A Mustang GT owner in Florida brought his car to the local dealer for repair of a bad clutch. Told that parts wouldn’t be in for a few days, the man went to pick up his ride; all was well until the service advisor used the remote starter to fire it up. Guess what? The car was in gear, with the emergency brake off, and shot across the parking lot before plunging into a retention pond. Bummer.
I’m not a big fan of remote starters, because they add weight, cost money and don’t make the car go any faster. If you live up north, suck it up and climb into a cold car like I did for 20+ years. If you live down south, suck it up and jump into a hot car like I’m currently doing.
Every remote starter kit I’ve ever seen comes with a disclaimer about installation on a manual transmission car. If I remember correctly, some ever have an interlock that prevents starting unless the car is in neutral. In any case, the owner of the Mustang is screwed, because the Ford dealer is saying, “not our problem”. Whoever installed the remote either didn’t do it properly, or failed to give the car’s owner the multi-page disclaimer that absolves them from responsibility when installed on a manual transmission vehicle. Of course, it could also be that the car’s owner just chose to ignore the warning. In any case, it’s not between him and his insurance company to work out the details.
If you’ve been driving your manual transmission car in a spirited manner and the brakes are hot, it’s best to put the car in first gear (if parked uphill) or reverse (if parked on a level surface or downhill) with the handbrake off when parking. This allows your brake rotors to cool evenly, without the brake pads making contact with the rotors. If you apply the handbrake to hot rotors, you run the risk of rotor warpage, since the metal cools and contracts at a different rate. Under normal circumstances, apply the handbrake and then put yout manual transmission car in first or reverse.
Source: Mustang Forums