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Originally Posted by hamera
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Originally Posted by del82
If we also need hardware, there are 2 reasons why it's difficult and I don't think it will ever be possible for UK cars.
1. It is illegal to run your engine unattended on a public road in the UK. There is no way BMW can guarantee this won't happen so they don't provide remote start or install hardware for EU cars.
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What about your drive way? Technically it's not a public road.
BMW allows me to lock the car with engine running anyway. What's the difference between me popping into a car, starting it up, then locking it, and getting back to the house and doing it remotely from my kitchen when I'm having a tea? Other than it's inconvenient there is no difference. It's your responsibility, not BMW, to use the vehicle legally.
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Originally Posted by del82
2. Car Insurance. Insurers in the UK don't like people starting their cars and then leaving them. The small print on some policies says if you leave your car engine on unattended and the car was stolen, then policy is cancelled. And I think with digital relays being able to open cars, leaving a digital key card on the car which can start the car wouldn't be looked at well.
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That's a valid point but I always wonder, how will they ever know whether the engine was running or not at this time? How will they know if the card was inside or not? Also, as we all know if they want to steal your car they don't need the engine running anyway. They will be just fine without our help.
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Originally Posted by del82
Land/Range Rover get around this by providing an auxiliary heater/cooler in the car which doesn't need the engine running at active. UK G20 doesn't have this.
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I guess you could just order parts from Europe? For example, in Poland it is roughly £1500 option when ordering new car. I imagine parts + labour will be way too expensive to even consider for most but if somone isn't short of cash there is always a way I suppose.
Google translate from the Polish BMW website.
"The parking heater with timer enables individual heating of the interior in cold weather without starting the engine. It also prevents the windows from freezing up and fogging up. The auxiliary heating is controlled, for example, with a BMW key with display, BMW smartphone app or the iDrive controller.
The heat source is a water heating device powered by the fuel system. A cold engine is also heated via the cooling system. This reduces fuel consumption during the warm-up phase. The parking heater can be switched on with programmable switching on at outside temperatures below 15 ° C, and with direct switching on at any temperature. At warmer temperatures, parking ventilation keeps the interior cool" |
Agree on the driveway. The law is roughly: The use of such apps "would only be lawful where the driver was in close attendance and could take control of the vehicle if needed."
Tbh all of this is because of German law where it is illegal to even park on your driveway with the engine running. Same with speed camera warnings - perfectly legal in the UK but France and Germany it's illegal so they don't give us the option in the EU as standard. That's my understanding of the legality behind the decision. Cars not built in Germany can have the warnings built in to the Nav like RR/LR. German cars that are electric can have remote start.
Anyway I think it's a lot of effort and risk with insurers and warranty to mess around with remote start here in the UK. It would be great but there's so much ambiguity around it.