Remote Start by 12 Volt Solutions - Audi B9 S4 3.0L V6 TFSI 

I'm glad you liked the video, and yea I try to get as much detail as possible. I think some people want to make a fairly short video and it can be hard to cram everything in there, I try to balance it a bit between short and informative. It's a good kit, I think you'll like the functionality!

@Krishna This is tied into the immobilizer, this is why it requires the use of the factory remote.

To be honest there are so many ways to easily steal a car it's not really a factor that changes anything. This remote start system ties into your BCM (body control module) and its security. Even though your engine is running the BCM won't just allow it to be unlocked and driven off through a simple brute force or re-play attack. These modern security systems rotate tokens when you press your key fob and brute force will take a while. The token is one time use and you can't just copy and play it back. The easiest attack which works against most cars is to relay the signal from the owners remote. For example you park and start walking towards a store. A man follows behind you with a special radio, the radio captures your key fob's signal and transmits the signal to a second radio. His friend walks up to your car with that second special radio. That radio receives the signal from your key fob and the car receives the signal from his radio. He pulls your door handle and the car thinks the remote is next to the car, the door opens. His friend gets into your car, starts the engine because now your car thinks the remote is inside. He drives away and the car will still run/drive without the key fob because it's a safety feature as long as you don't shut the engine off. As you can see it doesn't matter if the car has remote start or not, the attack will work regardless. There are also sophisticated attacks that involve jamming your key fob when it generates a token and then saving tokens to re-play. This way the token hasn't been used up yet and you might not realize your car didn't lock while you were jammed thinking it was just a bad signal as you lock your car. The benefit is you could do this attack alone, but it's harder technologically to pull off. The other attack is much easier. Either way remote start isn't a factor. There is some risk someone may try to break into your car physically while it's idling with the remote start. If that person could get the transmission to engage somehow (it's electronic) and break the steering lock, they may be able to drive away. Though I'm not sure the throttle (it's electronic) even works while the car is locked even if the engine is running from remote start. It seems like a pretty sketchy solution, I think it would be easier just to tow the car with a truck and figure it out when you get it to where you're going. Another popular option is to break into the car, open the hood, take out the computer, put in your own computer, drive off with your own key. This can be done in a few minutes by guys who do it a lot on certain car models. Even if your car has a key, the keys are pretty easy to pick on many cars. There are even beginner picking tools that do most of the work for you by guiding you to the lock pins. Ultimately if someone wants your car, unless you have people guarding it, it's not that hard to steal it.

@@DmitrysGarage Great explanation! I had no idea and you sure have done your research. I've got the old reliable kill switch hidden in my trunk. Many years ago I had a '63 Chevy Impala SS with a hidden kill switch under my floorboard heater duck. Early one morning I heard someone trying to start my car and held him at gunpoint until the cops arrived. Come to find out he had a warrant for his arrest for a bank heist he did in Chicago. Blew me away and the police couldn't thank me enough. Great video as always!

@@747rotate Glad you liked the video :), and yea those fuel cutoffs are the best way to go if you want the most security. At that point they either figure out where it is or how to bypass it, which is a bunch more work, or have to tow it.

I presume it's a similar setup with the Audi A4 B9 generation. But I have the 6 speed manual, so probably not going to work :)!

Glad I could help!

@@DmitrysGarage hey Dmitry, does your car shut off if you get in after remote starting and press brake? Im wondering if I messed up the programming.

Thank you! Yea B9 is a great platform, I've had the A4 and now the S4 in B9 and loved both.

Rajiv, thanks for watching. Turning off the AC is not a required practice and I've met very few people who do this. There is some truth to the practice, but it's pretty minimal. In some conditions if you park your car in a cool garage the condensation from the evap coil will mildew. Many modern cars have an "afterblow" features to dry out the evap coil for you after shutoff. On some cars this has to be enabled by the dealer. I had this problem on my truck because my garage is airconditioned and would cause the condensation to stick around and mildew/smell until afterblow as turned on. Some people believe it's bad for the engine/battery when starting the engine. The AC compressor has a clutch mechanism so it's not engaged when the car is off and starting. It would be cool if they added those features to older cars. Not sure anyone does yet, but it would be convenient.

All you need to do that is OBD eleven to roll the windows down.

Yea it's a pretty cool option. I haven't tried the app or long distance remote, but I've been happy with this and the system I installed for my brother.

Went ahead and bought this because of your review, added the APP module, everything has run flawlessly for a few months now.

​@@pd7439 What car do you have it on?

Glad I was able to help out, thanks for watching Robert! I'm not sure how much a key is, but I imagine it's more than a few bucks for sure. As I recall it has to be done by a dealer. I'd assume somewhere under $500?

I got quoted for a 2019 A4 in California and the dealer said about 800 😩. It threw me off so bad but I think it was 500 for the key it self and 300 for the service.

@@Silenth415 Wow! That's quite expensive!

750

Not a fan that this module needs a key to make this system work….I believe there’s a set up out there for $399 that doesn’t require the use of one of your keys

Hey, glad you liked the video! You can absolutely take the remote back out. It doesn't affect it at all if you ever need it.

Unfortunately not. You need at least one key you can leave in there. The cars security system needs a token from the key to let it start. The key is left in there so it can be read, but the battery is removed so it doesn’t work for proximity access to the car, so people cant just open the door and drive off.

No that won’t happen. This is why the battery is removed from the key stored in the special box. The key is only read as a result of you sending the 3x lock button clicks from your working remote.

It's the ECS carbon fiber one, I had it painted black to match the body work. It's a more aggressive version of their black diffuser (they're not identical). It did look really great in carbon, but nothing else outside the car is and I sort of have a red/black theme going with all the chrome delete, etc..

I think you can have three remotes paired, but I'm not 100% sure. Unfortunately sacrificing a key is the only way to make remote starts work 3rd party on these new cars. The key is able be read when it's inside that box without the battery, just like how you can hold it in near the key icon in the center console if your key battery dies on the road. It's the only safe and easy way to bypass the immobilizer. I bet any dealer would be able to tell you if a third key is possible to mate to the car or if 2 is the max at the same time.

You can program another key, you will have to take both of your keys to the dealership and pay them for the extra key and programming. About 800 for that.

It does hand off to the new remote. The engine does not stop once you open the door.

Yes. The engine will only turn off if you DONT get in within 30 minutes. It will not turn off if you get in and drive.

You do have to keep it in the key box unfortunately

Im guessing they probably rebrand something cheaper and dont want the comments heh. I have used two of their kits (diff cars) and its been great. Never tried the app though.

They'd have to get to the key and then put a battery in it.

The metal key? Na shouldn’t matter

I paid $480 for this kit on sale.

I do not believe so. That key is only activated momentarily. The car stays locked while it runs.

Id imagine its similar. Maybe give 12v solutions an email or call and see if it is.

The “dead” key is needed to allow the car to start. The reason it has no battery is so that people can’t just get in and drive away. The keys only function is to provide the one time token needed to start the engine. The box it sits in, which is wired into the system, is able to facilitate this function. This is a feature of the audi key and car security system. Imagine the key battery dies while you are at a store, you might think you’re stranded, but audi thought of this. You can slide out the physical key (shown in my video) unlock the car and place the dead key on the key logo under your arm rest. That spot in the car is able to read the key even without the battery and let you press the start button. It has to be right on that spot. This is what the box that is part of this aftermarket system is doing too. It is able to read the key the same way. I don’t know that you can resolve this with just one key. You can try asking 12v solutions but you will likely need two keys. The box only reads the key momentarily to start the car. Not to unlock or drive it. If you ever used proximity badge/card readers to enter offices or various facilities its the same concept. Those cards don’t have batteries either, the power comes wirelessly from the reader. Close proximity allows them to be read and advanced cards cant just be cloned like basic rfid cads since they generate tokens when scanned. Audi key also cant just be cloned. It has to be programmed too. Im sure you have discovered this is pricey.

awesome reply. thank you!

I'm not the manufacturer of this particular product, but I think they likely do or at least can work something out if you reach out to them. They seem to support a huge array of cars.

Yep thats the only real downside.

Yea theres really no way around it. The security system needs a token from the key to start. Cant really just get around it on modern cars.

I'd check their website for compatibility, but I don't see why it wouldn't.

I suppose if the key worked the same as the genuine audi key and you had the key programmed to the car.

I don’t know that anyone makes a product that doesn’t require a spare key. It’s required to work with the cars immobilizer, to generate a one time token.

That key is all scuffed up unfortunately and all my settings are tied to the one I kept.

I mean they'd have to know you have this system so that means they're targeting you. Lots of easy ways to steal a car.

@@DmitrysGarage Precisely how they stole my wifes car. Too bad manufacturers don't care about any real security. Not directly related , but It made me wonder how many Tesla get stollen with their security system ?

Ah yes, because the thief with no prior knowledge of the car is gonna know exactly where the BCM & key fob are hidden in the car

@@trk9814 The funny thing is I just purchased a 2019 A4 yesterday at a dealer. The sales guy gave me the key and they said there was only one included :-( There was a broken remote with it, I look it up and saw it was a Fortin remote. So I when immediately to the car trunk and knew where the second key was and took the key out . So yes you are right, but thieves are known to be looking for them. They use key scan amplifyers to know trhe key is in the car . It's really a shame car manufacturers can't have one built in. I gave my 2016 Passat R-line in exchange and it had a factory built one in it ... and it's only a VW LOL

Yea its the only thing I dont like, the 3 long presses. Still better than nothing and im sure their app/remote bypasses it.

Not sure I'm sold on the looks and build quality tbh. Though I'm looking forward to some of the electrics coming out.