Seven problems related to anti-theft controller have been reported for the 2003 Oldsmobile Alero. The most recently reported issues are listed below. Please also check out the statistics and reliability analysis of the 2003 Oldsmobile Alero based on all problems reported for the 2003 Alero.
I have a 2003 olds Alero in which the passlock theft deterrent system keeps acting up, shutting my car down completely. This has happened many times prior to today (6-19-10) however those were instances that I was trying to start the car and after doing the "key in the on position for 10 minutes"method, the car would start. Today however the car stalled as I was driving down a busy street. I was completely stranded. I've owned the car now for 4 years, and the passlock has sporadically engaged a total of 10 times, including today. However, unlike the previous enabling, my car now sits on a trailer unwilling to start at all. Having a car completely quit while driving down a road is a life threatening situation and I would like to have it remedied immediately by the manufacturer, as I feel the passlock system should be recalled.
The olds Alero has a defective passlock theft deterrent system. It shows up when you insert your key in the ignition, turn it, hear the engine cranking, only to fail to start. The dashboard's red warning light, security, flashes on and off. It believes it is being stolen, thus shutting off the gas to the engine. The problem actually stated 4 months after I bought my car, which I purchase used from a dealer, I believe im the 2nd ower. This issure happens about once or twice every 3 weeks or so. My dad actually thought it was the battery contacts because they were loose, so he tightened them up, then it took care of the problem for about a month. The another strange issue came up, about 3 months ago, as my car sat in park for about 2 hours, just out of the blue the horn started to "blow" like the alarm was set off, but the lights were not flashing so it wasnt that, about 20 minutes it did this til it blew the fuse for the horn. And now im without a horn in my car, which is not very safe. So I changed the fused, the horn worked for 1 day, then blew again, I changed the actual horn and another fuse, and just 3 days ago, I heard in the middle of the night, my horn going off again for no reason, and the fuse blew again, driving with no horn. So im driving my car that has this anti-theft feature and I dont know if its working from 1 day to the next, the security lights stays on my dashboard so I know something is apparently wrong with it, usually that when I know, my car will not start when I see that light come on and I have to do the trick with sitting in the car with the ignigtion on for 10 minutes before starting it. I googled this problem to see if anyone else is having this problem and found hundred of people tht are, contacted gm and olds corp, they say there is not recall on the system because there is nothng wrong with it. Something has to be for all the customers to be having the same problems and apparently is has been goin on for years and they wont help.
Bought the 2003 Alero Oldsmobile in March 2007, not realizing the ongoing problems with the stalling and not starting issues. Many times with children in the car have been stranded when car would not start. First time, replaced battery; second time and third time took to mechanic spent $390. 00 to attempt to fix car however still has issue. Mechanic said it had electrical issue with security system conflicting with wireless internet radio waves. Had to have it towed into the mechanic. Soon after a week the problem occurred again:I read on a automotive forum to put key on the "on" position for 10 minutes wait for the security light to stop blinking and then start the car (should work it stated) it worked however it is now sometimes a daily problem. I now allow 10 minutes leway in departure to allow for this aggravating problem to arise. This problem is a high security issue not safe to be stranded with single mom with kids in parking lots and as well as being out to town. Has caused to miss work. This is a ongoing issue and not sure how to remedy the problem. To add to the problem, the horn has been sounding off (as it it stuck position) for the last week 11/12/2007while driving another occurrence 11/16/07 park position key not in the ignition at 2:00am in a apartment complex. To quick resolve issue I tapped the horn on steering column it would go off again, then had roommate disarm the horn wire.
Security light flashes on dash board. Vehicle will not start until 10 minutes,after the light stops. I had this same problem a year ago in had it fix at a gm dealer for about $360. 00. This is a ongoing issue with gm vehicle.
The contact owns a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle failed to start and the anti theft light warning light illuminated intermittently. After ten minutes, the contact was able to start the vehicle and the anti theft light turned off. The problem persisted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
The car will not turn on. The security light blinks on and off, indicating that the system is not being reset. I have tried unlocking and locking the car repeatedly. I tried cleaning the iginition switch, replaced spark plugs, air filter, etc. The keys do not have the micro chip in them, so I know it is not the key.
Auto stalled out twice when slowing down to yield, stopping completely in traffic areas so that the vehicle had to be pushed aside. After the first time the battery was replaced. The second time, the battery was jumped and the car started. The alternator was tested at that time and indicated excess current flow. During this period of two weeks, on several occasions intermittently, the parked vehicle would crank but the engine would not turn over. Each time, with numerous attempts, the vehicle would start and would perform for a day or so then repeat the problem. Inspections indicated that the battery and alternator were fine and there were no other indicators of cause. Finally, when brought to a dealership, they found that the ignition cylinder had failed and the pass lock security system was shutting down the car because it did not recognize the key. The cylinder was replaced and new keys created, but the problem occurred again. Further investigation found that the ignition module has failed also.