Remote starter not working during the morning on cold days 16' Civic

Past couple of days its been below zero here and when I remote start my car in the morning the car won't turn on. I have to go inside the car and press the 'start' button for it to turn on. Later on in the day though, the remote starter will work. Can't quite figure this out. I am pressing the 'lock', then the engine button( hold for 2 secs) like it says in the manual. Any suggestions or issues from other users. Appreciate it! Thanks

Hold for more than two seconds. I think the manual says five, but I find my car needs 6 or 7 seconds. Maybe in the cold rushed morning you are less patient than the afternoon... or at least I hope so, or we can add this to the huge glitch list.

Just got my car today and the remote start no longer works, no matter how long I hold down the engine button.

Ed Zamboni said:

Just got my car today and the remote start no longer works, no matter how long I hold down the engine button.

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Make sure it is still enabled in the settings and from the other threads that I have read maybe make sure the "auto lock" is disabled.

You will know when you have held down the remote long enough to remote start when you see a little red light flash quickly at the top of the remote. No need to hold the button any longer than that.

I have noticed that the remote range is not great. About 100 feet away is about the furthest I can manage. If you guys with remote start problems are having trouble from very close range, I would get it checked out at a dealer.

Car remote wouldn't start during cold days (-20w/ wind during mornings). I took my car in (about 30 degrees that day, so remote was working) and Honda service tech. said that if it is currently working then they can't do anything else(diagnostic, etc.). He did say the remote starter should work no matter the outside temp. Its basically, a wait and see now. Hasn't been frigid cold since, so remote starter has been working. Hope it continues when it gets extremely cold again. He did say make sure all doors, hood and trunk are closed, if that helps anyone.

Also, in the manual it says press engine button 'within 5 secs.' of the lock button. Doesn't mention that you hold the engine button for a lengthy amount of time. If issue arises again, I will re-post. Hope this helps.

kvee80 said:

Car remote wouldn't start during cold days (-20w/ wind during mornings). I took my car in (about 30 degrees that day, so remote was working) and Honda service tech. said that if it is currently working then they can't do anything else(diagnostic, etc.). He did say the remote starter should work no matter the outside temp. Its basically, a wait and see now. Hasn't been frigid cold since, so remote starter has been working. Hope it continues when it gets extremely cold again. He did say make sure all doors, hood and trunk are closed, if that helps anyone.

Also, in the manual it says press engine button 'within 5 secs.' of the lock button. Doesn't mention that you hold the engine button for a lengthy amount of time. If issue arises again, I will re-post. Hope this helps.

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I would hold mine for more than 5 seconds, and then I would see the flash on the car to let me know it received the orders to start.

Haven't had any issues with mine remote starting and I've left it outside in some downright cold days (-15F / -26C). I usually give the lock button a couple of presses to "wake" the car up, and then immediately press and hold the start button. If I think I might be out of range and can't see the car, I give the panic button a press and listen for the horns to sound.

camhabib said:

Haven't had any issues with mine remote starting and I've left it outside in some downright cold days (-15F / -26C). I usually give the lock button a couple of presses to "wake" the car up, and then immediately press and hold the start button. If I think I might be out of range and can't see the car, I give the panic button a press and listen for the horns to sound.

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Never thought of the panic button coming in handy for this, smart!

j_illang said:

Never thought of the panic button coming in handy for this, smart!

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Love the panic button. Helps me find my car in a crowed mall parking lot when I can't remember where the hell I parked it.

Had issues as well. works but then doesn't... I didn't pay attention how many times. The salesman called me to follow up and I asked about the remote start. He told me that it will only remote start twice before you have to go in and start the car.

did you figure out whats wrong? i notice my just started to do that but works fine if i start the engine once then shut it off and walk away to remote start

on my car I have to click the lock button till I hear the car beep and then it will remote start

kinglee said:

Had issues as well. works but then doesn't... I didn't pay attention how many times. The salesman called me to follow up and I asked about the remote start. He told me that it will only remote start twice before you have to go in and start the car.

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At last an answer that makes sense but (a) if so, why isn't it in the manual and (b) why????? I use the remote starter on snow days to start the melting process (no garage, car parked in driveway) and today with 5" snow it needs to run several times. So an even more important question is (c) is there something about remote starting that damages or shortens the life of the car????? and if so WHEN IS HONDA GOING TO WARN US???

I had an interesting experience with a remote start on my EX-T. I haven't used my car for a couple of days due to New Year celebration . The outside temperatures were in mid 30s during night ad mid 40s during the day. As I was walking towards my car I used remote start, saw the lights flash and assumed it was on. When I approached my car I didn't hear engine running! I used remote start again while standing right next to the car. I heard it turn over, but the car didn't start, the same happened on second attempt! I thought, I forgot to turn something off and the battery was dead, but no I was able to start the car by pressing the start button from inside! Remote worked fine after I drove the car for a while. I don't know what happened... Weird situation! So when it is really cold, I can't depend on remote start? What is the purpose of it then?