OK, fellow fuel-savers, explain this one. I do not have an alarm. So I get in the Prius this afternoon, I open it same as always, and I get in. Before I can even push the power button the horn starts honking and the lights start flashing. It took me a minute to realize it was even my car that making all that noise.. I had locked the doors this morning but I swear, I don't have an alarm. I've had this car since August, this has never happened to me. Pressing the power button with my foot on the pedal made the alarm (that I don't have) stop and started the car. So I ask you, what the honk?
The first thing that comes to mind to me is "Where is the key fob?". Any chance it was in your pocket and something hit the panic button?
I thought an alarm was standard on the Gen III?? Oh well. Yeah it's possible that something pressed against the PANIC button. I've had the car lock on me because stuff in my pocket was pressing against the LOCK button.
I have a type 2, so there is no alarm. I have had the same honking and light-flashing, and I have been told by other users on this board that the panic button must have been inadvertently pushed. Hitting the "lock" or "unlock" functions on the key fob solves the problem.
This sounds like the panic alarm was accidentally triggered. If this continues to be a problem, and you don't care about the panic alarm feature, you can have the dealer turn it off. The customizable features list in the owners manual shows that the panic alarm defaults to ON and can be customized to OFF, presumably by the dealer.
