Pardon me for forgetting the exact title name, but there is a federal law that forbids a car company to void a warranty for the buyer using after-market parts. My friend in AZ works on "sporting" cars and alerted me to this. There's actually a pretty strong lobby for tge after-market business. After all after-market is a multi-million dollar business in USA and billion in the world. So . . . Go nuts and after-market your car to death! Warranty is still good!

 

that warranty act has been brought up many times before.

but the simple fact remains... if the aftermarket part caused the issue, your warranty is out. so you'd best pick some good parts.

 

Called my trusted mechanic and she referred me to her trusted sound and alarm company and they said $300 for a remote installed. The dealer quoted me at $750. Can you all say "No Contest". I did. I trust my mechanic completely.

 

I have a bad experience with a dealership (I bought my Fit there too!). This wasn't necessarily an aftermarket problem. I bought OEM parts from a company that only handles Honda and BMW. They've been in business for almost 40 years and they have high customer regards throughout. I had an issue with an all weather purpose mat. Three of the four pieces were flawless, but one started to develop a bubble. I took it to my local dealership knowing that Honda accessories have a year of warranty.

The dealership even inspected the mats and confirmed they were OEM, but refused to warranty me out a new set. I personally think that this is BS. I could understand not wanting to warranty and third party or aftermarket part, but a Honda tech confirmed OEM part and they refuse me service and treated me like crap; because I didn't purchase the part from them or another Honda dealership. I have to say; I was quite disappointed in the whole experience. I had all my receipts and contact information (in case they wanted to call the Part's vendor) and I was refused a solution. The story had a happy ending though...the Vendor warrantied my mats in the end. Took a while to do, but I have a flawless product now.

The point to my rant is simple. If a dealership who represents Honda, in a first party way, refuses to help people with OEM parts (but bought elsewhere) then what hope have the peeps with aftermarket parts? I'm sure there are laws that protect the consumer, but prepare for a long uphill battle in order to get what you want.

 

+1
Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act, it is not a catch-all and it is still an uphill battle that you have to prove.
The dealership is right here. What you are arguing is an accessory and the fact that you purchased it elsewhere could mean it was a 2nd tier quality product. The dealership is not Honda. In this case, it should be the retailer that compensates you or you would need to rant to Honda corporate for a solution.


Back on topic: I suggest looking at CompuStar or any of the DEI branded alarms. One thing to keep in mind is that any aftermarket remote start will require you to bypass the OE immobilizer and use a third party auxiliary immobilizer. Point being, if you car about the immobilizer feature, get a decent alarm. Also, the good alarms also ensure the authorized installer has good experience behind them and are not hacks. Avoid big chains and look for small shops (that's been around a while). Support your local business.

Anyone know who's the manufacturing house that provides the stock alarm/remote start? Honda is not in the business of making alarms/remote start. They had to have sourced it from some partner. If we know who provides the alarm, then adding the aftermarket remote start by the same manf gives a better chance of integration.

 

I see your point mate. I well understand that the Dealership is not Honda per say. That in mind, Honda has ability to refund a 1st party dealer for OEM verified parts for matters of warranty. The corporate number is just going to send you over to a dealership for inspection anyways. I just think it's poor business not to properly inform customers of their rights and limitations when it comes to purchasing OEM parts (from non official Honda vendors). In my case, lesson learned. In the future, I will just buy all the OEM accessories from the dealership or Honda directly. It's not worth the hassle (in case something goes wrong)and the arguments that will not doubt ensue.

My local dealership is trying to become more competitive and they're price matching some dealers and online vendors. This helps a bit since most dealerships are a rip off, imo.

Learn from my folly... don't even bother buying OEM parts from non Honda places, because you're be going to have the most frustrating couple of hours over the phone in your life! LOL

 

Although I own a GD, I'm pretty sure the same applies for the GE:

Honda only offers remote start for auto tranny (reasons mentioned above). Also, like the Bluetooth module, many feel the Honda remote starter is way overpriced (I agree). Remote starters are very popular in Quebec because of the harsh winters and I've never gotten any flack from my dealer for having an aftermarket one installed in my manual transmission GD Fit. I believe the most important thing is to have the remote starter installed by a reputable company that will guarantee their work.

The tricky thing about the remote starter is that it has to bypass the immobilizer. Some installers bypass this issue on the cheap by hiding a key in the car somewhere. I strongly advise against this type of install as it pretty much permanently disables the immobilizer. Special modules are available for about 50$ which will bypass the immobilizer. A reputable installer should know the brands of modules which are the best to chose.

For manual transmission cars, there are 2 or 3 main types of remote start. One way, two way and the smart start systems that work with a smartphone so you can start you car from another country if you feel like it. In the lowest end, there are the one way starters which is what I have. It works perfectly fine except I have to go through the "arming" process when I turn off the ignition. (Neutral+Parking brake, Press the remote, remove the key, exit the car). These can be had in Canada for about 300-400$ including installation.

The two way like the Vyper, has the added convenience that the remote can also receive info from the car. That means you don't need to arm the system every time but your car will still not start if you parked it in gear anyway. You will simply receive an error light on your remote and the car will not start. The smartstart systems are neat, especially if you get towed and want to find your car via GPS (or if someone stole it) but these are more expensive and do require a monthly fee for the service. Overkill if you ask me.

I'd just stick with a very basic remote starter but ensure that you get a top notch installation and you should be fine. I do believe remote starters put a very slight drain on the battery so if you armed it and left your car parked for 3 weeks it might have trouble starting up. However, I've never had this issue.

 

Pretty sure the Viper two-way remote starters need to "arm" the same way as the one-way for MT.

 

never mind deleted my post