Sizzlin’ Summer - Turn Your Car into an Oasis of Cool with a Remote Starter!
How we Beat the heat with MPC remote start
Most people associate remote car starters with getting their car or truck warmed up in the cold winters. But increasingly, summer is where a remote starter comes in handy.
Large portions of the country endure record heat and a summer that lasts much longer than three months. If you live in one of these hot zones - you know the difficulties it can present.
Finding Shade
Have you found yourself circling a parking lot searching for the scraggliest of trees to park underneath? It’s kind of sad. Do you park far away from the mall to find shade just to keep your car less oven-like? Maybe you will have to walk farther to get to the mall - but at least afterward, you’ll be able to get in your vehicle without getting scalded (hopefully). So you leave your windows cracked and venture out into the heat.
I’ve left for work extra early - just to get a parking space in the parking garage that isn’t on the top floor. Shaded spots are at a premium. In these towns, in apartment complexes, people will pay extra for the covered parking. Some vehicles I have owned have had the dash eventually disintegrate due to the sun and heat.
Although you might still seek out the shade, if you can start your car as you leave the store or the office, it can quickly cool down to a much more comfortable level.
Kids and the Heat
A remote starter is a perfect comfort and safety upgrade if you live in Texas, Arizona, or Florida. As temperatures heat, surface temperatures on the dash, steering wheel, and seats can exceed 160 degrees, and the air temp can be over 130 degrees.
If you take your children to the mall, pool, or other indoor venues - you know the misery that awaits once you arrive back at your car. Kids are tired, and the heat has them truly cranky. And with an infant or toddler, there is a real danger of 2nd and 3rd-degree burns from hot seatbelts or other metal objects.
If you or your young ones happen to be wearing shorts (appropriate for 90-degree temps) - you might not even be able to sit on a leather seat. We used to keep towels in our car to put across a hot seat. That is one way to manage - but getting into a cooled car with those kids is a much better alternative.
And infants and toddlers can’t understand the heat - all they know is that it’s highly unpleasant - and they will let you know it in their unique ways. Even a whoosh of hot air as you open the car door can be dysregulating for extra sensitive kids. You can head off any related meltdowns by having your car cooled when you get in.
Driving Safely and Confidently
If you have gotten into your car after it has been baking in the sun for hours, you know how uncomfortable it can be to touch your steering wheel, gear shift, even the seat itself. Some drivers in Tucson wear oven mitts for driving. Doing this doesn’t seem safe, but it keeps their hands from touching the burning hot steering wheel. Much better to install a remote starter and get that steering wheel nice and cool.
Having your air conditioning on your car running for a bit before you get into it will allow you to focus on driving instead of trying to keep from getting burned. You’ll be able to keep your eyes on the road rather than trying to crank up the air conditioning and adjust the vents.
Protecting Your Family’s Health
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has warned that even on a 60° day, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach a dangerous 110° F within several hours. The threshold for heatstroke in children is when the internal body temperature rises to about 104° F.
We are all aware of the danger of leaving children and pets in the car. But there are other issues with just getting in a hot car. If you, a family member or friend, have breathing problems like asthma or COPD, these conditions can be hazardous.
In addition, some medications can cause heat intolerance. Likewise, babies and the elderly have a hard time adapting to these drastic changes in temperature, and some conditions such as MS can be exacerbated by the hot temperatures.
Other Summertime Benefits
Some aftermarket remote starters are paired with GPS technology, giving you the ability to locate your car more quickly. If you’re a parent with children of driving age and out of school for the summer, this allows you to monitor their whereabouts when they take the car out with friends.
It also makes it easy to find your vehicle in crowded parking lots; convenient after a long day at the theme park. Locate your car, and cool it off as you exit the park.
Besides just getting the engine going, a remote starter also provides additional security measures. You can have the car running without leaving the keys in it, and some systems can also set off a car security alarm when a break-in is detected. Some models will even alert you if you’ve left a door open or the trunk popped.
Lastly, the remote starter gives you the ability to unlock doors and open the trunk with the touch of a single button. So when you have your hands full of groceries, kids, or beach supplies, rather than fumbling with the keys, you can easily unlock all the doors to provide easy access to the vehicle.
When I started researching this article, I read a Wikihow page with tips on cooling off your car. Of course, there were the usual recommendations - but one I found particularly amusing.
The suggestion was to “fan your door.” “To cool a hot car as quickly as possible, fan the door rapidly several times.” First, rapidly push the door towards the car, stopping short of actually closing it. Then, repeat six to eight times.”
These instructions came complete with diagrams and arrows showing how to fan the door, releasing the heat from the car. So, folks, if you want to avoid this particular exercise and other hassles, get a remote starter for your car!
How easy the installation is will depend on your vehicle model. Many kits are simple plug-n-play, while others might require professional installation. The cost of a remote starter kit will run between $50 - $130 - not including installation costs.
When you order your kit you will receive a complete wiring diagram for your car starter and access to our excellent customer service technicians to help with troubleshooting.
So whether you are looking for a simple add-on to your current key fob, or want to go all-out with a remote car starter phone app - we’ve got you covered for summer!