Push Button Start
 

Short story, sold my '94 LSi two years go after 17 years of pleasure. Regret it. Spent the intervening time driving a loaded Focus Titanium hatch and loving the push button start. That's for sale (5500 miles if your interested, Silver w/black and red leather) $17K obo.*

Just bought a black '97 LSi from a guy in South Carolina, shipping in a week or so.

Question: Any one ever done a push button start in an SVX? Don't care about remote start, but love the convenience of the push button start.
Any input appreciated.

Bruce

*lovely summer car, titanium handling package, silver, everything but park assist, corners as if on rails and gets 40mpg @ 75mph on the interstate.
bcb

Re: Push Button Start
 

Observational input..

A push button start is more than just a button you push. It senses engine RPM to know when to disengage the starter. It's electronic in nature, as well as mechanical. Just like a remote starter, it'd have to have safety protocols to prevent starting in drive, etc. On some newer cars, with a starter button, there's a sensor to know when the fob is inside the car, and the starter function is enabled. I always wondered what would happen if one of the kids found the fob in Mom's purse, and tossed it out the window :-). The other end of that spectrum would be a momentary switch connected to a starter relay. That would require the key to be in the ignition and in the "on Position". That also wouldn't address that an actual starter switch cuts power to other things in the car to send full power to the starter, fuel system and ignition. It would work, but I don't think that that is actually the functionality you're looking for.

Or, for around $30.00 from Flea Bay, this might be what you are looking for..

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Subaru-WRX-SV...vxp=mtr&_uhb=1

Re: Push Button Start
 

The car will die once it gets far enough from the fob. A co-worker had this happen when she was driving in one car and her daughter was in the push button start car. She was standing near the car when her daughter started the car and then she went to the other car with the fob still in her purse. Daughter drove off and was soon out of sight. Mother comes driving down the road and there's her daughter standing next to the car on the shoulder of the road...:rolleyes:

Bill
p.s. yes, the Mother is a blond ;)

You should be more specific about whether you want a keyless start or just a button that operates the starter.

Re: Push Button Start
 

I've thought about it too. It wouldn't be too hard to simply wire in a button that would activate the start function of the ignition, but you would still have to put the key in and turn it to RUN. In order to have true keyless push button start you need much more technology involved. RFID from the fob to the car, a module that cycles through the ACCY/RUN/START positions depending on how the button is pressed, and a few other safety things.

I'm not saying it can't be done (in fact I think someone built a system like this for an Impreza) but to have it fully integrated will be a lot of work.

Edit: Actually, I just did some Google-ing and it seems that you can buy stand-alone RFID secured push button start systems on Ebay, like this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Quality-RFID...-/191098357068

One thing I still have an issue with is that there is no way to control the steering lock, you have to disable it for this to work. In such a case there is literally nothing that prevents someone from smashing a window, putting your car in neutral and pushing it away. And in the case of a manual transmission car, I don't know if there's anything that would prevent a theif from push-starting the car and simply driving away.

Re: Push Button Start
 

Boy, things have really changed since I had my first "Push Button Start" car. A Mini back in 1965. Stuck the key on the centre of the dash, turned to "ON", opened the choke, then pushed the button which was on the floor next to the stick shift. I can still smell the fumes coming through the rusted out floor.:lol:

I presume what you like is the keyless feature of the fob. Disabling the steering lock doesn't sound like a good idea.

Re: Push Button Start
 

A couple of things..

I checked out the one on Ebay that Crazy_Pilot found. If I've interpreted the Chinglish instructions properly, it's not a "touch and release" and the car starts itself. They say to hold the button longer in the winter than in the summer, so I think it'd be safe to assume that it's a momentary switch. Other than that, it gets a lot done for the price.

Absolutely, disabling the steering wheel lock is a safety / theft concern. The only McGuyver for that that I could come up with, that would address the theft issue, would be to energize the brake pedal / shifter lock out function circuit from a protected ( as in only energized by the security system ) circuit. Relays are cheap, you could get creative:D Kinda hard to steal something that's stuck in "Park". :rolleyes:

My SVX came with a Viper remote. It doesn't start the car, it doesn't have an alarm... no tricks, except for one thing. It immobilizes the ignition. No fob, no start. Lost the fob? First,you need to get into the car, then find the unmarked Viper relay and then push the "secret button". You now have ten whole seconds to stick your key in the ignition and start the car before the immobilizer re-sets. Pretty simple, and I doubt if it was very expensive, but it seems to be quite an effective anti theft method. Any anti -theft system is pretty much a brinkmanship grudge match against the level of determination of the thief. If they want it bad enough, they'll get it. If they can't get it from your house, it'll disappear while you're in the mall. I guess my point being that redundant anti-theft systems would most likely stop anyone but a true pro, or a tow truck and dolly. Personally, I wouldn't disable the steering wheel lock without having at least one other "back up" anti theft device / system.

I'd like to put one in mine too. I know exactly how I want it to function, but I can't find a stand alone fingerprint scanner that will do what I've got in mind.