Have you ever thought about how nice it would be to have a remote start system on your car or truck when you live in Kansas City?

You know, its freezing cold outside, you’re inside sipping the morning cup, you press a button on the remote starter and, outside in the driveway, your car fires up and gets all nice and warmed up with the windows defrosted while you finish getting ready for work. Wouldn’t that be great?

Well, there are plenty of these types of systems on the market and shops that will install them for you. And the prices may seem reasonable but what they don’t tell you is that you need more than just the remote starter itself.

Almost all vehicles built since the late nineties, especially those with so-called “keyless” entry, have an electronic anti-theft system that prevents starting unless the vehicle “sees” that the correct key is in the ignition or it is receiving the correct code in its computer. You’ve all heard about keys with a chip inside and that’s what it’s for.  So for any remote starter to work it must “trick” the vehicle into thinking that the key is in the ignition, and that’s where the bypass module comes in. Whether they’re called an ignition immobilizer interface, transponder bypass kit, or a passlock interface, they are all bypass modules and they do the same job.

Part of the reason for the different names is the differences in circuitry from one make and model to another. Many of the latest bypass modules on the market are on-line programmable to work with the software for a variety of different vehicles. Sometimes one bypass module can cover several different vehicles, but other times a different interface module will be necessary depending on the vehicle.

Do you have an alarm system on your vehicle or are you planning to install one?  Some car alarms have the option of integrating a remote starter into the system and that’s something that you should verify with your dealer if you already have an alarm or are going to buy one.

So now we know that a bypass module is absolutely required for a remote car starter to work. Most of the ads you see for remote starter installation do not include the price of the bypass module in their $99 – $149 quote. You should not do business with anybody who does not include the price of the bypass module in their quotes for a remote starter system. To us, it’s the same thing as a “bait and switch” tactic.  If it’s a required part, it should be included in the advertisement.

All of the remote starter installation quotes from 4 Wheel Parts include the bypass module, installation of the complete system, and is the out the door price. There are no surprises when you’re dealing with 4 Wheel Parts.

So this winter you can sit back and relax, fire up the car from inside where it’s nice and warm and have another cup of coffee. By the time you’re ready to leave your car will be too.