Alero 2000 2.4l problems, 2000$ in reparations, still problem

[Adoh]

First of all, hi everybody. I read a couple of threads that are similar to my situation, but every advice given in there has already been tried by me and I have got to no solution yet.

To start out, I bought this car about 2 years ago and it worked perfectly for 1 year. Then the problems came.

Won't start and randomly turns off even while driving, sometimes the brakes harden and the steering wheel locks when it turns off like this. I even hit a street lamp due to this turning off which cost me 1200$ in repairs, but we won't talk about this here.

The first time I went to my dealer's garage, they changed the battery. Nothing
The second time, they changed the whole ignition (where you put in your key). Nothing
The third time, they turned off my anti theft sytem and messed up with the handbrake light, making them stay on forever. Nothing
The fourth time, they turned off my ABS system. Nothing
The fifth time, they turned off the door locking system. Nothing.
The sixth time, they played with wires. Nothing.

Of course I can't rememer all of the attempts they've made, there are lots more.

2000$ for that, 2000$ for nothing.

They called me a month ago and I said "f*** off you money desperate fools" (pardon my language).

Oh and before forgetting it, I've tried the 10 to 30mins key-in-on position trick and it didn't work. I change the key every month, this seems to be the only thing that works a little.

So what's to be done? I've talked to many specialists, mechanics and friends that know cars from A to Z. Some say it has something to do with the ignition, others go with the bad passlock system and the majority has no idea what can be done.

[xeroinfinity]

Welcome to AF.

Does sound passlock related.

So when you say "dealer" you mean a stealership?
(not some shadetree mech)

When they replaced the ignition, did they replace the entire switch or just the lock cylinder?
The sensor for the passlock is in the switch housing.

Also have they ever tested the BCM ?

Actually changing the key wont help, if anything it might be causing your passlock to freak on the new keys

If you do a search, in about any of the GM section,
you will find that this problem is very common.

Good Luck

[ponchonutty]

No, it isn't passlock related. Passlock will NEVER shut down a running car. It's not set up to do that. The only time it'll mess with the car is upon startup. I would suspect the battery cables. GM had a serious problem with them because of the Delco batteries leaking acid down the inside of the cables causing them to short out when they'd get warm enough.

[xeroinfinity]

Well I would assume his cables are good since they replaced the battery.

And passlock will shut you down anytime it feels like if thier are problems in the pl system.
If it thinks its being stolen it'll shut down fuel & spark when driving down the road or parked.