2006 Grand Vitara, alarm vs keyless start

No, they did not warn me. When I bought it, I was under the impression it had an alarm system. The dealer's own insurance people registered it as having an alarm (we get a discount for a passive arming immobilizer). There is an led on the dash, but it's a fake. I confirmed the actual equipment (or lack of it) by studying the owners manual. Suzuki has an accessory catalog for the new Grand Vitara. The catalog has an alarm system. The dealership's parts dept. advised me the accessory alarm does not have an immobilizer and is no good. Perhaps it just doesn't work with the keyless system, which is not on all GV models. Both the parts dept and the salesman referred me to "Speedy", but never did specify an alarm or an outlet. It seems unacceptable to sell a vehicle that cannot have an alarm system installed, and indeed, the European and Asian spec GV come with an alarm. However, Suzuki Canada flatly refused to recommend any alarm system (including their own - huh?) and as you heard, advised against doing anything with the wiring. Why can they not package up their European/Asian alarm system and install it for us and make money off doing that? Is this sensible customer service? Lots of cars come with keyless systems and alarms today, but usually both. I can't fathom why Suzuki refuses to help sort out this problem. What do they expect me to do, hire a security guard to protect it?

So the verdict from the alarm company is that if they set up the alarm so that the alarm will disarm when the door switches on any of the three doors with the switches, are pressed once or twice, then it creates a vulnerability. The vulnerability is that if someone broke a window without triggering the shock sensor, they could use the inside door lock button to disarm the alarm. They said the way it is set up now, if someone did that, the alarm would be triggered. The downside to leaving it the way it is, is that the keyless entry basically works only for the drivers door. Or use the keyfob to disarm the alarm. I guess I can live with that. Again I asked for the installer's manual. This time, they gave me another copy of the owners manual. I said I got one of those last time. They said they aren't in the practice of giving out installation manuals. They could have said that the first time rather than pretend the alarm doesn't come with an installers manual.

Hey, i just read this article in my local newspaper about a potential security device that could be used for the 06' GV. They referred to it as a battery brain Type 3 ( http://www.batterybrain.com/products/index.html ). It is a remote-controlled device that "dissconects" the electrical current from the battery to the car. Thus, it is a remote-controlled immobilizer that does not conflict with the keyless system of the GV and is totally easy to install. So ... If a-would-be thief breaks into your car he would not be able to drive off with your car and if he tried to steal the stereo the GV has a built in security lock the renders the stereo useless. All you have to do is read your owners manual and set a password. Hope this is any help

Thanks alpina, However, it's a bit late for me now. I knew about the password protection for the radio, but there's already enough things to reset everytime you disconnect the battery. Presumably the alarm system will protect the radio anyway.