Dealer installed alarm junk !!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter 4gambler
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4gambler

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When i go test drive a 2020 where should I look if it has some type of aftermarket butt connected junk module? Right above brake pedal area???

Im guessing if sales guy has to walk inside to get the key most likely dont have it.

But if they open it on the spot I will let em know you guys cut into wiring dont want it.

What do those 20 dollar modules look like? A black pager size looking box????
 
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So I'm guess you went to a dealer and they had some random already installed alarm on the trucks and you were wondering what kind it was or how it was connected?
Well if that's the case that would be pretty much impossible for someone not looking at it to tell what it was or how it was connected.
 
Some dealers install inventory trackers that are later sold as "alarms" and are pure dealer profit.

Many are badly installed, chop up the wiring and will cause issues a few years down the road.

KARR is one such product.

I would never buy a car with one of those installed because electrical gremlins are sure to show up.
 
Just got response from dealer they do that. But said they wont install it on mine since i request it. Should arrive in 3 weeks to stealership.
 
If you do not know what a butt connector is it is a good thing.

Solder, heat shrink tubing, zip ties and foam padding where needed it is for me.
 
cb1111 said:
Some dealers install inventory trackers that are later sold as "alarms" and are pure dealer profit.

Many are badly installed, chop up the wiring and will cause issues a few years down the road.

KARR is one such product.

I would never buy a car with one of those installed because electrical gremlins are sure to show up.
Click to expand...

this.

Dealer installed this at the time of delivery, and since I refused to pay for it, and since it costs the dealer more money to remove it, they just left it under my dash... SO now I have a blinking green light and a rats nest to remind me of the dealership. Thank you toyota.

to op:

I wouldn't let this stop you from purchasing the vehicle you want, especially if you agreed on a purchase price you are happy with. However, I wouldn't pay for it either.
 
mrblah said:
this.

Dealer installed this at the time of delivery, and since I refused to pay for it, and since it costs the dealer more money to remove it, they just left it under my dash... SO now I have a blinking green light and a rats nest to remind me of the dealership. Thank you toyota.

to op:

I wouldn't let this stop you from purchasing the vehicle you want, especially if you agreed on a purchase price you are happy with. However, I wouldn't pay for it either.
Click to expand...

This is an electrical mod not authorized by Toyota, so if you run into electrical gremlins a few years down the road, then Toyota will deny warranty coverage.

If this were the last car in the universe that I wanted, then I'd make the dealership annotate the install on the sales order, because nobody at the dealership will remember installing this piece of crap when Toyota denies coverage.
 
cb1111 said:
Some dealers install inventory trackers that are later sold as "alarms" and are pure dealer profit.

Many are badly installed, chop up the wiring and will cause issues a few years down the road.

KARR is one such product.

I would never buy a car with one of those installed because electrical gremlins are sure to show up.
Click to expand...

Not only that - I was at the dealership the other day get an annoying rattle fixed that's been driving me crazy for the last year or so. Turns out the rattle was caused by this aftermarket KARR alarm that they'd put in. Even though I didn't purchase the alarm, they left the various components in the 4Runner when I bought it. Apparently, this crap isn't worth the effort for them to remove it when one declines buying it.

Below is my description of the rattle and their fix as noted on the repair order.
 

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PaulsTrail said:
Not only that - I was at the dealership the other day get an annoying rattle fixed that's been driving me crazy for the last year or so. Turns out the rattle was caused by this aftermarket KARR alarm that they'd put in. Even though I didn't purchase the alarm, they left the various components in the 4Runner when I bought it. Apparently, this crap isn't worth the effort for them to remove it when one declines buying it.

Below is my description of the rattle and their fix as noted on the repair order.
Click to expand...
If that piece of crap was installed by that dealer, then I'd call Toyota corporate, complain and demand that a different Toyota dealer remove said piece of crap and replace all affected wiring harnesses.
 
If you order a brand new car and the dealership does anything that you didn't pay for or authorize, decline the delivery.

You're not on the hook to purchase or accept any extra crap they do to the car.
 
4gambler said:
If you do not know what a butt connector is it is a good thing.

Solder, heat shrink tubing, zip ties and foam padding where needed it is for me.
Click to expand...

Solder is good, but there's nothing wrong with a properly crimped butt connector. After all, most of those harnesses in the 4Runner aren't using soldered on pins. I use seamless un-insulated tinned copper barrel crimps along with waterproof heatshrink tubing and a pair of Klein 1005s. None of my butt connectors are failing.

Lester Lugnut said:
When I was a younger man I had a more functional butt connector. Willy-The-One-Eyed-Wonder-Worm would connect with the butt.

On a more serious note....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHKib_w1l80
Click to expand...

That guy used a pair of slip-joint pliers for his insulated butt connectors. Not the way to do it! :lmao:
 
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There have been other threads in the past about this Karr alarm. One even had pics to show what a hack job the install was. I wouldn't buy a car that has or had it. Several poorly installed cheap splices are a recipe for disaster.
 
KP Texan said:
Solder is good, but there's nothing wrong with a properly crimped butt connector. After all, most of those harnesses in the 4Runner aren't using soldered on pins. I use seamless un-insulated tinned copper barrel crimps along with waterproof heatshrink tubing and a pair of Klein 1005s. None of my butt connectors are failing.



That guy used a pair of slip-joint pliers for his insulated butt connectors. Not the way to do it! :lmao:
Click to expand...

Yep - the intent was to show a butt connector for those who did not understand what one looks like.
 
The dealer told me that the Karr cannot be removed etc and this is mandatory, and I bought the new 4Runner 2022 with it. What put me off is the obnoxious green blinker under the steering wheel.

This literary happened yesterday.
And when I'm starting googling KARR I found all these threads.

What can be done to remove it? I sent the dealer the email saying that I want it to be removed and I'm refunded since they told me this was obligatory and it's not, but they haven't responded yet.

I'm very upset, because I hate a car to be tempered, and it bugs me a lot how stupid I was, because I thought I removed all their unnecessary "lifetime warranty" and other junk fees, but this...
 
Purchase my 4R from a used dealer and they tried to sell me the tracker feature and I declined. I later found the black box wired to power near the driver side fuse box. I took me about 1 minute to remove it. I took it apart and sure enough it was a tracker SIM card and all.
 
Part of this tracker feature and Karr alarm is to locate your vehicle when you don't make your payments! They proper way to remove it is to trace down every wire to locate where it's spliced into the factory wiring. While doing this, make a drawing and label the wires - indicate those labels on the drawing.

Then one at a time (after you disconnect the battery) remove each Karr wire and then splice the factory wires back together. Use a quality insulated crimp splice with good quality crimpers. You can solder and heat shrink if you are good at soldering and know how to properly make a good solder connection; and if you have room.

Not much else you can do if you have already taken possession of the vehicle. Some of the previous threads about the Karr alarm mention the dealer (when questioned) say the Karr was installed at the port and others say the dealer did it. I'm sure Toyota isn't the only company that has these alarms - in fact, I bet most all do. It's sold by a vendor with promises of big profits.
 
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