Remote Start is Flawless and Easy to Use - 2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Remote Start is Flawless and Easy to Use - 2015 Ford F-150 Long-Term Road Test

Remote start isn't always an easy procedure, but in our long-term 2015 Ford F-150 it always works and it's simple to operate.

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allthingshonda

Get the Sync App for your phone and you can remote start from anywhere.

longtimelurker

Not a fan of remote start...when it's cold, starting an engine and letting it idle is the absolute slowest way to warm up, which is not great for the engine and has only a limited effect on cabin temps, for the same reason. So people tend to remote start way too soon. Which is just that much worse for the engine, and wastes fuel.

For hot weather, I would rather have the ability to remotely lower the windows and open the sunroof than remotely start the A/C...I think that given probably a 150-degree interior temp with it 100 outside, the interior temp would drop faster by opening it up than by leaving it sealed full of 150-degree air and starting the A/C.

Also not a fan of trying to walk through a parking lot full of vehicles with their backup lights on...you don't know which are remote-started and sitting there and which are actually ready to start backing up.

lime679

I love the remote start on my Jeep GC. I use it all the time. You only need to hit the remote start button twice. It appears that it locks it for you if a door happens to be open. In really cold weather it heats the seats and steering wheel.

allthingshonda

I want this feature on my next car. Although in the winter running the engine for 5 minutes is not going to warm up the cabin; it does allow the engine to warm up enough to run a normal idle and can be immediately driven normally (higher revs than when cold). This will make the coolant come to operating temperature quicker.

longtimelurker

If your car has for example a 7k rpm redline, you should probably avoid revs in excess of 4k for the first few minutes of driving, after starting in very cold weather...however there is nothing in the average person's driving profile under those circumstances that would require exceeding 4k rpm anyhow, whether it's been idling for 5 minutes or not. Nobody's bangin' gears to 7k when the roads are covered with ice and snow, no matter how warm their engines are.

The fastest way to get coolant to operating temp when it's 10 degrees out is to start, let it run for 30 seconds, then drive normally. It will have a normal idle within 90 seconds, tops, if it was built within the last 15 years.

I do find it amusing that this vehicle has been criticized by almost every Edmunds staffer for its supposedly poor fuel economy...but now is praised in this post for its peerless ability to sit motionless, burning gas. "When it's cold outside, I like to warm up the truck before I get in." In Santa Monica. Uh-huh. You wouldn't want the heater blowing "cold" air through the holes in your Crocs.

tlangness

Just because our F-150 has trouble meeting its EPA estimates, doesn't mean we avoid cold weather outside of Los Angeles. The two scenarios are not mutually exclusive, especially not over the course of a year-long test.

longtimelurker

Just pulling your leg...