does remote starter suck gas????

[thefatkid13]

totally ignorant newbie question here.


just had a remote starter installed on Monday. been using it in the morning and after work. run the car for about 10 minutes or so.

but it seems like the gas is being poured in to an abyss or something! does the addition of the remote starter have THAT much of an effect on my mpg?

[maxwedge]

Yeah you are letting the engine run for 10 minutes, unnecessary, 2 minute warm up is all you need after that you are wasting gas.

['97ventureowner]

Yeah, you don't really need that much of a warmup like maxwedge says, but I have one installed in my 2006 Chevy Uplander and I did some checking on average mileage by using my DIC (drivers' information center). I checked the average miles per gallon before I use the remote start and then check it awhile after to see what the results were. There was only a 0.2 to 0.4 decrease after about 10 minutes. I also see the same decrease while waiting for traffic lights in the city as some of them are long and you have to wait awhile. So to me it's kind of like city driving. Sure it will decrease your overall fuel economy but the results are similar to driving in city conditions. It helps to keep your vehicle properly tuned to use as less gas as possible while idling.

[thefatkid13]

alright, just so long as we're not talking about slashing my mpg in half or something.

i'm gonna wind the warmup time down to 2-3 minutes. though climbing into a 78 degree atmosphere when it's -3 outside is pretty nice.

[ponchonutty]

Yep I do these for a living. It won't affect the MPG that much but obviously it will a little. Some cars actually benefit slightly to warm up a little before taking off. My car for instance averages 1gpm less if I take off when the car is >20 degrees versus letting it idle for 5 minutes before taking off.

[adamace1]

Originally Posted by ponchonutty

Yep I do these for a living. It won't affect the MPG that much but obviously it will a little. Some cars actually benefit slightly to warm up a little before taking off. My car for instance averages 1gpm less if I take off when the car is >20 degrees versus letting it idle for 5 minutes before taking off.

Are you going by the computer or doing it by hand? It's hard to belive. My friend had a trailblazer and he got an average of 17mpg then with remote start he got 14mpg. It depends how long you let it idle, I think 1-3 minutes could be good for the car and won't cost two much. Alot of people will do 5 min plus, then sometime they get to talking to someone and let it idle 30mins.

[ponchonutty]

No, I don't have a computer that calculates it in my car. It was done by hand, trip, and going to the same gas pump and filling up the same exact way each and every time. Now my Silverado, it sucks the gas no matter what. You'd think that with the fuel prices what they've been remote starters would be one of the last things people would want. The funny thing is that this past year has been one of my best remote start season to date.