Toyota Alarm Question

It shouldn't arm itself after you've stopped the engine and shut the doors. The only time it arms itself is if it was alarmed, and then you disarm it and don't start the car up.

Pressing the 'lock' button on your keyfob alarms the car for doors AND interior movement. Pressing the 'lock' button a 2nd time (gives a longer flash of the indicators) will alarm only the doors - this is what you should do if you want it locked with a passenger inside.

I believe that the security system can be programmed several ways. By default, it should arm itself if you shut off the engine and lock the doors.

I've the same system on my mk2 MR2 (and I had the previous shape Celica too). I need the disable the alarm when washing it - I either arm just the doors, or I unarm it and open then close a door to prevent it from arming itself.

Thanks for the comments.

Mine doesn't seem to work this way. If I disarm the alarm and then open and shut a door - it will STILL arm itself if I do nothing after 30 seconds. Is the opinion here that this is a fault then?

I could of course arm it with no interior sensors on with the passenger inside... but they may object to being trapped in the car :)

One of the settings for the security system is automatic arming, but AFAIK, it should only happen if the doors are locked. If the doors are unlocked, I don't think it should arm itself.

Well that would make sense. In my case it seems to work whether the doors are locked or not.

Any idea where I can find info on what settings are possible with the alarm and how to alter them? Or do I have to take it to a Toyota dealer to get it changed?

Your best bet is to find someone with an owner's manual or factory repair manual. If you're electrically inclined, you can bypass the trunk/hatch switch and install a manual switch so that the system thinks that the trunk/hatch is open and so won't arm the system.

Reasonable idea and I'm not too bad with electrics - but I suspect the wiring is not obvious for these sensors (as it may leave it open to attack). It also doesn't sound too neat a solution. So the best bet is probably the manuals. I have the owners manual and that's probably of most use when you run out of toilet paper to be honest. It tells you next to nothing apart from how to switch the thing on and off. So I guess I'll be hunting for a factory repair manual... either that or take it to a dealer. Thanks for the comments.

That's really good to know....

I've been wondering how to use my keyfob to lock my 97 Celica with my dog inside & window cracked open.

After a few alarm disasters, I have been locking the doors manually.

The security system does not have separate sensors for each door and trunk/hatch lid. It uses the same switch as the courtesy/dome lights.

Well that does make it easier - but I've hunted around and found a more detailed manual. Unfortunately it still doesn't tell you how to do it yourself - it just says take it to a dealer. But it does confirm that passive arming of the alarm is a feature that can be toggeled to on or off. It seems I've been unlucky as the factory default is OFF. So I assume the person who had the car before me thought it was a good thing and had it set to ON. It probably is a good thing if you are a loner and rarely travel with anyone.

Anyhow as this is definitely the case I think I'll probably take it in somewhere and have them reprogram it to turn the passive feature off. It's annoying you can't do it yourself. This is the type of thing that ought to be on small dip switches or something so you don't have to pay some guy to do 2 minutes work. While I could still do the electrical solution to keep it DIY - it seems untidy compared to reprogramming.

Thanks anyway - that knowledge (about the thing relying on the courtesy light) may come in handy yet!

Reprogramming the security system involves a "chicken dance" pushing buttons, turning the ignition key, opening and closing doors, etc. I'm a lousy dancer so I always leave the factory default.