I just bought a 97 Corolla CE with alarm system. I believe it is a factory installed system, with a little red light mounted in a small removable dash panel, to the left of the steering wheel. I was given one key with the car, which unlocked the doors and started the car. It is a simple metal key, no remote built in. When I test drove the car, I did not realize it had an alarm system. I locked the car last night while at the store, and used the key to unlock it, all without problem. But I had locked the doors by pushing down the individual buttons on each door. Last night I used the power door lock switch on the driver's door to lock everything. This afternoon, I unlocked the driver's door and the alarm went off & I immediately slammed the door. Alarm continued for about 20 seconds. I tried the passenger door with the same result. How do I get into my car without setting off the alarm? I tried getting in & putting the key in the ignition. I cannot start the car! How do I disable this alarm and still be able to start the car? I don't have funds for a tow or a mechanic.
You should also look up under the driver side dash to see if you can locate the alarm unit (and the telltale sign of a lot of wires spliced in across the board). See if you can find the model number, and then look online for instructions.
The light looks like the picture in the link, except the red light is in the middle of the little square panel. It was not flashing yesterday (not armed). It's flashing now. I'm going outside again to see if I can find the alarm under the dash. I contacted the seller but all he said was that it never happened to him. He suggested putting the key in the ignition & starting it. BUT IT WON'T START!!! He says he has no remote or instructions on the alarm.
It should hopefully be pretty easy to locate the module and find the valet button.
If you're lucky it's a decent aftermarket module like Avital and you should be able to purchase key fobs and get yourself keyless entry as a nice bonus!
I found the valet switch under the dash! I didn't even know about Valet Mode until an hour ago. I didn't see any other components under the dash, but for now I'm satisfied that I can turn off the alarm & start the car. I saw a black box about 3"x3"x3" under the hood near the firewall with the name Avital, so I will check that for a model number when the weather gets a bit warmer. THANK YOU!!!
Sounds aftermarket like 94RollaDad's. Toyota security systems didn't have the light on the dash like yours.
I have Toyota installed security system (RS3000) with the brains located under the driver seat and a security light by the parking brake lever. I don't know how it works yet.
The 97 repair manual has a section on the security system for those rare cars that maybe had a factory installed system. That security light is in the cluster by the fuel gauge.
I throw this info out for anyone that stumbles across this thread.
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