E90 remote start? What BMW actually offered was a remote for the parking heater

Short version: some E90-family cars had a BMW hand remote, but it ran the parking heater. It was not a remote engine start.

What it was

BMW sold an optional independent heater (a parking heater) for the E9x cars. A hand transmitter that BMW calls the Telestart controls it. BMW's workshop document for the T90 version of the transmitter covers cars built up to March 2007.

What it does

Per that BMW document, the heater switches on when the outside temperature is below about 15 degrees C, either with the hand transmitter or at a preselected switch-on time. It can also be switched on directly from the Climate menu in iDrive at any outside temperature, but not while driving.

What it does not do

It does not start the engine. The parking heater is its own fuel-fired unit that warms the coolant and the cabin. We found no BMW remote engine start for the E90, whether as a factory option or an accessory. Remote start kits sold for these cars are aftermarket.

If you replace the transmitter

BMW says a new Telestart transmitter has to be initialized, and so does a car after its Car Access System control unit is replaced. It is a short procedure done from inside the car with the ignition and the transmitter buttons, and the car locks and unlocks itself when it works. Have a BMW center or a BMW-capable shop do it.

The part

The transmitter is BMW part 61316934807. BMW's parts catalog lists it as discontinued since 06/2013. BMW's parts graphics also show an installation kit for the independent heater, which points to it being a retrofit item.

As far as I know, this heater and its remote were never sold in the US.