Avalon theft deterrent system (TDS)

I have a 99 Avalon. The TDS has this irritating habit of arming
itself.

Here's the latest thing that happened:
We were sitting in the car with 3 doors open, ignition off, keys were
in my pocket. I heard a clicking sound, looked down, and the TDS
button was flashing. I shut the driver's door and the system starting
sounding the alarm.

The system has armed itself twice before, both times when it had been
locked by key and the remote had not been used.

I described the latest situation to a Toyota service advisor and he
didn't have any idea what was going on.

Does anyone know what is happening here?

Ed

You ask does anyone know what is happening here? I do. Your TDS
is not functioning properly. You need to take it to a dealer and
have the system analyzed and the fault corrected to eliminate the
discrepancy.

If it was your intent to ask what IS causing the problem, who
could possibly know? We don't have you car in one of our shops
to do the analyzing. Anything else would only be conjecture on
the part of any respondents ;)


mike hunt



Ed wrote:[color=blue]
>
> I have a 99 Avalon. The TDS has this irritating habit of arming
> itself.
>
> Here's the latest thing that happened:
> We were sitting in the car with 3 doors open, ignition off, keys were
> in my pocket. I heard a clicking sound, looked down, and the TDS
> button was flashing. I shut the driver's door and the system starting
> sounding the alarm.
>
> The system has armed itself twice before, both times when it had been
> locked by key and the remote had not been used.
>
> I described the latest situation to a Toyota service advisor and he
> didn't have any idea what was going on.
>
> Does anyone know what is happening here?
>
> Ed[/color]

"Ed" <edurall@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1118428656.533499.297450@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I have a 99 Avalon. The TDS has this irritating habit of arming
> itself.
>
> Here's the latest thing that happened:
> We were sitting in the car with 3 doors open, ignition off, keys were
> in my pocket. I heard a clicking sound, looked down, and the TDS
> button was flashing. I shut the driver's door and the system starting
> sounding the alarm.
>
> The system has armed itself twice before, both times when it had been
> locked by key and the remote had not been used.
>
> I described the latest situation to a Toyota service advisor and he
> didn't have any idea what was going on.
>
> Does anyone know what is happening here?
>
> Ed
>[/color]
For the latest thing, it almost sounds like something in your pocket is
pushing the panic button on the remote or, after you shut off the engine,
was there a time lag before you opened the doors? If so, there was enough
time for they system to arm itself.

As far as the system arming it self on the 2 other occasions, that is normal
operation. Under the default settings, I believe the system will arm itself
when you shut off the engine and lock the doors, whether you lock with the
power lock button, key, or remote. To disarm the system, you must unlock
the doors with either a key or remote. If you reach in and unlock the doors
manually or by using the interior power door lock button, the system will go
off.

Toyota factory Theft Deterrent Systems are very reliable and all of the
problems I've encountered were because the owner didn't fully understand how
it can be armed or set off. Unfortunately, the owenr's manual is not always
100% clear in its explanation.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

On Fri, 10 Jun 2005 14:59:12 -0400, [email]DustyRhoades@mailcity.com[/email] wrote:
[color=blue]
>You ask does anyone know what is happening here? I do. Your TDS
>is not functioning properly. You need to take it to a dealer and
>have the system analyzed and the fault corrected to eliminate the
>discrepancy.
>
>If it was your intent to ask what IS causing the problem, who
>could possibly know? We don't have you car in one of our shops
>to do the analyzing. Anything else would only be conjecture on
>the part of any respondents ;)
>
>
>mike hunt
>[/color]
It rarely happens but I suppose it is untenable sometimes but I agree
with Mike Hunt that you should have it taken in to be examined.

Keep in mind that TDS is not by Toyota. This is an aftermarket system
installed by The Southeast Distributors, owned by Jim Moran's family.
They're known to be faulty. Everyone should beware to insist on
Toyota's factory alarm system, know as VIP (Vehicle Intrusion
Protection).