so, did anyone opt for the scion alarm? just wondering what you think of it? also, is this an easy car to steal? how secure is it in general? i had my 2000 civic stolen this past summer, and found out that honda's are easy to start w/o the key(i won't post on here how they do it..but it's kinds sick how it easy it is to do) thanks for the info, ginnis

our cars are 50/50. Some may find it too ugly to steal while others may think it's too cool and unique they don't touch it. Either way...if they steal it then it'll stick out like a sore thumb. Get the alarm anyway just to be safe either from the dealership or aftermarket.

I'm getting mine w/it from factory/port of location installed. Although $400 or so for such a system is rather up there. What does it sound like? Does it have the "chirp chirp" or does it flash or "beep beep"?

I'm getting mine w/it from factory/port of location installed. Although $400 or so for such a system is rather up there. What does it sound like? Does it have the "chirp chirp" or does it flash or "beep beep"?

i got the Scion security....mine flashes, no sound though....

it was already installed on the xB i wanted so that took care of that....

The dealer wanted about $600 for their alarm. I opted instead to pay $600 (installed) for a Clifford Matrix with tilt sensor to prevent wheel-stealing. It will page you up to half a mile away if your alarm goes off, plus will tell you what part of the car triggered it. The guy at the alarm shop said he could have a dealer alarm disarmed so fast it's ridiculous. I believe it - lots of cars are stolen in the parking lot at work and many of them are brand new vehicles with dealer alarms.

Mine is coming with an factory alarm also. my question is, is it any good? I just hope it ain't those annoying car horn ones.

The dealer wanted $500+ for the factory alarm..no way was i going to spend that much. I got a better aftermarket alarm from viper for only half the price. :D

yes its true dealer installed alarms are a joke. The install is ran all identical as other cars. There is only 1 shock sensor (a crappy one i might add) on the car and disabling it is easy. I call those alarms "stall for time from getting your car jacked" to be honest all alarms can be bypassed, its just how much of a pain in the a$$ it is to disable it. I know with more experienced installers they do more trick and stealth installs on the cars. My rav4 (was stolen) had a clifford alarm that was ran a different way than your conventional alarm, but then again they still got passed it. I think if you get the autolock and an alarm, its decent protection from getting your car jacked. Both can still be broken through, but it's enough of a pain in the a$$ for the car thief to maybe just say f**k it ill pass and go to the next one. Just dont park in ghetto places, dark areas, etc and itll help increase your chances of your car NOT getting jacked. hope this helps

Mike

I will be offering the Directed Electronics Rattler at substantion discount very soon. this alarm has many of the same features of the viper. it also has DEi tech support and a cd rom for installation for you DIy guys look for it soon. Bill

Dealer told me aftermarket alarms would void electrical warranty since they have to splice your wires... They offered me "Scion Security" and gave me one called "Karr". Is that right, or did I get screwed :?:

It is also an aftermarket alarm, No matter what the dealer tells you that alarm will only be warranted at that dealership or dealerships under the same owner. I forgot where in this forum, but that is a crock about void warranties. I wish the all Dealers would be as interested in providing service after the sale, as they are in making the sale.

I have the clifford matrix RS3 on my xB and paid about $500 for it. I'd say, screw the factory alarm, and go for the aftermarket ones. I would have put automatic start on mine but since mine's a stick, it's not a good idea to enable that. so basically i'm saying, GET AN AFTERMARKET ALARM instead.

yup...that's what I'll be doing

for the price of the crappy dealer alarm I can drive several hundred miles to a friends shop, get a great alarm installed by a very experienced person and hang out for the weekend :roll:

well thanks for the info....i just ordered the xB yesterday and went w/ the dealer alarm ($469) even tho i know it's not the greatest, but like some of you mentioned above...any alarm can be bypassed, and if they want it bad enough they'll take it. my civic had a $500 clarion w/ all the goodies and they stole that right in front of my bedroom window, under a bright light. i just hope the scion takes a little more effort to get it started than the civics....it takes like a few seconds to get a civic started once you're inside.

for those dealer prices i said screw it.. I asked the dealer if they carry Lo-Jack. It is about the same price. So i figured Lo-Jack for now and i will install an aftermarket during break.

I am looking at goin without the Scion Security, and having a Compustar Alarm installed instead. I like the pager alarms, and the Spread Spectrum one has a 1.25 mile range, great for when I am at work..... plus I want to have remote start installed on it too...


Doc

Dealer told me aftermarket alarms would void electrical warranty since they have to splice your wires... They offered me "Scion Security" and gave me one called "Karr". Is that right, or did I get screwed :?:
you must have gone to toyota of orange. No the Karr alarm is NOT Scion security. We made them change it out.

you must have gone to toyota of orange. No the Karr alarm is NOT Scion security. We made them change it out.


I did go to Toyota of Orange. Is Scion Security better than Karr?

Umm, yeah Scion security is totally better than Karr. We had Karr and I totally hated it how you have to time how long in between when you push the button the second time to unlock all four doors. Scion security has a blue light instead of red and I made them make it silent when I lock and unlock the doors. Go back to the dealer and tell them you don't like it and ask them to change it. I talked to a manager, pm me if you want to know who I talked to and I will look it up.

Even though my Focus sucks, i give Ford props for including focus' with the PATS system. Someone tried to steal my Focus ( no idea why) , well they didnt get far because i was woken up by my car starting, then about 30 seconds later it died. I guess Fords only have about 30 diffent keys for thier ignitions, however, its the computer code stored in the key that saves them from getting stolen!

Ummm, hey Krickle...I got my xB from Longo and the alarm light on the center console is red. Based on this info does that mean I did not get Scion Security? Is this something that Longo should/will change out?
This sucks hairy balls...

aB

Umm, yeah Scion security is totally better than Karr. We had Karr and I totally hated it how you have to time how long in between when you push the button the second time to unlock all four doors. Scion security has a blue light instead of red and I made them make it silent when I lock and unlock the doors. Go back to the dealer and tell them you don't like it and ask them to change it. I talked to a manager, pm me if you want to know who I talked to and I will look it up.

Hey My light is red and it is a Scion security system.~~~~

Is there any way to verify whether the dealer installed system is Karr on Scion?

aB

KARR IS NOT SCION SECURITY SYSTEM it is however a very cheap alarm that is installed by some dealers, normaly it is preloaded or installed on most cars on dealer lot they are then given a master remote for all sales persons (pc) , they are also installed in such a manner as to some time aid in hot wiring your car, the folks putting these alarms in are trying to put in asmany as possable in one day
ur best bet is to do some checking around at ur local car audio shops
look for a buis, that has been around for a while or some one who already has a good rep, check whith guys who have bad ___ stuff done then go and check out these shops

Scion security has a blue light instead of red

I do have a blue light, but I'm sure it's Karr. It's not on my center console either, it's right by the driver side door. I think I was charged more than I remember Scion security costing (I think I paid $540).
I got my car about three months ago though, you think I can still get that changed? That silent arm/disarm function is a must for me because I don't like the fact my alarm rats me out when I trying to sneak out late at night and also announces my arrival time. " I had to go to theOUCH, WAIT...LET ME EXPLAIN!OUCH". My wife likes throwing things at me and she must practice 'cause her aim is "Too" good :oops:

If your signed contract or invoice states Scion Alarm, you should have gotten the Scion Alarm (Yeah, I do remember it being silent). Take it up with the dealer. Take it with Scion/ Toyota Customer Rep. You paid for something that you did NOT received, like buying car and finding out it's a lemon.

doesn't the Xb come with an alarm already?

all i have to say about the stock alarm is it sucks. it constantly goes off I am going to try to get a refund i can never tell if my car is getting stolen or a cat it walking by it it wakes up all my neighbors they hate me now. i hope i can get a refund.

To make your alarm silent all you have to do is go to the dealership and have one of their alarm techs change it. It is not a different unit, they can program it to be quiet. When I had Toyota of crappy Orange change mine to Scion security, they showed me how to work it and it still made that dumb honk noise that sounds like a dead horse and he told me that he can make it silent so I told him to do it so he reached down and did something to it and it was quiet. I don't know the difference with the light colors. All I know is that my car had that dumb black Karr remote, the dealership told me that they put alarms on their cars to help with insurance costs for theft. Once I relized what a piece of junk that remote was I complained 5 months after buying my car and asked them to do something about it. So they had to change the unit with the light to make my stock remote work, and that's when my light changed to blue. I still have the theft part, it is not just a keyless entry. I was told that the reason why I had the Karr alarm was because when Scions first came out they weren't giving out 2 remotes, only one, so that's why the dealership put the Karr alarm on so we could have 2 remotes. But then why did he tell me they alarm the cars for theft and insurance?? I dunno, I think they are all a bunch of dumbasses and they all need to get their stories straight. Honestly I think that every dealership is different!

I bought the factory security system. Since there are no dealers in Tennessee, I called Scion, they told me how to adjust the microphone that "listens" for sound that has a sound frequency close to that of glass breaking (to prevent false alarms). I removed the glovebox door and adjusted my system to the most sensitive position. I've gotten no false alarms, but have noticed that when intrusive, rude people tap the glass the alarm sounds, and it uses the horns on the car, very loud. I'm glad I got the factory alarm system, keeps the 'riff-raff' away, eventhough the price was steep ($400), it is an effective system.

I bought the factory security system. Since there are no dealers in Tennessee, I called Scion, they told me how to adjust the microphone that "listens" for sound that has a sound frequency close to that of glass breaking (to prevent false alarms). I removed the glovebox door and adjusted my system to the most sensitive position. I've gotten no false alarms, but have noticed that when intrusive, rude people tap the glass the alarm sounds, and it uses the horns on the car, very loud. I'm glad I got the factory alarm system, keeps the 'riff-raff' away, eventhough the price was steep ($400), it is an effective system.

Ok, so tell us how do you adjust the 'listening' of the Scion security system?

i would like to make mine a little more sensitive myself....thanks....

I put a Clifford Matrix with remote start in my XB.

got scion security on my g/f's. i know the auto-loc would be a good thing to have.

I bought the factory security system. Since there are no dealers in Tennessee, I called Scion, they told me how to adjust the microphone that "listens" for sound that has a sound frequency close to that of glass breaking (to prevent false alarms). I removed the glovebox door and adjusted my system to the most sensitive position. I've gotten no false alarms, but have noticed that when intrusive, rude people tap the glass the alarm sounds, and it uses the horns on the car, very loud. I'm glad I got the factory alarm system, keeps the 'riff-raff' away, eventhough the price was steep ($400), it is an effective system.

Umm, What were you doing when an intrusive person tapped on the window? It wasnt a police officer tapping on the window by chance?? Things that make you go, Hmmm.

Power Toyota Irvine (off Bake) in So. California is also selling xA's with Karr alarms. When asked, they said that's the alarm they sell default/pre-installed with the Scions.

Didn't push further, but figure if you're not careful here, you may also spend $500+ on a cheap alarm.

Dealer told me aftermarket alarms would void electrical warranty since they have to splice your wires... They offered me "Scion Security" and gave me one called "Karr". Is that right, or did I get screwed :?:

You got screwed. It is illegal for any dealer to say that. I have the article somewhere. If they make alarm security so proprietary, business like dei and their dealers would go out of business.
For all those who are located in the bay area, another vertified installer and I are willing to help out all scions drivers in the bay area. Just pm or im me.

- Alfred

ohh yes, that is correct, if the alarm is installed by an MECP certified technician, Its as good as gold Alf an I are SCION/TOYOTA specialist when it comes to Security....
I myself own a box and my aftermarket alarm is worlds better than the stock or dealer option alarm, not only that, infinate add-ons, depending on what level of security you are lookin for.....
if your lookin for feedback, ask a few members on this forum... Scionmag, sikxtc..just to name a few...
protect your investment, have a Certified professional who wants to help the community grow install your stuff...
pm either me or achow for details
JP