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Toyota Factory Alarms There are two factory alarm options offered by Toyota as either factory or dealer installed options. They are essentially the same system with the exception that one is intended as an add-on for a keyless entry equipped vehicle (RS3200 Plus) and the other is a complete system with keyless entry included (RS3200). They both include standard entry level alarm features like parking light flash, door lock integration, ignition-lock integration, starter kill, glass breakage detector, valet mode and limited programmability. The alarm output is the horn - there is no siren. There is also no shock detector. The RS3200 is sticker priced at $439 with an invoice price of $275. The RS3200 Plus is sticker priced at $249 with an invoice price of $155. This is in addition to the cost of keyless entry which is $220 sticker, $176 invoice. The RS3200 can be bought aftermarket (without installation) for between $375 and $400 (it's currently $383 at toyotaguys.com). The owners manuals for both models are posted on RAV4World.com at:
RAV4 - RS3200 In my opinion, the factory alarms are a rip-off. For what you are spending in either case you can get a much better aftermarket alarm system and in fact you can get one with all of the features that most anybody cares about for a whole lot less. Buying either of the RS3200 versions as a dealer installed or owner installed option makes even less sense. Fortunately Toyota isn't including either alarms or keyless entry on many of the RAV4s as they come from the factory so the owner has options. Aftermarket Alarms There are a number of good aftermarket alarm choices. Three of the most popular are Viper, Clifford, Avital. Viper was the original brand of Directed Electronics, Inc. (DEI). About a year ago DEI bought out both Clifford and Avital and now manufactures and sells all three brands. DEI alarms are very well made and DEI has a good reputation for support. All of the DEI alarms is covered by a lifetime warranty and most include reimbursement of your comprehensive insurance deductible if your vehicle is stolen with a DEI alarm installed. Another popular manufacturer is Code Alarm. They have both their own original brand as well as Chapman alarms. There are many other aftermarket alarms of varying features and quality. Probably the best recommendation is to go to your local car stereo and electronics store and see what they have. I generally wouldn't recommend going with someplace like Best Buy or Circuit City that has less qualified installers. Instead, stick with a high-end car audio store or someplace like Tweeter (which is where I bought mine). This kind of store has more highly skilled installers (in general) since their main business is installing multi-thousand dollar audio systems. Inexpensive entry level alarm systems are still available from them and you get the benefit of a much cleaner install. My personal recommendation is the Avital 2100. I bought mine from Tweeter for $229 including installation. It has a lifetime guarantee and insurance deductible coverage. Features include keyless entry, ignition/lock integration, starter kill, hood/trunk pin switches (just hood needed in RAV), siren, starter kill, shock sensor, remote and pushbutton valet mode and programmable passive arming. For this price, it's hard to beat. One final note - it's really not worth installing your own alarm. Most of the major manufacturers don't even guarantee the alarm unless it's professionally installed. For the few dollars you can possibly save it's not worth the trouble. Also note that most professional installers have wiring harnesses and connectors that allow them to install an aftermarket alarm without cutting any wiring by just plugging into the factory harness. This can be important if the car is a lease and you want to remove the alarm later (although at the price of mine I'd just leave it in). |