advice needed to choose product

I hope this is in the right forum.

I have a 2010 Mercury Milan Premier which has PATS and factory antitheft alarm with remote keyless entry.

I know nothing about the state of the art in remote starters or alarms. I did install my own Prestige alarm in a '96 Ford Contour a long time ago. I'm getting a bit older now and maybe would pay someone with a younger back and sharper eyes to do the install.

So I would appreciate recommendations from more knowledgeable folk.

I would like to have:

1) Remote start only with longest range possible. A compact remote fob is preferable. I do not need two-way notification.

2) Temperature sensing option to kick on a pair of momentary relays and trigger the seat heaters if the temperature is low. If I need to buy multiple components to get the temp sense thing going I'm OK with that.

If the temperature control isn't available then I could live without that. There might be a technical hurdle to this with timing - it takes a few seconds for the cars control system to boot up after start, so the seat heater trigger has to be delayed.

I want start only as I don't need alarm features and prefer a smaller fob. Normally my car is parked line-of-sight from where I would trigger the remote.

I'm in the far northwest suburbs of Chicago (really far, Crystal Lake/McHenry/Woodstock for those from the area), referrals to reputable shops are also welcome.

Any advice given is appreciated.

compustar pro RF-1wg4ss 1way alarm/start
compustar pro RF-p2w901ss 2way alarm/start

those are my recommended systems.
you will have to buy the temperature sensor for 20 bucks, and have someone program the features such as heated seats, defrost etc.

you can go with DEI products, those dont require any authorized dealer to change settings. the compustar is more "dealer required install"

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Ted
2nd Year Tier 1 Medical School
Still installing as a hobby...pays for groceries
Compustar Expert

Thanks, Tedmond. The remote fob looks to be about the size of my key (which is pretty large), I was hoping to find something a bit smaller.

But the feature set sure seems to match up, so I will keep it on my list.

It seems most of the micro-sized fobs don't have the really long range, it makes sense considering battery capacity and antenna size. I think I will have to adjust my requirement and accept a larger fob.

I found an Ultrastart product 1172xr claiming 2500foot range with a small fob, but the downloadable online info doesn't go into the connection of a defrost relay (and no mention of temp control).

2:20AM - time to head home from work, off to my cold leather seats now... I think I'll try and measure the distance to my car by pacing and see what the ballpark range should be.

good luck finding something that fits your size requirements with whats out there today. tedmond's on the money and you're not gonna find much better. weigh your options.

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I drink current, eat ohms, and bleed voltage

Ref: remote control fob. FYI Antenna and battery size have little to do with fob size, in fact at 900mhz, the antenna is about half the size of a regular remote (405-431mhz) it's the circuitry.
X 3 with Ted and pts 760, good product, quality build and reliable.

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Amateurs assume, don't test and have problems; pros test first. I am not a free install service.
Read the installation manual, do a search here or online for your vehicle wiring before posting.

the compustar remotes are pretty small as is. small footprint, but great range. there are many options out there, which are all reliable. you will have to be the judge of cosmetics, price point, availability, customization ability, and more.

take a look into the Directed line (viper/clifford) they are considerably small
clifford 3.3x
viper responder one 4203v

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Ted
2nd Year Tier 1 Medical School
Still installing as a hobby...pays for groceries
Compustar Expert