I'm still waiting for my 6MT to be built since August
I have a question: The TL does not come with a passive alarm.
My dealer said they do not want to upgrade it to a passive alarm due to complex wireing. I don't know why but they insist that they will not touch the alarm and also recommended that I do not have an alarm shop mess with it because they predict problems. I need this passive alarm for insurance discount and theft protection- i live in manhattan, NYC. I guess I will end up with
Lo-Jack. Does anyone have any comments or opinions about this issue? Thanks

 

nope, no opinions

 

The best passive alarm which is better then Lojack is GPS tracking from DEI.

It will provide and exceed all the functionality of OnStar and Lojack combined including 35% insurance discount.

$800 installed

Go to directed.com for details. I am having it installed later this week.

 

Hi
I went to the site you said and it listed various different name brand alarm companies: Viper Clifford Rattler Python Valet Hornet Avital Wasp PrecisionPower Orion , however none was called "GPS" and you didnt mention which one of the brands listed on the web page was the one that offered this "GPS" type you indicated. Please let me know more info. Thank you for your help

 

The Clifford, Python and Viper GPS tracking systems are the same (just different brand names) and include 1 year of service.

The Automate (can be installed by new car dealers) is the same system but includes 2 years of service

http://www.directed.com/security/viper/gps.asp

http://www.directed.com/security/python/gps.asp

 

What is a passive alarm? If lojack is that ,it is simply a GPS transmitter that can be monitored by the company to essentially track your car wherever it may go. If you ask me, the alarm on the car is "passive" to begin with. Activation only requires locking the car (no other buttons to mess with) plus it uses an encoded key that disables the fuel system. The only way to steal this car without the key is to tow it. Since security systems are so thorough now most crook just "strip where it sits" and that's it. I would talk to the insurance company to make sure what they mean by passive.

 

Hi Vtechbrain :-)
I already researched this with acura dealer and the insurance company, this is the difference betweeen passive and non-passive:
a Passive alarm is one that arms automatically by itself with out you haveing to press any key-fob buttons- so it is assured that even if you forget to arm it it will arm automatically everytime except if you switch it to valet mode.

A Non-passive alarm which the Acura TL comes with as per acura and even the insurance companies know its non-passive- they know more then you think, lol, is an alarm that you have to arm on your own by pressing the keyfob, so it does not automatically do it byitself- so if you forget to arm it the vehicle is unprotected- this is what the insurance companies dont like and will not honor discounts for.

 

additioanlly remember if you forget to lock your car dorr with a nonpassive then it will be unprotected. but with a passive if you forget to lock the door then the alarm will STILL arm...

 

I dont know about your tl's but mine locks itself. When the car is locked if you unlock it it will lock itself in 15 seconds if the door is not opened. Hey guys I'm trying to give you a hand here! You have to use dissuasive arguments or get screwed over by the insurance people.

 

LoJack is NOT GPS. It's proprietary transmitter that can be tracked by the special device in police cars. Since not all police departments have this equipment, the coverage is NOT nationwide.

In contrast, the GPS tracker from Directed has a GPS tracker built in, it also has analog cellular. This way the car can be tracked anytime anywhere is USA. In fact they allow you to see where you car is at through the Internet. They will even allow you to track teh car continuosly on a map.

 

Vehicle location systems aside, Consumer Reports recommends a hidden ignition kill switch. Under $100 installed.

 

I must repeat, there is no need for a kill switch hidden or otherwise. The car has an encoded key which is effectively a kill switch.

 

So you mean the alarm is always ON? If you don't lock your car door and leave the car, how would the alarm device distinguish between you and someone else who is trying to steal your car?
Can you give me a bit more details please? Or maybe a link to some site where I can read about this stuff?

 

Guys, don't blow your money on additional alarm systems which are usually a nuisance. The car has an excellent system, if a crook can figure out how to steal it anyway he can have it! that is what insurance is for! If the owner is so stupid to leave the car on with the keys in the ignition (the only way to steal the car unless towed) he deserves to have the car stolen!!

 

Active or passive
Car anti-theft devices come in two forms: active and passive. If you have to do something to arm it, it's called active. Even your key or lock button is active, as are The Club and other devices that, essentially, are locking bars on the steering wheel. Passive is when the system automatically arms itself each and every time the vehicle is shut off, the ignition key removed, or a door is shut. Insurance companies tend to give better discounts for passive systems.

The more layers a car thief has to go through, the better the chances are he'll pick on some car other than yours, say police and the experts. Painter says that he can defeat the popular The Club system within a few seconds by simply cutting the steering wheel, which is much weaker than the lock. He recalls one case in which the car thieves first "defeated" The Club, then beat the female car-owner with it.

But manufacturer-equipped anti-theft systems are not the best by themselves, warns Painter. Police and other experts agree.

"The bad thing about a manufacturer's system is that if a thief finds a way to defeat the anti-theft device on, say, one Ford F-150, he can defeat the devices on all Ford F-150s anywhere in the country."

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/...car/P63950.asp