Does 2012 come with remote?

[rgalvinmi]

recently bought a 2012 I-miev and am LOVING it......starting to look at the heating issue as weather is already starting to change here in Michigan My car did NOT come with a remote for the "preheating" of the car in cold weather. Did they ALL come with a remote? if so, if I buy/find one online or some place, will it just "operate" with my car or does it need to be "synced" or connected?

How is the heat in the winter? I work from home, but do daily errands of about 30 miles a day. I don't have range anxiety......not yet anyways!
Have people preheated them with electric heaters? 12volt heaters to help?

My car will be garaged, detached and cold, but not outside elements.

thanks! miles of smiles in the I!
Bob

 

[PV1]

Yes, all new i-MiEVs came with the remote. Unfortunately, it's turning out that many used i-MiEVs are missing the remote. Even worse is it is roughly $1,000 to buy the remote and have it paired to the car, which has to be done by the dealer.

As for heat in the winter, it's not as cozy as an ICE would be, but it works. In Michigan, preheating would be a must, along with a level 2 charging station. If you're doing about 30 miles a day, you shouldn't have much issue. The worst RR I've seen was 40 miles, and that was a -10 F morning with the heat on MAX and driving in 2" of snow.

To preheat without the remote, I used a tower space heater in the back of the car, set it to 85 F (highest it would go), but put it on low heat. It actually worked better than the car's own preheating :lol: . But, the beauty of the car's preheat function is it warms up the heater loop, and that allows you to have a few miles worth of warm air before the heater turns back on (temperature dial one notch above the green dot).

Probably the biggest problem with this car in the winter is that the windows fog up very easily and quickly. I leave my vents directed to the windshield, and use residual heat from pre-heating with fresh air naturally pushing itself through the system (fan off, recirculator set for fresh air) to keep the windshield clear. I also wear gloves, a heavy coat, and use the heated seat.

If you do buy a remote, use the Defrost setting instead of HEAT. That will warm the car much better, not to mention also activate the rear defroster and heated mirrors. Oh, and leave the heated seat switch on, that activates as well. The switch is right where your right knee would be on that lower kick panel.

 

[iwatson]

Hi Bob,
Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your i-Miev purchase. Yes all i-Miev's come with the remote, and yes it does have to be synced to work with your car. I've purchased two of these used and I've been fortunate that the remote was included with both. Unfortunately, if you can find one, they go for about a thousand dollars (so I've read). With the last one I got the charging cable didn't come with the car. I found out who the previous owner was, called them up, and asked them if they still had it, and they were kind enough to fedex it to me.

 

[tigger19687]

Welcome !

When I got mine it didn't have a remote either. There is no way I am spending more then $100 for one, so that means I won't be getting one

I have not had a Winter here in the 'i' so I will let you know if it is worth it .