Can the HomeLink system be programmed to be OFF when the car is not running? The way it is now, the HomeLink is always ON, or able to be used even if the key is not in the ignition. When the system always on, if you need to leave your car in the driveway and not in the garage, someone could break into the car and open the garage door and then into your house.

I called the dealer and my service guy said he would check on it and get back to me, but in the meantime, I wanted to see if anyone knew.

 

Nope, always on. Probably my biggest issue with Homelink.

 

Good reason to keep the door into the house from the garage locked from now on....

 

wow, i never realized this...possibly another module for kptechnologies?? :x

 

Good catch, I guess I never thought about it.

Even if I lock my inner door, I still have expensive things in my garage... hhm..

 

Well, hold on here.

How is this any different from leaving a garage door opener in your car (which just about everyone does, if they don't have homelink)

Solution - Park in the garage!

 

park in the garage FTW. thats what i do now that im home.. lol

 

Heh....except that only helps when you have as many garages as you do cars. In my case, 3 cars but only 2 garages, so there's an odd man out.

And right now, our kitchen is being renovated and the garage is full of cabinets and such, so all 3 cars are outside.

Luckily I live in a safe neighborhood where my biggest worry is my car getting egged by asshole teenagers. They started that crap last week, so I ordered myself a car cover.

 

So, excluding Luvmy who has no garage space for any cars, if your car is parked outside, you might be home and able to hear the car alarm before the burglars reach in and trip the HomeLink. Puh-lenty of time to reach for your shotgun and load it up.

Is this really any less secure than a garage door opener in car? No. And besides ... what burglar is going to ignore cutting a glass window on your home silently and go for the car which, when broken into, will honk and flash and wake you and everyone in the neighborhood up? A pretty dumb burglar, me thinks.

 

^^It isn't going to honk if they break the window. And yeah, it isn't any different than a garage door opener, but it should be. That's what makes technology great... it is "supposed" to improve our lives. At this point, homelink just gets rid of an annoying remote. WHOOPPIDIDO.

 

Well, when you have an older than dirt garage door opener that the remote is the size of a cell phone from the 80's, HomeLink is very attractive. :-)

I use it and love it. However, I haven't encountered the problem of running out of garage space yet.

 

I built my son a huge playset (928' of lumber) and of course it took my spot in the garage for months instead of the wifes 01 Civic, so it was bothersome to me for awhile. Just seems too easy a solution to disable Homelink when the car is off.

 

True. I would say re-wire it to the accessory power, but would it lose its configuration when it's not powered, or does it use non-volatile memory?

 

Why. Radios are non-functioning and don't loose their settings. Constant power to maintain memory and accessory power for operation. Again, easy solution.

 

i agree, this is a major issue with homelink and the reason why i don't park my car outside. also, some garage openers have a "lock" switch inside the main control where you can lock the garage from using any kinds of remotes. i use it all the time when i'm sleeping.

 

Even if you disable homelink, your doors still have locks. Locks for the average door knob is relatively easy to pick. A thief with experience will be able to get into your house anyway. Locksmiths don't want you to know how easy it is...locks are just there to keep the average laymen out. When I was in high school and locked myself out of my room, I was able to pick the lock and get back in.

So what if the thief gets into your car and finds homelink disabled. He still has access to your car and can take your airbags, etc. The oem alarm won't go off if the window breaks, and if there are 2 or more, one can stand by the hood with a cable cutter (for your battery) while the other one pops the hood. It'll probably only take them 15 seconds to disable your car.

If you're really concerned about security, just get a home alarm system. We have a motion sensor above the door that points toward the center of the garage. If the garage opens, the alarm will go off. (We let our alarm system subscription run out, but you can use the audible alarm still. The cops just won't get called automatically)

 

I worked as a locksmith and I've had to pick a few locks myself. Honestly, a bolt lock and a dog keep most robbers out. They don't want the hassle, so they'll go to a different house. However, a robber who can use a garage door opener and has watched the house... different story. At least then it looks like the person is home. I install bolt locks on every exterior facing door and I also use that lock button on the opener inside the garage too.

Either way, doesn't change the fact that Homelink has a big miss here.

 

Should be fairly simple to power up the Homelink with the blk/yel wire that runs to the day/night mirror, instead of the wht/blu it normally uses. It's switched through the ignition.

Pretty sure the Homelink unit doesn't need constant power to remember it's programming.

 

Does the mirror power up in accessory mode as well?

 

I do use my garage but on rare occasions, both cars won't fit. Like when cleaning out the garage for example. Anyway, I do live in a safe, gated neighborhood and I do have a house alarm, and a dog. Although, the dog would probably rather play with a robber than tackle or scare. My friend has an 06 Saab. I assume its HomeLink but Im not sure. But his will not operate unless the car is on. But like moda_way said, new technology should help and IMO there should be a way to program the system to only operate when the key is in the ignition. If they can make cars to give us voice navigation and have speed sensative wipers, they should be able to have the option for HL. Just my opinion.

 

No...On and Start. There's no accessory "hot" wire anywhere in the vicinity of the Homelink, so if you wanted that you'd have to run a wire from under the dash. Still do-able....just not as clean.

 

Indeed.
My last house, the garage door opener was plugged into an outlet which ... was on a switch by the kitchen door. Click the switch, no garage open.

 

I'm about 95% sure my homelink only works in ACC or ON positions, and not anytime else. I'll double-check when I get home today.

 

I think you'll find it is on all the time.

 

Check it out, but I've opened my garage many times w/o a key.

If we didn't have Homelink, we'd have a garage remote which puts us in the same situation. Not sure about others, but my door to the house inside the garage just has the "cheapie" door knob lock. If a thief got inside and closed the garage door, it would be fairly inconspicuous to smash it with one hit from the sledge hammer that sits 8 feet away. So I leave the car inside the garage at night.

Somewhat related security question, has anyone found a use for the third button? I've programmed the other two for my two garage doors. I'm wondering if anyone has found a light controller to turn on/off the outdoor house lights?

 

Ever thought to look here:

http://www.homelink.com/brands/choose.tml

 

I bought a remote controlled outlet for $10 at a home improvement store. Plugged in a lamp in my living room and programmed it in my Homelink. Worked great, but I really didn't use it that much. Now I have 3 garage doors so they are all used.

Another idea is if you have family/friends that you need access to their house instead of having a key or using the keypad, just program their opener also.

 

I knew the home link was always on for the TSX and decided not to use this feature. I purchased 2 keychain remotes for both of our cars. I still have the visor remotes as a backup in my house (usually let out of town family borrow when they are in town for the weekend). I also have a keypad outside the garage door when I don't have the keychain with me.

Most of my neighbors have $20,000-$40,000 cars parked outside and $1,000 worth of junk piled to the ceiling in the garage? I’ve never understood that.

 

OK I was wrong (and learned something new today). My Homelink is on all the time. I swear it only worked w/ the key in the ignition a few times though!!

 

When I had 3 cars and a 2-car garage, I parked inside what needed to keep clean (harder to wash by hand or more expensive at the DIY pressure wash). Of course, the semi-retired Jeep was inside with a cover. My daughter started learning the alphabet with the letter "J."