What problems have you experienced with your keyless entry remote?

They don't work very well after you submerse them. I've seen a few dead batteries.

how about the mechanical design? do you think it could be designed better?

Right away, put major attention into making these goddamn systems silent! These products have been designed by people who are thoughtless, arrogant, and stupid. I detest being forced to endure all the beeps and whoops coming from people getting in and out of their cars! Make the systems announce status with lights only, and absolutely no audio whatsoever unless someone is actually breaking into the car.

And, also, make sure that it isn't so easy to push the noise button on the remote.

You can be the first one to apply your brains and consideration.

Richard

What's to design? You've got a few button in a small plastic box; it's pretty simple. The only improvement I can think of is to make it thinner so it fits in a pocket more comfortably.

AOL! At least the one on my 2003 Tiburon does what Richard describes.

I have a feeling that decisions about things like "number of buttons" and "what those buttons do" are not made by joe. I think joe may have been looking for comments like "I'd like it if the remote were shaped like $FOO" or "I'd like it if the remote came in a choice of colors".

Anyway, the only thing I can think of to complain about on my remote is that the "unlock" button may be too small--it's oval, and roughly 1cm by

On my remote I only have to push the arm button ONCE to look the doors. The turn signals will flash. The second push sounds the chirp.

You aren't forced to endure this. You just don't like it because you find it annoying. I hear it so often that it doesn't bother me.

As to th OP. Make them thinner. Do what ford is doing with the Fusion's keyless remote. Incorporate it in to the key itself

The Hyundai system IS completely silent, other than the sound of the locks actuating. It only chirps if you press the lock button twice, which isn't necessary in order to arm the system. The second press simply gives an audible confirmation of locking an arming for those who feel they need it.

BTW, Joe's question was about the remote itself, which has nothing to do with whether the system is silent or not.

The chirp serves a much important purpose IMO. If a door isn't fully closed meaning the door won't lock, then the alarm will not chirp. Very useful when kids and elderly relatives don't close their door fully.

Beg your pardon: I am indeed forced to endure other peoples' noise pollution. I'm into silence. Forcing other people to endure your noise is abuse. Just because it doesn't bother you is loopy and inconsiderate logic as to why it should not bother me. I pay attention to sound; perhaps you don't. To quote the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse: "Your noise penetrates my silence but my silence will never penetrate your noise."

Noise pollution is a serious issue in our society. Some people want peace and quiet.

Richard

Actually, I'm on target. You see, I after my Ford was smashed up by a drunk, I rented a Hyundai Elantra to try it on. And, indeed, I set off the alarm from far away by accident. My causing a cacophony of whoops and blasts in the parking lot was caused by the remote's design, as well as the system's switching. The design of the system -- the lock/alarm/remote together is stupid, and this went the same way for the next car: a Ford Focus (the Hyundai was defective so I swapped it at Hertz).

The issue is that most people actually press the button twice -- and sound the horn, or crazy box, because there's no visible confirmation of the first press. On the Ford and a GM car, I noticed that when you _unlock_ the car, it flashes the headlights. So far, so good.

But when you _lock_ the car, you don't know because all it does is blink the dome light. Now, when in the world are you going to notice _that?_ So, you think that nothing happened, and you press again and whoop 'n blast everyone in the neighborhood.

The mindless stupidity of the designers, and then the slavish copying of what's already been done leads to lots of unwanted bleeping, squawking, honking, angry electo-chirps.

The OP asked about the handheld remote. Right there is one immediate issue that I discovered: it's too easy to hit the panic button by accident. But the remote is part of an overall system -- the whole thing needs some tweaking. The bottom line, of course, is the abuse of people who may be more sensitive to sound than the designer -- perhaps a guy who couldn't care less, and, "What the hell is wrong with you; get a life!"

One of my work hats has been closely involved with human engineering (computers, mostly). And I'm amazed by how much people with brains overlook sensible accommodations and common sense when they design things.

Here's a guy who was interested enough to ask, and I'm more impressed that he did than by his gramatical slip. Many engineers I've met aren't as aware -- they just want their designs to function, and off to the next project.

A few years ago, when my late electronics technician friend was looking for a car, I recommended that he pay attention to Hyundais. I've been interested in Korean products since I began checking out the insides of some stereo products during the 80s. He bought an Elantra, and I was impressed with a number of design aspects of it. I honestly don't know if the cars are designed in Korea, in the USA, or both. But there's a little more thoughtfulness in the Hyundai's engineering than I'm used to seeing in domestic cars. So, what's common here is the application of some reasoning and consideration into design -- whether it's to the car itself or to the OP's interest in what the _user_ might want in the remote control. And I know he's a student, but here's a guy I'd love to work with on a design project. Don't you agree?

Richard

That's cool. However, I don't want to be awakened from a nap because your grandma didn't shut your car door. We need an alternative system that's not alarming to a neighbor, such as, perhaps, a bright strobe light. And until the time has come when all cars are outfitted with bright flashing lights, I want the existing systems deactivated.

Note that we already have a warning: in my Hyundai, if a door isn't fully closed, the ding-dong keeps sounding _inside_ the car. What more does the driver need? Those chirps are maddening to have to listen to for me and for others who are sensitive to sound. It's noise, and even though the chirps are brief, they're damn loud. And alarming.

The noise levels in our environment have steadily risen -- 100 years ago, there were no unmuffled small gasoline engines -- no leaf blowers, chainsaws; there were no boom cars, and no worthless car alarms and door lock boopers and whoopers driving everyone else crazy. In an urban area, the overall noise pollution has a psychological effect -- it certainly makes people tense. Time to get back to quiet.

Richard

Amen to that. We can start by mandating that motorcycles meet the same noise regulations that cars must meet. I find that a heck of a lot more offensive than chirps from alarms systems.

While I'm all for reducing noise pollution, if the innocuous chirp from an alarm system is "alarming" to you, I daresay the the problem is you, not the chirp. If noise is such a problem for you, you should move to a more remote area where the ambient noise level is lower. All the complaining in the world is not going to significantly reduce noise levels in a city. Cities are what they are and no one is obligated to accommodate you.

So because YOU screwed up and set of the alarm, the system is "stupid". I beg to differ. It works just fine and it's silent unless you press the lock button twice or hit the alarm button. Figuring out the remote is NOT rocket science.

So what does that have to do with Hyundai? The Hyundai system doesn't work that way. If you want to bitch about other cars, there are appropriate forums to do so. This is not it.

You hit the panic button ONCE, so it's a bad design? Give me a break! The panic button is there and readily accessible for good reason.

Sure, that's a problem with a lot of products. However, just because one of us doesn't like something, it doesn't mean that it's a poor design or that most other people aren't happy with it.

What gramatical error are you talking about?

As I said before, the only change I'd like to see is to make the remote thinner. Other than that, I'm happy with it.

You must be a very light sleeper or are sleeping in your car to be awoken by what really is quite a quiet chirp -- on my Elantra at least. Your bright strobe light idea sounds quite interesting. Hopefully for your sake that if implemented, it doesn't shine in your home and awake you in the night.

You're missing the point. The alarm doesn't chirp if the door is not fully shut. The door ding-dong only happens when the keys are in the ignition I believe. I wouldn't be trying to lock the car with the remote if it were still with the keys in the ignition.

They are alarming by definition and on purpose. The chirp also serves to inform any potential car thieves in the vicinity that your car is locked.

Good luck with your quest.

Maybe it's my particular unit, but the "panic" button sticks.

Also, on the Hyundai remotes, all 3 buttons (lock/unlock/panic) are on the face in close proximity. I'veset of the panic button by accident when holding a handful of keys.

The VW Jetta "switchblade" remote has the panic button on the side away from the other buttons.

New features? How about a programmable button for my garage door? Can you make it an MP3 player?

I agree. I've had my 2002 XG unlock itself numerous times and I assume its because the unlock button is being pressed when the remote is in my pocket.

Dan

Different people, of course, are troubled by different types of particular noises. But they're all intrusive to someone. I feel that we need broadband quiet. Muffle eveything that's mufflable.

In the case of motorcyles, at least here in California, I'm pretty sure that they've got to meet the same standards as cars. However, many the guys who drive them feel otherwise, and get off on removing mufflers altogether, and even adding gadgets that boost the sound. I think that the issue is enforcement (same as with boom cars); the cops don't do it. And (catchin' comes before hangin') it's hard for you or I to turn in one of these yokels because they're long gone before we can read the license plates, especially the little ones on the bikes.

Dunno. It's a problem.

Richard