Car alarm '98 Camry ?

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dm200
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Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

I almost always use the key to open the driver's door to my '98 Camry - and then start the car with the key as well. This is fine almost all the time.

HOWEVER - about once every week or two - just opening the door with the key sets off the alarm - and then I have to find the fob and turn it off. To the best of my knowledge, I do the same thing all the time and do not know why the alarm goes off.

Any ideas?

I also wonder if I could just disable the alarm?
wootwoot
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by wootwoot »

Not sure, maybe there is a forum for Toyota or camrys specifically that can point you in the right direction.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by sport »

Can't you use the fob to unlock the door instead of the key?
Otherwise, perhaps the battery in the fob is 20 years old and needs to be replaced.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

sport wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:14 am Can't you use the fob to unlock the door instead of the key?
Otherwise, perhaps the battery in the fob is 20 years old and needs to be replaced.
Yes - I could do that, but find it more convenient to just use the key. The fob works.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by sport »

I had a Camry with an alarm. If the door was unlocked with the button on the key, the alarm was disabled. If the door was unlocked using the key in the lock, the alarm went off as it was supposed to (every time!).
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by Goal33 »

Is this why most here recommend the '99 Camry?
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

Goal33 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:22 am Is this why most here recommend the '99 Camry?
Camrys from 1997 -2001 are pretty much the same car.
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dm200
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

The owners manual (BOTH the original one that I got with the car from previous owner and the online pdf) describe a slightly different anti-theft system than I actually see in the car. ?
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by sport »

dm200 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:07 pm The owners manual (BOTH the original one that I got with the car from previous owner and the online pdf) describe a slightly different anti-theft system than I actually see in the car. ?
Perhaps it is an add-on aftermarket system, or a dealer installed version instead of the factory version.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

sport wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:15 pm
dm200 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:07 pm The owners manual (BOTH the original one that I got with the car from previous owner and the online pdf) describe a slightly different anti-theft system than I actually see in the car. ?
Perhaps it is an add-on aftermarket system, or a dealer installed version instead of the factory version.
No, I don't think so. There is no indication of anything added at all - and I believe any manuals would have been with the car.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by open_circuit »

Slightly stupid answer, but it sounds like leaving the door unlocked would prevent the problem. Obviously you couldn't leave anything in the vehicle you were worried about losing. Anecdotally, no one has stolen my Jeep or anything from inside it yet (knock on wood), and I leave it parked with no roof or doors frequently. This is much more vulnerable than an unlocked car door, right?
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

open_circuit wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:26 pm Slightly stupid answer, but it sounds like leaving the door unlocked would prevent the problem. Obviously you couldn't leave anything in the vehicle you were worried about losing. Anecdotally, no one has stolen my Jeep or anything from inside it yet (knock on wood), and I leave it parked with no roof or doors frequently. This is much more vulnerable than an unlocked car door, right?
In our area, it is very common that unlocked cars are vandalized. Locked cars seem to not be vandalized -
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by open_circuit »

dm200 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:40 pm
open_circuit wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:26 pm Slightly stupid answer, but it sounds like leaving the door unlocked would prevent the problem. Obviously you couldn't leave anything in the vehicle you were worried about losing. Anecdotally, no one has stolen my Jeep or anything from inside it yet (knock on wood), and I leave it parked with no roof or doors frequently. This is much more vulnerable than an unlocked car door, right?
In our area, it is very common that unlocked cars are vandalized. Locked cars seem to not be vandalized -
I don't blame you. I lock all of my other cars, always. Just wanted to make sure to question the assumption that the car needed to be locked in case that solved your problem. Good luck!
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

open_circuit wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:48 pm
dm200 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:40 pm
open_circuit wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 3:26 pm Slightly stupid answer, but it sounds like leaving the door unlocked would prevent the problem. Obviously you couldn't leave anything in the vehicle you were worried about losing. Anecdotally, no one has stolen my Jeep or anything from inside it yet (knock on wood), and I leave it parked with no roof or doors frequently. This is much more vulnerable than an unlocked car door, right?
In our area, it is very common that unlocked cars are vandalized. Locked cars seem to not be vandalized -
\I don't blame you. I lock all of my other cars, always. Just wanted to make sure to question the assumption that the car needed to be locked in case that solved your problem. Good luck!
I grew up in the country on a family farm. My parents left the keys in the ignition and doors unlocked for our family car all day every day - and then bring in the keys at night.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by UpsetRaptor »

Can't help your question, but just wanted to say props for still driving a '98 sedan, seriously.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

UpsetRaptor wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:00 pm Can't help your question, but just wanted to say props for still driving a '98 sedan, seriously.
Good car - bought it from friends in 2015 with only 71,000 miles - only has 85,000 now :)
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by Pinotage »

dm200 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:03 pm
UpsetRaptor wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:00 pm Can't help your question, but just wanted to say props for still driving a '98 sedan, seriously.
Good car - bought it from friends in 2015 with only 71,000 miles - only has 85,000 now :)
Are those friends still around to ask? Maybe they had a similar experience. Good luck!

Edit - is this the Camry you have the kill switch on?
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

Pinotage wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 5:31 pm
dm200 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:03 pm
UpsetRaptor wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 4:00 pm Can't help your question, but just wanted to say props for still driving a '98 sedan, seriously.
Good car - bought it from friends in 2015 with only 71,000 miles - only has 85,000 now :)
Are those friends still around to ask? Maybe they had a similar experience. Good luck!

Edit - is this the Camry you have the kill switch on?
No - they did not have the problem when they owned the car. DW drove it most of the time when we bought it - but I have been driving it most of the time for the past 10 months.

No - do not have kill switch on either of our cars.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

OK - I am not doing the exact same process every time. I open the drivers side with the key and immediately get in and start the car.

My guess is that there is something different I do or not do. Been doing this for 3 days - no alarm.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by sport »

Perhaps the alarm is supposed to go off when you use the key to unlock the door. The malfunction might be when it does not go off.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

sport wrote: Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:14 pm Perhaps the alarm is supposed to go off when you use the key to unlock the door. The malfunction might be when it does not go off.
We shall see. I believe using the key should be ok.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by PharmVest »

I had a friend who told me a story once about his car alarm would randomly go off in the middle of night occasionally despite no being around. I can't remember if it was a Camry, but his problem was his door sensors were breaking down and would randomly think the door is open (because the sensor was malfunctioning). He intentionally didn't arm the alarm and it still went off multiple times over the course of several weeks. He replaced the sensors and the problem was solved.

Maybe the door sensor is going out and randomly freaks out when you open the door? Not sure if it is worth replacing (or if you can deactivate the sensor)?

Just in case that helps.. but it probably isn't very useful haha

Jason

EDIT: to add that he didn't have his alarm activated and this still happened.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

PharmVest wrote: Sat Aug 18, 2018 5:10 pm I had a friend who told me a story once about his car alarm would randomly go off in the middle of night occasionally despite no being around. I can't remember if it was a Camry, but his problem was his door sensors were breaking down and would randomly think the door is open (because the sensor was malfunctioning). He intentionally didn't arm the alarm and it still went off multiple times over the course of several weeks. He replaced the sensors and the problem was solved.

Maybe the door sensor is going out and randomly freaks out when you open the door? Not sure if it is worth replacing (or if you can deactivate the sensor)?

Just in case that helps.. but it probably isn't very useful haha

Jason

EDIT: to add that he didn't have his alarm activated and this still happened.
I see no way to 'deactivate" the alarm. It does not go off any other times than when I unlock the door(s) with the key - and then only about 5-10% of the time. As I posted, I am now being very specific in opening the drivers door with the key and getting in immediately and starting the car. No alarm since I have been doing that.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by researcher »

dm200 wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:16 am
sport wrote: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:14 am Can't you use the fob to unlock the door instead of the key?
Otherwise, perhaps the battery in the fob is 20 years old and needs to be replaced.
Yes - I could do that, but find it more convenient to just use the key. The fob works.
The simplest and cheapest fix is to simply use the key fob to unlock your car.
That's what it is designed to do, and it avoids setting off the car alarm.

How can the key possibly be more convenient than the fob?
Press the button 20 feet away as you are walking to the car and simply get in.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by Shackleton »

I would think it has less to do with how you unlock the door than how you locked the door the prior time you left it. Do you always lock the door using the key? Or do you sometimes use the fob or perhaps the “lock” button on the inside of the door near the window up/down buttons? Both the fob and the lock button inside the car would probably activate the alarm causing it to go off when unlocked by the key the next time the car is accessed.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by DSInvestor »

Shackleton wrote: Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:07 am I would think it has less to do with how you unlock the door than how you locked the door the prior time you left it. Do you always lock the door using the key? Or do you sometimes use the fob or perhaps the “lock” button on the inside of the door near the window up/down buttons? Both the fob and the lock button inside the car would probably activate the alarm causing it to go off when unlocked by the key the next time the car is accessed.
I think Shackleton nailed it. I have a 97 Camry. If I lock the car with the fob, it locks the doors and arms the alarm. If I lock the car with key in the door, the doors lock but the alarm does not arm which allows me to unlock the door/trunk using key without triggering the alarm. My camry doesn't have a trunk release button activated on my key fob so I sometimes trigger the alarm if I use my key to open the trunk before disarming the alarm with the fob.

If the doors are working properly, I think the easiest and most convenient way to lock/unlock the car is using the fob - just make sure the batteries are good.
Last edited by DSInvestor on Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by mmmodem »

I believe you or somebody is accidently arming the alarm with the remote. That's what happened occasionally to my 1998 Corolla. I always use the remote to lock the doors. My dad whom didn't own remote entry vehicles at the time always used the key. Sometimes, he disliked the way I parked in the driveway or at the curb and would park my car "better" without telling me. So every once in awhile at night, I would run to get the keys to disarm the car in the middle of the night.

I would disable the alarm or remove the batteries from the key fob, since you don't use it. I was surprised the keyless entry feature still worked with the alarm off.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

mmmodem wrote: Mon Aug 20, 2018 8:57 am I believe you or somebody is accidently arming the alarm with the remote. That's what happened occasionally to my 1998 Corolla. I always use the remote to lock the doors. My dad whom didn't own remote entry vehicles at the time always used the key. Sometimes, he disliked the way I parked in the driveway or at the curb and would park my car "better" without telling me. So every once in awhile at night, I would run to get the keys to disarm the car in the middle of the night.

I would disable the alarm or remove the batteries from the key fob, since you don't use it. I was surprised the keyless entry feature still worked with the alarm off.
OK - maybe that is it. So far, just using the key - quickly getting in and starting the car is working just fine. We shall see.

I do need to keep the fob working - just in case the alarm goes - and the I can turn it off.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by jhwkr542 »

Not sure if this is related at all but I had a similar alarm in a 1999 Nissan Altima. But my alarm would randomly sound for no reason when I had locked it with the key fob. It wouldn't sound if I didn't lock it. The issue was a fuse that had gone bad I believe. Instead of fixing it, I just had it unplugged internally from a family member. I didn't really need a security alarm on that car.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by dm200 »

jhwkr542 wrote: Mon Aug 20, 2018 4:44 pm Not sure if this is related at all but I had a similar alarm in a 1999 Nissan Altima. But my alarm would randomly sound for no reason when I had locked it with the key fob. It wouldn't sound if I didn't lock it. The issue was a fuse that had gone bad I believe. Instead of fixing it, I just had it unplugged internally from a family member. I didn't really need a security alarm on that car.
if the problem continues, I may try to do the same thing. We shall see.
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by roflwaffle »

If it's one of Toyota's Karr alarms, removal should be fairly straightforward (find it, unplug it, profit). You just need to look up how to access it.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/remova ... em.497699/
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Re: Car alarm '98 Camry ?

Post by Bmac »

Do car alarms even actually work? Seem like the most common scenario is having them go off in the middle of the night for no apparent reason and merely annoying any neighbors within earshot. Has one stopped a determined and even semi-competent car thief? Why not just disable it.
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