A system for remotely controlling operation of a vehicle comprises a handheld electronic device, a key, and a base station mounted in the vehicle. The handheld electronic device is bi-directionally and wirelessly communicable with the key, while the key is bi-directionally and wirelessly communicable with the base station. An instruction which can be a vehicle searching instruction is sent to the base station from the handheld electronic device via the key. The base station sends position information of the vehicle to the handheld electronic device via the key upon receiving the instruction for searching the vehicle.