the results.
Hope this is helpful to people.
I had spent a lot of time reviewing remote starter threads on here and thought I'd post my experiences with my 2017 HL XLE. After a lot of back and forth, I decided to go with a Compustar system mainly because there's a shop around the corner from me with a really good reputation.
Upon visiting the install shop, I realized that with some remote starter brands, there are tons of options which you can't learn about just from reviewing their website. After I told the install shop I had a 2017 HL XLE with the keyless entry, we went through several different options. For me, I was only looking at a 1 button remote as I was trying to keep the size as small as possible.
Compustar has several options - one is more upgradeable in the future and can be moved from car to car. The other does lacks upgrade capabilities and movability. It also has a shorter warranty. I went with the more upgradeable version. With this version, the shop was able to program both of my Toyota remotes to work as a remote car starter. To prevent someone from accidentally starting the car by hitting lock 3 times, we set it to lock + unlock + lock. Another key item for me is that with the current Compustar software, I am not limited to only using the remote that started the car as the remote to unlocked the car. I can mix and match - e.g. start the car with the Compustar remote and unlock with my toyota remote or the proximity feature. The car still shuts off when you open the door, but that doesn't bother me. The shop also had to wiring something up with the canbus based on the auto lights.
With remotes, I could choose 2 way or 1 way remotes. With the 1 way remotes, there is the Pro R3 version with a 3 year warranty / 3000 ft range or the Prime R3 which has an 800 ft range and 1 year warranty. I want to say the difference was $40-$50. I went with the Pro R3 version.
Then there are the customizations - For $50 more, they could install a temperate sensor that would automatically turn on my rear defroster / side mirror defrosters. I live in the Boston area so this was definitely something that interested me. The shop set it at 40 degrees instead of 30 degrees since the sensor is on the inside of the car. The light doesn't go on in the dash when it's on, but it shuts off anyways when you open the door.
All said and done, total install price was around $515. Of that $210 was labor and tax was around $15. My install included two (2) 1-way remotes. The did a very nice job on the install (looks pretty clean) so I'm happy with the results.
Hope this is helpful to people.
