# Stop honking your horn **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 21, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706 "2008-06-21T18:32:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/41 "2008-06-24T02:12:03Z")
[QUOTE=Hogwash] I don’t think I’ve heard a car use the horn itself for acknowledging remote central locking. In my experience, as well as from what I’ve seen in movies and television, they always play a chirp sound (usually a double chirp, accompanied with a flash of the lights (my parents’ Mercedes doesn’t make any noise, just flashes)) but not an actual honk. That just sounds fucking stupid. [/QUOTE] Mine does a chirp on the second click; my boyfriend’s car actually honks the horn. Neither of us has a car alarm. [QUOTE=Completely] Right. And who cares if it wakes up EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON trying to sleep nearby, that pitch-dark morning? :mad: [/QUOTE] Yeah! Because having the parking lights flash on briefly is just so annoying and always wakes me up when someone nearby does it! Since it’s a pitch-dark morning, I also hope they will be driving away with the headlights off as well, so as not to wake anyone up. I mean, while the parking lights flashing is obviously far more annoying than actually turning the headlights on when you get in the car, let’s be fair to the folk sleeping with their eyes open and faces pressed to the windows and make sure that their shroud of darkness is not interrupted. In fact, why not just stay home until noon, like reasonable people, and avoid the whole situation? Color me confused. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/42 "2008-06-24T13:55:37Z")
This seems like as good of a time and place as any to mention a little tip: If you’re _just_ out of range and can’t lock or unlock with the FOB, hold it up to your chin. I have no idea how or why it works (I’ve heard that it turns your body into an antenna, similar to changing the reception by touching a radio), but it’ll get you a few extra meters. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/43 "2008-06-24T17:34:43Z")
'04 Grand Am. AFAIK can only be locked from the outside with the remote or with the key in the lock. Locking it with the door open and then closing the door automatically unlocks it. The horn only sounds if all four doors are securely closed, handy when children are getting out of the car and don’t close it completely. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/44 "2008-06-24T18:06:29Z")
[QUOTE=Hazle Weatherfield] I did the same with my car…why wouldn’t everyone? [/QUOTE] Because it annoys people, unless it’s theirs. ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/45 "2008-06-24T18:29:28Z")
I have the opposite problem. Subaru Outback with a Bulldog remote starter that I installed myself. If I use the door switch to lock the doors, the horn beeps when the last door is closed. It’s annoying. If I use the remote, it doesn’t honk the horn, so I can only tell it’s locking if I’m right next to the car. I’ve had to learn the slight diference between the sounds of it locking and unlocking. ---
**Author:** ![NoiseNatzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@NoiseNatzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoiseNatzi)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/46 "2014-01-27T16:12:48Z")
Can you imagine a world where the automobile horn is only used in emergencies again? I can! I can NOT imagine how a so called “automobile engineer” decided it was okay to use a short horn blast to indicate the status of the door locks or the security system. I can NOT imagine how this stupid feature got mass produced without anyone giving thought to how disturbing this would be to other people near the vehicle. These vehicles are making friction instead of friendship between neighbors and people in parking areas. Please send a message to the auto industry by not buying these disturbing horn-locking vehicles and make the world a quieter and better place for everyone. If you are one of the people disturbing others please check your owner’s manual for reprogramming instructions or call your dealer for help. Thank you for reading. NoiseNatzi ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/47 "2014-01-27T16:33:20Z")
ZOMBIE ALERT. Man, for a minute I thought **Santo Rugger** had progressed to typing. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/48 "2014-01-27T16:50:14Z")
> [@NoiseNatzi](#): > > I can NOT imagine how a so called “automobile engineer” decided it was okay to use a short horn blast to indicate the status of the door locks or the security system. [Hearing: zombies go deaf within a few weeks of transformation.](http://www.fvza.org/zscience2.html). Maybe the “automobile engineer” who designed it is a zombie, just like this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/49 "2014-01-27T21:59:28Z")
> [@Soul](#): > > I just like the little “beep!” It’s very viscerally satisfying. Exactly, because: > [@Soapbox\_Monkey](#): > > I have mild OCD, and I need to hear my car’s horn as assurance that the doors are locked. If I don’t hear the “beep” then I’ll obsess over whether I really did lock my car or not. If I’m not paying attention when I lock it, I’ll start walking away and wonder, “Did I hear the ‘beep’?” Then I have to walk back and hit the remote again to make sure I heard the beep. Luckily for my neighbours, I don’t lock my car at home (park in a private garage). ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/50 "2014-01-28T00:43:08Z")
My wife’s car came with the horn sounding as the default. I changed it (the manual said how) so that it doesn’t sound unless you hit it twice. I can easily hear the doors lock if I’m standing near the car when I lock them. No need to also hear the horn. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Elk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Anne\_Elk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Elk)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/51 "2014-01-28T01:36:26Z")
A cars horn is a warning device. I hear a horn beep and I’m on high alert, more so if I’m walking or on a bike. To beep a horn just to satisfy some OCD needs or worse yet, just to beep “Hello” is the height of rudeness and unsafe as well. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/52 "2014-01-28T04:03:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > ZOMBIE ALERT. > > Man, for a minute I thought **Santo Rugger** had progressed to typing. ☹ And **Walloon** and **Opal Cat** had returned from beyond … ☹ ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/53 "2014-01-30T00:28:02Z")
You’ve walked a few feet from the car. You suddenly realize that you don’t remember if you locked it or not (since you’re so often on autopilot about such matters). Now should you turn around and try to open the door or just hit the button on the keychain? I know what I’m doing. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/54 "2014-01-30T01:52:27Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > Why do people use their key ring remote controls to lock their car doors after they leave the car? In most cars, this also sounds the car’s horn. :eek: :mad: > > Don’t virtually all cars that have remote controlled door locks also have a button on the inside of the driver’s door that will lock all the doors — without sounding the horn? Why don’t drivers use that button after opening the door to get out, instead of the remote? I’d be glad to set my my remote car lock to not sound the horn (when I get a new car that allows that) if the rest of you will all put your cell phones on vibrate only. ---
**Author:** ![RichieBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5e925/32.png) [@RichieBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RichieBoy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/55 "2014-01-30T20:33:45Z")
> [@pudytat72](#): > > I thought pushing the button once locked the doors, and pushing it a second time sets the car alarm. You are correct! I can’t believe your the only one here to figure that out! ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/56 "2014-02-05T00:15:08Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > I’d be glad to set my my remote car lock to not sound the horn (when I get a new car that allows that) if the rest of you will all put your cell phones on vibrate only. Not me, I’m holding out until they turn them off completely. Sorry, this is non-negotiable! ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/57 "2014-02-05T02:27:05Z")
> [@RichieBoy](#): > > You are correct! I can’t believe your the only one here to figure that out! It depends on the car. Some work this way some don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/58 "2014-02-05T15:15:23Z")
Most don’t. Mostly it’s 1 press to lock doors and set the alarm. The 2nd press and the car beeps to let you know that YES, YOU LOCKED IT DUMMY. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/59 "2014-02-05T15:23:47Z")
Mine chirps (and honks if you press 3x), but also chirps if you use the internal lock and close the door, so that method would defeat the OP’s plan to have everyone use the interior lock button instead of the remote. I think the only way to lock it without it chirping would be to use the key to lock the door, but that, if it worked, would have the alarm not set I think IDK. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2014, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706/60 "2014-02-05T20:40:20Z")
Mine doesn’t have the lock button on the door, it’s in the middle below the radio so it’s much easier to use the remote. Mine also locks on the first press and beeps on the second. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-honking-your-horn/453706.md?page=2)