Cars with remote cabin pre-conditioning?
Discussion
Hi, can anyone suggest a smallish cheapish car that lets you precondition the cabin to desired temp and defrost when icy? Is it only EVs and plug in hybrids that can do it or can simple hybrids as well?
Preferably with a simple app to control it remotely, rather than having to remember program it in the car each time.
I work 13 hour shifts on an irregular pattern and hate having to de-ice my car twice on the same day in winter…
Don’t need it to be fun to drive, have another car for that.
Thanks in advance
Preferably with a simple app to control it remotely, rather than having to remember program it in the car each time.
I work 13 hour shifts on an irregular pattern and hate having to de-ice my car twice on the same day in winter…
Don’t need it to be fun to drive, have another car for that.
Thanks in advance
Modern Volvo with an automatic gearbox and On Call app, or same again with some JLR products. Ideally with winter pack to heat the seats and front windscreen as well.
Needs an annual subscription but it’s not expensive.
If it’s not an automatic, it’s limited to running the fans, it won’t start the engine for heat and cooling.
Needs an annual subscription but it’s not expensive.
If it’s not an automatic, it’s limited to running the fans, it won’t start the engine for heat and cooling.
Rough101 said:
Modern Volvo with an automatic gearbox and On Call app, or same again with some JLR products. Ideally with winter pack to heat the seats and front windscreen as well.
Needs an annual subscription but it’s not expensive.
If it’s not an automatic, it’s limited to running the fans, it won’t start the engine for heat and cooling.
That will just blow cold air around, not a lot of help.Needs an annual subscription but it’s not expensive.
If it’s not an automatic, it’s limited to running the fans, it won’t start the engine for heat and cooling.
Some automatic Jaguars have remote engine starting and heating, but bear in mind it’s illegal for your car to be left idling on the public highway in the U.K. so ok on your drive but not elsewhere (as well as needlessly polluting obviously) not sure about the position with car parks whether being public or corporate makes a difference.
Other than that it’s an EV. It’s a big bonus in winter (or summer when you can pre cool it remotely)
OMV said:
Hi, can anyone suggest a smallish cheapish car that lets you precondition the cabin to desired temp and defrost when icy? Is it only EVs and plug in hybrids that can do it or can simple hybrids as well?
Preferably with a simple app to control it remotely, rather than having to remember program it in the car each time.
I work 13 hour shifts on an irregular pattern and hate having to de-ice my car twice on the same day in winter…
Don’t need it to be fun to drive, have another car for that.
Thanks in advance
Pretty much all Jags let you do this.Preferably with a simple app to control it remotely, rather than having to remember program it in the car each time.
I work 13 hour shifts on an irregular pattern and hate having to de-ice my car twice on the same day in winter…
Don’t need it to be fun to drive, have another car for that.
Thanks in advance
I asked the exact same question a few years back - up very early for work and hate getting in a frozen car! I ended up buying a PHEV with an app for pre-conditioning. It’s the best thing ever. Even though I’ve only had it a short time - getting into a warm, defrosted car is a game changer for me!
As far as i know it’s only JLR products that can do it without being EV or PHEV. I certainly couldn’t find anything else which did it.
As far as i know it’s only JLR products that can do it without being EV or PHEV. I certainly couldn’t find anything else which did it.
spaceship said:
I asked the exact same question a few years back - up very early for work and hate getting in a frozen car! I ended up buying a PHEV with an app for pre-conditioning. It’s the best thing ever. Even though I’ve only had it a short time - getting into a warm, defrosted car is a game changer for me!
As far as i know it’s only JLR products that can do it without being EV or PHEV. I certainly couldn’t find anything else which did it.
As mentioned above, Volvos with an auto can also start the engine and precondition the interior, it was lovely to walk up to the car on a frosty morning and get in to a nice warm cabin.As far as i know it’s only JLR products that can do it without being EV or PHEV. I certainly couldn’t find anything else which did it.
£80 for a chinese diesel heater with a keyfob remote control and £25 for a gsm relay if you want to ne able to control it from a longer range. Game changer gor me in winter. I can defrost my van from my bed and i have piped hot air into an aluminium clothing cupboard in the back so halfway through a workday i can change into warm dry clothes no matter where I am.
Fits any car. If its a petrol car you will need to fit a small diesel tank somewhere.
Some phevs have it but dont know any small cheap ones that have it.
Fits any car. If its a petrol car you will need to fit a small diesel tank somewhere.
Some phevs have it but dont know any small cheap ones that have it.
Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Saturday 22 April 10:39
starsky67 said:
That will just blow cold air around, not a lot of help.
Some automatic Jaguars have remote engine starting and heating, but bear in mind it’s illegal for your car to be left idling on the public highway in the U.K. so ok on your drive but not elsewhere (as well as needlessly polluting obviously) not sure about the position with car parks whether being public or corporate makes a difference.
Other than that it’s an EV. It’s a big bonus in winter (or summer when you can pre cool it remotely)
No, it’s a great help actually in combination with the electric demisters which JLR and Volvo have in most trim packs. It’s automated, doesn’t blow air until is small heat in the coolant.Some automatic Jaguars have remote engine starting and heating, but bear in mind it’s illegal for your car to be left idling on the public highway in the U.K. so ok on your drive but not elsewhere (as well as needlessly polluting obviously) not sure about the position with car parks whether being public or corporate makes a difference.
Other than that it’s an EV. It’s a big bonus in winter (or summer when you can pre cool it remotely)
If it’s at home on your drive, a station car park, or work car park, remote start is fine. You say needlessly polluting, but you’d start the engine then start deciding anyway, so it’s always going to be doing some level of idle.
starsky67 said:
That will just blow cold air around, not a lot of help.
Some automatic Jaguars have remote engine starting and heating, but bear in mind it’s illegal for your car to be left idling on the public highway in the U.K. so ok on your drive but not elsewhere (as well as needlessly polluting obviously) not sure about the position with car parks whether being public or corporate makes a difference.
Other than that it’s an EV. It’s a big bonus in winter (or summer when you can pre cool it remotely)
Does the JLR system not avoid this legality on the basis of the car not being drivable whilst in remote start mode? The doors remain locked during the remote start and even if they were manually unlocked the car engine will turn off if you try select a gear or anything else without having the key fob and doing the standard start up procedure.Some automatic Jaguars have remote engine starting and heating, but bear in mind it’s illegal for your car to be left idling on the public highway in the U.K. so ok on your drive but not elsewhere (as well as needlessly polluting obviously) not sure about the position with car parks whether being public or corporate makes a difference.
Other than that it’s an EV. It’s a big bonus in winter (or summer when you can pre cool it remotely)
Unfortunately I can’t get my F-Type heated seats to work via the app but it was nice over winter to be able to preheat the cabin and get a little heat in the engine before heading out.
spaceship said:
I asked the exact same question a few years back - up very early for work and hate getting in a frozen car! I ended up buying a PHEV with an app for pre-conditioning. It’s the best thing ever. Even though I’ve only had it a short time - getting into a warm, defrosted car is a game changer for me!
As far as i know it’s only JLR products that can do it without being EV or PHEV. I certainly couldn’t find anything else which did it.
BMW have an option for auxiliary heating/ventilation. My X5 has it and it can be controlled from the app or a separate remote key fob. It's quite an expensive optional extra so not very common to find in used cars. As far as i know it’s only JLR products that can do it without being EV or PHEV. I certainly couldn’t find anything else which did it.
J1990 said:
Does the JLR system not avoid this legality on the basis of the car not being drivable whilst in remote start mode? The doors remain locked during the remote start and even if they were manually unlocked the car engine will turn off if you try select a gear or anything else without having the key fob and doing the standard start up procedure.
I think it is still technically illegal as the law is about pollution as much as not leaving a drivable car unoccupied. For example it’s no longer legal to sit in your stationary car with the engine running to keep the heating or air conditioning working.whether or not you’d get pulled up for it is another question of course.https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/emissions/idlin...
Edited by starsky67 on Saturday 22 April 15:51
starsky67 said:
But remember that it’s technically illegal to do this anywhere other than private property.
You can buy something with an aux heater or have one added to your current car (though retrofit usually doesn't come with an app, so you either need to pay extra to have a cellphone module if you want flexibility or stick with preset times in the car).Most electric cars offer it too (at least those that come with a good app, can vouch for the BMW I3).
As for Volvo's I think recent ones (2019 on?) come with an app that lets you remote (engine) start. Certain plug-in hybrids can warm up without running the engine (XC40 uses the HV battery and the V60 uses an aux petrol heater for heating).
Mammasaid said:
spaceship said:
I asked the exact same question a few years back - up very early for work and hate getting in a frozen car! I ended up buying a PHEV with an app for pre-conditioning. It’s the best thing ever. Even though I’ve only had it a short time - getting into a warm, defrosted car is a game changer for me!
As far as i know it’s only JLR products that can do it without being EV or PHEV. I certainly couldn’t find anything else which did it.
As mentioned above, Volvos with an auto can also start the engine and precondition the interior, it was lovely to walk up to the car on a frosty morning and get in to a nice warm cabin.As far as i know it’s only JLR products that can do it without being EV or PHEV. I certainly couldn’t find anything else which did it.
This came up as an ad on my feed, I’d imagine there are uk suppliers
https://gazer.com/en/metasmart-car/multiclimate/
https://gazer.com/en/metasmart-car/multiclimate/
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