Alarm

[Jactac]

So as some might know i’ve been having issues with the keyless entry & welcome lights, I’m still waiting for Ds to find a fix.

At the moment I dont lock or unlock the car with the remote fob unless the doors refuse to open by keyless entry.
So usually when I walk away from the car it locks and gives a couple of beeps and thats it , no other lights or indicators just the two beeps…
I’ve always been under the impression that the alarm has been activated because of the beeps that the car gives, but I now think I might be wrong ???

Today the locks didnt lock as I walked away and no beeps, so I used the remote fob lock the car, to my surprise the there were the two beeps but also the indicators flashed , I’ve never seen the indicators flash on locking the car or unlocking as I’ve never used the remote to lock or open the car , Ive been relying on the keyless entry so this led me to try out a few things.

Firstly I unlocked the car using the remote, and the indicators flashed, so I put one window down, walked away and the car locked by itself , gave the beeps and the indicators flashed.
I then put my hand through the open window and the alarm sounded.

All good so far.
I then unlocked the car again with the remote, but didnt open any doors, walked away, the car locked itself , beeped, but no indicators, I waited a minute or two, put my hand through the open window but no alarm sounded ???

Hope your keeping up
So my theory is this.
You have to initially activate the alarm by using the remote fob, once thats done you have to at least enter the car otherwise it deactivates the alarm, otherwise the beep that is heard when walking away only indicates that the car has locked itself, its seeing the indicators that confirms the alarm has been activated .

This is important, at least to me because it seems as though initially using the fob has sort of reset everything including the welcome lights !

So now when I walk to the car, the locks open ,the car beeps, the indicators flash, welcome lights come on, and when I walk away , the car locks, beeps and indicators flash.
However, if I do this a number of times without opening a door or driving the car it seems to revert back to just opening and unlocking without activating the alarm (no indicators or welcome lights), it then needs to be reset using the fob once again to open and lock the car, everything then seems to work again ???

I might be wrong but it seems as though theres a sequence using the fob that needs to done to activate the alarm, its not just done by walking away from the car and it locking and hearing the beeps, those beeps are only there to confirm the car is locked, it doesnt confirm that the car is alarmed.

Theres a bit in the manual about how the turning off the internal sensors and red switch leds ect ect but it doesnt make a lot of sense.

Long winded but its hard to explain what I’m seeing

Maybe someone can explain it all a bit more clearly.
Thanks

[Fredrik_Javerhammar (Fredrik Jäverhammar)]

I have no explanation to share, only my own experience.
I rarely use my keyfob to unlock or lock the car, dont even remember last time.
But my car always flash the indicators when leaving or approaching it.
Thanks to my dogs I know that the alarm is being activated every time I forget to inactivate interior surveillance.

How many times did you approach the car while testing your theory? Im willing to use my car as test subjects 2

[Jactac]

Thanks for replying and offering to help.

I’ve had issues with the keyless entry since buying the car seven months ago, sometimes it unlocks other times it dont when walking towards the car.
It always beeps and locks when walking away.
Same with the welcome lights, sometimes they come on when walking towards the car other times they dont.

I’ve always ASSUMED that the beeps when walking away were confirmation of the alarm being activated, but after reading the manual again and testing it on the car, by putting my hand in through an open window the beeps alone are just to confirm that the car has locked.

However, if I use the fob to lock the car, the beeps still happen but with the indicators flashing at the same time, if I put my hand in through the open window this time the alarm sounds.
If I walk to the car after locking with the fob the locks open and the indicators flash, and welcome lights come on, confirming the alarm has been de-activated, however, the next time I walk away, it locks and beeps but no flashing indicators, so again no alarm is activated.

My theory is either the alarm is being effected by the ongoing keyless entry issue or the alarm is in fact the root cause of the keyless entry issue ?

In all the times the car has been looked at over the last seven months the service department have never mentioned that the alarm is not activating without using the fob.
so either, like me they’ve just not realised it or they are putting it down to the keyless entry issue and thought I already knew ?

[Jactac]

Having had a further play around with the key fob , I’m now more inclined to think the alarm is not activating when walking away from the car unless the fob is used because of the issues I’ve been having with the keyless entry & welcome lights.

Everything works fine if the fob is used to lock & unlock the car, the alarm activates/deactivates, the indicators flash to show activation/deactivation, the welcome lights come.
Its only if the fob isnt used that all of the above don’t work correctly.
How DS cannot find a fix for this is after 7 months just beyond me !

[Jactac]

So it turns out that the alarm is definitely only activated/deactivated by using the remote fob, this is confirmed by the indicators flashing.

I’ve had my car sat next to 3 DS4’s at the dealership and they are all the same.
If you lock with the remote fob it activates the alarm, 2 beeps and flashing indicators, when you return to the car it will unlock, and flash the indicators WITHOUT having to touch the remote fob, (keyless entry).
However, the next time you leave the car if you dont use the remote to lock the car, and walkaway you’ll hear the beeps and the doors will lock, but the alarm will NOT be activated.
(This depends whether you have keyless entry).
The manual does say that the beeps only indicate the doors have locked.
You also get full welcome lights by locking with the remote on your return.

My son has a PHEV Vauxhall Astra, its built on the same platform as the DS, his does exactly the same, but the big difference is that the Vauxhall manual explains everything so much clearer.

The naughty thing about all of this is that when you walkaway from the car and it locks automatically, you hear the beeps and think the car has activated the alarm, but those beeps are just confirming that the car is locked, they have nothing to do with activating the alarm.

[kevimds4 (Kevin)]

Hi everyone,

I’d like to revisit this alarm topic.

I recently bought a 2024 (registered) DS3 Mk2 (aka Crossback) Rivoli+ directly from PSA (managers car). It has very low mileage and, according to the sticker on the driver’s door, it was built in January 2023 , so it’s one of the first post-facelift cars.

I assumed the car had the factory alarm, so I decided to test it. Here is what I found:

Locking while walking away

• The doors lock.
• The mirrors fold.
• The indicators flash once.
• The car emits the two chirps.

Locking with the key fob

• The doors lock.
• The mirrors fold.
• The indicators flash once.
• No chirp is emitted.

To test the alarm, my wife locked the car while I stayed inside (I tested both methods above).

One thing I noticed is that the red LED in the central locking button flashes about once per second after the car is locked , which made me think the alarm (or at least some security system) was armed.

However, my car doesn’t appear to have the ultrasonic interior sensors . Where I would expect to see them in the overhead console, there is only a black plastic strip. It also doesn’t have the button used to disable the interior volumetric sensors before locking the car (while in the DS4 is located near the center lights).

I then waited several minutes after locking the car and tried the following:

• Opened the driver’s door using the interior handle.
• The door unlocked normally.
• The welcome lights came on.
• The mirrors did not unfold.
• No alarm sounded.
• No horn, no siren, no flashing indicators.

The result was exactly the same whether the car had been locked using the key fob or walking away.

I also tested both keys (main key and spare key), with identical results.

Finally, I tried unlocking the driver’s door using only the mechanical metal key , with the key fob left several metres away.

Surprisingly, the car behaved exactly as if it had been unlocked normally:

• The door unlocked.
• The mirrors unfolded.
• The welcome lights came on.
• The indicators flashed.

There was no alarm trigger or any sign that the car considered this an unauthorized entry.

So now I’m wondering:

• Does my car simply not have the factory alarm installed?
• Is this normal behaviour for a DS 3 Mk2 without the optional alarm?
• Or could there be something incorrectly configured?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone with another DS3 who can compare how theirs behaves.

Thanks!

[Jactac]

I’ll try to simplify it with what I’ve found with my DS4 tense, 2023 spec.

So walking away from the car WITHOUT touching the keyfob you hear the two chirps, the handles retract & the doors lock, mirrors fold, NO INDICATORS FLASH.
Theres a small red led on the drivers door switches that flashes.
At this stage you would think the alarm has also set, it HASNT, the two chirps are only to indicate that the car has locked itself.
If you try this and leave a window open, then stretch into the car the alarm will NOT sound.

So, if you do as above but this time before you walk away use the fob to lock the car, you’ll then notice all of the above PLUS the indicators flash .
This time stretch into the open window and the alarm will sound, might need to wait a minute or so for the internal sensors to settle.

Oddly though, if you lock the car with the fob, (setting the alarm) the small red led on the drivers door does not light up or flash.

You can turn the sensors off by pressing the switch up by the mirror (DS4).

I debated how the alarm is set for many months with DS & my dealership, as I thought it should arm itself as soon as the doors lock, whether that be by walking away or with the fob, my dealership thought so as well , however after DS UK had their technical department look into it, apparently there was a change in how the alarm sets itself on cars built mid September 2023.
Those cars set the alarm when the car locks itself when walking away or with using the fob to lock the car.
The big giveaway is that the indicators flash when walking away from the car and it locks itself, same thing as when using the fob to lock the car.

The two chirps are a bit misleading as they only indicate the car is locked, they are not an indication that the alarm is set.
My wifes Renault Captur is exactly the same, it chirps but theres no alarm fitted to the car.

However, my sons 2023 Vauxhall Astra Ultimate, which is basically a DS, behaves exactly as my DS4, he has to lock the car manually to set the alarm.

Hope this might help.

[Jactac]

@kevimds4

Finally, I tried unlocking the driver’s door using only the mechanical metal key , with the key fob left several metres away.

Dont walk away before using the fob to lock the car.
If I walk away and then use the fob, the alarm will not set.
I think you need to use the fob to lock it but stay inside the proximity area, this then sets the alarm.
Thats what I’ve noticed.

[kevimds4 (Kevin)]

Thanks @Jactac for the detailed explanation, that really clears things up regarding how your DS4 behaves.

On my 2025 DS4, both walk-away locking and locking with the key fob flash the indicators, so based on what you explained, I understand why that would make sense on a post-September 2023 car.

I’ll try another test by staying within the proximity area and locking the car with the key fob instead of walking away, just to see if it behaves any differently.

Thanks again!

[Jactac]

I’ve had lots of discussions with my dealership and DS UK regarding the alarm, the proximity locking/unlocking feature and the welcome lights feature.
The outcome after many many months was that there was a change mid to late September 2023 on how these features function.

[kevimds4 (Kevin)]

@Jactac ,I tried exactly what you suggested. I stayed within the proximity area and locked the car with the key fob, and I also tried locking it by pressing the door handle button without walking away.

In both cases, my wife repeated the tests while I stayed inside the car. We tried:

• Opening the door from the inside after waiting a few minutes.
• Unlocking the driver’s door from the outside using only the mechanical key.

In every case, the car simply unlocked normally. There was no alarm, no horn, no siren, and no flashing indicators.

What I find strange is that the indicators still flash when locking the car, regardless of whether I use walk-away locking, the key fob, or the door handle button. Based on what you explained, that would normally suggest the alarm is being armed.

Another odd thing is that Super Locking doesn’t seem to work either . The interior door handles are never disabled, so I can always open the door from inside.

At this point I’m starting to wonder whether my car was built without the factory alarm hardware, or whether something isn’t configured correctly.

[Jactac]

@kevimds4

What I find strange is that the indicators still flash when locking the car, regardless of whether I use walk-away locking, the key fob, or the door handle button. Based on what you explained, that would normally suggest the alarm is being armed.

Thats exactly correct, at least it is on my car.

[Jactac]

@kevimds4

Another odd thing is that Super Locking doesn’t seem to work either . The interior door handles are never disabled, so I can always open the door from inside.

When you say Super lock, do you mean dead locking by pressing the lock button on the fob twice or the auto lock button on the drivers door ?
I might be wrong but I dont think you can dead lock from the inside for safety reasons ?

On my DS 4 if you press the auto lock button on the drivers door it automatically locks all doors as you pull away, but if you pull on any internal door handle you can still open the door, but not from the outside.

[Jactac]

@kevimds4

At this point I’m starting to wonder whether my car was built without the factory alarm hardware, or whether something isn’t configured correctly.

Are the internal sensors switched on ?

I’m not sure where the on/off button is on the DS3 but on my DS4 its up above the rearview mirror.
Theres a little red LED by the button that flashes when the sensors are active.
Theres also another red LED on the drivers door that flashes when the car is locked WITHOUT the alarm being set , ie just walking away, but if I lock with the fob within the proximity area, the indicators then flash, setting the alarm, but the red LED on the drivers door then goes off altogether , which I find odd.

This may sound ridiculous but I worked out how my locks/alarm & proximity features worked by reading my sons Vauxhall Astra PHEV manual.
The DS4 & Vauxhall Astra are both built by Stellantis and on a very similar platform.
I found that my DS manual was very vague on explaining how these features worked, but the Vauxhall manual was easier to understand.

Amazingly, I had to show the technicians at my dealership how it all worked via the Vauxhall manual because even they thought there was a fault with the alarm.
It’s all shown in the DS manual but explained more simple in the Vauxhall manual.

[kevimds4 (Kevin)]

Hi @Jactac, bad news… I contacted the DS Service place where I made last service and asked about this problem. With the VIN, they confirmed that this first batch post face lift of DS3 that came to Argentina, came without alarm and there is no way to install the original/OEM part (at least by them). The guy I spoke with, recommended to install any non official alarm. I will check if there is any one compatible with P208 II or P2008 II (same base), to keep the normal functions and avoid having another control and loosing key less entry. So, case close.

@Jactac

When you say Super lock, do you mean dead locking by pressing the lock button on the fob twice or the auto lock button on the drivers door ?
I might be wrong but I dont think you can dead lock from the inside for safety reasons ?

Yes, dead locking the door pressing twice in the fob button. My wife “dead lock” me with the key from outside but it didn’t work, I was able to open the door from the inside.

@Jactac

Are the internal sensors switched on ?

I’m not sure where the on/off button is on the DS3 but on my DS4 its up above the rearview mirror.
There a little red LED by the button that flashes when the sensors are active.
Theres also another red LED on the drivers door that flashes when the car is locked WITHOUT the alarm being set , ie just walking away, but if I lock with the fob within the proximity area, the indicators then flash, setting the alarm, but the red LED on the drivers door then goes off altogether , which I find odd.

There are no internal sensors, just black tape on where supposed to be. And also no button to disable the internal sensors (like the one in the DS4 near the rearview mirror), where supposed to be (next to the boot open button). The only light flashing is the one in the lock button (in the central console, similar to the one in the DS4 in the door).

@Jactac

but the red LED on the drivers door then goes off altogether , which I find odd.

Same happened in my DS4, alarm button near rear view mirror flash but the door one goes off when closed with alarm armed.
Probably normal thing in PSA, as in my ex P208 2017 (not the last model), when the alarm is armed, alarm button flash each second but the lock door button light turns off (normally flashed when the doors are lock and you are still inside, similar as DS4).

@Jactac

Amazingly, I had to show the technicians at my dealership how it all worked via the Vauxhall manual because even they thought there was a fault with the alarm.
It’s all shown in the DS manual but explained more simple in the Vauxhall manual.

I will check Vauxhall Astra manual just in case, at least for the DS4.

Thank you very much again for your help.

[Jactac]

Sounds very much like the two chirps are only indicating the car has locked, excatly like mine does unless I lock it manually with the fob to set the alarm, which is indicated by the flashing of the indicators, I dont see that if locking by walking away, as mentioned.

My wifes Renault is the same, two chirps indicating the car is locked.
It wasnt until I found out how to set the alarm on my DS4 with the fob, that I actually checked the wifes Captur, It was then that we learned it has no alarm, just the two chirps for the locking.

It is very misleading, because you automatically assume when hearing the chirps that its setting the alarm.

On the plus side, no potential thief with even the lowest of knowledge would steal a DS in the first place.

[kevimds4 (Kevin)]

@Jactac

On the plus side, no potential thief with even the lowest of knowledge would steal a DS in the first place.

Haha, yes, that’s true. In Argentina there are only around 5,300 DS cars in total—DS 3, DS 4, DS 7 and DS 9—registered between 2018 and 2026. That figure even includes the previous-generation DS3 and DS4 models that were still using Citroën-platform.

For comparison, around 2,600 Audi A3s were registered during the same period.

So a DS would be a very unlikely theft target here. Most thieves probably wouldn’t even recognise one or know what they were looking at.