E46 locking/alarm

I have an E30 at the moment with no alarms etc. I am considering an 02/03 E46 convertible. Is it possible to lock the car without arming the alarm - for e.g. to leave a dog in the car without triggering it? Interested to hear of any weakness generally in the factory alarm and locking system of the E46

Reply to
David Haggas
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The factory equipped Central Locking System will lock all of the doors and disable the ignition, but lacks the actual alarm horn/siren. This should accomodate you and your dog. The dealership must program the car to accept the alarm system if installed, so they should be able to disable portions of the feature set -- the motion sensor. Since the alarm system is a cost up, and provides minimal extra protection, I think you should be able to find a used car that has no alarm.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

Is there no user-accessible switch on an E46 that allows one to disable the interior motion sensor? My roughly similar vintage S4 has a button tucked down low on the B-pillar for this function. It doesn't persist beyond one locking cycle, so one would have to remember to push it every time one locks up, but at least it doesn't require a dealer fee...

/daytripper '00 s4 6spd

Reply to
daytripper

My daughter just had to have an alarm on her E46, so I bought her one on eBay for Christmas last year. I got the factory alarm -- the dealer-installed option, actually -- and she followed the directions and installed it in well under an hour. It was really very simple to put in. Reading the directions was more difficult than actually following them. In any case, there was no bypass switch of any kind that would disable the system for a trip.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

On my UK '98 E39, the tilt, and interior movement sensor can be disabled by pressing the remote locking button twice, or repeating the locking procedure with the key. Is this feature missing on US models? Mike in the UK.

Reply to
Mike G

Unknown, but those sound like features of the Central Locking System, and are independent of the alarm (which is a separate option).

The features of the 5 Series and of the 3 Series are different, I think.

Reply to
Jeff Strickland

No.

JER

Reply to
JRE

The E46 alarm works as Mike suggests it might. (We own two.)

JRE

Reply to
JRE

AIUI, if the car doesn't have an alarm, pressing the remote button once, deadlocks the doors. A few seconds later, if an alarm is fitted, it is activated along with the immobiliser, and tilt and interior movement sensors. A second press of the button, only deactivates the tilt and movement sensor. The car remains deadlocked and immobilised. With or without an alarm.

The above features seem common to all later BMW's. My guvnors 2000 3 series works in exactly the same way. Mike.

Reply to
Mike G

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