S-Line Q5

I picked up my new Q5 2.0T premium plus last week and just got my remote starter installed yesterday. I chose an AstroStart with SmartStart so there isn't a key fob for the starter, it all runs off an app on my phone.

Since I have the convenience key feature on my Q5 I didn't want to carry another key fob around so Smart Start works perfectly for me. Essentially I can start, lock, unlock my Q5 from anywhere as long as there's cell service.

The only thing I don't really like is that when the vehicle is started by the remote starter and you walk up to it you can't simply open the doors with the convenience key feature, you have to unlock the doors through the smartstart app. You could also remove the actual key from the key fob and manually unlock the doors in case your phone battery dies, but using the app is easier. Once you open the doors though you can just jump right in and drive away as long as you have the convenience key fob on you.

Other than that the starter works beautifully. It also has a handy SmartPark feature. When you lock your doors it marks your location using your phones gps, you can recall this location and see where your car is.

Here's a shot of what the app looks like:

vwtoys

Cool idea. How good are the fail-safe features? What if you touched your screen by accident (before the screen lock kicks in and it's in your pocket) and started the car remotely without knowing? Or popped open the trunk? And if the car is not with you and say your wife is driving it. Does it tell you what's triggered?

S-Line Q5

From what I've tested so far the fail-safe features are excellent.
- The starter will run for 18 minutes before automatically shutting off.
- The trunk release requires a second key press in a confirmation box that pops ups when you hit the trunk release.
- It would be possible to accidentally lock or unlock the doors I suppose but I close the app once I'm done with it so that would be tough to do.
- When you press a button on the app it sends you back a confirmation message that it was received by the vehicle so you know if it worked, so yes it tells you whats triggered.
- If you start the vehicle and the doors happen to be unlocked and you get in without your key in range the vehicle will shut off once you step on the brake pedal to take it out of gear.
- If you pull in somewhere and want to keep the vehicle running while you run into a store or something you can lock the vehicle with the app. Not sure how this would work if you don't have the convenience key feature, I wouldn't want to leave the key in the ignition.

tgt

Thanks for the info. My wife's Tahoe has remote start, and it is certainly a nice feature. How much (if you don't mind me asking)?

Thanks,
tgt

S-Line Q5

Parts ($450) + labour ($400) so total cost was about $850 CDN. You could get this starter installed cheaper probably but to get it done right by someone who knows what they're doing is a bit more expensive.

m1964

My 13 y. old daughter likes to start our cars so the one who takes her to school (my wife usually) got the remote start.. at least in the morning when it is colder...The wife comes out 2-3 min. after my daughter and the RPMs are in the proper range so she can drive off right away

john1r

Hi. I always thought (and have been told by my dealer and others on this forum), that a remote starter as a big no-no on the Q5 (it could possibly be done but not a great idea). So I have a couple of questions:

Did you have any issues getting it installed?

Does Audi know that you did this?

Can it only be done on a 2.0T for some reason?

Do you have to have the convenience key feature?

I would love to be able to do this on my 2010 3.2 w/o convenience key so any further info would be greatly appreciated.

S-Line Q5

Did you have any issues getting it installed?
No. The installer I went to does a lot of work for Porsche, BMW, Audi and Benz dealerships so he was very familiar with installing starters in luxury vehicles.

Does Audi know that you did this?
No, and I wouldn't care what their opinion was. In Canada it's against the law to void a vehicle warranty because any aftermarket parts were installed. I also talked to my installer about it and he said if the dealer ever gave me a hard time about it while trying to get warranty work done he would remove the starter and re-install it for me. He's been doing starters on vehicles like this for years and said he's never had a problem.

Can it only be done on a 2.0T for some reason?
I wouldn't think so.

Do you have to have the convenience key feature?
No, it would probably be easier on a vehicle without it.

The important thing is to get it done by someone experienced who knows what they're doing. If you go to Best Buy or somewhere like that you're going to have problems. Find someone in your area with their own shop that works on luxury vehicles or maybe talk to some dealerships and see where they send their cars to get starters put in.

If you have any more questions let me know and I'll do my best to help.

john1r

That's great! Thank you for all of the information. I'll check locally and see if I can find a recommended installer who works on luxury cars.

Thanks again!

syoo6

I got a Viper 5901 and the Smartstart installed on my Q5 2.0 a few weeks ago. I didn't want to carry around another key fob but realized that it is a bit of a pita not to carry one around because I don't always have the luxury of taking out my iphone and waiting for the app to load, etc. The only thing that this doesn't do is fold the mirrors when I engage the alarm. But I'm thinking that it should be an easy fix...

So far, the thing is awesome! I'm in Chicago btw, incase anyone is looking to do this for your q5 or any audi for that matter!