"Remote Engine Start" and "close the vehicle with manual key - love it ice cold when i get back" ? No wonder that you americans pollute the planet more than every other nation...
China has just surpassed US in total energy use. Looks like you'll now have focus your ire east instead of west. From your profile, I would hazard a guess that you have not had the distinct pleasure of opening up your vehicle after it has sat for hours out in the blazing sun on a 100+ (F) degree day like many of the members here who live in the US south do.
While the Remote A/C turning off upon door opening is annoying, there's nothing stopping you from opening the door, starting the car, then load the groceries in the trunk. This is sort of a "way of life" in hot AZ anyway. It's not as "efficient" as the ICE is more likely to start, but you've got a 3 minute head start on cooling off the vehicle (plus whatever advantage SR offers if it's mid-day). My biggest problem is range. That, and 3 minutes is just enough to make the car ambient again if the sun as descended far enough to make solar ineffective.
I think this is where ECO vs. no ECO comes in (well maybe not in AZ but in other parts of the US and Canada). Since the car is kinda between IG-ON and READY, it matters if ECO is engaged or not.
Remote A/C in Ultra Hot weather.... I just got back from a road trip from the San Francisco Bay Area to Long Beach (And Palm Springs). Of course Palm Springs was in a heat wave over the weekend, and it was 118ºF at 53% humidity! Needless to say the Solar Roof keep the car nice a cool inside...NOT. But it wasn't deadly in there. I'm sure it made a big difference. The Remote A/C did little good, because the air conditioner was always having to blast and with no Highway Driving, kept the traction battery down much of the time. However, even when I did give the car the 3 minutes to try to cool down with the Remote A/C...it did little good. That was just too much heat in direct sun. Oh, and by the way, ECO mode is a bad idea in weather like that....it pretty much throttles the A/C so much, it can't keep the car cool, even on the highway. Once I took it off of ECO, it help a lot, but didn't effectively cool me down till it was 105ºF as I left Palm Springs and returned to Long Beach. I had to keep the vents pointed directly at my face to feel comfortable.
Actually, I don't think so - w/ remote A/C on - the A/C compressor runs at full speed, however when I start the car (in ECO mode), the compressor doesn't run as fast.
Hmm.... I will have to do more testing. It's true in READY mode, the fan speed, even though both are nearly full speed, there is an audible difference btwn ECO and no ECO when first starting the car on a hot day.
In the New York heat wave this summer I'm finding the SR/remote AC a big disappointment in an otherwise wonderful car. The solar roof ventilation system doesn't seem to do very much and the short distance on/3 minute off/ opening door off, combination makes the remote AC just about useless. I wish some more thought went into the whole design.
SR must be combined w/ a windshield HeatShield like device to be more effective. There's a huge difference in AZ when I use it vs. when I don't, even with solar running both times.
I think this is rather true. I have LLumar AirBlue 80 on the front window and it makes a huge difference.
I test the distance today it is 50 meters. And when i went to the car it was cool enough. The temperature here in Athens today was 37oC. I use to use the remote AC it is one of the best thinks that my prius has.
I just tested my new 2010 Prius V Remote Start and got 70 paces I estimate to be around a yard. (New car and I presume a new FOB). My test was line of sight to the side, and also behind the car.
Yeah, for a $4k option, not thrilled with it. Don't find the 3 mins to do much. When it's been the best is when I can start it from in a restaurant. That way it gives it a few mins to cool.
Does anyone know if there's a way to change the vehicle settings so that AC does NOT turn off as soon as you open the door? And/or is there a way to eliminate the 10 minute wait between turning off the engine and getting the solar powered ventilation system to start? I've had the same problem as other users in terms of getting useful results from the AC, though I've gotten it to activate at ranges well in excess of 50 feet, provided relatively unobstructed line-of-sight to the vehicle.
An aftermarket remote start like the Viper unit will start the car from up to 1 mile away and run the A/C or Heat for up to 60 minutes. It will still turn off the car when you open the door. You can also start the car with your phone from anywhere in the world using your smart phone.
Do you have tinted windows? I'm just wondering because my ventilation system makes a huge difference, but maybe it's my tinted windows and not the ventilation system after all. Just wondering...
Nope. The reason is that the car appears to be on (the instrument panel and climate control are on so it looks like the car is running). It's also one reason why the car locks itself before turning on the A/C. I'm wondering if it's a safety thing (e.g. someone can hotwire the car in Remote A/C mode. Also, the 10 minute wait is there because Toyota decided that it doesn't want the car venting out the cooled air that you had before you parked the car.
