Hi, all;

My 2000 chevy malibu has the infamous Passlock II system where the guts of
the system are in the hall effect transducer in the back of the cylinder.

I've had the car for about a year; occasionally over that time, the "Theft
System" light would come on while I was driving, but never flashed. Today,
twice while on my way to work the light came on after driving just a few
feet. Never had any problem starting the car until today.

Went to lunch. After lunch, the car cranked, but would not fire. I do NOT
recall at what point the "theft system" light came on, but after a few
cranks, it sank in that this was more than just not giving it time to crank.
At that time, I noticed the theft system light was flashing.

I got out the owner's manual and learned about leaving the switch on for up
to 10 minutes, then turning it off, then attempting a start. I did not leave
it for 10 minutes, but after about 4 minutes just decided the heck with it.
Turned if off, pulled the key out. Put the key back in, and it fired right
up. The rest of the day (about 6 attempts), it starts after only a fraction
of a second cranking.

So... my question is: Do I fear that this beast will let me down such that
I bite the bullet and replace the lock cylinder and transducer, or did the
reset procedure really work?

Thanks;
Carl

"Carl Orton" <corton (AT) charter (DOT) net> wrote


Bite the bullet and change it out. In the 2 Malibu's I maintain they both
acted up for a few days then first thing going to work in the AM they
wouldn't start. The blinking theft light is your warning it's going down.
It's the sensor in the housing not the magnet in the cylinder that goes.
I've just changed the outer housing and reinstalled the old lock cylinder in
my 2 cars, makes it a easy under 1 hr. job.
--
John
"anything you say can & will be misquoted & used against you"
'01 FLHR ''Red"
'04 MXZ 600ho
'99 XC700
BRC mem

How much is an outer housing worth?

W.

"Repairman" <repairman54 (AT) earthlink (DOT) net> wrote

"Wes Whitlock" <wwwhitlock (AT) ns (DOT) sympatico.ca> wrote

is blank, not coded for a key yet.
It's $85 US at the dealer. It is a dealer only part as far as I know.
After changing you have to go through the key on 10 min. cycle so the car
learns the new Passlock cylinder , sometimes twice.
I would change the ignition switch while your in there if the car has a few
miles on it as they are a known problem also, switch and cylinder are 2
separate parts.
I've got a '01 and a '02 in the family that I wrench on both with over 85k
miles on them.
--
John
"anything you say can & will be misquoted & used against you"
'01 FLHR ''Red"
'04 MXZ 600ho
'99 XC700
BRC mem