For those of us who live in colder climates, has anyone gotten an aftermarket car starter on their GLK? I was quoted $1,250 from a place in Edmonton...$1,250!!! This is for the new type of starter specifically for MBs though.

see here for video demonstration:
http://gsaudiowurksnh.com/mercedes-b...mote-starters/

From the dealer's website:

We are happy to announce that we are now able to install remote starters on newer Mercedes Benz vehicles even ones with KEYLESS GO, here are a list of supported vehicles.

• 05-10 A Class
• 05-10 B Class
• 03-10 C Class
• 04-10 CLK Class
• 04-10 CLS Class
• 04-10 E Class
• 04-10 G Class
• 06-10 GL Class
• 2010 GLK Class
• 06-10 ML Class
• 05-10 SLK Class
• 06-10 R Class (on hybrid)

Remote starters can either utilize your factory remote to start your car with the panic button or a Compustar remote can be paired with your vehicle for added features and increased operating range. The starter is equipped with a valet switch that can be hidden, so that when your vehicle is brought in for servicing it is not detectable by the dealership. The use of this remote starter will not interfere with your factory warranty. These units are also DRONE-ready (more on that later closer to launch date).

 

Dodge truck and 05 chevy malibu of my inlaws have factory remote starter that came with the car. I don't get why this should cost more than 150-200 bux.

 

Ouch that is a pricey add-on indeed.

I think I saw a commercial for a Compustar remote starter system (for an American car, I think Ford?) where you could download an app for your phone and use it as a starter and vehicle status monitor too?

That would be a cool thing for MB to implement in the near future

 

^^GM's on star has this.

 

Jeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz... go out and start the car manually even if it's cold....

 

I prefer this:
http://www.parkingheater.com/

more info here:
http://www.fbs-nachruestung.de/parki...-preheats.html

the parking heater is a little pricey, but worth every dime.
I use it since 25 years and would never go without it.

.....if you don't have a garage, of course.

 

I can tell you whatever you want to know about the mercedes remote starter... because I invented it.

Yes it will work with your GLK, yes it works beautifully. Its the only one of its kind and its worth every penny... Mercedes Benz vehicles are insanely complicated and use a high security key system and because of this its *very* difficult to do a remote start on these vehicles at all, much less do it reliably. Thats what our product does.

Best of all the entire system is plug-and-play... There are no wires that get cut or spliced and you can remove the system at any time putting the vehicle back to exact factory condition.

The webasto heater system is actually a pretty nice system... Its great for specific locales where they dont allow vehicle idling but its really expensive; like $3000 and there is alot of invasive installation involved. This is why they dont even sell them as an option in the US. With the remote starter, you can get the installation done in an afternoon... If you lease or sell your car, you can alway pull the starter when the car goes back and then (in the case of the newer vehicles) you can actually reuse the starter in your next MB.

 

I was given the impression that these units were model specific. Now, if it can be swapped out to another MB model for a nominal cost.....

 

there is alot of overlap in compatibility in the newer models... typically the only thing that might need to be replaced is the harness as different models use different connectors. a new harness might cost you $150

 

thanks for the info rob...how do i find an official dealer in my area?

http://www.garageworksonline.com/

can you confirm if this is an authorized dealer? thanks.

 

yes they are an authorized dealer. Also compustar sells our starter systems now as well so you can go to any compustar dealer in north america. Finally we keep a list of all of our current dealers; feel free to call our offcies at 312.421.1114 and we can give you contact info for dealers local to you.

 

Drove the GLK to Mercedes-Benz Phil Smart in Seattle to install Smartkey Starter yesterday afternoon.

Took them 4 hours and they were complimenting on the quality of the product, that no wires had to be cut, good quality connectors, etc. All modules fitting in with no computer programming needed. The one page instruction sheet looks a little cheap though.

Saw a ML with an funky plate.

Left Seattle at 6:15pm.

Filled up the tank to the max, but many pumps were out of gas. Things started getting interesting.

Of course, caught in the nasty snow storm on I5 where traffic literally came to a standstill at Mt Vernon for well over an hour. People shut down cars, walking around. Numerous accidents reported on traffic radio station. No idea when interstate would reopen.

Stuck vehicles obviously blocked off many sections of the highway.

http://www.nwcn.com/news/Winter-blas...116762504.html

On 20 inch factory M&S Pirellis only, but carried 2 sets of Thule chains in the trunk. Debated whether to find accommodation for the night. But since even worse weather predicted the following day (colder hence freezing the wet snow), decided to gamble to find my way back to Vancouver BC.

Programmed navigation to "avoid highway". Followed a few large SUVs to ride on shoulder to exit jammed I5 at exit 226, just before Mt. Vernon City Center. Saw that troopers blocked off several I5 entrances as no one was going anywhere.

With GPS, had the confidence to follow a detour to Route 11. Basically went coastal taking the longer "scenic" drive but even at 30mph, it was better than jailed on the interstate.

Quite an amazing drive, no traffic in the rural area, but well lit because of the snow. Passed by the Larrabee State Park. The drive suits the M&S very well as I wanted to go as slowly as possible, without proper winter tires. I actually felt safer without unskilled drivers around.

Got back on I5 at Bellingham where there was little snow. Main problem was the higher elevation up the mountains surrounding Mt. Vernon.

A few conclusions:

1. Nav saved the day as I was not familiar with the area. Without it I would not dare venturing out. As I didn't have a copilot to read maps.

2. Surprised how well the 20 inch performed (second winter now with 13,000 km). Maybe they did ok because I was being extra careful going quite slowly.

3. Should have put in winter windshield fluid to help deice wipers. Too bad there is no heating element where wipers rest?

4. Full tank most important, so is constantly getting updates from traffic radio station.

5. GLK is a great little car, I like the size in the snow, nimble yet has enough ground clearance. I did feel the cross wind though but nothing alarming.

 

Hi Rob, do you mean compustar has an equivalent product to the mercedes oem remote starter? I don't see which product on compustar's website would be using the oem key from MB?

thanks.

 

keep in mind that there is no actual *oem* remote starter for mercedes... We manufacture the starter and many MB dealers do sell and support it but it is not a mercedes oem part.

compustar sells their own branded version our product.. it is called the mercedes-DC. It has direct compatbility with drone (the iphone app) and all existing compu antenna kits (it has the antenna ports and drone port built in) but can alos work using only the factory remote to activate the starter if you are ok with the factory remote range (150 ft).

 

What will be the range like the iphone app, and how would the iphone communicate with the antenna kit, cell signal? Another SIM card required?

 

the iphone app uses a separately purchased module which is in itself basically a cell phone that has no audio components and uses only the data (GPRS) connection. You do not activate that module on your account but rather pay a monthly or yearly fee to the service provider which runs the control system and pays for bulk airtime to the cell provider. The two examples of this that are compatible with our product are the compustar drone and the viper smartstart. The drone system is $349 and comes with one year of free service after which its $29.99 per year. The smartstart is $199.99 and costs $29.99/year with no free year of service. the main diff between the two is that the drone offers extra feature add-ons like GPS tracking and geofencing wheras the smartstart does not.

The range is of course anywhere where GPRS/GSM coverage is available, more specifically ATT for drone and jasper wireless for smartstart...

 

Thanks, interesting info. I suppose the system is not supported by providers in Canada?

 

Why is there no starter available for 2003 G class, the vehicle is the identical as a 2004