I remember back in 1989 when they started it GM said that Vette and Fbody theft dropped substantially. Now almost 17 years later, how has it held up. Obviously if thieves want the car they will get it, just wondering.

And why did Fbodies still get it until '02 but mine and my old GTP clubs GTP's never had them if they worked so well?

 

Some cars are more prone to theft than others, The F-body was a commonly stolen car because it was a "Performance" model and the parts were easily sold, or at least swapped to another car. THe PASS key works well enough to lower insurance premiums, and although not an impossible bypass it is a "deterrant" THats the best anyone can do. If someone wants your car bad enough they will tow it away and no alarm, no PASS key, no wheel lock, no steering wheel club will keep them from doing it. In Israel they had a tow truck that pulled up next to a car, it had 2 forks that slid underneeth, and it picked it up and put it on a flat bed, in a matter of 30 seconds it was gone.

PASS is still a PITA if you have a malfunctioning one, so I would imagine it works well today too.

John

 

yea mine started to gimme problems a long time ago. turned out to be a bad lock cylinder. a while after that same problems started again. then i just decided to bypass it and never malfunctioned again. like was said it is extremely frustrating when ur car doesnt wanna start and u gotta wait a few minutes before u can try again.

 

When it malfunctions does it act like a dead battery or something? I think that has happened to me twice now.

 

I think it is....my 83 Z28 was stolen in May of 86, then I shot another guy with my Mini-14 trying to steal it again in January 88.

My 1990 RS never had an attempt made on it in the entire 9.5 years that I drove it, and neither has my current 1999 Z28 that I've had since October 23, 1999, nor our 1999 Trans Am WS6 that we've had since March 31, 2001. I've had no problems with the Pass Key on any of them, either.

If a pro wants your car, he will get it if it ever leaves your locked garage.....but as far as the garden variety teen gangsta-turds, it is a great deterrent, especially since these guys aren't in any danger of being hired by NASA.

 

That is what it does. It cuts power to the fuel pump and starter. You have to wait 2 minutes for it to start again. My 92 did it to me all the dam time.

Later,
Conrad

 

 

Yeah i would asy it works for the common uneducated thieves or joyriders, who think you can just bust open a GM column to take the car, but for people like my brother who work for a tow company, it's gone in 30 seconds.

 

I think mine was stolen or was attempted to be stolen before. When i was cleaning it one day i found pices of glass sucked in the rubber strips were the window comes out of the door. Then when i had the window motor replaced on that side there was glass at the bottom of the door. And i had nothing but problems with the VATS until i got the cylynder replaced.

Doesent it suck that a theif can steel your car in seconds ut you cant start your damn car with its own set of keys.

 

PASS is great because theives cant try abunch of keys in a short amount of time. But i've been in my own drive way with the keys and it not work. I just wipe the chip and wait a few. Hope your not ever in too much of a hurry.

 

no but it has left me stranded in bad areas on LA with gang members hanging around.

 

I also remember reading somewhere that you should never twist on the key itself to turn the ignition switch, only on the two steel tabs on the switch itself after the key is gently inserted into the switch.

The idea was that the key to switch contact gets loose and sloppy over time because the twisting force of the key inside the switch can increase the gap enough that the VATS system cannot read the chip on the key. Keeping the key clean is the other big requirement for the system to work properly...

I've done this since my 90 RS was new, and on my two 4th Gens for the last 6 years and have never had a problem with any of them.

 

My dads 98 Cadillac sometimes will not start because of the key, he just has to reoember to push in the key and the Tumbler every time he starts the car, and has no problems.

John

 

My two GTAs have been relatively trouble free over the years. My red car's VATS went down about two years into ownership (1990); it started the thing where it would not start for a couple of minutes... and then just stopped trying all together. I had to have it towed; luckily it was still under warranty then. I was told then about not using the key itself but turning on the the actual cylinder tabs instead. I also wipe the key regularly. Since then.... no problems.

My Notchback was a theft recovery, so I went ahead and replaced the VATS cylinder as a precaution when I had the alarm removed. No problems with it whatsoever in the 7 years I've had that car.

Bottom line: I think is is good protection against novice criminals, but if an accomplished thief wants your car.... he'll get it.

 

I forgot to mention, My 90 Riv was malfunctioning, and I ended up taking the tumbler out, when I did I noticed the solder joint was broken. After I fixed the solder joint I never had another problem. It was an easy fix, just took a little time

John

 

No one has tried to steal my car.. I had a broken window once, but that was it..

The only thing VATS has done for me was leave me stranded a few years back when the lock mechanism stopped reading the key

 

no problems with the pass key itself just on three different occasions my steering colum was busted apart. they did not get car though.this is not cheap to fix, just enough to be under the deductable on my insurance.