I have owned my '96 Sunfire GT for 25 years and it has 296,000 miles on it. My husband and I have maintained and worked on it ourselves, changed the oil every 3,000 miles like a ritual, and it has been a very reliable car. Over the past year it began having this issue where it would start and then immediately stall after a couple of seconds. I researched and found how to reset the passlock by leaving the key in the "on" position for 10 minutes, turn off and remove key for 10 seconds, try to start again. It could take up to 30 minutes to reset the system and it would finally start. On occasion it would start after the first 10 minutes, and then sometimes it would start just fine every time as if nothing was wrong. I had a new key made and it seemed to help, but then it started doing it again. At first the theft light would be on and then go out at the reset, but now it doesn't come on at all but the reset still works the same. The bulb could be burned out by now and that is why it does not work, maybe. Also, there could be an ignition issue because for the past 15 years, at least, I have been able to pull the key out of the ignition while the car is driving and it does not affect it in any way. I can drive to the post office, leave the car running, pull the key out, get my mail, insert key and back home no problem. In fact, I was able to do this long before the passlock issue ever started. I now have a newer car and the Pontiac isn't driven on a daily basis anymore. I try to start it up and take it for a drive at least once a week. A few times I think the battery got low and we had to put it on the charger, I know this can trigger the passlock as well. I really do not want to put alot of money into a car with that much mileage on it, but would like to still have it as a back up vehicle for  driving to work 10 miles a day round trip. After all that, my question is: does anyone know if there is a way to override or disable this passlock? Has anyone had a similar experience and how did you solve it? Thank you so much for any help or advice you might be able to give me on this matter.

I was hoping for a reply today, but I do have more to add to my post anyway. I just now went to start my car and it started up just fine on the first try. I did notice that all of the dash warning lights remained on this time and also that the tachometer and speedometer were not working. I stepped on the gas a little and the lights on the dash flashed and went out and then the tach and speedometer moved up as if working. In the blink of an eye, the lights all flashed and stayed on again and the tach and speedometer needles went back down to zero. I shifted into reverse, (the lights for P,R D, N etc apparently not working either), backed up a little and then forwards a couple of times. Car operated fine to do this but am hesitant to take it out for a longer drive because my husband is at work and I don't want to be left stranded should anything happen. If I remember correctly, this issue with the dash lights has happened before since this whole episode began so it wasn't alarming. Now I am wondering if the problem doesn't lie in the passlock system but perhaps with the console itself. I am going to check fuses and see if there are any clues there.  I just don't want to invest in one repair if it is actually something else, which I am beginning to think it is. I don't know how one would go about determining if the console is at fault or not. Again, I really would like to solve this on my own if possible as mechanics are so expensive. Most components I am able to replace myself. I have the official GM Mechanics service manuals where it tells you basically how to do anything, if I know the exact anything I am trying to fix. I am still hoping that somebody has had a similar experience and how they solved it. Thank you.

Update, I just bought an AC Delco battery for it, thinking that possibly the Les Schwab battery was getting old and was causing the electrical issues. We've had problems with this battery before and had to replace it twice under warranty. The last AC Delco  battery I had in it was a five year battery and it lasted eleven years. Will install the new battery in it tomorrow. It has been sitting for about a week and a half now so I am sure it won't start right up . I will probably have to do that reset on the passlock system again, but hopefully after that it will start normally again. We just need this car for transportation to and from work about 14 miles a day round trip. I am also attached to it and do not want to get rid of it. It has been an amazing car that I was always proud to be seen in.

 

still no solution.

Unfortunately, I don't have any wise words of wisdom for you but did want to say Hi and nice Sunfire! Hope you find a solution!

Kathleenanne..

Have Read and Reread your posts several times..What jumps out to Me is the fact that you're able to remove the Key while it is in the Run Position...That tells me that the Key lock/Switch mechanism is worn out...That could very well be the Root cause of your Passkey  problem...I think I would take a close hard look at that first...

justa my 2 cents..

TLBT...

I have been researching this in my spare time. I have yet to find a permanent way to disable the PassLock.

That is an On Board Diagnostics II vehicle that will have a "tunable" powertrain control module operating system (OS). Therein, a module of software can be found called the "Vehicle Anti Theft System" (VATS) that can simply be disabled.

  Do you live in a state with strict emissions control laws?  If yes, this change is detectable by a change in the OS mathematical checksum and a California SMOG Check station can detect this and will immediately fail you.  The dealer will also NOT perform this OS change.

  Find somebody skilled with "HP Tuners" to do this for you. Around here, this would cost you two HP Tuners "credits" - one to license the PCM hardware and one to license the OS - at fifty bucks each.  Then another fifty bucks for the guy's time - total of $150.

Rick

Question for you B52. I support your answer 100%.

What I was not finding in my research was will this stay permanently disabled? Will this stay in some sort of ROM state and not get reset if the battery is replaced or it is disconnected for a prolonged period of time? I could not find an answer to that question. If it stays permanently disabled - great, right answer. However it if can be reset via a battery disconnect, then it is a potential recurring problem down the road.

This change is written to a type of PROM - Programmable Read Only Memory.  Or, perhaps an FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array. Most likely, a PROM.  The main CPU is usually an Intel or AMD processor with some later model years using a Motorola CPU in other makes of vehicles.  These OS changes are completely resistant to a battery change.  For the 0411 and 0896 slightly later PCM devices in my El Camino and Catalina, I use a tuning program called "Tuner Pro RT" to edit the OS and a different program called "PCM Hammer" to actually write the changed OS to the PCM.

These PCM devices have spare, empty working high memory that allows a small kernel program such as PCM Hammer to take control of the device.  Hammer then overwrites whatever operating system exists with whatever I edited with Tuner Pro RT.

There are lots of You Tube videos explaining Tuner Pro RT and PCM Hammer.  You Tube also covers another program that I only rarely need called "Universal Patcher" - used to bail me out of any accidently wrong math checksums that I create within Tuner Pro RT.

Rick

 

Thanks for the explanation B52. I was hoping that was the answer.

UPDATE: PROBLEM SOLVED FINALLY!!!!!!!

I had my Sunfire towed to my local mechanic today for a diagnosis. It showed a code P1601 and P1629 in the PCM for serial communication fault and anti-theft device cranking signal. After checking other modules, noted no communication with the air bag, ABS, and instrument cluster. Due to previous water leak on the passenger side floorboard, the air bag module had failed and caused a fault in the serial data bus and failing of the anti-theft system. They had to remove the passenger seat and disconnect the module. Then verified communication with other modules. My car now starts like normal again with no problem. I do realize that I do not have air bags, but I have known that for some time. The only replacement air bag modules for this car available would be used, as the item is no longer produced. The cost for this was $300 to get the car towed, and $150 at the mechanic, total $450 Way less than what I was expecting it to be. I am happy with the outcome.

 

Glad it was finally figured out.  Don't forget your friends here N chat it up with us in the forums.  Get out N do some cruise nites and post some pic's for us. 

Thanks soooo much for the follow up. I hope this fix gives you lots of trouble free driving so you can get out there and enjoy your Sunfire. I learned something today - thank you!

My Sunfire is still running great! Getting ready to put a vinyl wrap on the hood and spoiler where it has become very oxodized and the clearcoat is peeling. Lots of prep work to do, wet sanding mostly. I thought about getting it painted but couldn't really justify spending more on a paint job than the car is actually worth. With almost 300,000 miles on it, I hope it lasts a long time but it will come to a point where it may not be worth putting a lot of money into it.  The main issues besides the paint would be the fact that the airbags don't work and there also is a water leak problem where the passenger side floorboards front and back get saturated. I have had the carpet out and still can't seem to pinpoint why this is happening. Also in the trunk where the spare tire is gets water in it. During the summer months when it is dry I will probably take the carpet out again to clean it and look for possible water entry places. I also think that maybe the door has something to do with it, not closing tight enough maybe. It's an ongoing project, but one I keep doing because damn it, I just love that car and even though I have a newer car now nothing feels as good as driving my Pontiac.

If you're prepared to remove carpets from trunk & floor and crouch down inside there with door & trunk lid closed whilst someone hoses the car you might find the issue. Rear window seals don't last forever and check where the tail light fits the rear quarter - a leaking seal there will let water in. Your windscreen seal might also need replacing or repair. It doesn't take much of a gap to let water in.