Nissan Altima Remote Start: The Full Rundown
2019 Nissan Altima by Kevauto — CC BY-SA 4.0
Have you ever spent an extra minute or two looking for a parking spot in the shade so that you wouldn’t have to deal with getting into your hot-as-an-oven car later that day? On the other hand, have you ever bundled up in extra layers just to let your vehicle warm up on a frosty morning before you had to drive to work? If you had to guess, how much spare time is taken out of your day by waiting for your engine to reach an optimum driving temperature?
Car and truck manufacturers today are looking to mitigate some of these day-to-day driving pains by adding on a little but mighty feature known as remote start. And one of the companies that hopped onto this accessory trend earlier than most is Nissan. Their consumer-friendly sedans, including the uber-popular Altima, have always been about convenience and comfort. They pave the way for standards of driver satisfaction with must-haves you didn’t know you needed, such as remote start. In this article, we’ll give you the complete rundown of the Nissan Altima remote start system.
What Is Remote Start?
Remote start is a modern vehicle feature that allows you to turn on your car before you get into it. Remote start makes warming your vehicle more convenient by allowing you to push a button, tap a screen, or give a vocal command to let your vehicle know it’s time to wake up. Remote start is especially great for both winter and summer driving, as you can turn your car on and let the interior climate even out so you don’t have to endure freezing or sweltering temperatures at the start of your drive.
The remote start began as a simple radio-transmitted signal passed between your key fob and a receiver hooked up to the battery in your car. This is still an option on many vehicles, especially for car buyers opting for a more basic trim.
Sophisticated remote starts began as an integrated aspect of a more advanced infotainment and connectivity feature. Typically, users can interface with this system via an app on their phone or smartwatch, lock or unlock their vehicle, engage the alarm, and turn their car off and on.
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Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Nissan Altima Remote Start
Remote start on the Nissan Altima has been around longer than many consumer vehicles on the market. It has a simple and user-friendly interface that reflects the brand’s experience with this particular feature.
Currently, the Nissan Altima comes standard with a fob-based remote start system and a trial for the more high-tech Nissan Connect. This gives drivers the option of a digital interface and a more straightforward push-button experience. The range for the Nissan Altima remote start is 197 feet.
To use the fob-remote start, drivers can follow these steps:
- Make sure your Nissan Altima is within visual range.
- Press the lock button. You will need to take this step regardless of whether or not your vehicle is already locked. This function exists to prevent accidental start-ups.
- Within 5 seconds of pressing the lock button, press the remote start button and hold for at least 2 seconds.
Your Altima should now be on, and your automatic climate control system will adjust the temperature to your maximum comfort. Your vehicle will remain on for 10 minutes, at which point it will shut off unless you enter or an extension is performed. To do this, repeat steps 2 and 3.
Nissan Connect is a digital interface that integrates entertainment, navigation, driving experience implements, and car control into one app that you can access from your iPhone or Android device, as well as Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
To use, download the app and connect to your Nissan Altima via Bluetooth. You can then use the app to lock and unlock your car, engage the horn, or turn your vehicle on and off. With a remote start, you can see a timer on the home screen, showing how many minutes you have to perform an extension.
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Nissan Altima Remote Start: The Downsides
It’s difficult to argue with the simplicity of a fob-remote start, although the Altima has had its fair share of problems related to this feature. We’ll talk more about that in the next section.
The downside of the Altima’s Nissan Connect remote start is unfortunately common among vehicles today, and that is that you have to subscribe to enjoy the service. In some way, Nissan makes up for this by giving owners of new 2020 and 2021 Altimas a free 3-year trial of Nissan Connect, with an additional six months trial of Nissan Connect Premium Plus.
After that, Altima drivers will have to pay to keep using remote start. At 11.99 dollars per month, it is one of the pricier connectivity services available (Premium Plus will have you spending 24.99 a month). But drivers may find this a small price to pay for the security, connectivity, and entertainment this application provides.
Nissan Altima Remote Start Over The Years
The earliest introduction of remote start in Altimas was in 2007 when Nissan released the vehicle with an early fob-exclusive remote start system. 2007 - 2008 models experienced problems with these systems wherein opening the door would disengage remote start, and the car would need to be restarted manually.
This problem was quickly addressed and hasn’t been commonly reported in later years. If you have an older Nissan Altima experiencing remote start complications, speak to your Nissan dealership to get it fixed right away.
Nissan Connect was first introduced as an option for the Altima in 2009, originally conceived as primarily a navigation and infotainment system. 2016 Nissan vehicles featured the more expanded Connect system as an option and on special trims and became standard for subscription on all but the base model. 2016 - 2018 Altimas have the opportunity to upgrade to the current Nissan Connect.
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Nissan Altima Remote Start: Other Options
If your Altima is a pre-fob remote start, you can always purchase and install an aftermarket remote start system. These plug-and-play devices are available either as part of a more considerable security and connectivity system or a simple one-button interface. Speak to your dealer to learn what alternative options might be available.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: How does the Nissan Remote Start work?
Using the Nissan Remote Start feature will allow you to start the engine of your vehicle for 10 minutes remotely. If your car hasn’t driven away after 10 minutes, it will automatically turn off once the time limit expires. If you need to extend the activation time, you may issue another remote start via the NissanConnect Services app or MyNISSAN Owner Portal.
Q: What are the conditions for the Nissan Remote Start to work?
The remote start system communicates via a cellular network. Thus, a particular connection and signal strength are needed for a remote start. The following conditions must be met to activate remote start:
- Car doors must be closed and locked
- The hood must be closed
- Transmission gears should be on “Park”
- Windows must be up
- Nissan Intelligent Key must be outside the vehicle
- The brake pedal must not be depressed.
Nissan advises that you should use the Remote Start feature safely and legally.
Q: Is it illegal to idle your vehicle using remote start?
No. However, some states have made it illegal to idle for extended periods due to pollution. Check your state’s idling laws to learn more.
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