5 ms·

Maybe someone can bring this same technology to San Francisco and other crowded urban areas. It's endlessly annoying that every car lock/unlock these days has t

Maybe someone can bring this same technology to San Francisco and other crowded urban areas. It's endlessly annoying that every car lock/unlock these days has to be accompanied by a HONK.

cududa 8y ago
Cars have been locking with honks when you double press the lock button ...forever
- close04 8y ago
  The honk is not the car locking, it's the alarm engaging as it usually comes from the alarm horn. Most cars with no alarm system don't make more than the mechanical sound of locking the car and the visual aid of the signal lights blinking. There are some cars that use the car (not alarm) horn when locking so maybe their central locking system is connected to it, although it never looked like a factory option, rather an OEM alarm or something similar.
  - shawnz 8y ago
    I have never seen a car that doesn't honk when you lock it, alarm system or not (and I rarely see cars with alarm systems around here). Maybe this is a regional difference. Do you live in North America?
    - bloak 8y ago
      In the UK it's illegal to sound the horn when the vehicle is stationary, or between 23:30 and 07:00 in a built-up area, so someone who brought one of these auto-honking US vehicles to the UK would have to lock it by some other means?
      - shawnz 8y ago
        A quick reading of the rule seems to imply that it only applies on roads, not for example in your driveway or a parking lot. See: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regulation/99/made http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regulation/99/m... , https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/20/section/196/enacted https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/20/section/196/ena...
        pbhjpbhj 8y ago
        FWIW a lot of UK cars are parked on the street at night, rather than on private land. https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/mobility#a6 https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/mobility#a6 suggests it's about 35% of vehicles in large settlements.
    - wcoenen 8y ago
      The "honk on lock" thing does seem to be a North American thing. I would always be startled and annoyed when locking my rental car in the US. I haven't noticed cars anywhere else doing this, but I'm not that well traveled.
    - close04 8y ago
      Europe. Making the horn sound seems excessive compared to just flashing lights. Perhaps some regulation in Europe discourages manufacturers from using anything that causes unneeded disturbance.
      - shawnz 8y ago
        It's a light honk, here's an example: https://youtu.be/_rpEtxBo00U?t=23 https://youtu.be/_rpEtxBo00U?t=23 I don't find it too bothersome, but maybe I'm just used to it. In some other videos people are suggesting that it can be disabled on most vehicles by holding the lock and unlock buttons simultaneously for 2 seconds.
    - _whiteCaps_ 8y ago
      I turned mine off in my Dodge Caravan after owning it for a day. It was pretty easy to find in the settings. The lights flashing are enough feedback for me.
  - SkyPuncher 8y ago
    > There are some cars that use the car (not alarm) horn when locking Every GM vehicle I have ever owned honks (via the car's horns) on the 2nd lock. (a) there is not a seperate alarm horn (b) removing the horn, also disables the 2nd lock honk.
- standardUser 8y ago
  I don't think power locks were standard until roughly the early 90's. Same with those completely useless "alarms".
devrod 8y ago
I was actually able to disable this in my GMC, but now I find myself double and triple checking to make sure it locked.
- standardUser 8y ago
  It's not clear to me why the clicker can't beep to confirm instead of the car itself! I guess it's just for finding your car in big parking lots? Seems like a different button could be dedicated for that far less common use case.
  - shawnz 8y ago
    AFAIK the fob is normally just a transmitter, so this would require it to also have a receiver in addition to a buzzer and other circuitry. I imagine that could significantly reduce the battery life.
  - VMG 8y ago
    I think the clicker can only send, not receive
  - irq 8y ago
    The solution you propose requires 2-way communication with the car. Virtually no cars do this (in their OEM configuration anyway.) Without 2-way communication, the remote has no way of knowing if the vehicle acted on the signal.
  - Deimorz 8y ago
    That requires the car to communicate back to the clicker, which is more difficult/expensive, and can fail even if the car did successfully lock. It's certainly possible though, these are usually called "2 way remotes": https://www.compustar.com/what-is-2-way/ https://www.compustar.com/what-is-2-way/
  - Yetanfou 8y ago
    That's simply because these remote controls are transmit-only, fire-and-forget devices which spew out a pseudo-random code to the receiver without being able to listen to any response. This is also why you should not click the button on the remote too often (as in 'more than 255 times') when not in range of the car as that gets the transmitter (key) and receiver (car) pseudo-random generators out of sync - the receiver accepts a sliding window of 256 random codes as valid. There might be different implementations of this feature using key fobs but this describes the majority of them.
rhcom2 8y ago
Without that honk I'd still be stuck in a parking garage in Atlantic City wandering around looking for my car.
- totesraunch 8y ago
  Take a photo of your cars location and parking level info with your phone.
  - snazz 8y ago
    That requires remembering to do so beforehand, though.
    - Scoundreller 8y ago
      A bad experience does the job.
  - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
    Google Maps has a nice feature now where it offers to remember your parking location at the end of a journey. Handy if you're in a new area.
  - acomjean 8y ago
    Some airport parking garages will tell you where your car is parked when you pay at the kiosk. With license plate scanners and a vehicle scanning all the plates periodically.. http://archive.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/03/13/forget_where_you_parked_your_car?pg=full http://archive.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/03/13...
- hinkley 8y ago
  A couple times when I worked for a very large company, with an ocean of cars in the lot, I had to resort to hitting the open trunk button and walking around looking for that. If there's nobody around you can hit the panic button too.
- jplayer01 8y ago
robocat 8y ago
I just disconnected my horn. Has the nice side effect of stopping me from rage beeping at idiots too! I hated having a loud honk in residential areas late at night. I was thinking I might connect the 12V for the horn to the ACC, so it can only beeps when ignition is on, but I haven't got around to that yet.
- onychomys 8y ago
  You'll want to be sure to check your local laws before doing that. Most (maybe all?) US states require a working horn for safety reasons. Here, for example, is Minnesota: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.68 https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.68
  - Scoundreller 8y ago
    > Every motor vehicle when operated upon a highway At least if OP follows through on running his car through his key, he'll be safe. (How about using a relay attached to something that's powered during key-on?)
  - robocat 8y ago
    I live in New Zealand, so no US state or federal laws apply (unless I get extradited?) Yes, it is a legal requirement, which in practice could void an insurance claim, or a criminal case if I hurt someone, but sometimes you just have to make a choice.
- asveikau 8y ago
  It's a legit use of the horn to make some noise when another driver can't see you and is about to collide with you. (Honest mistake that happens to a lot of people, the horn should be seen as non-judgmental in that case.)
jwr 8y ago
Yes! As someone coming from Europe to the United States, I am always puzzled by how the country seems to be completely insensitive to noise. The honking cars are a good example: this is really rare where I come from. Yes, cars sometimes do make sounds when you press the button a second time, but those are chirps, rather than full horn honks. In the US, I've rented cars that sound the main horn every time you lock the car. Bizarre.

Maybe someone can bring this same technology to San Francisco and other crowded urban areas. It's endlessly annoying that every car lock/unlock these days has to be accompanied by a HONK.

cududa 8y ago

Cars have been locking with honks when you double press the lock button ...forever

close04 8y ago
The honk is not the car locking, it's the alarm engaging as it usually comes from the alarm horn. Most cars with no alarm system don't make more than the mechanical sound of locking the car and the visual aid of the signal lights blinking. There are some cars that use the car (not alarm) horn when locking so maybe their central locking system is connected to it, although it never looked like a factory option, rather an OEM alarm or something similar.
- shawnz 8y ago
  I have never seen a car that doesn't honk when you lock it, alarm system or not (and I rarely see cars with alarm systems around here). Maybe this is a regional difference. Do you live in North America?
  - bloak 8y ago
    In the UK it's illegal to sound the horn when the vehicle is stationary, or between 23:30 and 07:00 in a built-up area, so someone who brought one of these auto-honking US vehicles to the UK would have to lock it by some other means?
    - shawnz 8y ago
      A quick reading of the rule seems to imply that it only applies on roads, not for example in your driveway or a parking lot. See: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regulation/99/made http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regulation/99/m... , https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/20/section/196/enacted https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/20/section/196/ena...
      - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
        FWIW a lot of UK cars are parked on the street at night, rather than on private land. https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/mobility#a6 https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/mobility#a6 suggests it's about 35% of vehicles in large settlements.
  - wcoenen 8y ago
    The "honk on lock" thing does seem to be a North American thing. I would always be startled and annoyed when locking my rental car in the US. I haven't noticed cars anywhere else doing this, but I'm not that well traveled.
  - close04 8y ago
    Europe. Making the horn sound seems excessive compared to just flashing lights. Perhaps some regulation in Europe discourages manufacturers from using anything that causes unneeded disturbance.
    - shawnz 8y ago
      It's a light honk, here's an example: https://youtu.be/_rpEtxBo00U?t=23 https://youtu.be/_rpEtxBo00U?t=23 I don't find it too bothersome, but maybe I'm just used to it. In some other videos people are suggesting that it can be disabled on most vehicles by holding the lock and unlock buttons simultaneously for 2 seconds.
  - _whiteCaps_ 8y ago
    I turned mine off in my Dodge Caravan after owning it for a day. It was pretty easy to find in the settings. The lights flashing are enough feedback for me.
- SkyPuncher 8y ago
  > There are some cars that use the car (not alarm) horn when locking Every GM vehicle I have ever owned honks (via the car's horns) on the 2nd lock. (a) there is not a seperate alarm horn (b) removing the horn, also disables the 2nd lock honk.
standardUser 8y ago
I don't think power locks were standard until roughly the early 90's. Same with those completely useless "alarms".

devrod 8y ago

I was actually able to disable this in my GMC, but now I find myself double and triple checking to make sure it locked.

standardUser 8y ago
It's not clear to me why the clicker can't beep to confirm instead of the car itself! I guess it's just for finding your car in big parking lots? Seems like a different button could be dedicated for that far less common use case.
- shawnz 8y ago
  AFAIK the fob is normally just a transmitter, so this would require it to also have a receiver in addition to a buzzer and other circuitry. I imagine that could significantly reduce the battery life.
- VMG 8y ago
  I think the clicker can only send, not receive
- irq 8y ago
  The solution you propose requires 2-way communication with the car. Virtually no cars do this (in their OEM configuration anyway.) Without 2-way communication, the remote has no way of knowing if the vehicle acted on the signal.
- Deimorz 8y ago
  That requires the car to communicate back to the clicker, which is more difficult/expensive, and can fail even if the car did successfully lock. It's certainly possible though, these are usually called "2 way remotes": https://www.compustar.com/what-is-2-way/ https://www.compustar.com/what-is-2-way/
- Yetanfou 8y ago
  That's simply because these remote controls are transmit-only, fire-and-forget devices which spew out a pseudo-random code to the receiver without being able to listen to any response. This is also why you should not click the button on the remote too often (as in 'more than 255 times') when not in range of the car as that gets the transmitter (key) and receiver (car) pseudo-random generators out of sync - the receiver accepts a sliding window of 256 random codes as valid. There might be different implementations of this feature using key fobs but this describes the majority of them.

rhcom2 8y ago

Without that honk I'd still be stuck in a parking garage in Atlantic City wandering around looking for my car.

totesraunch 8y ago
Take a photo of your cars location and parking level info with your phone.
- snazz 8y ago
  That requires remembering to do so beforehand, though.
  - Scoundreller 8y ago
    A bad experience does the job.
- pbhjpbhj 8y ago
  Google Maps has a nice feature now where it offers to remember your parking location at the end of a journey. Handy if you're in a new area.
- acomjean 8y ago
  Some airport parking garages will tell you where your car is parked when you pay at the kiosk. With license plate scanners and a vehicle scanning all the plates periodically.. http://archive.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/03/13/forget_where_you_parked_your_car?pg=full http://archive.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2005/03/13...
hinkley 8y ago
A couple times when I worked for a very large company, with an ocean of cars in the lot, I had to resort to hitting the open trunk button and walking around looking for that. If there's nobody around you can hit the panic button too.
jplayer01 8y ago

robocat 8y ago

I just disconnected my horn. Has the nice side effect of stopping me from rage beeping at idiots too! I hated having a loud honk in residential areas late at night. I was thinking I might connect the 12V for the horn to the ACC, so it can only beeps when ignition is on, but I haven't got around to that yet.

onychomys 8y ago
You'll want to be sure to check your local laws before doing that. Most (maybe all?) US states require a working horn for safety reasons. Here, for example, is Minnesota: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.68 https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/169.68
- Scoundreller 8y ago
  > Every motor vehicle when operated upon a highway At least if OP follows through on running his car through his key, he'll be safe. (How about using a relay attached to something that's powered during key-on?)
- robocat 8y ago
  I live in New Zealand, so no US state or federal laws apply (unless I get extradited?) Yes, it is a legal requirement, which in practice could void an insurance claim, or a criminal case if I hurt someone, but sometimes you just have to make a choice.
asveikau 8y ago
It's a legit use of the horn to make some noise when another driver can't see you and is about to collide with you. (Honest mistake that happens to a lot of people, the horn should be seen as non-judgmental in that case.)

jwr 8y ago

Yes! As someone coming from Europe to the United States, I am always puzzled by how the country seems to be completely insensitive to noise. The honking cars are a good example: this is really rare where I come from. Yes, cars sometimes do make sounds when you press the button a second time, but those are chirps, rather than full horn honks. In the US, I've rented cars that sound the main horn every time you lock the car. Bizarre.