Ignition Complaints to CHEVY to get recalls

[bermis519]

Just a quick question. I heard that people have had their tumblers on the ignitions go bad and also something with the passlock system failure and needs to be replaced, is this the same problem worded different or are they two different problems?

[mckpaul]

Well, my '02 has what I'm pretty sure is Body Control Module problems. No problem starting, but in the daytime when the lighting system is in daytime mode, my radio display and my shift indicator goes off (they should be on at full brightness in the daytime) They come on at night with the headlights, but I have no high beam indicator light. Also, I can't get to the menu in the radio at all. I've also lost some of the messages from my message center display, non-essential stuff like Door Ajar, Trunk Open, etc. The major displays still work like Change Engine Oil, etc. Also, my Brake light and Air Bag light stay on all the time.

I did some research and everything points to the BCM. I managed to find an official AC Delco Body Control Module from a parts place that deals mostly with garages and got it for about $100. It's a piece of cake to physically change, just under the dash, a plastic box with three connectors, BUT I can't change it because it takes a Tech2 scan tool to plug in and program the thing. And guess what? Only GM dealer garages have the Tech2 tool. The car wont even start until it's programmed. I'll be danged if I'm gonna pay a dealer their premium rates to do this. Somehow, I WILL find a way to get this thing programmed.

[cicej]

My car would not start, and the security light came on. Eventually after 15 to 20 minutes I did manage to get it started. The dealer informed me that it was the sensor in the ignition that "recognized" the chip in my key. So it's this passlock system. Anyway. it ended up costing me $411 to fix and he told me it will likely happen again in the future.

That is what lead me to this forum. I am amazed, as there are several threads on this issue, at how common a problem this is. I e-mailed Chevy, but will call as well.

Paying what I did for a 2001 LS, I do not believe I or anyone else should have to put up with this. I saved my money for a long time in order to purchase what I considered to be my first "nice" car. I have a family of five to support, and while I'm not living paycheck to paycheck it's not prudent to waste money to pay $411 to a Chevy dealer to fix a Chevy design flaw.

After reading the other posts on this matter, I definitely want a response from Chevy. I've never sued anybody in my life, but this situation, if it remains unaddressed by Chevy, might make for an interesting class action suit. I don't know if I'm out of line for thinking that way, but if this many people have experienced this problem and expressed it here, how many others must there be out there? Chevrolet needs to step up, or be held accountable.

[Krueger81]

just wondering if you guys ever found out anything cause I have the same problem and it's starting to get really iritating.

I have made another thread to describe the situation.

Phil

[public]

Originally Posted by glock19c2004

I have not had this problem with my Impala yet. I have however had a similar problem that apparently a lot of Impala owners are suffering. The Blower on the HVAC unit quit working on speeds 1-4 and works fine on High (5). Everyone (and I have about 30 messages so far) that has responded to having the same problem said it was a blower resistor and a cheap and easy fix but most said their dealer took 3+ attempts to fix. I called my dealer and let them know that I knew of the problem and wanted the resistor replaced. They said the problem was common and would only be $35/part and 1 hour of labor (total estimate was $125). I dropped it off on Friday at 7:30am and let them know I needed it back by 12:30. They said it would be ready in plenty of time, but would call me before they actually started the work to verifiy what was being replaced.

I called them around 11:30 as I was worried I hadn't heard. Low and behold it wasn't the common $35 part needing replaced it was a $319 part that needed replaced(after laber the total was estimated at $450). I told them to forget it and I would pick it up around 12:30pm. When I arrived at the dealer I received the bill and was surprised (not) to see I was charged for $25.50 for the resistor that they said wasn't the problem, a $35 charge to investigate the problem and my car was not put back to gether. Needless to say, I was furious at this point . I went ahead and told them to get the part in and call me when it was there and I would bring the car back to get it installed (as it took 7 months to take care of a waranty issue on another GM vehicle here). They will not order the part until I pay in advance the $319. I took the car and will not go back. My local mechanic thinks that it is the resistor and will look at the car tomorrow, if it is the $35 resistor the BBB is going to hear about the dealer scam. One thing I found was that there is an email address to Chevy that I have received more attention from than anywhere, you might give it a try. It is through www.mygmlink.com and the email address is:
[email protected]
I do not know if you have to be a registered user to send the email or not, but it is free to register and I have gotten better info there than from the dealer.

Hope this helps.

AW

Yeah, All the GM's are having this issue. My Century is on resistor #8 and the direct wire for "Highest" speed burnt out so I disconnected it and taped it off. (the dealer wants $379 for this two foot wire) There is a "New" versiun of the resistor available at $39 from the dealer. I got one about 6 months ago and so far it seems okay. The orginal was just retarded, the resistors were soldered right to the surface of a PC board. They would get hot, melt the solder and fall off. duh

[spjrp]

I had the same problem with the pass lock sensor. The dealership wanted $419 to replace it. I called the Chevrolet Headquarters at 1-800-222-1020 and talked to Customer service (thought I'd at least get my complaint on the growing list). Customer service called the dealership and even though my car was out of warranty 3000 miles, the dealership agreed to split the cost of the repair 50/50. I actually didn't expect them to do anything. I go pick the car up the next day and they only charged me $99!
I would encourage everyone with this problem to make the phone call, saved me $300!

[spjrp]

My car is 2002 Impala

[Shadetreeme]

My car is not starting more offen. I do the 10 minute reset about twice a day. I sucks. My dealer said it sounds like a iginition switch. $70 bucks to find out. Not, to fix it! Has anyone found a cheap way to remedy this? I have a 02 Impala 3.8 @ 133k.

Thanks.

[micali]

Originally Posted by Shadetreeme

My car is not starting more offen. I do the 10 minute reset about twice a day. I sucks. My dealer said it sounds like a iginition switch. $70 bucks to find out. Not, to fix it! Has anyone found a cheap way to remedy this? I have a 02 Impala 3.8 @ 133k.

Thanks.

Ok, just took 01 imp 3.4 into the dealership and found that the lock tumbler adn ignition switch is bad. They told me $510 dollars to fix. My service guy gave me little hint. He said the unit costs around $330 dollars but to reprogram the ingnition switch all I need to do is hook up a batter charger after I replaced the ignition switch, turn the key to the on position and leave the car for about 30 min and it will program itself. I hope I can find an ignition cheaper though.

[GroundPounder]

My car finally died on me friday, March 18, 2005. I had it (2002 Impala that I've had for 11 months) towed to the dealer & they told me that the ignition lock & cylinder were bad & that the BCM neede to be replaced (at a cost of $870)! I informed them that I had an extended warranty & they informed me that my aftermarket security system is spliced into my BCM & caused it to fail. They would have to "call Chevy" to see if the warranty could be honored. I've seen tons of posts regarding this problem in this forum so I know the chances of the alarm causing the failure are slim, but HIGHLY CONVENIENT for the dealer. Has Chevy decided to do a recall or do I need to call them & fight tooth & nail for the warranty to be honored? I worked & scrimped & saved to buy a "nice car" for myself, only to have to put this kind of money into it alrady! The power steering hose busted on me 24 hrs after the car got its resale inspection so that left me without my new car for 3 days. I love this car but DO NOT feel I should have to fork out $870 to fix problems that are so prevalent on this vehicle. HELP!!!! Have you made any progress, Linda?

[GroundPounder]

Just to update: The BCM IS NOT COVERED BY MY EXTENDED WARRANTY (according to the dealer)!!!! The ignition cylinder is but only costs $198 (just UNDER the $200 deductible), which leaves $672 TO REPLACE A FREAKIN BCM!!!!!!!!!!

[lkh1026]

Unfortuately no recall that I know of -- and it is most likely they would use the after market excuse to get out of it -- I would call the number listed in this thread. It is unbelievable the number of exact same part going out.

I just paid my off and will be trading it in for a Z4 in a matter of month.

Best of luck

[GroundPounder]

I'll be calling the number. The repair estimate was wrong & now its around $550 plus tax. What a joke! They actually wanted me to pay them $150 to REMOVE my aftermarket alarm. I need to open a dealership.

[ponchonutty]

Try to be in my line of work. I own my own shop that specializes in remote starters. Almost all GM dealers try to blame the remote starters even though they know of the problems these have.

The sad thing is that dealers don't know how to fix it. They just replace everything and cross their fingers knowing it will go bad again.

[ogre73]

Originally Posted by public

...The orginal was just retarded, the resistors were soldered right to the surface of a PC board. They would get hot, melt the solder and fall off. duh

Wait a minute, are you telling me that these boards were reaching 350+ degrees F? That seems highly unlikely. Yet that is the temperature at which solder melts (http://www.kester.com/en-us/technical/alloy.aspx). There are SO many other things that would have been affected by temperature that high before the resistors would have fallen from the board. Not the least of which is that your car would have caught on fire.

Sounds like someone is lying to you to cover something or you misunderstand something someone told you. If your car is actually causing that circuit board to get that hot, you have some SERIOUS problems with your car. It's very likely that it will burn up one of these days.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to defend anything that is a poor quality component, or defend unsound engineering decisions, but it sounds like these resistors are either under-rated (for the amps that they need to carry) or that they are defective (perhaps a defective lot). I'm a little worried that something may happen to my '03 Impala blower control, but I'm sure that if the circuit board that contains that resistor is going to get to 350+, I'm not going to have to worry about the resistor...