I have had my 2004 Chevrolet Impala for 2 years and later discovered the problems with the security light coming on and car wont start. I called the dealership to see if there were any recalls reference to the above and was advised no recall. Just about everybody I know who has an Impala has the same problem. I notice when the ignition switch is turned on and sits for about 20 to 30 minutes after failure to start the vehicle starts. I am in agreement that this is a defect and should fall under the manufacture for repair.

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Just Picked up my kid for the weekend and droped him off at my mothers whaile i ran out to pay a bill in town, next thing i know, come outside, and the P.O.S wouldent start. I'v had this passlock light flashing intermetly for a few days, but didnt think anything of it seeing as winter just came and i thought it could have possibly been my battery draining overnight when the temp. droped. but now im finding out that it could be the damn ignition assembaly. i talked to my father which is a mechanic and he says that it could have been avoided if your like me and have more then a few keys on your keychain, apparently it will wear your tumblers out quick and then you get the passlock problom.

so far nothings worked to fix it, although i can get it to fire up if i waithalf hour or so, but then again, this is unacceptable. GM should have recalled this or offerd a free bypass kit for those who dont want to be botherd. Biggest PILE i have ever owned, I'll deffinetly not buy a GM next, ill be purchaseing a G35 for my next sedan.

I have been having the same problem with this car for about 2 years now and its getting really bad now. It would happen every now and then but now it is happening every week like 2 or 3 times a week. Don't have the money to fix it and I don't think I will for a while. I really do think that there should be a recall because by the looks of it, there are A LOT of people out there with the same problem. This is my lesson learned to NEVER by a Chevy again. Thanks for the tips that I have read on here. Would really like to know how to override this problem if any one know how. Getting kind of desperate now.

This is a GM Passlock System issue. What I found which helped me today was by disconnecting the battery from the car then the car will start. Somehow the car believes that I am trying to steal it due to the Passlock System locking me out of my own car. I removed the terminals and the car worked just fine. GM dealerships are a waist of time and money. They know what the issue is, however they are just after your wallet and not after fixing your car at all.

I did find something on the internet which I will try tomorrow which is suppose to permanently disable all GM Passlock Systems which may be helpful to everyone else.

To Read the original article or read similar articles please visit

http://www.kingbain.com/how-to/how-to-permanently-disable-gm-passlock-system.html

Hope this helps!

Well like everyone else my problem seems to start as I go to start the vehicle it wont start. The security ligt started coming on intermittently then no lights some lights on dash all depends. HAd my ignition switch changed out 3 months ago. So here I am again with the same problem. This is rediculous there should be a recall! I try to start All my lights start flashing saying traction needs service security chnage oil blah blah. Then I have to wait 30 seconds sometimes multiple times of trying to start the vehicle before I can get it to turn over and all the lights not flashing BS. Today it was a half hour!!!! I hope everyone calls the consumer complaint department like I did!

I'm so sick of this damn car. I just replaced the brakes (front and back) and rotors. Then last week I had to replace the fuel pressure regulator. Now all of a sudden, this stupid car won't start. I leave work to go get some lunch, get in the car, turn the key in the ignition, and nothing happens, only the radio and other lights come on. Mind you, I've been seeing that "Security" light come on, but it's like one day it stays on for a long time, then I won't see it, then it will pop on for a few minutes, then I won't see it again for a few days. I thought it was the starter until I came to this site and saw everyone's complaint. I'm definitely not interested in fixing the problem because I'm certain it's going to be very very expensive. Any help would be greatly appreciated. And where I live it's going to be getting cold real soon and I definitely don't want to be stranded outside. Luckily this time I was at work! I love American cars and this is my first Chevy. Maybe I should stick to my Ford's.

Well, like everyone on this complaint forum, I'm having starting problems with my 2004 Chevy Impala and I take very good care of this car. It's happened twice now. The first time I went to the manual to find out what the security light was and it told me to check fuses because some anti theft system has failed. Well i did that and didn't find anything fuses blown. That took about 10 minutes then tried it and it started. The next time it happened I tried the old screw drive trick on the starter. I touched the positive to the negative, I got the starter to turn but the solenoid didn't engage so it didn't turn over. I tap on the solenoid and then cranked it and it turned over. I took it in thinking it was the solenoid and the dealer is telling me it's the ignition and the main board has failed and it's going to cost me $795.00 to fix. This is a bunch of crap!

I've been dealing with this problem for about 3-4 months now. The car doesn't start. Security light flashes. I have to wait 10 minutes in the ON position to reset the Passlock security system. For a long time it has just been a big inconvenience. Every time I start the car its a hit or miss. sometimes the security light stays on when I drive around. You never know when its going to hit. More recently it won't always start on the 1st 10-minute reset. I now realize I've been draining the battery by listening to the radio and charging my phone with the A/C on in those 10-minute intervals. Sue me, I get hot and bored. It's happening more frequently.

I've been told by my coworker who is an Impala fanatic that is is most likely the ignition cylinder, but it could also be the ignition switch or BCM. The mechanic we went to said it was the security system which could only be fixed at a dealership, but he's no electrician. All I know is, its going to be pricey, and I don't want to fix what isn't broken.

I have a 2004 Impala V6 with 85,000 miles back in June the security light came on and in about three days after that it would not start. I kept trying and finally it started. It happen again the next week and I took it to Auto Zone and it needed a new battery. Thinking that was the whole problem, but as I was driving home the security light came on again, so I call a mechanic and ask him and he told me that it needed a new igination switch that the key was not getting connection. So I started using my extra key and it worked for about 3 weeks. One day while I was getting gas it would not crank and someone pushed it over to the side and told me to unconnect the battery cable and let it set for about 15 minutes and reconnect, it worked, so I have started keeping a pair of pliers in my car. Feeling safe about driving it I took a vacation about 650 miles round trip and the car never gave me any trouble. The day after I returned home it came on again, so I turned off igination and unconnected the cables because I knew it would do it again. Also one day I tried to unlock my car door and it took me twice before it unlocked that also make the light come on again. So my advice to you if you can't afford to have it fixed is keep a pair of pliers in the car.

I do think Chevorlet should have a recall on these models.

Yes, my mom bought this 2004 Impala brand new in 04 and right after the 36,000 mile warranty ran out, boom!!!!!!!, here come the problems with the entire electrical system. At around 40,000 miles, 1st the speedometer gauge failed to work anymore. Then a few more thousand miles after this, both the gas gauge and temperature gauge failed and aren't functioning whatsoever!!!! Then she was driving home one night, and went to flick her low beams on, didn't work! So we ignored the 3 gauge problems and was forced into fixing the dim switch on the headlights. 450 bucks, gone with the wind. Bye Bye hard earned money!!!!!!! Then at around 55,000 miles, her car failed to start. So we took it into the Chevy dealership again, and supposedly they fixed that problem. Another 450 dollars down the drain!!!!! About 1 year later, the car was failing to start again, with the security light coming on occasionally. Took the LEMON in again to another Chevy garage, 350 dollars this time, gone again. Worked for about 10 months after that, and it won't start again. Right now, it will start sometimes, but sometimes not. When you turn the key, there's nothing. Took it back to the Chevy garage again, as it was still under the 1 year warranty, they didn't do a darn thing!!!!!!!!!! Told us that there were no codes so they couldn't honer the warranty and fix the problem. After a couple more days, bing!!!!!, wouldn't start again. When you put the key in, you have to keep trying to start the thing and then after about 10 minutes of sitting there, it will start. Overall, not ever buying a GM product again!!!!!!!!!!!!! We even called GM, they were of no assistance. Shame on you GM!

Well like everyone else on here my car wont start at times and for sometime now it is on a daily basis. At first I didn't know what the problem was and at one time had the ignition switch replaced which was $500.00. I have also had the starter replaced and they seem to help for awhile and then again it starts doing it again. I have taught myself all of the tricks of getting it to start like waiting with the key on for some time then if I am parked on a slope putting it in neutral and sometimes it just needs to be beaten. It is an embarrassment and aggravation and seems to keep getting worse and taking longer to start. I was told that it had something to do with the security so I called the Chevy service center to see if it could be unhooked but no and it is very costly to fix so can anyone tell me why there hasn't been a recall because by the looks of thing it happens alot with this car.

I have a 2004 Chevy Impala and every once and a while, about once or twice a month, I when I go to start it nothing happens. The security light flashes a few times and it will not turn over. However if I wait 10 minutes it starts up like nothing was ever wrong this is a very inconvenient and annoying not to mention embarrassing. And since I seem to suddenly be hearing about this problem happening to so many others I do believe that chevy should be doing something about it at no cost to us. Seems to me like there should be a recall.

Update from Apr 8, 2010: have a 2001 Chevy Impala and every once and a while, about once or twice a month, I when I go to start it nothing happens. The security light flashes a few times and it will not turn over. However if I wait 10 minutes it starts up like nothing was ever wrong this is a very inconvenient and annoying not to mention embarrassing. And since I seem to suddenly be hearing about this problem happening to so many others I do believe that chevy should be doing something about it at no cost to us. Seems to me like there should be a recall