[pgarci01]

The title explains it all lol... I was looking at the Honda remote start and for the money I can get a real alarm system for the car which can also remote start the vehicle. I was looking at the viper alarm models 5901 and 5902 an they can be started from a mile away, have shock sensors, glass sensors, anti- jacking, remote start with climate control, and auto window up/down feature (70 bucks more), starter kill switch, location abilities, and many other goodies. I have never bought an alarm system but I hear Viper is basically the best. Before I buy I wanted to see if any one had any better suggestions. I live in NY so yea an alarm system is very necessary lol...

 

[ifonline]

Let me sum up my feelings on alarm systems this way: how many people do you honestly believe care about a car alarm going off (beyond being annoyed by it)? This goes both for the criminals breaking into a car and the neighbors having to listen to the alarm going off.

Motion/glass/vibration sensors can be tripped by passing cars and loud stereo systems. Let that happen enough and you will stop setting the alarm all the time because of the annoyance. Plus you will irritate your neighbors.

Beyond that, some criminals will purposely set off the car alarm early in the morning. They want to watch you to see if you come out of the house. If you don't, they hit your car and take everything. If you do, they will just keep setting it off until you disable it. Then they hit your car.

Alarms, much like locks, only keep honest people out.

Besides, who really needs to start their car from a mile away? That has marketing gimmick written all over it.

 

[chefmark]

Let me sum up my feelings on alarm systems this way: how many people do you honestly believe care about a car alarm going off (beyond being annoyed by it)? This goes both for the criminals breaking into a car and the neighbors having to listen to the alarm going off.

Motion/glass/vibration sensors can be tripped by passing cars and loud stereo systems. Let that happen enough and you will stop setting the alarm all the time because of the annoyance. Plus you will irritate your neighbors.

Beyond that, some criminals will purposely set off the car alarm early in the morning. They want to watch you to see if you come out of the house. If you don't, they hit your car and take everything. If you do, they will just keep setting it off until you disable it. Then they hit your car.

Alarms, much like locks, only keep honest people out.

Besides, who really needs to start their car from a mile away? That has marketing gimmick written all over it.

I agree, Plus if something goes wrong with the Alarm or Electric system your screwed. My Wife had and aftermarket system and it rained havick on her car when it went bad

 

[pgarci01]

Thank you guys for your input regarding alarms but I've had my old cars broken into in my own garage and I had no idea because the factory alarm only goes off if there's a nearby explosion of some kind lol. The alarm is more for my peace of mind and the remote start with climate control is handy those cold mornings. You are right about some thieves finding their way around these things but the avg thief panics when an alarm goes off. The alarm brings a killswitch which disables the starter if a thief is able to start the car and drive off in it, which is which why they speak of the one mile radius. I spoke with the dealership and they tried to sell me a different viper alarm system but they said they can install it if its a viper alarm system cause they have a contract with DE and are certified to install them.

 

[CCT]

If you do go that route, Pedro, be sure to talk to your insurance company. Their payouts for auto theft are astronomical so they may subsidize an alarm for you tho as stated, they're not infallible, and not much of a deterrent.

Personally, if someone steals my car I really don't want it back -- it just wouldn't be the same no matter how incidental the damage.

I'd want a new one.

Incidentally, If anyone is wondering, I'm very anal about where I park and where my keys are -- very anal, so I feel that I do my part to prevent theft; but 'ish' happens only too often these days and if it does, I'll lean on my insurance.

I also never leave anything of value in my car(s). It's a little inconvenient but I sleep well at night.

C.

 

[pgarci01]

My first car was a 94 accord coupe I got for a graduation from HS in 2005 and it had absolutely nothing in it not even an aftermarket radio. It was broken into twice until it was just stolen (Did get it back). The most popular cars to be stolen in the US is the 94, 95 accord because there are so many of them around. Here they are also steeling the rims off the 8th gen accords and leaving them on cinder blocks. The wheel locks help but if they really wanted the rims there is a noisy way to get them. There's also a bunch of ppl that are haters or even jealous when they see someone with something nice and just wanna mess that person's day up. So, they'll open their door on your car door or key your car just to make it less nice (both of which happened to my 08 sedan). An alarm would freak those ppl out and make them think twice about doing it again. Maybe I feel this way cause I'm young I'm not wise as some of the other members here lol. I try not to leave stuff of value with me like my ipod or garmin but what if I put rims or a sound system in the car like I'm planning to do. Thanks C. I will talk with my insurance company and check out the effects of adding an alarm system.

 

[CCT]

My first car was a 94 accord coupe I got for a graduation from HS in 2005 and it had absolutely nothing in it not even an aftermarket radio. It was broken into twice until it was just stolen (Did get it back). The most popular cars to be stolen in the US is the 94, 95 accord because there are so many of them around. Here they are also steeling the rims off the 8th gen accords and leaving them on cinder blocks. The wheel locks help but if they really wanted the rims there is a noisy way to get them. There's also a bunch of ppl that are haters or even jealous when they see someone with something nice and just wanna mess that person's day up. So, they'll open their door on your car door or key your car just to make it less nice (both of which happened to my 08 sedan). An alarm would freak those ppl out and make them think twice about doing it again. Maybe I feel this way cause I'm young I'm not wise as some of the other members here lol. I try not to leave stuff of value with me like my ipod or garmin but what if I put rims or a sound system in the car like I'm planning to do. Thanks C. I will talk with my insurance company and check out the effects of adding an alarm system.

No worries, mate. I was your age once (long ago) and remember your present day concerns.

G/L with a solution and getting some help from the ins.

 

[pgarci01]

I took the dive and went with a Viper alarm system with remote start. The model number 5901. I purchased it from an authorized viper dealer and installer to not void any electrical warranty. The insurance company said adding the viper alarm system will not have any negative effect on the policy especially because I live in an area where theft is common lol (talking abt the Bronx). After I saw the insurance and warranties were still intact I had it installed.

Thoughts:

It's a pretty cool gadget. It does your basic lock and unlock. But instead of the horn sounding the siren beeps to alert you that its active. There is a sensor that's hidden next to the rear view mirror that emits a blue light periodically when active. Since the buttons are attached to the key, I didn't opt for the window regulator that opens and closes the windows since the factory buttons still work perfectly. The remote start is awesome. Does everything the Honda one does in terms of climate controls, but on the viper its called smart start. I also like the fact that if I remote start it, I can walk into the car, put the key in the ignition and leave without turning the car off beforehand (probably all remote starts do that but i think its cool lol). If the key is not in the ignition it will just turn off when you press the brake. There's also a pit stop mode where you can take the key out but the car stays on for those quick stops on road trips or something lol.


I did not make it too sensitive. A good bang anywhere on the car will immediately send me a page, but will not set off a full blown siren, more like a warning beep. If the door, window, trunk, or hood is open when I'm trying to arm the system I also get a page for that specifically stating what is open. If I unlock the door with the key the alarm goes off immediately so I'm still getting used to that lol. It has the failsafe starter kill which disables the car if the thief can bypass everything else. It also has a valet mode which unlocks a few but not all features.

In the end I feel it was a very good investment. Now I can remote start my car after a long day of class and by the time I get to my car I can just drive away without waiting for the car to heat up.

 

[junkndatrunk]

Thanks for the review!

I took the dive and went with a Viper alarm system with remote start. The model number 5901. I purchased it from an authorized viper dealer and installer to not void any electrical warranty. The insurance company said adding the viper alarm system will not have any negative effect on the policy especially because I live in an area where theft is common lol (talking abt the Bronx). After I saw the insurance and warranties were still intact I had it installed.

Thoughts:

It's a pretty cool gadget. It does your basic lock and unlock. But instead of the horn sounding the siren beeps to alert you that its active. There is a sensor that's hidden next to the rear view mirror that emits a blue light periodically when active. Since the buttons are attached to the key, I didn't opt for the window regulator that opens and closes the windows since the factory buttons still work perfectly. The remote start is awesome. Does everything the Honda one does in terms of climate controls, but on the viper its called smart start. I also like the fact that if I remote start it, I can walk into the car, put the key in the ignition and leave without turning the car off beforehand (probably all remote starts do that but i think its cool lol). If the key is not in the ignition it will just turn off when you press the brake. There's also a pit stop mode where you can take the key out but the car stays on for those quick stops on road trips or something lol.


I did not make it too sensitive. A good bang anywhere on the car will immediately send me a page, but will not set off a full blown siren, more like a warning beep. If the door, window, trunk, or hood is open when I'm trying to arm the system I also get a page for that specifically stating what is open. If I unlock the door with the key the alarm goes off immediately so I'm still getting used to that lol. It has the failsafe starter kill which disables the car if the thief can bypass everything else. It also has a valet mode which unlocks a few but not all features.

In the end I feel it was a very good investment. Now I can remote start my car after a long day of class and by the time I get to my car I can just drive away without waiting for the car to heat up.

Hi PG, thanks for the review of the viper 5901. I'm trying to decide between 5901 and the 5501. Basically, the difference is that the 5501 does not come with the extra alarm features, and integrates into the existing alarm.

I wouldn't mind getting the 5901, especially because I can't stand the horn honk confirmation that you locked the doors. But I'm a little reluctanct since I have heard alarms go off in the middle of the night. My friends kept going off in cold weather, and that would be a problem for me here in New England. How sensitive is your alarm? How much control over the sensitivity do you have?

Thanks in advance!

 

[pgarci01]

Hey man,

There is a sensor adjust feature on the alarm but I told the installer that I did not want it too sensitive. Pretty much if something like a ball hits it, it will beep a few times and then page me that something hit the car. For the alarm to go crazy the hit has to be very substantial or the door, hood, or trunk has to be opened. I can easily adjust it if one day I feel its not sensitive enough.

I hope that the alarm doesn't start going off in the middle of the night lol. It has yet to do that. I had mines installed by a certified viper dealer which won't void your warranty.

 

[junkndatrunk]

Thanks for the info.

A couple more questions. What exactly did you have to buy? I've been seeing people say that they had to order a lot of accessory modules. Does your viper FOB operate your windows? Does it operate a trunk release? Someone on another forum said that a trunk release worked when he programmed an Acura FOB. Do you mind if I ask how much you paid for everything, including installation?

Sorry for so many questions. Looking to purchase and install soon. The prices vary like crazy. And so many people talk about the price going up and up because they had to buy various modules.

 

[pgarci01]

I paid 500 bucks including the install. You can get it for the same price at best buy with a basic install included (not including accessories). I did not get the window regulator because to me it didn't make sense because the regular key still works and you will always have to carry it with you. It does go up as well as down if you are interested in purchasing it. It does not operate a trunk release but I have not purchased my Acura switchblade key yet. Maybe after I program it it will be able to but right now it does not. I did not get it with any of the extras just because I felt the pager told me enough information. Not only does it tell me if the car is hit but it also tells me where exactly it was hit. The back up battery seems cool, the audio glass breakage sensor, the talking message instead of the siren, the little lcd screen, the proximity sensor, and the anti jacking sensor were available but I can always install it later lol. I was good with the basics just because most of the time my car's parked behind my locked fence and when I park by my school I try to park either closeby so I can receive pages or by the precinct lol...

If I get anything later on it most likely will be the smart start phone app because that lets you keep an eye on your car from anywhere. and instead of walking with the pager you have your phone so its saves pocket space lol...

 

[junkndatrunk]

I paid 500 bucks including the install. You can get it for the same price at best buy with a basic install included (not including accessories). I did not get the window regulator because to me it didn't make sense because the regular key still works and you will always have to carry it with you. It does go up as well as down if you are interested in purchasing it. It does not operate a trunk release but I have not purchased my Acura switchblade key yet. Maybe after I program it it will be able to but right now it does not. I did not get it with any of the extras just because I felt the pager told me enough information. Not only does it tell me if the car is hit but it also tells me where exactly it was hit. The back up battery seems cool, the audio glass breakage sensor, the talking message instead of the siren, the little lcd screen, the proximity sensor, and the anti jacking sensor were available but I can always install it later lol. I was good with the basics just because most of the time my car's parked behind my locked fence and when I park by my school I try to park either closeby so I can receive pages or by the precinct lol...

If I get anything later on it most likely will be the smart start phone app because that lets you keep an eye on your car from anywhere. and instead of walking with the pager you have your phone so its saves pocket space lol...

Thanks for the info. Funny thing, I stopped by best buy, and they quoted install to be $650. That's not including any of the extras. He got the number by looking up crosstour on the computer.

I also asked about the smart start app. It sounds cool, but requires an annual subscription, something like $99 for 3 years. Also, they use ATT. ATT is terrible in my neck of the woods, so would really not be great for me.

I hear a lot of warnings about best buy installation, but sounds like they did a decent job on your car. The guy I talked to seemed pretty competent, but admitted that he never did an install on the crosstour. But I'm sure a lot of people haven't done work on the crosstour yet.

 

[pgarci01]

I didn't go to Best Buy lol... I just knew that they were offering the 5901 for 500 dollars with installation. I mentioned it so you can go to a good shop and have that info in your pocket when negotiating a price lol. I went to a local shop that are known to do good work. Sometimes the local shops are better because you don't know who is using your car as practice at Best Buy...

 

[Stepler404]

Hi Folks,
Are all the 2013 Crosstours comes with an alarm system already installed from the factory or not?
My 2013 CT's remote had a "lock, unlock, and a panic button" on it so for that reason I thought that's the alarm system already and the dealer just wanted to get more money from me.
The dealer wanted me to pay an extra $350 to install an alarm system back then.
Am I right or wrong?