MikeP

So here's the situation:

One day last week, I heard an annoying alarm going off in my apt. complex - it was one of those alarms where the horn goes off, etc. I peeked out but didn't think anything of it, figured it couldn't be my car. (The garages in my complex are old school. They're a bunch of individual 1-car garages right next to each other and are separated by some chicken-wire type thing although it seems like every other one or so is completely separated by a solid wall.)

So I head to my car Friday morning and see that my garage door was already open and there's a note taped on to my trunk. Apparently, my alarm allegedly went off "3 nights in a row at 2 a.m." At the end of the note in capital letters is the phrase "FIX IT." According to my manager, some guy got so pissed off that when he heard it go off for the "3rd" time he ran down to verify which garage it was coming from, etc.

Anyway to make a long story short, I call the dealer to see if there's a way to change the sensitivity level on my alarm and he said there wasn't (True?).

This is a big mystery since there is no reason for the alarm to go off by itself (i.e. There is nothing "to fix" with respect to the car itself.) The only valid explanation is that some of those annoying cats that live around my complex must be getting into someone else's gargage then hopping over to mine and landing on my car and bouncing around on it or something. (My manager mentioned that some people have commented that they've seen cat paw prints on their cars in the a.m.)

Weird thing is that, to test my alarm since I had never even heard it go off before I kind of banged on the doors, etc. and the alarm wouldn't go off. I just ended up clicking the Panic button just to verify how it sounded and after hearing it go off, I must admit it is pretty damn annoying but at least I know it works.

How hard do you have to bang the car to make it go off? If it is those damn fat cats, what the hell are they doing on my car and how hard are they doing it?! Are there some parts of the car that are more sensitive than others like the hood?

For now, to be safe, I'm just not going to set the alarm and just lock my garage door with a padlock but that's a hassle, not safe, and not the long term solution. Is there a way to at least lock the doors without setting the alarm?

Anyone been in this situation before or any comments?

I have a 200 TL with the factory alarm upgraded to that system they try to sell you when you're signing the papers...

Thx...

WebToker

I seem to remember a CL driver having this same problem. You may wanna search www.acura-cl.com. I would make the dealer swap the alarm out before someone takes a bat to your car.

Lawaia

You're very lucky that a note is all you got on your car. You may want to check that all your doors and trunk are securely closed. Our cars don't have shock / motion sensors so I doubt that a cat is causing this. BTW, do you have a radio station / transmitter close to your house? These do cause havoc on some alarm systems.
Just a thought.

MikeP

Thx...did a search and found a similar topic over there. The guy said he was going to take it to the dealer then post the resolution but never did. I think I will email him....

MikeP

After dwelling on it a little more, I think you are right. When I heard the alarm go off, I remember thinking, "Whose damn alarm is that??!!!" When I intentionally set my alarm off to verify how it sounded, I was like, damn that is VERY loud - and to think that I was pissed that some guy taped something to my car...

The doors, etc. are all fine. I've had the car for almost exactly one year and this is the first time this has happened.

Don't live near any of those....and if I did, shouldn't this have happened much earlier???

Probably will call the actual dealer that sold me the car...

Fiddler

The only way that I know of for the alarm to go off, is for someone to attempt to open the doors while car is locked. i suppose its possible that some wiring of the door lock switch is messed up and is shorting somewhere??? in any case, if its going off for an unknown reason, u should take it to a dealer. did you have any aftermarket electrical work done?

MikeP

No aftermkt. work done - will probably take into dealer...thx.

Red Hot TL

I've had this problem before... I put my keys and remote in my pocket, and sometimes when I sit down, the things in my pocket "accidently" press the panic button and the alarm goes off. this happened couple times before when I'm wearing a pair of pants with small pockets. just a thought.

MikeP

Keys were on the table - this happens in the middle of the night, etc.

Jens

A very common problem is people accidently sitting on the remote causing it to make the car sound off.Next in line would be a faulty door switch or latch or a hood latch going bad.It would be best for you to take this to a dealer and let them figure it out.The alarm system though basic in nature is actually quite complex since it can be set with either the remotes or the keys.Jens

Mstyle

That's weird I have never heard of a factory alarm going off just because.....unless the remote was in my pocket...

vesTLS

I thought i was the only one who have this problem. Yes it is very annoying. I did try to ask the local dealer, at least the person I was talking to didn't have a clues to what i was talking about. If u figure this out please share the results, thanks.

thisisnotdave

Mine does it too, cuz one of my doors has poor contact with the sensor also my dome light turns when im whippin the car around.

cemptor

No ne near the car. keys not being pressed. The only thing is its a very wet day today. Could it have caused one of the door senssors to malfunction?

01tl4tl

7 years after this thread died.... and still no one knows why this happens!?

AZP-TL

Most likely a sensor or switch is malfunctioning. It's certainly possible some electrical or wireless devices could set it off as well.

etxxz

i had the same problem, it was the remote going bad or out of battery.

solution:
$93 remote at dealer
OOooor
$15 for 3 remotes on ebay (make sure you get the ones with the right code for your car)

haven't had problems since.