Review: Technaxx Pro TX-168 Universal Car Alarm
I live in Toronto Canada, and car thefts are on the rise around here. Seeing as your car is the second most expensive investment that you’ll make, it makes sense to take steps to protect it. An aftermarket alarm is one of the ways to go and I’ve got one of those to review today. Specifically the Technaxx Pro TX-168 Universal Car Alarm.
The Technnaxx Pro TX-168 car alarm is made up of these parts:
This USB or accessory socket-powered device is the “brains” of the alarm system. I would plug it into a 12V outlet and leave it there as that’s the cleanest setup possible. It has a built in battery that takes about 2 hours to charge and lasts about 2 weeks. You’ll also note that it has USB-A and USB-C connections to charge your phone which is handy. A blue LED under the dome that’s on the right side of the picture indicates charging is in process. The LED also flashes blue when the battery is low, multiple colors when pairing, and green when charged. Red blips (with audible beeps) indicate when activating and deactivating, flashing red every five seconds to indicate the system is active, or solid red to indicate when the alarm has gone off. It detects motion via a passive IR sensor and activates this speaker:
When that motion is detected, it sends a wireless signal on the 2.4 GHz band to activate this remote siren that when I tested it registered 101 dB on my Apple Watch. The siren lives in your engine bay which makes it hard to get to for bad guys. Thus this hopefully should make the more opportunistic thieves run away if they set the alarm off.
The alarm is activated and deactivated with an included key fob powered by a CR2032 battery that is included. Personally, if two people drive the same car, you need two key fobs. Thus I would have like to have seen two fobs in the box. Though I should note that you can pair up to three key fobs. One thing to note is that the key fob does double duty as a panic alarm that registered 97 dB on my Apple Watch when I tested it. The fob has a maximum range of about 10 meters (30 feet) and will work through the vehicle’s windows. If the button is held for about 4 seconds, the alarm chirps four times and the alarm is disabled.
Setup isn’t hard, but you might want to grab a friend who is comfortable under the hood of a car if you are unsure about doing this. The setup process is well documented in a really thick manual that is in multiple languages and only took me about 10 minutes to finish. I should also note that I can see a scenario where you can move this from car to car as it’s easy enough to do.
I would recommend this for someone who has an older car. By that I mean more than 6 or 7 years old as this would be an easy enough upgrade to make that car less desirable to thieves. The only downside that I can see is that the system will only stay live for up to 14 days because that’s how long the battery lasts. So if you were on vacation for a couple of weeks, that might be an issue. But at a cost of 70 Euros or $95 Canadian, it’s a cost effective means to secure the second most expensive purchase that you will make.
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