Quote: Originally Posted by arkadiyp
Because its a POS. The remotes are flimsy (the only good ones were version 1), you drop it once be prepared to spend upwards of 50 bucks (close to 80 depending on the distributor). Their rules of dealing with distributors are messed up and noone wants to deal with them.
Gee.. that's funny....
I've dropped my remote down a flight of stairs twice. Still works fine.
Which CompuStar system are you referring to? Although they only list three different models on their site, they DID have some older ones that are no longer listed. I'm assuming that your talking about the current models though (1WFM, 2WFM, and 2WSS).
If you're referring to the FIRST GENERATION 2WSS system, then I can understand your gripe. The first gen 2WSS had some MAJOR FRIGGIN bugs in the transciever and remote. Some times you wouldn't be able to communicate with the alarm. Worse still, one major bug was that the remote would always try to talk to the car if you went out of range, killing the remote's battery in record time. You'd be lucky if it lasted more than two weeks. If you use photo lithium batteries, it'd last around a month though, but they're $10 for a four pack.
Oh yeah.. my FAVORITE bug with the remote.. the battery gauge! Firstech screwed it up on the first gen remotes. It DOES work, but not in the way you expect. Instead of showing you the battery level, it just shows you how much time is left before the car shuts off if you remote start it). Can you say whoops?
The second generation 2WSS transciever and remote (the brain box remains the same) fixed all the bugs of the first gen remote and transciever. It also improved on the useable range. Before you'd be lucky if you got a 1/4 mile range with it (it's supposed to be 1 1/4 mile). Now it's closer to that 1 1/4 mile range (especially through buildings). One other bug that was REALLY REALLY annoying was that it'd sometimes take you five or six tries before the remote would talk to the car after a few hours of inactivity (i.e.: trying to open the door to go to work in the morning). The new remote fixes that.
Oh yeah... it's not $80 for a remote either. Keep going up my son.
It's $149 EACH for the 2WSSR remote (you can only have one remote tied to one vehicle with 2WSS anyway). If you have a 1G 2WSS system, if you need to replace the remote you need to upgrade the transceiver (unless they have the older remotes in stock). Most dealers will do this for no charge (at least mine did). It's a simple replacement since it's on the inside of the windshield. Takes about five minutes to do.
The easiest way to know which version of the 2WSS remote you have (besides having the above symptoms) is just to look at the color of the remote. If it's beige/white, you've got a 1G remote. If it's black, it's the second gen system.
If it's not obvious by now, yes I do own one and I love the thing. I've had mine for over two years now. For the first year, I had the first gen remote, and it DID give me trouble. After the first remote died (it still worked.. just wouldn't talk to the car anymore. That was probably my own fault though. That's a LONG story that I'll save for another time), I went to the dealer to get another one. That's when I found out about the second gen remote and transceiver. I wasn't happy I had to shell out $149 for a new remote, but in all fairness the warranty on the remote IS only a year (and it died 13 months after I bought it). Since the replacement a year ago, I've had ZERO problems with it.
That's ZERO as in NO PROBLEMS with the remote or the alarm/remote start (other than my own stupidity.. like letting the battery run down on the remote). I've dropped the remote down a flight of stairs twice too.
I also have a friend who has the 2WFM system (only major diff: it's only got a 1/4 mile range). He's the one who told me about the 2WSS in the first place. He's had his for three years, and the alarm or remote has never given him any trouble either. Hell, he's even transplanted the guts of his remote into a new case, and it's still working. He called Firstech and got the shell for the European remote (it's blue).
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