Activating the Clown Nose?

[w5lx]

I just bought a new 328i without the optional alarm system. I was told you could activate the Clown Nose so that it would appear that the alarm was active when the vehicle was locked. Has anyone had this done (without the alarm system being installed)? How long did it take? Did they charge you to do it?

 

[ThatOneGuy]

I don't know if this applies to E90's, but on E46 BMW's you need to buy the alarm kit (online or from a dealer) and install it yourself (easy) or have the dealer install it (expensive). It's three pieces you can't buy separately; siren, motion sensor & tilt sensor. After installation it will beep and the clown nose will flash, it looks armed but it isn't. The dealer has to "activate" the alarm or nothing will happen. Some do it for free, other charge you an hour labor (it takes less than 15 minutes to activate) or it's included in the price of installation.

Hope that's somewhat helpful.

 

[w5lx]

Well, I got the answer to my own question this morning. Just got back from my BMW dealer. The SA said "bring it in" and they would activate the Clown Nose for nothing....and it would take about 30 minutes. After waiting about 15 minutes the Alarm Technician came out and said IT COULDN'T BE DONE on the new series E92's. You could activate it on older models but the newer ones can't be activated without installing the alarm system. He said the computer in the new models would think the system is armed and the car could not be started. So the bottom line is, you can't ativate the Clown Nose on the new E-92's with the alarm system being installed.