Anti-theft Controller problems of the 2003 Chevrolet Malibu - part 2

The anti- theft device in the 2003 Chevrolet Malibu has left me stranded 12 different times beginning November of last year. This vehicle needs to be recalled for this reason. I have read hundreds of complaints online for the exact same problem. General motors is aware of the problem and does nothing. General motors is personally responsible for lost jobs. General motors is personally responsible for elderly people, infants, children, disabled men and women in the u. S. Being stranded in their automobiles every day. We bailed general motors out, they need to recall this model. Thank you.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the anti theft system would engage, involuntarily, and the vehicle would not start. On a few occasions, the vehicle would start, but the warning theft light would continue to illuminate. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, where they could not duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 68,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact attempted to start the ignition but the engine failed to operate with the illumination of the anti-theft security system warning indicator. The engine was restarted after ten to fifteen minutes. In addition, the same failure would occur while driving and result in the vehicle stalling. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who advised that the ignition system and computer module would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 36,000.

The passlock anti theft system is a very dangerous system. There have been thousands of complaints about this system. Thousands of angry, frustrated people that are being left with no recourse. The problem dates from the 1990s. Through 2010. The problem should have been addressed before now. I just spent over $5000. For a car that cannot be moved out of my drive way I dont think congress heard the screams I've heard and read about this problem (I'll never buy another gm car again, or if there is ever a class action suite, count me in) we dont know how many people have been hurt because they have been left stranded, or their cars caused wrecks because the passlock system kicked in and cut off the fuel while they were going down the highway at 70 miles an hour. It is very difficult to read about so many unhappy people. I came from a generation of people that worked for fifty years. We did all the things we were supposed to. We worked hard, paid our bills and trusted that we would be treated fairly. To really find out about passlock, just google passlock complaints. These are just a few of the links to complaints. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic where the ignition lock housing assembly was replaced. The vehicle would not start because the computer assumed the vehicle was being stolen due to the ignition security switch feature. The contact stated that the ignition lock housing assembly was replaced just recently prior to the most current failure. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 35,760.

For years, car stalls while driving and can not be re-started, or more frequently, just won't start. No warning except a fine, dim red anti-theft system light which is unlikely to be noticed at all, and certainly not immediately. Can happen several times per day, or can go two weeks without a problem. Short term remedy is reliable if inconvenient and in some situation, dangerous; with car in "park," turn off all system, turn on ignition switch but do not start, do not disturb for at least en minutes. System will then be reset. There is evidence that this problem had multiple causes. Got partial, temporary improvement (less frequent failure) by replacing defective ds lock switch, which is also used to program that locking system features. Because the users is supposed to initiate locking system programming by holding the switch closed, and the lock was sticking closed and opening unpredictably, it was surely creating inputs not anticipated by the system's programmers. I believe the ignition switch system, including the interface with the transmission selector system, is still causing this problem, and frequency of occurrence increases. Have not found satisfactory solution. Can't afford the $400 dealer says it will cost for (possible) fix, ambiguous explanations make me doubt the dealer really understands the cause. No actual property damage or crash yet, but obviously risk is high when car suddenly stall in traffic.

2003 chevy Malibu, 1 out of 3 starts forced to wait 10 minutes before trying a restart, usually twice before succeeding. Forces waiting in the dark or in unsafe places at night, such as finishing work. Extremely unsafe for any female. $300 quote at stealership to repair. Fitted 20cent resistor to feed correct resistance value to anti-theft system, which is also guaranteed to fail eventually. Will have to build a circuit to bypass this also to remove the problem completely. Shame on the stealerships for not correcting this problem as a recall. The potential for criminal activity personal injury/death are high and the high cost of repair is a disgusting tactic for any company to use to coerce customers to line their coffers replacing defective equipment.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the anti-theft system would engage sporadically causing the vehicle to shut down independently when the failure occurred. In addition, the directional lights were inoperable. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the mechanic was unable to diagnose the problem. The mechanic advised the contact on how to reset the alarm when the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 68,000.

The anti-theft light has been coming on and off for the last four years - and when it flashes I need to reset by turning ignition to on and wait ten min. - now the light stays on all the time and I'm concerned that at some point the car will not start and I will be stranded.

Have a 2003 chevy Malibu with an "passlock" anti theft system in it. This system is acting up considerably and when I bring it to the gm dealer I get charged more and more money but no solution to the problem, because their computers do not detect the problem. As I have done research on this issue, there are many many people having the same problem. There are also many instances where this system has caused cars to stall while being driven down the highway, and this has happened to me as well.

I have a 2003 Malibu the anti theft comes on alot to fix this u have to have the key in the on for about 10 min,then turn the key in the off and turn the car on, and it starts, but that trick is taking longer and longer each time one day it will leave me there, I think chevy should recall this and fix it. . . There is no way of knowing when and why this happens. Chevy says they need more people to campaign about this before they will do anything so here it is. . .

2003 Malibu theft system light. This light was on all the time and finally just stopped while I was driving down the interstate. I looked online and it says to turn the key to on for 10 mins then re start but this as well doesn't always work. This is extremely dangerous!!!! someone could get seriously hurt in this matter.

November 2009 my theft system light came on. Replaced the ignition module with a cost of approximately $500. 00. March 15 2010 the car doors unlocked and the car died in traffic. Replaced faulty body control module. March 17 2010 theft light came on and car doesn't want to start. Replaced rcdlr (I' don't know what this is an abbreviation for but it cost another $67. 44 for the part. Theft light still comes on and the car doesn't want to start.

2003 chevy Malibu anti theft system light comes on and car won't start. Car is sitting won't start.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. The anti theft system has failed numerous times. The contact stated in order to start the vehicle he had to turn the ignition on and wait at least ten minutes before it would start. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer for a diagnostic test. When he called the dealer, they would advise him to bring the vehicle in for the diagnostic test and he would have to pay the cost. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 70,000.

Anti-theft light continuously comes on. Replaced ignition lock cylinder two months ago. Now the car does not start at all and the anti-theft light is still on! this is a serious safety issue. I cannot travel with my kids, especially during the winter cold b/c I never know if I have to wait 10 minutes for the theft system to reset. I called the dealership today and they told me they need to hook it up to a $5000 computer to DE-code the anti-theft errors. The gentleman said it sounds like the passlock module. With the cost of towing, the computer scan and parts/labor, I'm looking at $800. He also said there is no guarantee it couldn't happen again days or months down the road!.

I have a 2003 chevy Malibu that I bought though a friend, it ran good and one day I went out to start it and the ignition locked up. I went out and got one and replaced it and now the anti-theft system will let it start but shuts off in 10 seconds. I have called the main office and there is nothing that they can do about it and they know about the problem but will not do nothing about it. I have been on the internet and there is alot of people complaining about the same thing what can I do about it. Please help. Thank you.

Car is not starting. Anti theft system light will not turn off.

Okay, this complaint is about Chevrolet Malibu. They are having a huge problem with their anti theft system. The car would run perfectly and then the next time you turn the key it wouldn't start. This has happened 3 times to us within a week. And if you google it, you'll see that there are thousands of people who are having the same problem! it's a real safety issue and has to be taken seriously and dealt with. Tonight my mom who owns the car was stuck on a dark parking lot at a temperature below 0 for over an hour. She's sick now, thanks to chevy. Of course the technicians won't find anything but start replacing the ignition, reprogram the anti theft system, etc. But this all doesn't help. The problem is that there are single women out there in the dark not being able to start their car. There are elderly people who are unable to make their doctor's appointments. And there are people on the highways praying the car won't shut down in front of a truck this time. It is a huge safety issue and has to be dealt with. Please confront gm with this and let them fix it. We don't want to wait for an incident like a rape, robbery, or even death to start them thinking.

I have a 2003 chevy Malibu. The passlock anti theft system has left me stranded many times. I have recently been stuck at night in a dark parking lot waiting the ten minutes for the system to reset. This is a personalsafety issue for anyone having to sit in an unsafe location waiting for the system to work. This problem occurs often (two or three times a week). This should be recalled and fixed on gm's dollar because it is a common problem and anyone who owns a gm car is spending money out of their own pocket to try and fix the problem when it is gm that is responsible for it.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle anti theft system activated and as a result, it prevented him from turning on the ignition. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the ignition cylinder needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.

Passlock anti-theft system engaging and not allowing car to start. Started happening about two years ago. Researched on the internet and asked professional ase mecanicals. No warrently or TSB avaliable to fix problem, but plenty of complaints. Car has not shut off while drving.

Anti-theft system kicks in even when original key is used to start vehicle and vehicle will not start without waiting 10 minutes to restart system. This happens at irregular intervals, usually when it is least convenient. I have had to be towed twice until I learned the override trick. I am going into the dealership again today to try to get a permanent fix.

Vehicle won't start and security light is on. I have to wait 10 minutes with key in the on position to restart anti-theft system and then engine will start. The car as well died and security light came on while driving on the highway at speeds of 60 mph and had to coast over 2 lanes and was luckily not hit or injured. After this I took it to my normal mechanic to look at it. He fixed ignition switch on 3/3/2009 which I have documentation of problem I was having and him fixing it. This did not fix the problem and the car still does not start. I haven't had it stop while driving since then but in the back of my head I'm telling myself I need to get rid of this car before something terrible happens. Sometimes the car is fine for months and then it won't start twice in one week. This is especially a pain when it is freezing cold and I have no where else to wait 10 minutes but in my car. Seems to be very intermittent. But one thing is for sure that if I try to remote start the car with the key fab it will most likely ends in tripping the anti-theft system and the car will not start. I've seen so many complaints on-line about this issue. And I ask why has it not been recalled especially if the car can stop running while driving. This has made me lose confidence in gm, and if I buy another car I will think twice about buying another chevy even though I like everything else about my car. I am not about to take it in and spend hundreds of dollars getting it fixed when I can save my money and buy something more dependable besides a gm car. In the next couple of years I will be able to buy a new car and I will be glad when I don't have to deal with this problem again.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. When the anti-theft light is illuminated, the contact is unable to start the vehicle. A mechanic replaced the fuel pump because the vehicle constantly stalled; however, the fuel pump was not the cause of the failure. The vehicle continues to stall, the check engine light is illuminated, and the anti-theft light remains illuminated. The contact will take the vehicle back to the repair shop for further inspection. Report number 71-74-9932502 was filed with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 82,000 and current mileage was 88,000.

The theft system on my chevy Malibu 2003 has left me stranded on multiple occasions and cost me more than $300 in repair costs. The theft system believes my car is being stolen and shuts off the fuel to the engine. Some posts say it's when you use an copied key, but I'm using the factory original. At first, this happened once every month then increased with frequency to once and week and now every two/three days. The 1st this happened, I replaced the battery. This one 1 1/2 yrs ago and now the battery needs to be replaced again. When the theft system locks me out, I have to wait 10 minutes for the light to turn off and try to turn the key over again. With the amounts of complaints about this system, I would think gm would change systems or remove the problem. It's a disgrace that they continue to put this system in a car effectively locking out the very owner instead of doing its intended job.

Theft light comes on and anti-theft system disables the vehicle, driving and parked. We have been stranded several times because of this. Vehicle will not start it turns over but will do nothing. I have had to take the vehicle in several times to have the system reset, at a cost to me everytime.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. The contact stated that the vehicle would not start. She noticed that the anti theft light was illuminated. She placed the ignition in auxiliary mode for 10 minutes. The contact then turned off the ignition and restarted the vehicle. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle shut off without warning. The contact had to climb in the back seat to exit because the passenger and driver's side doors would not unlock. Upon exiting, she would then have to lift the hood of the vehicle and slam the hood back down in order for the vehicle to restart. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the anti theft system was failing. The vehicle is currently being repaired at the cost of $1,168. The manufacturer stated that because regular maintenance, other than oil changes, were not performed at a Chevrolet dealer, no compensation would be provided. The failure mileage was 36,000 and current mileage was 40,943.

Bought a 2003 chevy Malibu 1 1/2 years ago (used). Since that time the anti-theft device has failed twice. The first time it was at home, the 2nd time left me stranded an hour away from home. I have spent over $300. 00 for towing, plus the cost of repairs on the vehicle. I am a college student who as limited funds. Gm is aware of the problem, but refuses to acknowledge or fix the problem. It will take gm several deaths when these cars shut off while driving down the road before they get off their "butts" to fix the problem. Gm doesn't know how to keep their customers!.

I went to the doctor today. My car was fine. On returning to my car, it would not start. I called aaa. They showed me the passlock anti-theft system was engaged -- with no identifiable cause. The gentleman who helped me, told me he has seen this often. I am using the original key, and I am sure the car was not tampered with. Reading online, I get a sense that this will probably start happening more. Although this is the first failure, I read that the car can switch off while driving. I am concerned as my 16 year old daughter also drives this car, and that she may be endangered.

The anti-theft system in my 2003 Chevrolet Malibu is defective, apparently this is a problem for just about every owner of a chevy Malibu. This needs to be recalled by gm!!!! about once or twice a week when I attempt to start my car I pray the anti-theft system does not blink, because when it blinks that means the car isn't going to start. The owner's manual states that if this occurs then turn the key to the "on" position and let it sit for 10 minutes and then turn the key to "off" and start the car as normal. Well for about 1 year this worked, it was a hassle, but it worked. Now after about a year of this pain in the butt routine twice a week to start my car, finally it died on me while driving and will no longer start. Gm is obviously aware of this malfunction because they have given instructions on how to deal with it in the owner's manual, the problem is they haven't done anything to correct the problem, after their suggestion fails to start the car. This malfunction needs to be recalled!!!!!!!.

Passive anti-theft would not allow us to start the car. We sat there for over 15 minutes. No other odd had occurred before that but suddenly it would not allow us to start.

Anti-theft system: causes the car not to start on several occasions. Takes several minutes for system to reset.

The contact owns a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu. Intermittently, the vehicle would not start because the anti-theft system kept locking the vehicle. It takes 10-15 attempts to start the vehicle when this occurs. The failure has gotten progressively worse over time. The vehicle has not been taken to the dealer. The current mileage was 49,000 and failure mileage was 30,000. Updated 05/05/08. The dealer would not disconnect the theft system. Updated 05/05/08.

I have a 2003 Chevrolet Malibu the passlock anti-theft system messes up it either wont allow the vehicle to start or it stops the vehicle while driving on the highway or road and wont start this is problematic for chevy owners and could be very dangerous if on a busy highway could cause an accident numerous people have contacted gm about this problem they refuse to recall and fix this problem.