Start the engine from inside the house and get into a warm vehicle instead of a cold one. We fit remote starters at our northeast Calgary shop — keyed ignition, push-to-start, and the vehicles a lot of shops turn away.
Set up around your year, make and model rather than a one-size kit.
Available on some vehicles and systems — we check yours before you buy.
Dedicated remotes where you need distance or confirmation back.
Installed in our northeast Calgary bay, cold-started and handed over in person.
On an older keyed vehicle a remote starter is a fairly contained piece of work. On anything modern it is mostly about getting a new system to talk to the ones already in the car — the immobiliser, the data network, the door locks and the start circuit.
That is why two vehicles on the same driveway can be very different jobs. A push-to-start SUV needs an interface module so the factory security system will allow a start it did not initiate. A twenty-year-old truck with a metal key does not.
It is also why we ask for the year, make and model before quoting. The system, the module and the labour all follow from that, and we confirm the price with you before anything is opened up.
There are four common ways to trigger a remote start. Which are available to you depends on your vehicle and on the system fitted — not every option exists for every car.
On some vehicles and systems the remote start can be triggered from the fob you already carry, usually by pressing lock several times. It keeps one remote in your pocket instead of two. Availability depends on the vehicle and the interface used, so treat it as something to confirm rather than assume.
The system comes with its own remote. This is the usual route where the factory fob cannot trigger a start, and it is also where you go if you want more range than a factory fob gives.
Where supported, a two-way remote reports back — so you get confirmation the vehicle actually received the command and started, instead of guessing from across a car park. Usually an LCD or LED remote.
An LTE module lets you start, stop and check the vehicle from anywhere with cell coverage. It needs compatible hardware and carries an ongoing subscription, which we will explain before you commit to it.
Availability of each option depends on the vehicle, the system installed, the remote package chosen and any interface module required. Tell us what you drive and we will tell you which of these are actually on the table.
For many standard vehicles, remote starter pricing starts with one of the options below. Your exact quote depends on the vehicle, its integration requirements and the features you choose. Prices include installation and are before GST.
Manual transmission: typically $50 more, and about 40 minutes of additional installation time.
Push-to-start vehicles do not automatically cost extra.
Phone control is available as an optional upgrade — ask us about current options.
Complex and European applications may need an individual quote.
We confirm your exact price before any work starts.
We install Fortin and Compustar remote start systems, chosen to suit the vehicle and what you want from it. RC Car Entertainment is listed as an authorized Compustar dealer. Kits we have quoted include the Fortin RFK442, RFK642 and RFK942 and the Compustar G17 — these are examples, not a fixed menu, and we name the exact system on your quote.
This is the part of the job that decides whether a remote starter is reliable in three winters’ time. It is also the part that varies most between vehicles.
Which of these apply is decided by the vehicle. Some need an interface module to communicate with the factory security system; some need very little. Model year often matters more than make — two otherwise identical trucks a few years apart can need different approaches.
We are describing the service here, not publishing a procedure. We do not put immobiliser or security programming detail on a public page, and we would not want a guide to that sitting on the internet next to your vehicle’s make and model. If you want to know exactly what yours needs, ask and we will talk it through.
Range is the specification most often quoted and least often matched in real life. A published figure is measured in open air with nothing in the way. A Calgary parkade is not that.
Basic systems are available with advertised range around 1,500 ft, while selected two-way systems can be rated up to around 3,000 ft. Those are manufacturer ratings. Actual usable range varies with buildings, walls, interference, vehicle location, antenna placement and surroundings.
What you get on your vehicle depends on several things at once:
Two practical points. Starting from your factory fob, where that is available, generally gives noticeably less range than a dedicated long-range remote — factory fobs are designed to unlock a car you are walking towards. And if range is what you actually care about, say so before you choose a package, because it changes which remote we recommend.
Where you need to reach the vehicle from indoors or from a distance with no line of sight, phone control over LTE sidesteps the range question entirely, since it works anywhere with cell coverage.
The vehicle stays locked while it runs on a remote start. When you reach it, what happens next depends on the vehicle and the system fitted — and this is worth understanding before you buy rather than after.
Which of these applies to your vehicle is a property of the vehicle and the system, not something an installer chooses freely. We will tell you what to expect on yours before you book, and we walk you through it at handover so there are no surprises on the first cold morning.
Opening a door on a running remote start is also, on many systems, a deliberate safety shutdown rather than a fault. If your engine stops when you open the door, that may be exactly what it is meant to do.
This is the whole reason most people in Calgary buy one. Running the engine before you leave the house gives the cabin, the glass and the drivetrain time to come up to temperature while you are still inside.
What actually comes on when the engine starts is where honest answers matter. Heated seats, a heated steering wheel, front and rear defrost and the climate settings themselves may or may not activate on a remote start, and it depends on:
On many vehicles the practical answer is that leaving the climate control set to what you want before you shut the car off gets you most of the way there. We will tell you what your vehicle does rather than promise it does everything — and in summer the same start runs the air conditioning instead.
A remote starter runs an engine in a vehicle nobody is sitting in. The safety logic is not optional detail — it is most of what separates a proper installation from a cheap one.
A switch tells the system the hood is open so the engine will not start while someone is working under it. It is also the part that corrodes through a few Calgary winters, and a common cause of a starter that has stopped working.
Pressing the brake pedal ends a remote start. It is a required safety behaviour, not a setting.
The system checks the vehicle is in park, or on a manual that the correct reservation procedure was followed, before it will crank.
The vehicle stays locked while it runs, and the factory security system stays in force. A remote start should not leave a vehicle easier to drive away.
Wiring is made to carry what it needs to and secured where it cannot chafe, and the system is configured for your specific vehicle rather than left on defaults. We do not publish bypass or programming procedures, for reasons that should be obvious on a page that also tells people what you drive.
We confirm the year, make and model, what start system it uses, and which control options are actually available to you.
We match a system and remote to how you park and how far you need to reach, and confirm the price before anything is opened up.
The system is fitted, integrated with the vehicle’s existing systems, and configured for your specific car.
Cold start, safety shutdowns, range check, and we walk you through the remote and what your vehicle does on takeover before you leave.
Open Monday to Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Closed Sundays. A standard remote starter installation typically takes about 2 to 3 hours. Manual-transmission vehicles usually require additional time, and some complex applications can take longer. We will tell you what to expect for yours when we quote it.
Some vehicles need more than a standard fit. These are the categories we get asked about most.
Very common now, and entirely doable. These need an interface module so the factory security system will permit a start it did not initiate. Worth reading the takeover section above, because push-to-start vehicles vary most in what happens when you get in.
A lot of shops decline standard-shift vehicles. We do install them, using a reservation procedure that confirms the vehicle is left in neutral with the parking brake set before a remote start is permitted. There is real safety logic behind it and it is worth a conversation before you book.
Diesels need the glow plugs to cycle before cranking, so the system has to be set up with the right wait-to-start timing for the engine rather than cranking straight away.
European and higher-end vehicles often have more involved security systems. These are usually possible but the approach and the module are vehicle-specific — send us the year, make and model and we will confirm before you commit.
Model year often matters more than make. Two trucks a few years apart can need different systems, so a straight answer needs your exact vehicle.
We repair remote starters we did not install, including systems fitted by shops that have since closed. The same handful of faults come back again and again.
The wrong module, or one configured for a near-enough vehicle rather than the right one, works until it does not.
A hood pin sitting in road salt for a few winters eventually stops reporting, and the system refuses to start. Common and fixable.
A brake-switch or ignition wire joined in a hurry works loose. This is the fault that produces an intermittent problem nobody can reproduce.
Remote starting asks a lot of a battery on a cold morning. Sometimes the starter is fine and the battery is the actual answer — we will tell you that rather than sell you a new system.
If yours has stopped working, bring it in. We will tell you plainly whether it is worth repairing or whether replacing the unit makes more sense.
Most can, including push-to-start, keyless, manual transmission and diesel. What differs is the system and any interface module required. Send us the year, make and model and we will confirm before you book rather than guess.
For many standard vehicles, basic systems start from $450 installed and two-way systems from $560, before GST. It is quoted per vehicle, because the price follows the vehicle and the package. What moves it: your start system and factory immobiliser, which remote you choose, how much range you want, one-way or two-way, whether you want phone control, and any interface module needed. We confirm the exact figure before any work starts.
On some vehicles and systems, yes — usually by pressing lock several times. It is not available on every vehicle, and it generally gives less range than a dedicated remote. Ask us about yours specifically.
A one-way remote sends the command and tells you nothing back. A two-way remote, where supported, confirms the vehicle received it and started — useful when you cannot see the car.
With a compatible LTE module, yes, from anywhere with cell coverage. It carries an ongoing subscription and we will explain that cost before you commit.
Yes. The doors stay locked through the remote start and the factory security system stays in force.
On many systems that is a deliberate safety shutdown rather than a fault. What happens when you get in depends on your vehicle — some keep running, some need a short takeover step, and some push-to-start vehicles end the remote start and want a normal restart. We tell you which yours does at handover.
Sometimes, and it depends on the vehicle, how it was optioned, the climate settings you left it on, and whether the system can request them. We will tell you what your vehicle actually does rather than promise it does everything.
A properly installed remote starter integrates with the factory wiring rather than cutting into it. Warranty terms are between you and your manufacturer, so if that is a concern check your own warranty documentation — and ask us how we intend to install on your vehicle. Remote starter installations are backed by our lifetime workmanship warranty. Product and hardware warranty varies by manufacturer.
Typically about 2 to 3 hours for a standard installation. Manual-transmission vehicles and more complex applications take longer; we will tell you which yours is when we quote it.
Send the details and we will come back with a price for your vehicle. No call centre, no generic quote.
If the dash is already apart for a starter, some of this is cheaper now than as a second appointment.
Speakers, amplifiers and subwoofers, wired in behind the trim and tuned before you drive away.
Car audio
Added behind the factory screen on most modern vehicles, or with a new head unit where it is not.
CarPlay
Hardwired and hidden, with parking mode wired properly rather than taped to the glass.
Dash cams
If something has stopped working, we find out why rather than replacing parts and hoping.
Auto electricalSend us the year, make and model, whether it is push-to-start, and how far you need to reach it from. We will tell you which options your vehicle supports and confirm the price before anything is opened up.
#129 10985 38 St NE, Calgary AB T3N 1E7 · Monday to Saturday, 10:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. · Winter booking fills up from October.