What the hell is going on with my car alarm?

In My Humble Opinion
1

We got a new car about two months ago (2007 Honda CR-V).

One built-in feature: a car alarm. We asked when we bought it if it was one of those “walk by and it goes off” car alarms. They said no, and demonstrated by knocking on the window of a car with the alarm set. The alarm didn’t go off.

It’s a couple of months later. We’re moving. My wife ran into another resident of our apartment building, who mentioned that our car alarm regularly goes off in the middle of the night. This is news to us. Then again, we’ve heard consistent warnings that cars in the lot have been broken into, so we figure maybe people have been trying the handles or something.

Especially because, for a couple of weeks, we’ve been sleeping at our new place. Our car is parked next to the house, but out in the open. And the alarm has not gone off.

Until three nights ago. The alarm went off at 2:00 a.m. I found the remote key, turned off the alarm, looked out the window. Nothing seemed amiss. The next morning, 5:00 a.m. This morning, 5:30 a.m.

Once or twice, we figured, again, it could be prowlings. (We’re in a higher-crime neighborhood.) Three times? Less likely, especially since by 5:30 there’s light in the sky.

So what’s tripping the alarm? It’s not so sensitive that just walking by the car will do it – we’ve tried that. Also, it doesn’t go off in the middle of the day – I’ve had it parked in our lot at work, and work in an office that overlooks (and overhears) the parking lot. We’ve had car alarms go off, and they draw attention from my coworkers.

Squirrels? Poltergeists? Wind? Are we really a prowler magnet? And should I go get this thing adjusted or turned off so that my neighbors are less interested in killing me?

2

I am not sure just how your alarm is equipped, but some alarms have a motion sensor that can be triggered by wind, some have in car sensors to detect movement inside the car that can be fooled by rain, or sometimes wind. There might be an out of adjustment door, hood, or trunk switch that when the temperature is just right indicates an that it has opened. Or it could be a bad alarm unit.
Is it factory or an aftermarket unit that the dealer installed? If it is factory it is probably a pretty good unit overall. If it is an aftermarket unit installed by an independent installer, all I can say is good luck. If builders built building the way alarm installers install alarms, the first termite that came along would put our entire civilization back into caves. I hate alarm installers with the fiery passion of a 1000 burning suns. They have caused me more grief over the years than I can count.

Either way, your car is only a couple of months old, rather than post on a message board, make an appointment at the dealer and have them fix it under the warranty.

3

Can’t I do both?

The odd thing to me is the overnight vs. daytime difference, but given that I’m in Seattle, the wind/rain explanation makes the most sense.

Also, it’s aftermarket (Karr) installed by the dealer, which now fills me with dread.

4

Knight Automated Roving Robot?

5

Sure but from experience I can tell you that unless you have a vehicle movement sensor, or an interior movement sensor that is known to have issue with wind/rain the fix probably isn’t going to be easy. It will probably take a nice long up close and personal inspection to find either a bad component or chaffed wire.