ATS remote start upgrade

[winterset]

Last year i purchased a brand new 2014 ATS4 turbo for my daughter. I wanter remote start, and was told it was a dealer option. We agreed to the sticker price of $150 to have the upgrade. Anyway when i went back to get the plates, they wanter $400 for the job because they said because of the tech time on the phone, and programming.

My question:

I can purchase 2 oem remotes for $75. Can i shop around dealerships who can program fobs, or do i need to get the $225 remote start kit (it's just 2 transmitters with the remote start button), there is nothing to install inthe car, and remote start is all about the transmitters. Also, i sometimes see something about heated seats being required - and unfortunately, i do 't have that option on this car and not sure if this can be done - although, the dealer said it can be but its $$$.

[Cadillac Jim]

My guess is that the remote start has password and VIN setup similar to the unlock function (which is, of course, standard) and that only bonded locksmith techs have the codes to operate the Tech II to add the remote start function. I suspect that the remote start is in the RFA module in all the cars but needs the Tech II with locksmith codes to enable it, and, yes, new fobs that have the button and signal must be paired.

From the huge price increase, I suspect that they are borrowing that tech from another dealership (any GM dealership) and that the $250 is to cover that.

If the car was not in warranty, I would shop around for a locksmith that could do it if the parts were installed. As it is, I would offer $150, noting that this is the price for the option as a dealer-installed option (and some dealers, somewhere, are selling 2014 ATS's), and if they won't sign up to that, decline politely and look elsewhere. Decline *very* politely, because it may turn out that $400 is indeed the right price, and you may be back.

There is the possibility that everything is already in the car and that all that is needed is the fobs and pairing, which would explain the low option price of $150. Or, the low price could be because the bonded tech is needed for make-ready and will be there anyway for a new car, but not necessarily for a used car. If that is the problem, to get the price down, you may need to wait a few days until that tech is there for the new cars and let him/her do yours then.

For the straight skinny with no guessing, if you have the car and OnStar is activated, push the blue button in the 2014 ATS and ask; they will forward the call to technical support and they will tell you exactly what is up. They will not directly mention anything that betrays that locksmith information exists and you shouldn't ask, but you should be able to detect when a specially qualified tech to operate the Tech II is needed to complete the job.

[rockfangd]

I questioned this before with the malibu, impala, and uplanders. I found that even though the membrane button was missing from the case the part on the board was present.

I swapped the fob cover with the start option button and tried it in a uplander and tried to use the feature and it popped up with a message in the message center stating starting disabled feature disabled.

Had the feature been enabled it should have worked. It has to do with programming in the BCM IIRC. A dealer tech2 should be able to enable it.

I found absolutely nothing on this when I tried to research it.

[Cadillac Jim]

Look through the customization options. This is certainly a dealer option but if a customization option is to disable it, (this button is a nuisance for my CTS-V), you may be able to *enable* it as a customization option.