A little background:
I purchased my 4Runner second hand and it didn't come with any of the manuals. I do have key fobs I quickly realized that if I didn't use the fob to disarm the alarm system I couldn't start my 4Runner or stop the alarm from blaring.

I used to worry about what would happen if my fob battery died or I lost it and couldn't get to my spare. I searched here and online and couldn't find an answer that worked as every solution I found said to push in a certain button and turn the key and my 4runner has no such button (I have the VIP RS3000 or similar model alarm). The dealership I called got frustrated with me because of this fact and I eventually went there and talked with the parts guys who printed off the alarm system manual for me.

This post is just to share this bit of useful info for others who never received the alarm manual.

How to Disarm the Alarm
- Unlock the door using the key.
- The alarm will sound and the engine will be immobilized.
- Turn the key to "On" then "ACC" then back to "On".
- The alarm will stop and you can now start your 4Runner.

I hope this will save someone the frustration that I had when trying to figure this out.

just wondering... why not put your fob on the same keychain as your key so you dont loose it.... ?

I have to hold the button on mine down also while turning the ignition on what I assume is a factory alarm.

Trevloc: It is, but I wanted to know how to do this in case the battery died in the fob or I lost my keys and had to use the spare I keep in a magnetic key box.

cj80cruiser: As far as I know mine is factory installed as well, it's just a different model from yours. This one doesn't have the button or switch that yours does.

Hello everyone,

I know I am late to the party with this problem, as it is 2019 and the vehicles discussed in this thread are from 96-02.

I drive a 1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 Limited. It currently has 230,000 miles and counting (Just changed the timing belt and water pump). I bought this amazing truck back in January of 2014, and put over 80,000 miles on it so far.

I had a remote start installed one year after owning the vehicle. The remote start was installed by a geeksquad technician and everything functioned perfectly. I never got the original keyless entry remote from the owner i bought it from.

Everything was working fine, and my vehicle has been a charm.

Here is the problem:

When i was driving home from work yesterday, i noticed a small whining noise, like an alarm buzzer going off. I didnt think anything of it. I got home, and parked it in the driveway. A few minutes after going in my house, i hear the alarm buzzing noise again, only louder. From the other vehicles ive owned, this can indicate that i left the lights on and the car is off, and or the battery is low.


I turned my car on after making sure that i did in fact turned the lights off originally when i got home (lights were off). I heard the noise still so i decided to take it around the block for a test drive. About three minutes into the test drive, not only was this annoying alarm going off without stop, the horn started going off without stop as well. I was freaked out. Parked back at home and immediately took the negative terminal off of the battery.


Upon reconnecting the negative terminal, the alarm started buzzing again, but the horn was not.

At this point, i realize that it was a security system that i had no knowledge of that even was installed in my vehicle. Directly to the right of the driver seat, there is a storage console with a few buttons farther up towards the radio, (ETC power, back window roll up/down, an unmarked switch that goes up or down and i have no idea what it does, and a toyota security panel- no button no switch- that is now lit red)


There is a toyota security system box located directly under the drivers seat. It could have gotten wet as a bottle of water spilled the day this problem occurred and shorted a fuze in that box. Im a bigger guy, tall and big hands, large torso, so it was very difficult for me to get at. I saw no button on the box, but there are three connectors to this box. i disconnected the connectors to this box, and the alarm stopped, but then my truck would not start.


There is a fuze box located directly to the left side of the steering, just down a bit, which i pulled the panel off and started reviewing the labels on the inside of the panels. I did not see any fuze marked with security or alarm, but i did see ones for ing (ignition i think) acc (accessories) etc. I let the car run with the alarm on and started pulling some of those fuzes out and replacing them immediately after ruling out that they were not directly related to the alarm. This resulted in nothing, as the truck was running and alarm continued to buzz.

I also spent a lot of time searching through this website forums and other forums on the topic.

Many people suggested closing and locking all the doors, and using the key to unlock and lock three times in a row and alarm would disarm. No result.

A lot of people claimed that there is a reset button located somewhere in the interior of the truck. The two most referenced locations were located under the dashboard, and or a by or under a kick panel. I spent a good hour searching these places for a button or kill switch, none of which were to be found on my vehicle. Again, I am a bigger guy and i moved my seat all the way back but could still barely fit to get a good look up there. I looked at multiple pictures and descriptions of where they found this button, but i cannot see it, and am convinced that there is none.

There were just as many people that claimed that if you enter the vehicle, close and lock all doors, and place key into ignition and turn from off to acc three times then start vehicle, alarm will reset. No result. Additionally, a similar amount of posts referred to something like that, only saying move key from off to on five times then start vehicle. This resulting in something happening like the dashboard lit up twice and the doors locked and unlocked twice, but the alarm remained going off.


Some people also claimed that if the battery is compromised and or not grounded correctly, that it could cause the same problem. The battery is good, as it was just replaced 6 months ago, and tested at 14 volts, but the grounding is messed up. Way back when i bought the vehicle it appeared that the grounding cable directly tied to my negative terminal was chewed by a rodent. I cut the tubing off of the wire, bought some new tubing, retubed and electrical taped properly. This worked great, but when i opened my hood up yesterday when the problem occurred, i noticed that it had fallen out of place. I will reground that cable today to see the effect, but i also have reason to believe that this is not the root cause.

The last thing i tried that i read in some threads was to turn the car off and on and leave a ten second period for each time turned on and turned off, three times in a row. I did this and nothing happened as alarm remained going off.

The only thing i can think of now is to have another set of eyes to check for that button somewhere before i cut the wire to the speaker for the alarm.

I am worried that if i cant do anything but cut the speaker for the alarm, i will cut the wrong wire and mess something up, as i do not know much about the electrical system itself in my vehicle.

The keyless entry and remote start appear to be working still even with the alarm triggered.

I guess my question is A) has anyone gone through this problem with the similar variables to my problem and B) has anyone successfully located and cut only the speaker of the alarm to disable the alarm noise.