fataldeadlock

Any tips for troubleshooting the beeping/horn sounds for locking a Series 2 RX-8 R3?

I was recently rear ended and had some body work done on my car. The rear bumper and associated body panel were replaced. The shop informed me that replacing the body panel required cutting out the panel and welding a new one in place. Fine. I get the car back and it no longer makes the quiet "chirp" noise when locking the car at the door request switch (have credit card, keyless entry). At that time, it would still honk the horn if I pressed the fob twice. A few days later, it ceases to even honk when pressing the button twice.

The battery on the key fob was basically dead, so I went to batteries plus and replaced the battery in my key fob. Yay, I can once again lock/unlock the car from more than 3 feet away. Still getting zero sounds out of the car when locking the doors.

I noticed in one of the shop manuals that they have a "Precautions Before Welding" section which says:

"A vehicle has various electrical parts. To protect the parts from excessive current generated when welding, be sure to perform the following procedure.

1. Turn the ignition switch to the LOCK position.
2. Disconnect the battery cables.
3. Securely connect the welding machine ground near the welding area.
4. Cover the peripheral parts of the welding area to protect them from weld spatter."

I already had separate issues with the tail lights because the shop tech failed to tighten the bolts to the rear tail lights and was unable to make a seal. Thus, the tail lights filled up with water and looked like crap. So I am questioning the shops attention to detail.

I mentioned the key fob no beeping issue to the body shop and he dismissed any blame because "he couldn't get the key fob to work at all". Fair enough, I knew the key fob was dying and hadn't replaced the battery until after the shop worked on the car. Gonna have to take it back to him to check it out. I am wearing down my patience with him and want to go back to him armed with more information.

Any idea on where to look for getting my car lock chirp/horn sounds back?

Picture of the damage:

ZiG

Subaru has a feature where you can enable/disable confirmation sounds, any chance yours does too?