[Arcanox]

Earlier today I ran through the drive-thru at Dunkin and then parked for a moment to get situated before taking off again. My fresh coffee was cold, so I shut down the car to go inside and get it replaced.

The instant I turned off the car, it startled me a bit with the dreaded "triple honk"...

There were no messages on the DIC or anything. I was able to lock and then unlock the doors with the button on the handle, and it started back up fine, without any messages about the remote or anything. Random anomaly, or was it trying to subtly tell me something?

Edit: I should note that all the doors were closed when I shut it off, as usual.

 

[Sly Bob]

There are a series of different honks that the car makes for various things, a triple honk being one of them. If you were to look in the owners manual you will find them each explained fully. That really is a good resource for something like this.

 

[Arcanox]

I've searched the entire manual...it doesn't describe a condition anywhere in which the horn would chirp three times right after powering off the car. The only "triple-honk" situations it describes are leaving the car on when removing all the remotes from the car, or trying to lock the doors with remotes still in the car. I did neither of these...I just shut it off as usual before unfastening my seatbelt or opening the door.

 

[Loboc]

Powering down the car is not easily noticed as different than not. The triple honk means that the car is on or thinks it is on when the keyfob leaves.

 

[Arcanox]

Powering down the car is not easily noticed as different than not. The triple honk means that the car is on or thinks it is on when the keyfob leaves.

The fob was in my pocket when I turned it off though. I didn't get a "remote not detected" message either. It played the shutting down "whoosh" and did the triple honk at the same time.

 

[wordptom]

I’ve had my 2012 Volt honk at me unexpectedly when I undo my seatbelt intending to get out of the car (I sometimes undo the belt but leave it running to make notes on display and odometer readings), then shut it off, then open the door, then change my mind and shut the door and it honks... probably a fob-left-in-car reminder... so if you think it through, do you remember doing anything out of sequence at the time, e.g., perhaps you started to open the door as you were turning the car off??? Perhaps you did undo your seatbelt before turning it off on that particular day???

 

[Sly Bob]

I’ve had my 2012 Volt honk at me unexpectedly when I undo my seatbelt intending to get out of the car (I sometimes undo the belt but leave it running to make notes on display and odometer readings), then shut it off, then open the door, then change my mind and shut the door and it honks... probably a fob-left-in-car reminder... so if you think it through, do you remember doing anything out of sequence at the time, e.g., perhaps you started to open the door as you were turning the car off??? Perhaps you did undo your seatbelt before turning it off on that particular day???

Exactly, has happened to me as well a couple of times as well.

 

[Arcanox]

I may have unbuckled right before turning it off, I can't remember, but I've driven it before (e.g. moving it to another space in the garage) without even fastening my seatbelt to begin with, and it didn't honk at me then...I'm not sure why the seatbelt would make it honk in the first place that seems like something that would trigger the internal chime, not the triple-honk.

The door was definitely fully closed until several seconds after I had shut it off and the honk occurred.

 

[Sly Bob]

It happens once in a while with a certain sequence of events. Worry about it if it becomes a regular occurrence.

 

[TSquare]

Sounds like a random anomaly, unless you can reproduce it. One of the computers got confused.

 

[freshcut]

Not a Gen 2 here, but I've noticed if I have the car off, and the door closes before I get out (wasn't opened enough and it gently latches itself again) I too get that honk as it thinks I left the remote in the car even though I'm still in it.

 

[kns]

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...ime-Horn.-A-guide-to-what-your-Volt-is-saying

KNS

 

[Park2670]

This happens to me quite often. Never figure out why it does it other than to piss me off.

Seat belts on. Key in car. Doors closed. Turn off the car and it freaking honks at me.

 

[Jernigan]

It probably wanted one of those pink frosted doughnuts with sprinkles. Mine did it once with an odd seatbelt sequence as well as opening the door and then closing it. But each of the three or so times I was told it is remote in the car.

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

The triple-honk is a design error.

 

[matthias]

I've had this happen once to me as well, about two weeks ago. Immediately upon hitting the power button, seat belts still buckled, etc. Haven't been able to reproduce it or find any reference to it before this thread.

 

[Arcanox]

Must be a (er, another) software glitch......oh, Chevy...

 

[mbou13877]

I have a 2017 LT. The first time I turn the car off after charging I get the triple honk. This happens every time except if I open the door before turning off the vehicle (I imagine the door chirp overrides the honk). I charge outdoor with a level 1 charger. The charger is in the trunk with the cable and an extension cable coming out of the trunk (for security). The trunk is not completely latched all the way but is latched enough to be locked. The trunk light goes off after 10min. Can the car be "remembering" the trunk is open and honking about that?

 

[FirstFlight]

Earlier today I ran through the drive-thru at Dunkin and then parked for a moment to get situated before taking off again. My fresh coffee was cold, so I shut down the car to go inside and get it replaced.

The instant I turned off the car, it startled me a bit with the dreaded "triple honk"...

There were no messages on the DIC or anything. I was able to lock and then unlock the doors with the button on the handle, and it started back up fine, without any messages about the remote or anything. Random anomaly, or was it trying to subtly tell me something?

Edit: I should note that all the doors were closed when I shut it off, as usual.

If your car triple honks when powering down the car, it's not something that you're doing wrong. My 2017 does it, it's reproducible and this is due to a software and hardware problem.

The software issue is due to the triple honk when powering down the car. There's no logical reason for the triple honk when powering down the car and it's not one of the conditions listed in the user manual. The hardware issue is related to the detection for the keyfob because it's not reliable and while this is my opinion, it should detect the keyfob anywhere in the car. Explanations like "One of the computers got confused" should be discarded and only lead to further confusion when trying to understand the problem.

To reproduce the triple honk, put the keyfob on the right rear of the front passenger seat. Try powering down the car listen for the triple honk. If it doesn't do it, move the keyfob to random areas in the car and keep trying the process over until you hear the triple honk. The triple honk will occur eventually.

Its been said that you cannot lock your keyfob in the car but that's not true. You can (I've done it) because the keyfob sensor cannot detect the keyfob in many places. Another example of the keyfob sensor not working well is when my keys are in my bag, which I normally put on the front seat. When a passenger gets in the front seat, the bag goes in the back seat. If I open and close my door, a triple honk occurs. This shouldn't occur because the keyfob is still in the car.

I agree that the triple honk is annoying and unnecessary. When I get time, this function will be removed with a hardware modification.

 

[TSquare]

Another example of the keyfob sensor not working well is when my keys are in my bag, which I normally put on the front seat. When a passenger gets in the front seat, the bag goes in the back seat. If I open and close my door, a triple honk occurs. This shouldn't occur because the keyfob is still in the car.

I will agree that the triple honk when powering down is an error that should not happen (mine has never done this). But your second example is working perfectly. It is detecting that you left the car without your key (door opened and closed with your bag in the back seat). The triple honk is trying to say "Hey, your forgot your key, anybody could come along and drive me away".
Are you opening and closing the door WITHOUT exiting?