Am facing the same problem. 2007 4runner. I keep it parked at work for a week brought back on Friday. Everything fine. Saturday I tell my wife to click it open. Then at night I take the fob and lock the doors. From there the alarm started sounding. I used the keys , fob and again. I disconnect the battery leave doors open. Next day same thing. If I lock car with fob or door switch, it will happen again. You said a hood sensor or plunger was the problem?
Had this issue with a 2007 Toyota Camry. In the hood latch assembly under the bonnet there is a micro switch that tells the alarm the bonnet is shut so the alarm can be armed. it's designed to protect the engine bay when the car is locked. The switch is "closed" when the bonnet is shut but as the switch gets old the resistance varies randomly enough to give a false reading that triggers the alarm. To get access to the micro switch you need to pull the whole front bumper off. I chose to remove the spring on the hood latch so I could access the wires on the bottom of the switch. I cut both wires and soldered them together and heat shinked them so the computer thinks the bonnet is always closed. Problem solved.
Have you got a sensor pin on the hood ? near the center. There are doors but a hood too : ) i've found bent brackets on the net causing erratic problems. vibrations could cause that. if it was wiring problem you would have a constant problem.
There should be a valet switch near the hood release. See if you can turn it off. Also Google "How to reset an alarm on the 2000 Toyota 4Runner" and find the ehow article. Maybe that procedure will help.
Check the sensor for the hood or hood light could have moved if its adjustable, from opening and slamming it shut over the years or if its on a flimsy bracket maybe it bent. I have seen this on other cars.
Alarms are the worst things ever to be fitted to cars. Everyone ignores them when they go off anyway. I've got pieces of tape over my interior sensors as they were giving false alarms. Dealer fix at £90!
In order to deactivate first check the manual there is usually a switch to shut it off under the steering wheel somewhere you need to find and then 2 your car on hit the switch for 5 seconds turn your car off and it should be deactivated.
putting the key in the drivers side door lock, turning to the left, then to the right all the way will unlock and disarm/reset the "OEM factory" alarm system.
Hi MUSTIE1, Many thanks for the video. I have exactly the same problem on my Toyota SW4 2008 (= Fortuner or 4Runner in the U.S.) in Brazil. i.e. the alarm sounds after some time for no apparent reason. I thought I had solved this with a certain sequence of presses of the buttons on the key, but after the car sitting quietly for 4 days, the alarm suddenly went off AGAIN !!! I've WD40ed the doors and bonnet alarm switches, but to no avail. I thought of disactivating the alarm completely by removing its fuse, but the same fuse applies to a lot of other stuff. The manual has a whole page explaining how, by quickly inserting and removing the key in the ignition 2 times and then pressing both the door lock and unlock buttons on the key for 5 seconds, it's supposed to turn of the alarm sound, but keep the indicator flashes. I've just done it, so let's see. I'll only relax after a week of silence. If it happens again, I'm thinking of cutting the wires to the 2 alarm horns, but I'm scared this could upset the whole car system, and perhaps prevent the car from starting.
My alarm started triggering on remote unlock or manual unlock of doors. I thought it was the panic button at first but after noticing the behavior on my wife's remote I looked for a way to prevent the arming of the alarm when locking the doors. I found by removing the trunk switch and grounding the switch lead the system thinks the trunk is open, won't arm the alarm but the remote still locks the car. You will also have to remove the trunk light so that battery does not drain. This may also work if you remove and ground the hood switch. Good luck!
In the 1997 4Runners the alarm box (the brain) are under the drivers seats. You can disconnect this box to disable the alarm. I do not know what is the underlying causes of the alarm though....
Sorry Ive just got back to this. Glad you got to the root of the prob. I would change the battery tho so you have a new one in it. The power may have drained in it.
there might be a factory shock sensor on the steering column somewere......the brain on some factory alarms is under the hood usually not marked so you just gotta look for a small box thats out of place....i've also seen them behind the radio or even behind the glove box
Did yours ever just beep under the hood and doors locking and unlocking (or trying to) on their own? Then the BIG horn with lights would go off. We have to unhook the battery every time. Thought it was very cold weather causing it, but it just happened and its 50 degrees. Gonna liquid wrench all latches first. One time my husband actually got in it and went up the street so it wouldn’t bother the neighbors and it was going off the whole time he drove it around!
Not saying that this will solve your issue, sometimes alarm probs come to light because the battery in the key fob is running low. You would use this device so many time across a month that you would probably need to change the batery every few months. CR2032/2025 are usual battery sizes for car alarms. Tthese are European numbers but you could use the same numbers in USA.
Is the battery old? If voltage is wavering it might set the alarm off. Cheap check.. I'd check the ground on the battery / body as well as a bad ground can cause intermitent faults in a system.. Easy thing to eliminate as a cause.. Good Luck Jeff...
Could the alarm be part of the radio? I know on most GM vehicles they are, also most GM vehicles if you put a aftermarket radio in you have to keep the old 1 so the alarm work properly, just relocat it. 1 thing you could do is put a battery kill switch in tell you can get this problem figured out. Only downside is your radio programming.
I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH A 2001 CAMRY. I BROUGHT IT TO THE TOYOTA DEALER WITH NO RESULTS!!! ANSWER: You're right. The only way seems to be to make the car think that one of the doors is open. Remove any of the door switches and short that wire to chassey ground (like the bolt that you removed to take off the switch). That will make it impossible for the alam to set itself. The drawback is that the "door open" light will stay on and you'll have to turn off the dome light manually. Here's the ritual to lock the car: lock all doors before you exit, manually unlock the drivers door. Open the door. Manually re-lock it an close the door. I know it sounds like a bunch of mumbo-jumbo but after a month of struggling an extensive research that's what I came up with! Good luck!!!
Part 2, Try changing the b attery in unit and see if this cures it as the key fob and vehicle 'talk' to each other and alarm sound is indicative of this problem. Try battery chane hope it does something Regards Gabrielle
Mustie try lubing the tail gat latch, WD-30 worked for the guy in the video I just watched , open and close the tail gat about 10 times to get the lube in good, then see if that solves the problem, good luck
Put everything back the way it was, then disconnect and reconnect the negative battery terminal for a few minutes. Adjust the sensitivity on the brain under the driver seat. Don't forget to program the windows and/ or sunroof. If that doesn't work ask your Toyota service manager to print any TSB'S he can find on alarm sensitivity problems. He shouldn't charge you because he is not diagnosing the vehicle, only giving you a list of common problems (TSB's).
I'm having the exact same problem with my 2008 Toyota Highlander. I installed a engine start/ non-factory alarm. Spent almost $1000 doing that thenspent another $300 taking it out hoping that was the problem. Because the problem with the factory alarm seem to happen around the same time as the non-factory alarm was put in. But Nothing has worked. I have no indicator light stating that a doors is ajar. They research I have found dose talk about the hood latch being the problem but the hood is solid. I'm to the point where I am I am willing to unhook the horn ( if I can). Its driving me crazy. I love my car otherwise and have no wish to sell it but if I want to sell it I can't sell it with this problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have hopefully just fixed myn. Hold the window buttons up after closure for 10 secconds that seemd to sort myn out. Now for the engine managnent light air loss codes :(
i have a 99 4runner limited that when I use remote to lock doors in COLD WEATER,when I go to unlock doors,the security system has disabled everything,lights switches for doors ect like the battery is dead,even putting keys in door,and ignition does not work,as soon as I pop the hood,it resets,and I'm able to start and be on my way,its making me nuts ANYONE KNOW WHATS GOING ON,and when I do pop the hood the truck returns to normal activating the alarm,then I can use key to stop it,and then Start engine,and be on my Way,only after sitting in cold weater overnight,and NEW BATTERY,and new battery in remote Fob HELP,im new to a 4runner, I have a brand new camry,but love the 99 runner better HELP,i don't want to be stranded somewhere because of ALARM
Mine does that when I roll over on the fob. Maybe one of your nieghbors has the same code on thier cars? Have no fricken clue really just commenting. LOL
