The $80 Kit, the $349 Kit, and the $783 Kit: What Your Money Actually Buys

Push button start kits span roughly $80 to $800. That's a 10× spread for products that all claim to do the same thing: let you start your engine with a button.

The spread is real, and it isn't margin. It's hardware. Here's exactly what falls out of the box at each price point — and, more importantly, what the cheaper tiers make you pay for later.

The tiers at a glance

	Tier 1: Budget import	Tier 2: Single-function RFID	Tier 3: Complete system
Price	$80–200	$349–589	$665–783
Push button start	✅	✅	✅
RFID authentication	⚠️ Varies	✅	✅
Immobilizer	⚠️ Varies	✅	✅
Passive keyless entry	⚠️ Claimed	❌	✅
Full alarm	❌	❌	✅
Remote start	⚠️ Varies	❌	✅ Optional
Accessory output channels	❌	❌	✅ 5
Published relay rating	❌	⚠️ Rare	✅ 40–60A
Published encryption spec	❌	⚠️ Rare	✅ DFDE / TI / 6bn codes
Emergency bypass if fob lost	⚠️ Varies	⚠️ Varies	✅ Card + PIN
US-based phone support	❌	⚠️ Varies	✅
Professional install still required	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes

 

 

That last row is the one that reframes the whole table. Keep it in mind.

Tier 1: Budget import kits — $80 to $200

What you get: a push button, a small control module, one or two fobs, and a wiring harness. Many advertise passive keyless entry and remote start at this price.

What the manufacturer's own manual says. This is the tier where you have to read the manual instead of the listing. One widely sold universal PKE kit's user manual states it directly:

"This device can improve the vehicle safety level, but could not prevent the vehicle from stolen or the occurrence of unexpected accidents." — EASYGUARD EC002 Series user manual

That is the manufacturer disclaiming theft prevention, in writing, in the manual for a product marketed as an anti-theft system. It's the most honest sentence in the tier, and almost nobody reads it before buying.

The specs that don't exist. No relay amperage. No wire gauge. No encryption architecture. No keyspace. On a device that carries your ignition current and decides whether your engine is allowed to start, all four of those are the specs that matter — and none are published.

The real cost. Here's the arithmetic that gets skipped: installation labor is the same whether the module cost $80 or $783. A shop charges the same to route the same harnesses through the same firewall. So a "$120 kit" is really $120 plus several hundred in labor — and if the module fails in year two, you pay that labor a second time to remove it.

You didn't save $600. You deferred it.

Tier 2: Single-function RFID — $349 to $589

Now you're buying real authentication hardware.

Watson's StreetWorks WI-75 — $349. A US-built RFID push button start with a 22mm stainless button, a compact hideable module, three configurable security modes, a 5–200 foot range, eight sensitivity increments, and a hidden-button override if the fob is lost. Chrome or Raven Black, four LED colors.

Digital Guard Dawg PBS-I — $589. Same job, materially different hardware — and this is where published specs start separating products:

·         Onboard 60A high-current relays on a 4oz copper chassis

·         12-gauge bus-insulated wiring, sized to match the heavy ignition wiring already in classic vehicles

·         Internal MSD filtering circuitry

·         Two accessory circuits, one of which drops during starter crank to reduce current draw while the other stays live for ECUs

·         Full ignition emulation — ACC / ACC+IGN / START from one button

·         Texas Instruments RFID with over 6 billion unique codes

·         Emergency bypass card and PIN

·         Dual-mode fobs — passive and manual

·         Choice of 50+ start buttons

·         Made in the USA, with US phone support

What the $240 difference buys. Onboard relays instead of external relay wiring — DGD's own pages call external relays "unsightly and failure prone," and every external relay is another crimp under a dash, heat-cycling for a decade. It buys MSD filtering, which matters the moment you put a high-output ignition box anywhere near a control module. It buys a published relay rating you can actually check against your starter draw.

That's not $240 of branding. That's $240 of copper and engineering.

Tier 3: Complete systems — $665 to $783

At this tier you stop buying an ignition switch and start buying the whole vehicle-access system.

PBS-II — $665. Everything in the PBS-I, plus five programmable output channels driving power door locks, shaved-door poppers, power windows, and trunk release. For a resto-mod with shaved doors, this replaces a separate popper controller and its whole wiring loom. It's the system listed on DGD's page as used by Hennessey Performance, Revology Cars, Gateway Bronco, and Ringbrothers.

iKey Premier — $783. Five functions on one module: passive keyless entry, push button start, full alarm, engine immobilizer, and optional remote start. Published hardware:

·         Two 40A ignition outputs; 20A internal door lock relays

·         Redundant +12V and redundant ground, both direct to the battery

·         Five harnesses (8, 10, 9, 7 and 3-pin) in 14 to 22 gauge

·         DFDE — Dual Frequency ~ Dual Encryption with TI RFID and 6 billion codes

·         A 6-channel dual-mode fob

·         500mA negative outputs for ISIS and Infinitybox systems

·         Alarm monitoring shock, door, hood, brake and ignition; 30-second siren and light cycle; red status LED on disarm if it was triggered

Buy this tier when you want the doors to unlock as you walk up, an alarm integrated rather than bolted on, and one module to install and troubleshoot instead of four.

The comparison nobody runs: build the same capability three ways

Say you want push button start, passive keyless entry, an alarm, and an immobilizer. Here's what each route actually costs.

Route A — Budget stack: $150 kit + a separate alarm + a bypass module + professional installation of three interconnected modules. Cheapest parts, most wiring, most interconnects, no published specs, no US support line, and three vendors pointing at each other when it misbehaves.

Route B — Assemble the mid-tier: PBS-I ($589) + an alarm (DGD-KY-ALM-1, $249) + a power door lock kit ($85 for 2-door / $159 for 4-door). Call it $923–997 in parts, three modules, still no PKE.

Route C — iKey Premier: $783. One module. All four functions. Plus optional remote start. Fewer parts, less labor, one warranty conversation.

Route C is both cheaper and more capable than Route B. That's not a rhetorical trick — it's what integration does. Buying functions bundled on one board beats buying them on three boards and wiring them together.

Where the money goes after the kit

Real project budgets include these. All prices as of July 2026.

Start button — every PBS and iKey system includes a premium billet button, but there are 50+ upgrades:

Button	Price
Billet (stainless or black anodized, 4 LED colors)	$50
Slim Line SL-OEM	$77
Ford Raptor / Honda Civic	$159
Toyota / Lexus / Nissan SS-style	$199
Cadillac Escalade	$212
Corvette C7	$229
Honda S2000	$344
Aston Martin	$705

 

 

Accessories:

Item	Price
Emergency bypass card (spare)	$15
Mini siren	$20
Clutch control switch (manual transmission)	$25
Start button extension harness	$25
Glass break sensor	$34
Microwave sensor	$43
Power trunk release kit	$44
2-window roll up/down module	$49
Door lock module	$77
Power door lock kit — 2-door / 4-door	$85 / $159
Bypass module (factory immobilizer vehicles)	$113
Spare fob — KIM / PBS / iKey	$42 / $65 / $79

 

 

GPS: the Guard Dawg 4G Tracker is $314 with two years of activation included — updates every two minutes, IP67, theft/tow/geo-fence/speed alerts, and optional starter lockout from the app. Renewals run as low as $26.95/year on a prepaid 5-year plan.

Labor: DGD's FAQ states most experienced installers complete a push button start install in 2–4 hours, connecting to existing ACC, IGN and START circuits with the included 36-inch plug-in harness — no cutting or splicing factory wiring. Motorcycle installs run about $100–200 if you don't DIY.

The one comparison that ends the argument

DGD's FAQ puts a dealer retrofit of a factory push-button start system at $1,500–3,000+.

Against that, the iKey Premier at $783 is roughly half the price of the cheapest dealer quote — and it adds an alarm, an immobilizer with published DFDE encryption, an emergency bypass card, a 6-channel fob, and a choice of 50+ buttons that no dealer will ever offer you.

The premium tier isn't the expensive option. The dealer is.

How to choose in thirty seconds

·         Pre-1998 classic, ignition only → PBS-I, $589

·         Pre-1998 classic with power accessories or shaved doors → PBS-II, $665

·         You already own an aftermarket alarm or remote start → PBS-X, $443 — keep the alarm, add RFID push start

·         You want the full luxury experience in one module → iKey Premier, $783

·         Motorcycle → KIM series, $269

·         Boat → PBS-M, $469

·         ATV / UTV → PBS-MX, $299

·         Golf cart (12–48V) → GC12V, $299

·         Theft protection only, any 12V vehicle → AT-1, $229 or DGD-M1, $149

Two things worth knowing before you shop anywhere else: every Digital Guard Dawg product page carries "We match any advertised price," and every order is backed by a 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee — unconditional money back with an RMA within 7 days of purchase.

Found it advertised cheaper? Call 1-877-246-5395 and they'll match it.

Sources

·         Digital Guard Dawg — PBS-I (60A relays, 4oz copper chassis, 12GA wiring, MSD filtering, accessory dropout behavior)

·         Digital Guard Dawg — PBS-II (5 output channels)

·         Digital Guard Dawg — iKey Premier and install manual (40A/20A ratings, redundant power and ground, harness pinouts, DFDE)

·         Digital Guard Dawg — FAQ (install time, dealer retrofit cost comparison, motorcycle install cost)

·         Digital Guard Dawg — Guard Dawg 4G Tracker

·         Digital Guard Dawg — 100% Customer Satisfaction Guarantee

·         Watson's StreetWorks — WI-75 RFID Push Button Start, $349

·         EASYGUARD EC002 Series user manual (ManualsLib) (budget-tier manufacturer's own theft-prevention disclaimer)

All Digital Guard Dawg pricing verified on the live product pages 28 July 2026. Prices change — confirm before ordering.