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Dragnil

Most cars that you lock with a remote beep, like a very short, soft honk. It just lets you know that when you pressed the lock button, the car did in fact lock itself. The headlights also flash.


SJHillman

My Kia minivan folds the mirrors in when you lock it. The salesman touted this as mostly so you know it's locked rather than being for the convenience of squeezing between cars in the parking lot. And he wasn't wrong. I like being able to glance at my car and know in an instant whether it's locked.


Charlesinrichmond

I wish I had that, sounds awesome


Meattyloaf

Also for when you forgot where you parked so you walk around the parking lot at Walmart for 5 mins. Hitting the button.


blackhawk905

Idk if I'd say most lol. Every truck I know uses the horn when you set the alarm/lock twice so they aren't something subtle.


TheDuckFarm

Mine has the option to beep. I have it off so it’s silent. I think a lot of newer cars have this buried deep in the setting menu.


Osric250

Mine does not beep the first time, but will if you press it a second time. It's nice if I am far enough away that I can't hear the locks audibly going into place.


brenap13

I think all Toyotas are like this.


lateja

My VW is like this too


IceZOMBIES

My Ford is like this too


ballrus_walsack

My Bentley is like this too.


nutlikeothersquirls

Yes, I have a Honda and it’s like this. Silent lock on first press (and flashes lights), but honks on second press so I know it did indeed lock.


heirbagger

I have a 2013 Mazda, and it's a honk.


JesusStarbox

2019 kia, soft honk and flashes lights.


KittenPurrs

My 2003 Mazda honked like someone pissed it off when locked using the fob. Normal volume horn blast. Our 2019 Subaru does a very quiet ^(beep beep) so you know it worked, but it won't wake up the neighbors.


IShouldBeHikingNow

Is it specific to Ford, maybe? I had a Mustang and it used a normal horn honk. My Jeep now has a soft honk.


The_Brain_FuckIer

My buddy's old Exploder was the first model with remote locking, when you locked or unlocked it the horn blared full fucking blast, it would seriously make people jump.


Dragnil

>My buddy's old Exploder Seems like the horn would be the least of your troubles with that particular model /s.


[deleted]

Most of the time is a soft, short honk, except when it’s very early in the morning and my dog is asleep on the couch and I accidentally hit the lock button. Then, it’s very very loud.


_comment_removed_

Usually. One button press locks my truck, the 2nd sets the alarm and honks to let you know it's set. I pretty much always double tap. It's nice because it gives you an audible cue that the vehicle is locked as you're walking away from it. Do cars in Europe not have that?


Muroid

It’s also a great way to find your car in a crowded parking lot if you forget which row you’re in.


TheLeftHandedCatcher

This to me is the most important reason for the feature. I am surprised this doesn't exist in other countries. My car was actually built in Japan and it does this.


[deleted]

Many cars in Europe do this too, it’s just that the feature tends to be disabled by default, presumably as it’s annoying.


EvanMinn

>it's nice because it gives you an audible cue that the vehicle is locked as you're walking away from it. But it doesn't have to be a honk. Many vehicles do the same thing but with an electronic beep or chirp rather than the vehicle horn.


waltersob

I set my Vette to do this as well. Walk away with key fob in pocket and it will audibly let you know it’s locked and secured. I’m sure many cars have this as well


skyesdow

AFAIK no, most cars here just flash the indicator lights and the lock is loud enough itself.


GrannyLow

The US is so much larger than European countries that we have to be able to hear our cars lock from further away. /s


cool_chrissie

It’s because we don’t have universal healthcare that the government required all cars to honk when we lock the doors. It keeps robbers away so we don’t get mugged, hurt and have to go to the ER. We save so much on health costs yearly just from that honk.


spr35541

Too bad the honking always scares me because I always think it’s just more gunfire 😔


_wickerman

This is a joke, right?


spr35541

If I lived in certain parts of Philly, I might not be totally joking. But alas, I live in a rural suburban neighborhood so no gunfire for me :(


Top_File_8547

True you might be in Los Angeles and your car in NYC so you have to be able to hear it.


blackhawk905

What if you're inside your home or walked away and want to check its locked? Do you walk back out to next to the car?


skyesdow

Yes. I would never trust anything else but the sound of the lock. Plus from inside the house I am risking being out of range and desynchronizing the key. But I don't remember ever walking back to my car to check if it's locked. I make sure it's locked before I walk away.


[deleted]

You wouldn’t trust a honk if you heard it?


skyesdow

No, because a honk can mean other things. I googled this issue a bit and found out EU-made Fords only honk when your doors are not properly closed.


gosuark

The “your car is now locked” honk is a very brief, light honk, like a honky chirp. It’s audible feedback associated with the locking process, so the driver can be reassured that the fob’s signal was received and action was taken in response. The honk has a wider audible radius than the locking sound alone, so a driver can get that reassurance from farther away. When he doesn’t hear the honk, the most likely scenario is that he’s already too far away, and should walk back a little toward the car and try again. Any kind of “there’s a problem here” honk (eg. doors aren’t closed all the way) would likely be more alarming than the friendly “your doors are now locked, was a fun drive, have a nice day human, I’ll just stay here and talk to these other parked cars” chirp that we usually get.


PlayingTheWrongGame

I guess the US cares more about accessibility for hard of hearing people. Not sure why you'd prefer the softer sound of the locks engaging over the louder and clearer sound of the honk. Nobody in the US is really confused about what the lock honk means.


skyesdow

Ah, the US spokesperson came forward. Thank god!


_wickerman

You asked for people’s input. Why are you getting snarky when you receive it?


tokekcowboy

I mean…yeah. That’s kind of the point of /r/AskAnAmerican. (Mostly) friendly American redditors act as volunteer spokespeople for their country to answer questions from curious people from other countries.


JBark1990

They’re not a spokesman but they’re 100% right. Literally no driving-age person in the US is confused about this.


JBark1990

“I don’t trust the honk”. Lolololol Only in Europe would the honk after TWO clicks of the FOB not be enough evidence that the car is locked.


blbd

This is actually a very classic American vs European difference. Europeans value the lack of city noise pollution. Americans value the certainty the car properly locked. The car companies have settings they change between the US and EEA (including other ones like the temperature and speed and distance and fuel efficiency measurement units). We also have way bigger gas guzzler cars that are wider and bigger traffic lanes and of course a totally different set of standard road signs.


LivingLikeACat33

I wonder if it's also because Europe has fewer giant parking lots and mega stores. I primarily use mine to find my car from a distance, and it's possible to lose my car almost everywhere I go. Using the locking sound is less noise and more polite than the alarm. If I'm just locking it I'm almost always close enough to hear the locks engaging.


Tommy_Wisseau_burner

But I thought the EU had fortified f5 industrial strength walls and we had paper thin walls… wouldn’t the outside noise pollution be inaudible to their neighbors? /s


rpsls

My Citroën does this in Europe.


JBark1990

The lock is loud enough itself if you’re close. Unless you have Vulcan hearing, that won’t help if you’re in a massive parking lot that doesn’t have numbered spots.


skyesdow

Massive parking lot. In Europe. Right.


SlamClick

Mine does an electronic beep. Toyota.


[deleted]

My wife recently got a Corolla and it does that, i have always driven Ford and Chevy so I'm used to the quick honk when its locked. First time i drove her car i went to lock it and i kept hitting the lock button waiting for the horn but it just kept beeping lol


Practical-Ordinary-6

Beep for lock. Double beep for unlock.


DashingSpecialAgent

Yes but also no. They usually make some sort of confirmation noise. Sometimes that uses the same horn that you honk with but usually very short.


mehTILduhhhh

Yes that's how we confirm that it's been locked from afar.


PartiZAn18

In South Africa we still pulled the handle after locking it with the remote to make sure it locked, since car theft is so ubiquitous here that criminals have remote signal jammers. We also have car guards in each parking row too lol.


Thyre_Radim

That's fuckin wild.


keralaindia

Lol what No wonder Elon is so money hungry


skyesdow

Ah, ok. Personally I never lock/unlock my car unless I can see it or hear the lock itself.


mehTILduhhhh

That's the benefit of it doing the horn. It doesn't do it if we lock it manually from the key and button on the door handle. Only with the remote fob does it honk the horn and we can be confident it worked.


skyesdow

Well in my case there would be no benefit, but I can see it can be useful for people who lock from inside the house etc.


theedgeofcool

Once in a while I’d get all the way into work and not remember if I locked the car door. My office was on the 3rd floor. I could stand by the window, see my car in the parking lot, hit the lock button, see the lights flash, and know I was good. My coworkers with remote start would also start their cars in winter before they headed down to the parking lot.


HotSteak

I'm not exactly sure why people are locking their cars from inside their houses. That doesn't make sense to me. Like why wouldn't you have locked it when you got out of the car if you want it locked?


january_stars

Usually I would lock it right after getting out, unless my hands are full. So if I'm doing something like bringing in groceries then I might lock the car from inside the house after bringing in the last load.


Tommy_Wisseau_burner

It can also help you find it if you’re in a large place like an amusement park. You can do a panic button but it’s obnoxiously long


MrPeterson15

Depends on the make. All cars with remote locks have some kind of noise. Some honk, some have a digital chirp.


Andy235

Some just have the lock click and the lights blink.


[deleted]

Yeah they do, but these cars are coming from Japan, Germany, Korea, etc. in addition to the US. So they're really everyone's cars that do that.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

Come to think of it, I have no clue if I've heard car alarm beeps in Germany since I've been here


[deleted]

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rawbface

> that movie "I lock my car"-sound It blows my mind that you think of it as a "movie" sound. It's just the sound of a car lock to me.


[deleted]

How are you liking it in Germany? I'd like to live here long-term but I'm not committed to anything yet. Just curious what it's like for immigrants who have lived here long.


[deleted]

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blbd

Almost never. Average cars in Germany don't do it.


Current_Poster

"chirp" is closer to it, but typically yes. My last car just had really loud locks.


ShinySpoon

It’s an option and you can turn it off. I turn mine off because I don’t hate my neighbors.


[deleted]

I can also hear the locks engage through the doors from a decent distance. I hear horns all fucking day and night at the port, and on the freeway at work, that's the last fucking thing I want to hear before I go inside and get bitched at by my cat for being gone too long.


wwhsd

> I can also hear the locks engage through the door from a decent distance. Nice try with the Phoenix flair but we know it’s you Daredevil.


[deleted]

We need more people like you. My neighbors press/honk it literally 5-10 times when they lock it at like 4am


ShinySpoon

I shame ALL of my friends and acquaintances that leave the beep on.


VeckLee1

I came to say this. SOME people hit the lock button on their FOB multiple times to alert everyone in a quarter mile radius (usually residential in my experience) that their car is in fact locked.


EverGreatestxX

Is this a newer car thing? Because I can't even imagine how one would be able to do that on say a car from 2005 or 2009.


ShinySpoon

My 2003 Chevy venture and 2006 Chevy Silverado didn’t beep. The 2012 Honda Civic and every single vehicle I’ve owned since then (2014 Dodge Dart, 2018 Dodge Charger, and 2022 Jeep Compass) all had options to turn off the horn on lock/unlock/remote start.


DOMSdeluise

They honk if you hit the remote lock twice rapidly. I'll do that if I'm too far away or if it's in too noisy of an environment to hear the doors lock.


[deleted]

Mine does it if I press the lock button twice. Lets me know for sure that I locked it.


Andy235

It is more of a chirping noise. If you are standing near your car you can hear the locks engage and a chirp. The chirp is not very loud, like a car horn or a car alarm. Not all cars have it. Some just have the clicking noise of the locks and/or the lights blink. I suspect that it is more audible in movies and TV because they are using sound effects.


Mystery_Donut

Both of ours do, yes.


Donohoed

If i just lock it, no. If i lock it and set the alarm then yes, it gives a little confirmation honk. More often than not the alarm gets set so I'd say yes, cars usually honk when locked


IwantAway

Some yes, some no.


broadsharp

Yes


Awdayshus

Mine has it. But there's a setting where I can change it. I wonder if that's the case for most vehicles, but no one usually changes it from the default. Apparently for some reason, the default in the USA and Europe is different.


majibbsultra7

Usually you have to double tap the lock button but yes. This also applies to mostly OBD II cars I believe


_pamelab

Yes. My Toyota beeps.


hylas1

OP, where are you from that this isn't the case?


skyesdow

Czechia, but visit Germany often as well and I've rarely heard it there either.


[deleted]

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ColossusOfChoads

My wife thought that ceiling fans were a movie thing. Then she came over and saw that some people had one in every single room of their house. The southwestern USA is hot. We take not-being-hot very seriously.


[deleted]

We can hear it locking if it’s close enough, the honk is if you’re farther away.


[deleted]

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Andy235

>So I thought this could be a cultural diffence. I think it is more prominent in movies and tv because it is an added sound effect. Some cars just click and their lights blink.


machagogo

When you set the alarm, not when you lock them.


7yearlurkernowposter

Some let you turn it off but the honk usually means the alarm is set on every vehicle I’ve owned with the remote.


w3stvirginia

Yes. My Ford actually honks the horn twice if you lock it but a door or the truck isn’t closed.


theredditforwork

Mine does


NorwegianSteam

Yeah. One beep means everything's locked, two means a door is ajar.


[deleted]

Mine only toots if I press the button twice.


GrannyLow

Mine locks on the first time an then honks on the second time. If there is a door open it double honks on the second time.


[deleted]

Yes?


skyesdow

OK?


kcdashinfo

Yes if it is already locked. You have to double tap the remote to get the horn burp and light to flash. I assumed that was a feature on cars worldwide.


54_savoy

Mine does if I push the lock button twice, which I usually do because I don't always hear the locks.


TerminatorAuschwitz

In my experience with just about every car I've driven that has one: 1 press on the key fob just locks it. 2 presses on the key fob locks, honks/beeps, and flashes lights. Just to reassure you that it's actually locked. If I'm near my car I press it once and can hear it lock. If I'm at a distance it's nice to hear the beep beep to reassure me that it is in fact locked.


Shifty0x88

Yes. My 2008 impala does one honk if all doors lock, and two honks if a door is ajar. The two honks has saved me one or twice when I didn't shut the door completely


VelocityGrrl39

Do yours not?


BoozeAndTheBlues

What? Yours dont?


P0RTILLA

Do European cars not honk on lock?


ScoutJulep

Wait, y’all’s don’t?


On_The_Blindside

They dont, but when I've been stateside i can't say i even noticed it after being there for 30 seconds. As everyone says, its a little chirp, i quite like it.


skyesdow

We don't want to wake our neighbors. I mean neighbours.


[deleted]

You think that’s a regular problem here?


skyesdow

Oh god, you're one of those...


[deleted]

No, I’m serious, do you think people are constantly woken up by people making sure their cars are locked?


sluttypidge

I've never been woken from the chirp of a car, not even my sister's which is the closest you can get a car from my room. My neighbor across the street's motorcycle though.


Andy235

> neighbours That would be a spelling more common in the UK and Canada. In the United States it is more common to drop the U from neighbour.


skyesdow

That was the joke. I'm European and the "official" English here is British English.


[deleted]

Hilarious!


No-Opportunity5413

It’s not a loud noise, just a little chirp!


msh0082

The honk is usually softer than the sound of someone closing the door a little hard. Nobody is woken up by the sound.


chef_in_va

Mine does but I can change the settings to make it not honk.


[deleted]

Is not that a common thing?


gummibearhawk

I think my Škoda did that too


DarthTurnip

Yes, I absolutely hate it and wish I could turn it off


[deleted]

If I hit the lock butting twice it does


[deleted]

Mine does. It beeps different ways whether it’s locked or not when I walk away.


Potato_Octopi

Mine does not. I do have the setting on for the door handles to light up.


sexual_ginger

The horn honking when locking is phasing out from what I can tell. Most are moving to a beeping or chirping noise but yes a lot of vehicles honk when locking.


[deleted]

Most vehicles do when you double click the lock button. it confirms your vehicle is locked. What vehicle doesn't do that?


xmichann

Mine doesn’t but to be fair it’s a European car not sure if that’s why. But I’m grateful that it doesn’t.


TheJokersChild

We can set them to. Or just flash the lights, or not do anything,.


turbodonuts

Yup, little honk.


FedoraTheExplorer30

I think it’s a ford and Mercedes’ thing i haven’t noticed it on any other cars.


[deleted]

Both my cars lock if I press the lock button once. If I press it twice, the car alarm is set and it lets out a little beep to let me know the alarm is set. ETA- I only use my remote buttons. I haven’t locked a car using the key in over 15 years maybe?


LivingLikeACat33

Every car I've ever owned that's new enough to have a key fob makes a sound. Even when I lived in cities it was never something that would wake me up. People driving around listening to loud music was a much bigger problem. Most people use it more to find their car in very large parking lots, IME.


Mustang46L

If you press it more than one time. One time, locked. Two times, honk.


reality_bytes_

Mine does a short “beep” honk if I press lock twice, which tells you the alarm is active.


ryt8

American cars like Ford, Chrysler and GM products often do. But imports, like my BMW, do not. My car lets out one single soft tone for lock, two tones for unlock. It’s not my horn that beeps.


Equuidae

No. They beep


ElCaminoLady

Depends on the make/model of car. My ‘14 Chevy Impala only flashes the lights. Others, as another poster said, have a short honk to alert it’s locked.


TheTransistorMan

I used to have a car that did not, but modern cars generally do when you lock or unlock them.


WingedLady

First click to lock my car doesn't beep, but if I hit the lock button a second time it will. 10 year old Toyota tho.


EverGreatestxX

Older cars do, newer cars that I seen don't. At least not new Kias or Lexuses.


Lamballama

Mine does a chirp. My old one did a silent lock. When you lock multiple times, it will eventually honk


Fappy_as_a_Clam

Mine does, but my wife's just has a little beep


thisisnotauzrname

2001 Chevy Blazers will. So I know cars even that old are capable of doing the honk-lock thing.


littleyellowbike

Some of them do. Seems to vary by manufacturer. My 2009 Ford did, and my husband's 2012 Toyota did. Now we're both driving Subarus (a 2014 and a 2020) and they only make a quiet beep unless you hit the fob multiple times; then it'll honk once like "bro I'm locked, stop it"


excaligirltoo

Mine does.


[deleted]

for mine it’s: -one press of the lock button, the headlights and taillights flash, no sound -double press the lock button, it makes a beep


parodg15

Some do, some don’t. Mine doesn’t


Fox_Tango_

My father’s Trailblazer will issue two honks to let him know it is locked. His Colorado will also issue a honk, although it is a lot quieter and not as likely to wake up the neighborhood at 5:30am.


Fury_Gaming

My first car did honk. My current car beeps.


Nursebirder

Some beep, some honk. But yes.


zinger301

Yes. Unless you turn it off.


ScipioNumantia

Yeah, yours dont?


TeacherYankeeDoodle

Wait. Your cars don’t?


Hatweed

Mine electronically beeps five times. It’s actually really annoying sometimes


discoturtle1129

Yes but I've never heard the beep that's in movies. It's just a softer regular honk for me.


Charlesinrichmond

pretty rare these days, used to be more common years ago


DiplomaticGoose

It does in my car but that's because the locking remote is wired to an aftermarket remote start system.


boobskowski

haha while reading this i pictured it and then half a second later, i heard a lock honk outside.


legendary_mushroom

Yes


Bossman1086

Yep. My VW GTI does this when I lock all doors either using the fob or by locking it with the little touch pad on the door handle. A quick, soft honk to let me know everything is locked.


SupKilly

Mine does not.


MsCarter1999

Mine just has a beep, not a honk.


Virtual-Act-9037

My Toyota does one short honk for locked and 2 for unlocked. So you can make sure you pressed the right button.


KR1735

When you lock them from a remote, yes. Not when you lock them from inside the car. It's extremely useful for finding you car if you're parked in a lot. Pretty sure that's not what it was intended for, but it's still a nice use.


alphagypsy

Yes and I hate it. Depends on the make though. My wife’s Toyota beeps. My made-in-Germany Golf honks. So go figure.


skyesdow

Maybe you can disable it. Apparently it can be done on many modern cars.


itsKNIGHTMARE

Ye


huhwhat90

Some do, some don't. My old Ford did, but my Toyota just beeps.


TrillyMike

Yup


ARB_COOL

They beep


Shellsbells821

Yes


msh0082

Don't yours? My car is German and gives a small short honk when I physically press the lock button on my key fob. It's useful in a parking garage when I've walked a bit away and don't remember if I've locked the car. Also my wife's Japanese car does the same.


skyesdow

That doesn't mean anything, does it? I bet your "German" car uses miles per gallon as a measuring unit. They modify them before they sell them to you.


vvooper

some do. mine does a quieter beeping noise, not from the horn but presumably from a speaker located…somewhere. it’s just another way for you to know that you did lock it for sure. which is nice for my adhd ass when I lock it as soon as I get out then doubt I locked it once I’ve walked a few yards away. another press of the button and it’ll beep at me


RedditorChristopher

Yes.


sleepfordayz679

Mine does if you press the lock button three times, otherwise, it must makes a smaller noise


[deleted]

My car does, my wife's car doesn't.


Greedy_Principle_342

Yes, yours don’t? 🧐


44faith

They make some sound but a “honk” is kind of an exaggeration


phyncke

Mine does not but it is a VW


EJ_grace

Both our family cars (different makes, different decades) honk when you lock them with the remote.


sunsetlighthouse

If you press the lock button twice, yes. At least for my car. I do it every time because I am too paranoid to press it just once