Remnants of dealer lot alarm system still installed

My dealer puts an alarm in every car on the lot. They program it to unlock the door by tapping on the glass while the salesman holds a universal fob, which saves them from having to go and get the keys to open a car on the lot. They claim it also disables the ignition which reduces thefts.

They pressure you to buy this alarm (reprogrammed to work normally) but I declined. They deactivated the alarm but left it in the vehicle.

The install looks a bit invasive, lots of wires tapped.

Remove or leave it?

Alarm module high up under the dash


Wire taps on wiring harness, and new ground screw



Cut off wire harness cover in wheel well


weird looking box on lower dash panel.

 

Personally, I’d pull that shit out, nothing worse than trying to figure out an electrical problem with a bunch of spliced wires and aftermarket crap you can’t simply unplug. But those wire taps are a real bitch, 1/2 the time they cut the wire along with the insulation so when you remove them you create a very weak wire that’s weighting to be broken.

 

I have no experience with removing those. If they damage the wire, this pisses me off, it’s a brand new truck! How does Mr. Toyota allow this?

 

Kinda looks like a hack job on a brand new pro, Unacceptable!! Too bad you already purchased it. I have purchased several new vehicles but never heard of this dealer is looking for future problems.

 

Toyota shouldn’t allow those style of wire taps, they are notoriously shit. (Known for cutting the actual wire braid along with insulation). But all dealers use them because they are super cheap. Only style that seems decent if you have to use a tap, are posi taps.

 

I agree w @whatstcp get it in writing. Unplug the spades but leave the Scotch locks? Pretty hacky, that's a bummer.

 

He knows nothing about it. Stealerships gonna steal and do all kinds of stupid shit.

 

I’d personally make them remove it and restore your truck to factory. That said they probably won’t do it so you can do it yourself with a little guidance from your friends here on TW. The blue connectors pull out of the red and black clamshells then you can pry them apart to get them off the wires. At that point you will need to cover the damaged insulation with either electrical tape or liquid electrical sealant. This isn’t a Mr. Toyota corporate thing it’s a dealership thing it get more money from you.

 

you will need to find a qualified ducktor to remove that tumor

 

Very easy. Unplug the taps and remove all that crap.

 

File a complaint with Toyota Corporate. That amazes me that they get away with that hack job on a new vehicle.

 

This reminds me I really need to fix the 2 wires the dealer/port used these taps on (for the 2n1 led fog light kit). When I removed the kit and taps I could see a couple broken strands (1 on the cargo light switch and another behind the drivers kick panel)

not sure if I should just get a new wire with pin and solder that in or peel back insulation and solder the broken wires. Thoughts on the most professional fix?

 

Weird part I see about this, is lots that do this want the alarms back to reinstall on the next truck coming from the factory. They should gladly remove it for you. Perhaps the company that installs them was off that day you picked it up.

 

Avoid dealerships that pull this garbage. I purposely avoided one near me that does this.

 

My 17 came with an alarm the dealership installed, they tried to sell it to me as well. i declined the alarm purchase, the dealership left it wired it in but deactivated similar to yours. I never bother disconnecting the wires, as i didn't want to create a bigger mess..

 

until it rattles loose on a rough dirt road out in the middle of nowhere...

 

OP, I left mine in from the dealer. One day one of their wires disconnected and killed my ignition. Had to figure out the whole damn wiring layout they did. Lost a half day. DELETE THAT HOE!

 

This sounds good. I’ll post a pic after extraction is complete.

 

How did they just "deactivate" it without removing anything?

 

Id have them remove it and return the harness to stock. Also I'd have them note it on the vehicles account that they did this in case you run into any warranty issues down the line.