hi !<br>i heard the u.s. prii actually have a theft protection system with alarm sound and lights blinking etc.<br>however, my euro-prius only has a standard immobilizer (to prevent short-cutting the vehicle), but no alarm sounds or anything.<br>i guess the prius CAN do that though, it's probably just deactivated in the software.<br>does anyone know if there's some trick in activating/deactivating the alarm system ?<br><br>greetings, christian

I bet you have it but don't know it. Sit in the car. Use the remote to lock the doors. The little red light on the dash should turn solid red. Now wait about 30 seconds. The light starts blinking. Now open a door without unlocking. &lt;Blat-blat-blat-blat!&gt;<br><br>To be specific, the alarm goes on 30 seconds after you lock all the doors. No annoying &lt;blip&gt; to tell you it is armed. It just does it.<br><br>Burns

yeah, i'll try that (when nobody is near :-) ).<br>although i've never seen the light being solid red; it's either blinking or not blinking...<br>whatever... i'll just try.

ok, i just tried. didn't work, no alarm :-(.<br>the red light just starts blinking by the time i remove the key - there's no change if i lock the doors through the remote.<br>there's also no fuse for the theft-protection system in the appropriate place (slot #5 in the upper left case under the hood); i put in a 10a fuse just to test it but it didn't work either (would have been too easy, wouldn't it ?).<br>perhaps it's also a matter of the remote control ?<br>i've seen pictures of a u.s. prius that has a separate remote control, however mine is integrated into the key (with a "lock" and "unlock" button). also, the toyota logo on the key is gold-colored - are your remotes the same ?

Hmm. Maybe you don't have it. Our remotes in the US are separate from the keys. Both key handle and remote are flat black with the exception of the red "emergency" button. (Do you have that one? It sets off the horn and lights manually.)<br><br>As I think about it, I'm not sure that we MUST use the remove to turn on the alarm. Locking up manually might also do it. I don't recall.<br><br>Sorry you apparently do not have it...<br><br>Burns

Burns_Fisher said on 11/8/01 12:05 pm:<br><br>&gt; Hmm. Maybe you don't have it. Our remotes in the US are separate from the keys. Both key handle and remote are flat black with the exception of the red "emergency" button. (Do you have that one? It sets off the horn and lights manually.) &lt;<br><br>There's a picture of a master key and remote for a US Prius on the US Prius website:<br><a href=http://prius.toyota.com/peace/theft.html target=new>http://prius.toyota.com/peace/theft.html</a>

yeah, looks like there's no anti-theft for us europeans here... :-(<br>whatever, since the car is parked inside 90% of the time i'm not worried anyway. just wanted to unleash the full potential of my prius :-).<br>my key is definetily different from yours... no separate remote and also no "emergency" button (what's that good for actually ? scare people that take a closer look at your car ?).<br>by the way... there's another thing: there is a third key that comes with the car that can start it but you cannot not open the trunk. but since i have the folding rear seats, that's somehow stupid isn't it ?

The emergency button is good for finding your car in a big parking lot :-) I suppose if you were being stalked or something it might help.<br><br>We have that third "valet" key as well. Thought at first it was useless since we have a "trunk open" lever in the cabin. Turns out that you can lock the trunk using the key such that the lever in the cabin does not work. Any chance there might be a way to lock the seats from in the trunk or something? (Wish I had them to find out!)<br><br>Burns

&gt; The emergency button is good for finding your car in a big parking lot :-)<br><br>has anyone tried the operating range of the remote control ?<br>i tought about why my prius might have a different remote, perhaps it's because it needs to operate on a different frequency.<br><br>oh and there's no way to lock the fold-down seats so my trunk is never safe :-(

The range is surprisingly long. In fact I've never tried it when I was out of range. (That is not as big a deal as it seems. Unless I push the emergency button and listen, the only way I can TELL that I'm out or in range is if I can see it to notice the lights blinking.)<br><br>However, one time when I tried the horn (very embarassing) I think I was probably 75 meters or so away and Lux was in a parking lot separated from me by a line of trees/shrubs and maybe 3 or 4 meters of altitude.<br><br>Burns