Pontiac Anti-Theft System?

Question

I have a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am, recently it hasn't been starting occasionally and we couldn't figure out what it was. We took it in and they said our anti theft system needs to be replaced. How much should this run us? They're quoting us very high and I just wanted to see what it should be approx.

Answer 1

Well, in the case of this particular part, what the dealer wants, the dealer gets.

You might get cheaper labor at a mom and pop shop, but you're only going to be able to get this part at the dealer, and it will cost.

Answer 2

I'm trying to figure out what you mean by the anti theft system needs to be replaced. To summarize:
You have a system that uses sensor located in the ignition lock cylinder. That sensor determines if the lock has been turned with the key or by force, bypassed, etc.
The sensor in the lock sends a signal to the cars body computer. When the body computer decides that nobody id trying to steal the car, it sends a signal to the engine computer that tells it okay to start and run.
It would be very unlikely that all three parts went bad. Most often the wires connected to the sensor in the lock fatique with use and break requiring a new lock cylinder. Not too expensive.
You can tell that the theft system is preventing the car from starting because you will get a security light on on the dash.

hope this helps

Answer 3

How much is 'high'?

In this case it seems the anti theft keeps getting activated - meaning it is having trouble reading the transponder built into your key. So the 'box' may need to be replaced, but the real trick is configuring it to your keys.

Unfortunately, sometimes it is exponsive to fix your car...

And BTW, before the 'you should have bought a Toyota' folks chime in, Japanese cars will have the same(ish) cost to repair, and yes they do go bad...