Hi,

I have a 1997 Volvo 850 T5.

Here's the scenario. I unlock the door with the key fab, sit in the car, shut the door and if I don't start the car right away, within a minute or so, all the doors lock and if I tried to start the car, it wont start and the alarm goes off. Never ever has done this before. This is silly. What if I just want to sit in my car and clean it, or read a book for a bit? Why would it lock all the doors automatically then prevent me from starting it within a minute? Is this normal?

This started about 1 year ago, out of the blue, never did this before.

I also noticed that the gas can locking device all of a sudden started working, and I have to unlock all the doors in order for them to open the gas tank lid. I'm assuming this normal, although it never done it since I had owned the car until more recently. (By the way, I think this is a VERY stupid feature, and unsafe. Why would you have to unlock all your doors just to open the gas tank lid? What if some stranger tried to get into your car at the gas station?)

Also, I noticed that when the alarm goes off, it sounds like a dead duck. I thought it used the normal car horns, those work, but apparently it has it's own siren/horn which sounds aweful. Wouldn't scare a fly away. :)

Anyway, thank you for your input.