Determining an open state of a garage door by means of vehicle sensors and communicating an open state to an owner or operator of the vehicle

A garage door state detector 100 is disclosed comprising a GPS, cellular, or WiFi(RTM) location determining means arranged to determine whether a vehicle 104 is located within a garage 106; a vehicle located sensor 102, such as a camera, ultrasonic transducer, microphone, ambient light detector, laser detector, or RFID tag, coupled to the location determining means and configured to detect a physical condition that indicates an open position of a garage door 108 whereby a signal is generated indicative of the garage door 108 being open; and a wireless transmitter 118 coupled to the vehicle located sensor 102 and arranged to wirelessly transmit a reminder message, such as a text message or email, when a door 108 is determined to be open. Corrective action can then be taken to close the door to keep the vehicle and contents of the garage secure.