Stereo & Electronics - Add another to the stranded list

Ya.....My car stranded me yesterday. My car wouldnt start. The security icon started flashing. Basically the Pellet in the key or the ignition cylinder is bad. Damn VATS did its job I guess. So the car was towed to the dealer. I informed them the car has no warrantee, but the service advisor said he would see what he could do since Im a repeat customer. They REALLY liked the import tails

So today they called and said the key cylinder was bad and needs replacing. $400. I bitched about the price and then they comped me on the towing, so I saved $100 off that. Also even with a red start button and a sign attached to the dash they couldnt figure how to start the car:D. When I pick it up thye want the "how to" guide for one of their guys to do it. While at the dealer I decided to get the trans fuild changed and rear end checked for pinion leak.

This car is going into the garage and im driving the bmw more.:bang:

why not just tune out the vats?? it'll be way cheaper than 400 dollars.... or is the key cylinder something that is necessary for the car to start?

according to the chevy dealer you cant tune out VATS-which is BS. But my key cyl was chewed up a bit. So I get all new keys etc.

You can tune out or bypass the vats all together. Also next time you might consider calling a locksmith instead of having it towed to the dealership. I've replaced multiple Vats ignitions on the side of the road. The ignition is usually $80-ish from Discount type stores it usually comes with a knock-out key that you can have copied over on to the proper resistance Vats key.

You can't tune out VATS but you can bypass it. The VATS system in f-bodies is controlled by the BCM (not the PCM) which is not programmable. Bypassing is a simple matter of disconnecting from the ignition cylinder and connecting the wires with the proper resistor to make the BCM think the correct key is always in place.