For the 3rd time, my stepmom’s car is in the shop because it won’t start. They said it needed to be reprogrammed, but that didn’t help. They seem clueless; if she ever gets the car back, she’ll be afraid to drive it. Any ideas?
No ideas until you tell us what it does when it doesn’t start.
Check the lemon laws in your state. Insist upon and keep all documentation for each visit for the same problem.
Ed B.
Buy a car that both your mom and todays mechanics are comfortable with…Keyless? Okay, what secures the car, some sort of magic electronic chip? Good Luck…
Agreed.
Buy a Model-T.
or something. 
Keyless entry/start is not scary. It’s just an extension of chipped keys - which are already in almost all if not all new cars sold today, and operate on a “magic electronic chip.”
Now instead of combining the chip detection hardware and the key cylinder, we only use the chip detection hardware and a simple push button. If the chip detection hardware malfunctions, it’s going to prevent the car from starting whether you use a push button or a key cylinder.
My keyless start has the starter on the steering column like a normal car, even has a little plastic piece you turn just like a normal key
That is what a warranty is for, let them figure it out. Sure we could give a lot of wag but this is up to the dealer to fix.
- It does…nothing. No sound, nothing.
- Lemon laws in IL require 4 trips to dealer or 30 days out of commission.
- Yep, up to dealer to fix. But they don’t know what’s wrong. That’s why I’m asking for help!
"Lemon laws in IL require 4 trips to dealer or 30 days out of commission. "
I congratulate you one having educated yourself about the Lemon Law in your state.
Since it does appear that the dealership has no clue, you really only have two options, as I see it:
Get GM customer service at the corporate level involved in your case. Contact info can be found in your Owner’s Manual. Doing this with my friend’s problem Toyota resulted in competent staff from the corporate level going to the dealership in order to finally resolve the phantom problem in his electrical system.
Get your ducks in a row, so to speak, for a Lemon Law claim. Since you are only one failed repair attempt away from eligibility for this protection, be prepared to utilize it. Sometimes this is the only recourse that you have. Just be glad that you don’t live in one of the “Red States” that don’t believe in consumer protection!
I don’t really see other options for you at this point.
Try replacing the battery in the fob?
Before you make that 4th, and final, call, let them know if they don’t fix it, you’re going to have to use the lemon law on the car. You’ll likely have it fixed on your last trip in, or they’ll have paper work for you to fill out.
It might be a safety feature. Perhaps GM has progressed beyond the oil life monitor and now has a driving skills monitor.