Should I get an alarm installed on my prius?

My prius is finally here and I'm picking it up tomorrow - yay! So, I completely blanked on whether it came with a factory installed alarm (I'm getting a package II) and just researched it and it sounds like it doesn't. Since I'm new to the world of prius' i'm wondering if anyone could share the wisdom on whether it would be a good idea to pay the extra $$ for the alarm system? Thanks!

I hate car alarms; the only people who set off are the owners. The only people who care about them are the owners. No one even looks when an alarm goes off anymore because of irresponsible owners who do not learn how to turn on and turn off their alarms without setting them off.

As far as I know none of the Prius come from the factory with an alarm but some of the hardware and wiring is installed. If you order the car with an alarm it will be installed by the port or the dealer. You can also get the dealer to put one in later.

I ordered mine with an alarm but the port didn't put it in, they installed a cargo net that I didn't order instead? I said "OK fine" the cargo net will be more useful. I really don't miss not having an alarm, my previous car had one and all it ever did was go off when I didn't want it to. Another thing to consider, the Toyota alarm doesn't have an interior motion sensor and I don't think it has a tilt sensor either. So all you get is an alarm for the doors and windows. The only way anyone can steal your Prius, unless they have the key, is to winch it onto a truck and haul it off anyway.

From all I have read, the Prius, and most other cars with the "smart key," are difficult to steal without the key "fob." The greater problem is if you were to exit and leave the car "on" ... some have reported doing that by mistake. In that case, it can be driven until shit off, or runs out of gas. It cannot be restarted thereafter w/out the fob.

Funny typo!!!


I am not a fan of car alarms and one of the features i particularly like about the Prius is that they are hard to steal without the key. I have my key fob "almost" sewn into my purse, I have only used it once manually. By manually I mean to push the buttons to get in. The rest of the time, it just exists somewhere out of sight, empowering me to drive my car....
I LOVE SKS!!!!!!

I wouldn't (and didn't) bother with an alarm. The Prius (and most modern cars) have an immobilizer, so only a very sophisticated thief could steal the car--and at that point nothing will stop them.

Total waste of money. If they want your car, they will get it. Trust me. Save your money. That's why we have car insurance. Besides, like everyone else mentioned the smart key is decent enough security. Best of luck!!

Alarms are such a bother for everyone around and do nothing to deter thieves. I had this one guy that would park his car not too far from my bedroom window....it had this low but consistent tone that let the thieves know it was alarmed.....don't think they cared but kept me up quite often. Skip the alarm!

My dealer wanted $640 for the alarm. He said that the doors will not be able to open with the smart key and if I put the alarm on I would have to use the key fob. I didn't like the price or the idea of the key fob.

Thank you for all your words of wisdom. I went to pick up my car today - I got it without the alarm!

My Honda came with an alarm as standard. But my former BMW did not and I chose not to get one on my Prius. Had I had a choice with the Honda, I would have opted out. Several years ago I worked for a major city police department and most of the cops I knew said that they would not pay extra for an alarm on their vehicles. (Almost all of them had alarms in their homes, however). The reason is that people pretty much tend to initially ignore these alarms and the people who break into cars to steal things tend to be drug users who know that they will be long gone before anyone even bothers to call 9-1-1. And as for semi-professional and professional car thieves, they couldn't care less. The electronic immobilizers (standard on the Prius) are your best bet against them unless they really want your car.

The dealer talked me into a Karr alarm for my Gen2 Prius and it never worked right. Had shock/motion sensor, etc. But did not work well with smart key. I had technicians working on it in the parking lot at work three times. I often got false alarms, and booby trap embarassing alarming and trying to get it to go off. One time I drove it all the way to the dealer with it honking all the way. So for my Gen3, I said no thanks. Now the hatch or door opens with the smart key without problem.

Not worried about the car being stolen, but what about stuff in the car? As a hatchback, the Prius is especially vulnerable - the "trunk" is protected only by glass.

Alarms are a waste of money in cars. If the thief is going to smash a window, they are going to smash the window. All the alarm is going to do is disturb everyone else and cause you nothing but grief over the years when it goes off all of the time for nothing.

My father-in-law had an alarm on his Avalon because it apparently came with it. It went off all of the time and caused him to repeatedly take it to the Toyota dealership where they would tell him to leave his car, rent him a loaner at $40 per day and replace parts and charge him money. They never were able to keep the alarm from going off - it would go off while parked in the single car garage with the door shut. It drove him crazy. He finally sold the POS because of the BS alarm system which was a factory alarm apparently.

Father-in-laws are notoriously incompetent when in comes to technological devices...

Nothing to worry about with the Prius V safety connect.

I actually have had 2 way alarm installed in my past cars. I have to say that the 2 way alarms have alerted me to case of hit and almost run in a parking lot. I was sitting in a starbucks and my alarm on key chain signal me that the alarm was set off. I went outside only to find a chevy astro van had hit my car and was about to leave. This happened to two of my cars. I am planning to get an alarm for my prius also, but it has to be a clifford 2-way alarm at the least. Regular alarms are just plain useless.

If you carry/store valuable items in your car, the hatchback makes it a lot easier for a potential thief to see them and get at them than if they were in a trunk - and I bet the insurance companies' actuarial tables have plenty of data on that.

This is the major weakness/risk in a Prius. If you're only worried about the car being stolen whole, then the immobilizer already has you covered - otherwise, I think you need an alarm.

I think alarm is pointless. You going to have a remote for alarm and your car key. Even if your alarm goes off, who is going to care

Just don't leave anything valuable for thiefs out in the open.