ollie2009

I have a 2001 cavalier, and a couple of days ago the battery died on me. After taking care of this, my radio now has "LOC" and will not clear. My owner's manual is not specific about what to do. All it says is that this is an anti theft thing, and now it is locked. It also says that it somehow has part of the VIN as a code and if it doesn't match, (must get comparison info from the computer" that it will lock up. No one has tampered with the radio, the battery just died. Nowhere in the manual can I find anything else on this, just the reference to the above in the radio section. Can anyone help me (especially since it's my wife's car, and taking the radio away from her is not really pleasant.....LOL)
Thanks

kevinkpk

GM= Got money? you will have to take it to the dealer to get it unlocked. You also will need proof of ownership (title)...............

ollie2009

I can't believe that just a dead battery would lock this out, and then you have to PAY to get it restored???? How many times would a battery go die? People then have to pay to get this fixed. Sounds to me like this must not be a normal thing that happens. Does anyone else out there have a suggestion, or experienced this same thing???

EinST

Thank the thieves for the need for such things as THEFTLOCK. Dumbasses would break the door/window just to get at the stupid radio. Anyway, check the back cover of the owner's manual to see if anyone had written down the code. Otherwise, check out the web article How to Unlock GM Theftlock Radio's.

ollie2009

EinST, thanks for the advice, but didn't work. Called the local dealership, and they said my radio must be the one that uses a "piece" of the VIN as an identifier that the computer looks for to see if it is indeed my radio. Apparently this scan happens every time the car starts, and therefore should never get LOCKED out. But apparently mine is an exception. They also graciously offered to re program this code back into the radio for a minimum 1/2 hr labour ($95/hr). They also say there is no way I can do it since this programming has to be done through their scan tool. Unless you or anyone else can offer a suggestion, looks like I'll be out up to about 50 - 100 bucks (plus tax of course). Anyone got anything?

EinST

Yes, the THEFTLOCK feature was put on up-level radios. Someone before you must have armed it with a code. By disconnecting the battery you simulated the radio being taken. You can pay $50 or find someone with a Tech 2 scan tool. A well-equipped independent repair shop may be able to do it for less. If you you knew anyone who's studying to be an automotive technician, even better.