2007 Saturn Vue Possilbe Passlock Problem
Thread Starter
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2024
Posts: 10
derf, as far as the passlock reset. the security light does two different things. sometimes as i start the procedure, it doesn't stay on at all. another time, it will come on but not go out. I appreciate your help. Thank you
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 12,316
From: Slightly off center
Neither of those is good news, and the fact that it is inconsistent is also bad news. Have you read any codes from the diagnostic port. Just make sure the key is in the on position not accessory.
How worn is the key in the ignition? Do you have any issues getting the ignition to turn?
It sounds like BCM problem since the security is a logical module built-in to the BCM. You cannot replace it separately. That's why there is a reprogramming procedure. There is a passlock sensor inside the ignition switch. It must see the correct key in order for things to go to the next step. If your key is too worn or wobbly in the ignition, the past lock sensor there may not be detecting the key. Therefore when you try to do a passlock reset, you may not always get past step zero which would lead to the light going out right away. The light staying on indefinitely however I believe would indicate that the system is not following the reset procedure since it is a timed interval. Not down to the second but in general. Has it ever stayed on Right around 10 minutes?
Make sure you are doing this with the car battery either hooked up to a charger or via jumper cables to another running vehicle.
Doing the procedure three times for 30 minutes is enough to kill most batteries that are not new. If the ECM and BCM are not getting enough current at the correct voltage, they will not function properly and you will get who knows what type of behavior. I would try that first and see if you at least get consistent behavior out of it. Since you haven't started it in I don't know how long, if you haven't charged the battery it is most certainly too far drained to have any of this work.
Let me know how it goes.
Not condemning the BCM just yet
How worn is the key in the ignition? Do you have any issues getting the ignition to turn?
It sounds like BCM problem since the security is a logical module built-in to the BCM. You cannot replace it separately. That's why there is a reprogramming procedure. There is a passlock sensor inside the ignition switch. It must see the correct key in order for things to go to the next step. If your key is too worn or wobbly in the ignition, the past lock sensor there may not be detecting the key. Therefore when you try to do a passlock reset, you may not always get past step zero which would lead to the light going out right away. The light staying on indefinitely however I believe would indicate that the system is not following the reset procedure since it is a timed interval. Not down to the second but in general. Has it ever stayed on Right around 10 minutes?
Make sure you are doing this with the car battery either hooked up to a charger or via jumper cables to another running vehicle.
Doing the procedure three times for 30 minutes is enough to kill most batteries that are not new. If the ECM and BCM are not getting enough current at the correct voltage, they will not function properly and you will get who knows what type of behavior. I would try that first and see if you at least get consistent behavior out of it. Since you haven't started it in I don't know how long, if you haven't charged the battery it is most certainly too far drained to have any of this work.
Let me know how it goes.
Not condemning the BCM just yet
Thread Starter
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2024
Posts: 10
derf. we do have problems when I try to use my key to the saturn. It locks a lot and won't turn. I have to play with it and be patient, then usually it will work for me. I just went thru the passlock reset using my key. i was hopeful because the security light stayed on for about five minutes, i went thru the rest of the procedure and repeated x3. no luck. so then i went thru it using the other key. all i got for my trouble was all my dash lights are now flashing. the security light came on and stayed on. so when i turned off the key, the lights started flashing and will until i unlatch the cord going to the bcm. as long as i don't lock it in, the lights don't flash. We do have the battery charger hooked up, though the battery is less than two weeks old
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 12,316
From: Slightly off center
Yikes.
Next would be replacing the ignition switch and likely the ignition cylinder as well since it sounds pretty beat. This gives you a new passlock sensor in the ignition switch. New key plus new ignition switch Passlock sensor is about the best chance you have with the existing bcm
If you replace the ignition switch and the ignition cylinder, it'll probably come with two brand new keys. They won't match the original keys they will only match the ignition, but they will match and the new ignition switch with the new passlock sensor will see them as the correct keys and you will know that the passlock sensor is theoretically good. Try to order from a GM parts house online as supposed to buying something crappy from AutoZone or similar.
If that doesn't work, we'll talk...... Do not go out and buy a refurbished BCM. No one will program it for you in all likelihood.
Next would be replacing the ignition switch and likely the ignition cylinder as well since it sounds pretty beat. This gives you a new passlock sensor in the ignition switch. New key plus new ignition switch Passlock sensor is about the best chance you have with the existing bcm
If you replace the ignition switch and the ignition cylinder, it'll probably come with two brand new keys. They won't match the original keys they will only match the ignition, but they will match and the new ignition switch with the new passlock sensor will see them as the correct keys and you will know that the passlock sensor is theoretically good. Try to order from a GM parts house online as supposed to buying something crappy from AutoZone or similar.
If that doesn't work, we'll talk...... Do not go out and buy a refurbished BCM. No one will program it for you in all likelihood.
Last edited by derf; Jun 21, 2024 at 02:16 PM.
Thread Starter
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Junior Member
Joined: May 2024
Posts: 10
hello again derf! well...same old same old problem. The interior lights are flashing without the key in the ignition. We did replace the ignition switch and cylinder, however. Any new ideas? Still no start. lol
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 12,316
From: Slightly off center
Are you 100% positive you are following the directions exactly exactly exactly exactly as written?
Meaning doors unlocked, get in the car, sit down, close the door, don't lock it, don't touch anything, put the key in the ignition, don't touch anything else, turn it to run, then hold it to crank for however many seconds it says, then start a timer on your watch or whatever and pray it gets to 10 minutes. Don't touch anything in the meantime. Don't get out of the car, don't open the door, don't put the window down, don't release the parking brake, don't rotate the steering wheel, don't touch the interior lights, don't have a smoke from the cigarette lighter, don't play with the turn signal stalk, Don't put your high beams on, don't wash the windshield, don't turn the wipers on, don't play with the delay setting with the wipers off. Don't change the dimming level of the lights for the dashboard, don't turn on the parking lights, don't turn on the headlights, don't start with the lights on, don't touch the brake pedal, don't touch the gas pedal, don't engage the parking brake, don't move your seat if it's a power seat, don't turn on the radio, don't turn off the radio start with it off, start with the AC off and leave it off even though it's 98 freaking degrees outside because you are dedicated to getting this POS to run, Don't pull the hood release, don't have anyone open the hatch, in fact don't let anyone anywhere near the vehicle within a radius of 15 ft, do not use the CB radio that your child bought you because you told him you were a trucker. Pause. I am not bashing truckers. I love truckers. Anyone reading who is a trucker I love you. Unpause. Do not honk the horn, at no time during the process does it ever say to turn the key to off so don't do that it needs to be crank back to run and freaking wait. Make sure the BCM connector you have mentioned has no wiring issues, damage to it where the wires go into the connector, and check for bent pins on the BCM itself that could be getting folded over instead of inserted into the connector. Don't do any of this while running a relearn because that means you'll have opened the door opened the hood, and unplugged the BCM, thereby interrupting the relearn process causing you to not pass go and not collect $200.
I'm sure there are at least 20 things I forgot to mention not to do, but hopefully my example above gives you an idea of how literal those directions are. Some people open the door in the middle or use a power window or something like that, not realizing that it's messing with the BCM in order to make it happen. In theory it shouldn't matter but in practice you'd be surprised what people have posted over the years after we ask them literally what they did while trying to do a relearn.
As generally ridiculous as the above is, the moral of the story is do only what it says when it says. Nothing more. Closed door and then only touch the key when it says to and to move it from place x to place y for as many seconds as it says.
I am in no way implying that you are not already doing that. I'm just trying to make sure that 114% of the bases are covered before we move on.
Please know that passlock has sent many a Saturn vehicle to the junkyard because with high miles on them and the cost to buy a BCM through GM and have it reprogrammed and have them put it in the vehicle and do the relearn was sufficiently high that it was more than the value of the car so people just junk them instead. That's part of the problem when you go junkyard diving for Saturn parts like the BCM. You don't know if something else sent the car to the graveyard or whether it was the BCM.
People have reported that they have successfully dug BCMs out of junk yards that were from sufficiently similar vehicles with similar options that although some things would end up wonky, the thing would let you start and run the car which is the primary purpose of what we're doing. You can narrow it down by writing down the part number off of the BCM since you obviously know where it is, and I can help you narrow it down in theory just because I can. I'm thinking that is probably the cheapest option that's left on the table because your current BCM is doing the Christmas tree which is usually a sign of death and on top of that the relearn procedure is completely irreproducible when you try it. Kind of like when HAL says "I'm sorry Dave I can't do that"
I can't see the original thread while posting this from my phone. How many miles on it, what other problems does it have, and are you willing to put money into it to get it running because pass lock is the only impediment? I drive my cars into the ground. Actually still trying with my Saturns. Just won't die.
My neighbors don't understand how I can put 250 bucks into replacing most of the exhaust on my '95 SC2. I tell them it's cheaper than a $450 car payment, and if it lasts a month, then I saved the money technically. They never seem to quite get it. It's been paid off for 25 years. It gets 35 on the highway. It's our spare car. Why the hell would I get rid of it?
As usual I digress. Let me know what happens when you carefully examine how you are doing the relearn. After that if it doesn't work, send me a PM on the forum and we can try to sort things out. Most people don't want to see a thread of us exchanging part numbers that don't work, finding BCMs that don't work. What they do want to see is, in the end, whether we solved it and how, or whether we never solved it. Because other people come along and search the site and it is a diamond in the rough to find a post where somebody took the time to actually come back and say whether what we suggested worked.
Meaning doors unlocked, get in the car, sit down, close the door, don't lock it, don't touch anything, put the key in the ignition, don't touch anything else, turn it to run, then hold it to crank for however many seconds it says, then start a timer on your watch or whatever and pray it gets to 10 minutes. Don't touch anything in the meantime. Don't get out of the car, don't open the door, don't put the window down, don't release the parking brake, don't rotate the steering wheel, don't touch the interior lights, don't have a smoke from the cigarette lighter, don't play with the turn signal stalk, Don't put your high beams on, don't wash the windshield, don't turn the wipers on, don't play with the delay setting with the wipers off. Don't change the dimming level of the lights for the dashboard, don't turn on the parking lights, don't turn on the headlights, don't start with the lights on, don't touch the brake pedal, don't touch the gas pedal, don't engage the parking brake, don't move your seat if it's a power seat, don't turn on the radio, don't turn off the radio start with it off, start with the AC off and leave it off even though it's 98 freaking degrees outside because you are dedicated to getting this POS to run, Don't pull the hood release, don't have anyone open the hatch, in fact don't let anyone anywhere near the vehicle within a radius of 15 ft, do not use the CB radio that your child bought you because you told him you were a trucker. Pause. I am not bashing truckers. I love truckers. Anyone reading who is a trucker I love you. Unpause. Do not honk the horn, at no time during the process does it ever say to turn the key to off so don't do that it needs to be crank back to run and freaking wait. Make sure the BCM connector you have mentioned has no wiring issues, damage to it where the wires go into the connector, and check for bent pins on the BCM itself that could be getting folded over instead of inserted into the connector. Don't do any of this while running a relearn because that means you'll have opened the door opened the hood, and unplugged the BCM, thereby interrupting the relearn process causing you to not pass go and not collect $200.
I'm sure there are at least 20 things I forgot to mention not to do, but hopefully my example above gives you an idea of how literal those directions are. Some people open the door in the middle or use a power window or something like that, not realizing that it's messing with the BCM in order to make it happen. In theory it shouldn't matter but in practice you'd be surprised what people have posted over the years after we ask them literally what they did while trying to do a relearn.
As generally ridiculous as the above is, the moral of the story is do only what it says when it says. Nothing more. Closed door and then only touch the key when it says to and to move it from place x to place y for as many seconds as it says.
I am in no way implying that you are not already doing that. I'm just trying to make sure that 114% of the bases are covered before we move on.
Please know that passlock has sent many a Saturn vehicle to the junkyard because with high miles on them and the cost to buy a BCM through GM and have it reprogrammed and have them put it in the vehicle and do the relearn was sufficiently high that it was more than the value of the car so people just junk them instead. That's part of the problem when you go junkyard diving for Saturn parts like the BCM. You don't know if something else sent the car to the graveyard or whether it was the BCM.
People have reported that they have successfully dug BCMs out of junk yards that were from sufficiently similar vehicles with similar options that although some things would end up wonky, the thing would let you start and run the car which is the primary purpose of what we're doing. You can narrow it down by writing down the part number off of the BCM since you obviously know where it is, and I can help you narrow it down in theory just because I can. I'm thinking that is probably the cheapest option that's left on the table because your current BCM is doing the Christmas tree which is usually a sign of death and on top of that the relearn procedure is completely irreproducible when you try it. Kind of like when HAL says "I'm sorry Dave I can't do that"
I can't see the original thread while posting this from my phone. How many miles on it, what other problems does it have, and are you willing to put money into it to get it running because pass lock is the only impediment? I drive my cars into the ground. Actually still trying with my Saturns. Just won't die.
My neighbors don't understand how I can put 250 bucks into replacing most of the exhaust on my '95 SC2. I tell them it's cheaper than a $450 car payment, and if it lasts a month, then I saved the money technically. They never seem to quite get it. It's been paid off for 25 years. It gets 35 on the highway. It's our spare car. Why the hell would I get rid of it?
As usual I digress. Let me know what happens when you carefully examine how you are doing the relearn. After that if it doesn't work, send me a PM on the forum and we can try to sort things out. Most people don't want to see a thread of us exchanging part numbers that don't work, finding BCMs that don't work. What they do want to see is, in the end, whether we solved it and how, or whether we never solved it. Because other people come along and search the site and it is a diamond in the rough to find a post where somebody took the time to actually come back and say whether what we suggested worked.
Last edited by derf; Jun 21, 2024 at 02:45 PM.