2001 malibu factory anti theft

My wife owns a 2001 Chevy Malibu. For some reason, without warning, the factory anti-theft light will start flashing and you cannot start the car until you disarm it....which means leaving the key in the "on" position for at least ten minutes. When you're at the grocery store w/ kids, waiting that ten minutes can be a real pain!

My question is....Does anyone know how to disarm the factory anti-theft system, so that I can prevent this from ever happening again?

Thanks in advance

That sounds like a Passlock issue. When the key is turned in the cylinder it creates an R-code. It will only gets worse. It may go into "long-term" and may require you to keep the ignition on for up to 1 half hour. Unless you are familiar with Passlock 2, the key tumbler may need replacing.

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Big Al

ajstetler wrote:

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the key tumbler may need replacing.

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is this the same as the key cylinder?

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"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument."
- William Gibbs McAdoo

Yes. Many GM models have this same issue, like Impalas, Cavaliers, whatever.

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Big Al

GMs are starting to get pretty well known for Passlock issues at they get older, it seems.

Note that the ignition LOCK (the mechanical part where you put the key), the ignition SWITCH (the electrical device that turns all the stuff in the car on), and the Passlock sensor are all three different parts.

It's almost definitely the Passlcok sensor, although it would be good if there's some way you could troubleshoot it to be sure. Again, that's the common failure point.

You could either replace the sensor, or bypass it permanently.

Permanent bypass: Go here and look at the fifth post. However, keep in mind that the car is now easier to steal than it used to be, although at least the thieves won't know that without actually trying to steal the car.

https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=72296&KW=permanent+passlock+bypass

thanks alot! i will give the permanent bypass a shot and will let ya know how it turns out.

as always, you guys rock!

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"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument."
- William Gibbs McAdoo

You're welcome.

By the way, for your Malibu it would go like this:

1. Remove dash panel, unscrew radio and slide out.   

(Does the radio have a Theftlock logo on the front? If so, is the red light flashing with the key off? If so, do you know the anti-theft code to reset the radio?     You might want to leave the radio plugged in, but lay it off to the side, if there's any doubt.)

2. To the left of the radio cavity are all the wires behind the ignition switch. They're wrapped up in what kind of seems like hockey tape. Slice or unwrap the tape.

3. There'll be a bunch of heavy wires, and then three smaller wires wrapped in another layer of tape.......yellow, black, and I think white.

4. Follow that other thing about the S-10 Blazer, but where you see an ORANGE / black wire mentioned, it's actually the black wire in your car......so you're going to be working with the yellow and the black.

5. The wires sort of come out of that ignition switch and then loop around in a funny way. Take a good look and assure yourself, when you cut the yellow wire in half, which is "ignition switch side" and which is "car body side."   It's easy to get mixed up on that car.

k bro, will do. btw, it has an aftermarket deck in it.

gonna try this sometime this week. thanks for that tip. i do remember seeing those wires when i installed the gmos01 a while back. will let ya know if i get it done or if the car goes up in flames ;)

i really appreciate all the helpful advice!

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"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument."
- William Gibbs McAdoo

found those wires on the left side of the radio very easily. they had plenty of slack also, which made them very easy to work with. i used a 1500 resistor, which was on purpose because the post said to use between 1000 and 2000. i stripped the shielding from the ground wire and attached the resistor to it. then i cut the yellow wire and attached the other end of the resistor to the car side of the yellow wire. there was no programming involved. the car cranked on the first try and have not had an issue since!

thanks again guys.

score another one for the12volt.com forum!

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"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument."
- William Gibbs McAdoo