HONK!!! HONK!!! HONK!!!
December 15, 2018 10:56 AM Subscribe
What causes people's factory car alarms to "randomly" go off all the time?
Some months ago I moved to a street that seems to have a much higher incidence than I'm used to of car alarms randomly going off for seemingly no reason. It seems like never 24 hours will go by without someone's car around here doing its thing. These seem to be the kind built in to most modern cars where the horn will honk and the lights will flash, and not aftermarket piercing siren-types.
It's rarely long, 3, 5, maybe 10 honks. Only a handful of times has it been more than a minute. Maybe it's confirmation bias but it seems to cluster around a few of the busier houses on the street with lots of people coming and going and frequent weekend partying. It never seems to be while people are outside or around the cars.
In my own personal experience, I've only owned a car with this built in panic button horn alarm thing for a couple years, but I've never had it go off accidentally or by surprise. The only times mine has ever gone off is a couple times I set it off on purpose when I'd just got the thing, showing it off to friends.
It's not super annoying (unless I'm trying to fall asleep) but I just got to puzzling over how or why it seems like some car alarms go off frequently and am wondering if I am missing something.
Some months ago I moved to a street that seems to have a much higher incidence than I'm used to of car alarms randomly going off for seemingly no reason. It seems like never 24 hours will go by without someone's car around here doing its thing. These seem to be the kind built in to most modern cars where the horn will honk and the lights will flash, and not aftermarket piercing siren-types.
It's rarely long, 3, 5, maybe 10 honks. Only a handful of times has it been more than a minute. Maybe it's confirmation bias but it seems to cluster around a few of the busier houses on the street with lots of people coming and going and frequent weekend partying. It never seems to be while people are outside or around the cars.
In my own personal experience, I've only owned a car with this built in panic button horn alarm thing for a couple years, but I've never had it go off accidentally or by surprise. The only times mine has ever gone off is a couple times I set it off on purpose when I'd just got the thing, showing it off to friends.
It's not super annoying (unless I'm trying to fall asleep) but I just got to puzzling over how or why it seems like some car alarms go off frequently and am wondering if I am missing something.
Depending on how sensitive they are, some jiggling (a big truck or low-flying plane) can set them off. Also , yes accidentally hitting the key fob,
posted by sarajane at 11:22 AM on December 15, 2018
posted by sarajane at 11:22 AM on December 15, 2018
At least once or twice a month I set my car alarm off by putting my keys and the car key fob in my pocket after locking the door to the house. Somehow something presses up against the panic button on the fob and my garage filled with flashing lights and loud honking. So yeah, it can happen fairly easily. I always feel bad about it because I leave the house around 5:45am and worry that I've just woken up a neighbor.
posted by ralan at 11:36 AM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by ralan at 11:36 AM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
My toddler has set ours off several times by finding a set of keys and pressing the attractive red button...
posted by cpatterson at 12:19 PM on December 15, 2018
posted by cpatterson at 12:19 PM on December 15, 2018
Music that is loud enough and bass-heavy enough can set off some alarms; even just a car driving past with its aftermarket stereo cranked to a sufficient volume can do it.
posted by halation at 12:23 PM on December 15, 2018
posted by halation at 12:23 PM on December 15, 2018
In my neighborhood, dogs barking INSIDE a house have set off a car alarm on a car parked at the curb.
And even my honda accord has set off alarms just from driving by.
posted by calgirl at 12:46 PM on December 15, 2018
And even my honda accord has set off alarms just from driving by.
posted by calgirl at 12:46 PM on December 15, 2018
The trigger is low frequency noise or vibration, I think that some streets are just more susceptible to this than others, maybe the camber of the road surface is somehow echoing the rumble from passing traffic.
posted by Lanark at 1:01 PM on December 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Lanark at 1:01 PM on December 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
Another person here who regularly hits the panic button by accident. When my fob was brand new I could set it off from my apartment which was situated far from my car.
posted by TwoStride at 1:31 PM on December 15, 2018
posted by TwoStride at 1:31 PM on December 15, 2018
I use some Sugru to build up a deep ridge on my Subaru remote because otherwise the other stuff in my pockets was always setting off the panic alarm or opening the tailgate. I believe that this reflects bad requirements and testing by the auto manufacturer (seriously, no one carries anything else in their pocketses)?
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 1:52 PM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 1:52 PM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
Some (usually older) cars let you unlock the doors manually without having first deactivated the alarm, which is done with a separate button. Every so often people forget to deactivate the alarm and open the door, setting it off.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:31 PM on December 15, 2018
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:31 PM on December 15, 2018
Piggybacking on this, what is the purpose of making these alarms so sensitive that they go off so easily? It seems like no one pays any attention to car alarms going off as it's very unlikely that they actually indicate any sort of break in.
posted by yohko at 3:43 PM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by yohko at 3:43 PM on December 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I have always sort of assumed that the vibration sensors in these things are frequently just badly calibrated for some reason, and are too sensitive. Either poorly-installed aftermarket alarms, or factory ones that have drifted out of spec over time for whatever reason. Because a car driving harmlessly down the street, or moderately loud music, should not be enough to set these things off.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:08 PM on December 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 4:08 PM on December 15, 2018 [2 favorites]
A neighbor down the street has his pick-up configured such that preliminary to starting the engine, his horn honks briefly, 4-6 times.
Also, certain brands of car emit one horn-honk when the operator locks the car via fob.
posted by Rash at 5:22 PM on December 15, 2018
Also, certain brands of car emit one horn-honk when the operator locks the car via fob.
posted by Rash at 5:22 PM on December 15, 2018
My husband has a very crowded pocket and sets his "panic button" off by accident probably once a month by jostling his keys wrong against his wallet. It just happened this afternoon. The only time I've *ever* had mine go off by accident, my toddler had gotten into my purse and was pushing buttons at random. So, someone who keeps too much in their pockets or any inquisitive child in the house is really all it takes.
posted by potrzebie at 11:21 PM on December 15, 2018
posted by potrzebie at 11:21 PM on December 15, 2018
My brother's car has some kind of electrical misfire that means that if he locks it, the mere act of unlocking it will set off the alarm, which will continue until he's able to turn the keys in the ignition. The frequency of your problem makes me wonder if there's one particular perpetrator in your new neighborhood who has a similar issue.
posted by exutima at 10:21 PM on December 16, 2018
posted by exutima at 10:21 PM on December 16, 2018
Until my husband got a bag for his car keys and a few other items, he used to set one or the other alarm off on the semi-regular by bending over or squatting down with the fobs in his pocket, even when there was nothing else in his pocket. Before he got the bag he got silicone fob cozies which added a bit more depth between the buttons and the top surface of the fob, but that didn't completely eliminate the issue.
posted by telophase at 11:23 AM on December 17, 2018
posted by telophase at 11:23 AM on December 17, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jon1270 at 11:06 AM on December 15, 2018 [5 favorites]