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2011 Sienna alarm keeps going off!

12K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  186464  
#1 ·
Hey guys

I inhererited a 2011 Toyota Sienna Limited. A couple days ago I got home from work and went inside my house and about 45 minutes later the alarm went off. I thought maybe something bumped it so I unlocked and locked it again. After about another 45 minutes the alarm went off again. It continually goes off every 45 minutes or so. The only way to get it to stop is to disconnect the negative battery cable.

I've heard there is a TSB for the hood latch. That's great so I depinned the connector and connected the 2 wires together. After about an hour and a half the alarm went off again. Then again after another 45 minutes. I tested the hood latch switch with my multimeter and it seems to work fine. Bypassing the hood latch switch should eliminate that as an issue?

I'm at a loss of what to check. Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
You're welcome! ;) I've noticed activity on this forum has recently fallen - might be due to XMAS.

Finding adequate "free" electrical diagrams might be a stretch. You can get them from Toyota for a small fee at https://techinfo.toyota.com/

The following web page has links to diagnosis information about the anti-theft system: Sitemap

I can view a bazillion electrical diagrams for the 2011 Sienna Limited including 19 diagram files for the anti-theft system on the "Auto Repair Source" service available through my local public library's website. It's not realistic for me to download and upload all these files. Maybe your public library offers a similar service.

The first components I'd check would be the switches on the door jams. They are of a type that are known to sometimes fail and which Toyota stopped using on their more expensive cars (e.g. Lexus) around 25 years ago. An intermittent problem with one these switches could set off your alarm. Press each switch with a finger to see if they operate smoothly. If the little "piston" in the switch binds or is sloppy, that could indicate a failure. There have been threads on this forum about replacing them. I replaced a very similar switch on an early Lexus in the 1990's and it was fairly easy but did require removal of interior trim to get to it.
Thanks for the response. I thought those switches only operated the interior lights when opened? As far as I can tell they only have a single wire going to them. I held the door open with my finger pressed on the switch. I locked the door and then removed my finger from the switch and only the dome lights came back on. Alarm did not go off.

I tried looking at the link you sent me but to be honest I'm not sure how any of it is helpful. It doesn't really show exactly what I'm looking at and refers to the switches (including hood latch switch which has 2 wires) as a courtesy switch.