Daewoo/Chevy Aveo Radio Unlock Codes

[iiipopes]

I blew a thermostat on my 2004 Chevy Aveo. Thankfully, it is on the front of the cylinder head so it wasn't too much of a hassle to replace. BUT...after hooking the battery cable back up, I had forgotten that my radio has a "theft deterrent" code you have to punch in with the channel buttons when you turn it on after having the battery unhooked. Of course, five years after purchasing the car brand new, I have lost my ID card. I googled the internet. I came up with several forums that have posted the codes. Here they are:

2253, 3116, 3451, 2152, 4362, 4316,
4513, 4362, 2145, 1156, 6451, 6361,
5624, 5241, 3346, 1165, 3241, 4524,
5436, 5813, 3265, 5624, 2453, 3462,
3251, 5445, 8253, 1156, 2346, 4853,
6645, 5253, 1325, 4136, 3116, 3221,
2151, 5312, 2654, 4314, 6234, 4356,
1415, 1435, and there may be more, but these are the most common.

Some dealers want to charge @$100 to "service" the radio. Others, like mine, just said they couldn't help me. *%&^ 'em if they can't take a joke! They were quick to sell me the thermostat for $100, which has been changed out from the plastic piece of cheap $#!+ to a real metal housing with a new part number, so it isn't available yet in the common aftermarket parts houses, so they could tell me the code if they had wanted to.

Think about it: twenty years ago, digital was unheard of, except for CD players, and they were theft targets. Now, everything from the lowliest budget cars to Rolls and esoteric customs have good digital stereo. So there is no market for breaking into a car anymore to get a unit to sell to some other schmuck to upgrade his, because his is already equipped. So the codes don't deter anything anymore, as there is no black market demand. That is compounded by the auto makers making what amounts to a unique housing and facia for every model's stereo, so that you can't just shove one in the generic empty slot like you used to. But like your appendix, with no functional use anymore, if it goes bad, you're screwed unless you know the codes or have the $$ to deal with it.

Yes, my code is on the list. It worked. The internet with a good search engine is a wonderful thing.

[Tubaryan12]

Another revenue stream dealerships have is reprogramming keyless entry remotes. A few years ago, most cars you could do yourself. Now, on most cars, they must be taken in to the dealership to be programed.

Oh yeah,...and the keys with the chip in them.

[iiipopes]

And people wonder why Honda is doing well and GM has been in bankruptcy!

[lgb&dtuba]

Bad luck on the codes.

On my 2004 Silverado the radio is tied to the VIN number. By that, I mean it knows the VIN number of my truck and it communicates with the main vehicle cpu to verify that it's in the correct vehicle. No codes to enter. No problems disconnecting the battery or the radio. I had to disconnect the radio's harness to install an aftermarket box for connecting an aux (mp3) interface and it figured out it hadn't been stolen just fine when it was reconnected.

Isn't the Aveo actually built in Korea and re-branded here?

[iiipopes]

Yes. GM bought Daewoo out of bankruptcy, retooled the factory, marketed the first automobile out of the restructured factory as the Kalos in Europe, then brought it over to the USA a few years ago as the Aveo.

Now, other than this little wrinkle, it's generally been a great little car, hauling around all the tuba/bass guitar/etc., stuff with the hatch and fold down rear seats, decent gas mileage even when loaded, and being black, it's been bumped by others a couple of times, and rather bounced than buckled, with minimal damage.

This most recent incident only resulted in the thermostat being replaced and a little inconvenience on my part. Nothing else went down with it, which is more than you can say for a lot of cars, which would lose a head gasket, or worse. But then again, I have gauges, (instead of idiot lights) so when I saw the temperature needle start to take off, I had it off the road and on the shoulder and shut down before it could boil what water was left in the block away.

[steve_decker]

And people wonder why Honda is doing well and GM has been in bankruptcy!

There are a lot more factors that led to GM's bankruptcy than the unwillingness of their dealers to do service work for free. But that can quickly lead to a lengthy discussion that would likely be prohibited according to the rules of this board.

As a former auto tech and service manager, I can understand why a dealer would do this for free and I can also understand why they would charge for the service. Dealers are independent business owners (franchisees) so it truly is their choice, not the choice of the manufacturer whether or not to charge for such a service. Just like most any skilled trade, the specific knowledge of an auto tech along with their equipment is what separates them from the rest of the world. That being the case, why should we then expect them to use that specific knowledge and equipment to provide a service for free?

Let me be blunt for a moment...

You lost the code
You chose to disconnect the battery cable in order to swap a t-stat (something a tech would rarely, if ever, do)
You did not take the necessary precautions to keep the radio unlocked (a $10 "memory saver")

Yet you still think that the dealer should cover your mistakes free of charge?

I can understand feeling frustrated with the situation but be frustrated with yourself, but not your dealer or GM. Then, be glad because you found the solution on your own and all that was lost was a little time.

[iiipopes]

And people wonder why Honda is doing well and GM has been in bankruptcy!

There are a lot more factors that led to GM's bankruptcy than the unwillingness of their dealers to do service work for free. But that can quickly lead to a lengthy discussion that would likely be prohibited according to the rules of this board.

As a former auto tech and service manager, I can understand why a dealer would do this for free and I can also understand why they would charge for the service. Dealers are independent business owners (franchisees) so it truly is their choice, not the choice of the manufacturer whether or not to charge for such a service. Just like most any skilled trade, the specific knowledge of an auto tech along with their equipment is what separates them from the rest of the world. That being the case, why should we then expect them to use that specific knowledge and equipment to provide a service for free?

Let me be blunt for a moment...

You lost the code
You chose to disconnect the battery cable in order to swap a t-stat (something a tech would rarely, if ever, do)
You did not take the necessary precautions to keep the radio unlocked (a $10 "memory saver")

Yet you still think that the dealer should cover your mistakes free of charge?

I can understand feeling frustrated with the situation but be frustrated with yourself, but not your dealer or GM. Then, be glad because you found the solution on your own and all that was lost was a little time.

BULLSHIT!

I BOUGHT THE CAR. I BOUGHT THE PARTS. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS BULLSHIT! CUSTOMER SERVICE IS EXACTLY THAT -- SERVICE. IF GM OR YOU WANT ME TO BUY ANOTHER GM CAR, YOU SHOULD GIVE SERVICE, NOT BULLSHIT!

MY FAMILY FOR FOUR GENERATIONS HAS BEEN IN A SERVICE PROFESSION. IF WE TREATED OUR CUSTOMERS LIKE THE YOUR POSTING, WE WOULD HAVE GONE BROKE BEFORE EVEN GETTING OUT OF THE BOX. THE ATTITUDE IN THE POST IS THE REAL REASON GM HAD TO GO THROUGH BANKRUPCY WITH ITS DAMNED SMUG I KNOW WHATS BEST ATTITUDE.

[lgb&dtuba]

I've taken my pickup in to the Chevy dealer every 3000 miles for an oil change since I bought it new. It has over 109,000 miles on it now. That's 33 oil changes. That's 33 premium priced oil changes.

The last time it was in there they noticed that 3 side marker/turn signal lights were out. The offered to replace the bulbs for $5 each and $100 labor since the truck was in the bay anyway.

Now, on a Silverado you don't even need tools to pull the front light housings and get to the bulbs. Just open the hood and the housings lock in with pins you remove barehanded. You do need a phillips screwdriver for the 2 screws on the rear housings that are exposed by simply opening the tail gate.

Needless to say I declined to give them $100 for 10 minutes of labor plus double the cost of the bulbs compared to stopping by the Auto Zone on the way home.

Now, there may be things that a "auto tech" knows and equipment that make him worth the labor charges, but a phillips screwdriver and the knowledge that's printed right in the owner's manual ain't it!!

It is altogether too common for dealers to over charge trivial services. I guarantee that ripping people off like that costs them much more in missed business than whatever they can make that way.

[steve_decker]

BULLSHIT!

I BOUGHT THE CAR. I BOUGHT THE PARTS. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS BULLSHIT! CUSTOMER SERVICE IS EXACTLY THAT -- SERVICE. IF GM OR YOU WANT ME TO BUY ANOTHER GM CAR, YOU SHOULD GIVE SERVICE, NOT BULLSHIT!

MY FAMILY FOR FOUR GENERATIONS HAS BEEN IN A SERVICE PROFESSION. IF WE TREATED OUR CUSTOMERS LIKE THE YOUR POSTING, WE WOULD HAVE GONE BROKE BEFORE EVEN GETTING OUT OF THE BOX. THE ATTITUDE IN THE POST IS THE REAL REASON GM HAD TO GO THROUGH BANKRUPCY WITH ITS DAMNED SMUG I KNOW WHATS BEST ATTITUDE.

With four generations of your family working in a service profession you then should recognize that service is provided... not always given (as is your expectation).

If you get a cold, buy an over-the-counter med and end up with a drug reaction do you expect your doctor to treat you for free? That is exactly the mentality you are describing with the situation with your vehicle. You made a couple of mistakes and expected someone else to fix it for you for free under the name of good service. When someone doesn't happen to agree with your attitude/opinion, you call it bad service and blame an illegal, government forced bankruptcy on that "bad service"! In doing so, you demonstrate your ignorance of auto repair and business in general.

[iiipopes]

YOUR DOUBLY FULL OF BULLSHIT AFTER I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP ASKING FOR SERVICE, BOUGHT THE PART FROM THE DEALER AND DID EVERYTHING ELSE CORRECTLY.

I cannot believe you can post such bullshit with a straight keyboard. This is not a medical, legal, tax, or other matter that takes specific training and experience to correctly diagnose and execute. IT'S A DAMN 4-NUMBER CODE and a ruse to cheat people out of more money.

Look at all the posts between your last post and this one. You are entirely out of touch with what the real world is for automobile consumers. The car companies invented this bullshit. The car companies can service it for free. We didn't ask for this bullshit. We asked for good, safe, reliable automobiles to get us from point A to point B. You couldn't even do that and it took acts of Congress to get pollution and safety built into the cars when the factories wouldn't do it on their own in the USA, while Volvo, Mercedes and others voluntarily researched and engineered safety first; the Japanese listened to W. Edwards Deming and his theories of economic improvement and prospered, while GM laughed at him, literally kicked him out the door, and are now in bankruptcy. Of the big 3, only Ford listened to Deming, and Ford is the only USA auto maker not asking for government money today.

You are completely full of bullshit, and you are digging yourself deeper with each post.

[Tubaryan12]

Ford listened to Deming, and Ford is the only USA auto maker not asking for government money today.

not quite true....unless Deming told Ford to mortgage the farm before an economic downturn. That is the only reason Ford didn't need money from the feds.

In 2006 Toyota passed Ford in United States sales. Lower sales and declining margins combined with rising spending on health care and retirees drove all American carmakers into a corner, but perhaps Ford most of all. It reported losing a staggering $12.6 billion. At the start of the year, Ford had announced a restructuring plan involving shedding 30,000 hourly jobs and 14,000 salaried workers, about one-third of its labor force.

Later that year, it raised $23.6 billion in loans by putting many of its most cherished North American assets up as collateral, including the Ford logo. Although the economy was healthy then, Alan R. Mulally, its new chief executive, said the money would give Ford “a cushion to protect for a recession or other unexpected event.” At the time, the request was considered an act of desperation. But the $23.6 billion turned out to be Ford’s salvation. Because of that money, Ford is in far better shape than General Motors and Chrysler. The loans have kept it independent and on a course to survive the worst new-vehicle market in nearly 30 years.

If that is part of his philosophy, I stand corrected

[steve_decker]

YOUR DOUBLY FULL OF BULLSHIT AFTER I CONTACTED THE DEALERSHIP ASKING FOR SERVICE, BOUGHT THE PART FROM THE DEALER AND DID EVERYTHING ELSE CORRECTLY.

You did not perform the repair procedure properly. The factory written service manual states that a memory saver device should be used in any service instance in which the battery cable is disconnected. Had you done that, you would not have had the problem. Originally, GM provided you with the code- WHICH YOU LOST!

I cannot believe you can post such bullshit with a straight keyboard. This is not a medical, legal, tax, or other matter that takes specific training and experience to correctly diagnose and execute. IT'S A DAMN 4-NUMBER CODE and a ruse to cheat people out of more money.

It does indeed require specific training and experience. Did you know how to retrieve your specific code from your radio? NO! In fact, on GM vehicles, the process in which to retrieve the radio code is not as simple as looking at the VIN or any other number. In most cases, it involves a phone call to a support office that is only accessible by dealers. It all takes the time of a tech, which should NOT be expected to do this free of charge.

Look at all the posts between your last post and this one. You are entirely out of touch with what the real world is for automobile consumers.

Not according to my reputation in the industry but, hey, you're entitled to your opinion.

The car companies invented this bullshit. The car companies can service it for free. We didn't ask for this bullshit.

So you propose that innovation not occur unless the technology is specifically requested by consumers? Consumers didn't ask for most innovations in the auto industry but they sure like them now. I suspect that if you had learned about this particular innovation after your radio was stolen rather than after it locked up during service, you would appreciate it. It is a theft-deterrent. Your insurance company appreciates it. As a result of lower premiums, you should too.

We asked for good, safe, reliable automobiles to get us from point A to point B. You couldn't even do that and it took acts of Congress to get pollution and safety built into the cars when the factories wouldn't do it on their own in the USA, while Volvo, Mercedes and others voluntarily researched and engineered safety first; the Japanese listened to W. Edwards Deming and his theories of economic improvement and prospered, while GM laughed at him, literally kicked him out the door, and are now in bankruptcy. Of the big 3, only Ford listened to Deming, and Ford is the only USA auto maker not asking for government money today.

Your stated history of the auto industry is very inaccurate. I could factually refute your paragraph above but that really isn't the issue at hand. BUT, for some interesting reading on the topic, check out this recent article on how Toyota is doing with Deming's methods.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090721 ... th+America" target="_blank" target="_blank

You are completely full of bullshit, and you are digging yourself deeper with each post.

One can never dig themselves a hole when they are speaking the truth.

FWIW, my currently rebellious 13 yr old son read through this post. His comment, "What is this guy so pissed off for? He's the one that screwed up and lost the code. Why does he expect someone to fix his mistake for free?" Ahh, the honest wisdom of youth.

[steve_decker]

Um, are you aware that the vast majority of people are unaware of the existence of any code on the radio? Nowhere in our car's literature is it listed. And if the dealer wants my business in this economy he had better do stuff like Honda has always done for its customers. Business is business. And I take mine where I get the full package and not nickel and dimed to death. At the Honda dealership it is not some tech removed from paying work who does this sort of thing, it is the service writers. We are not talking about rocket science here, but punching in a four digit code after a battery disconnect, which is a very common necessity, even if it was not so this time. This is the exact attitude that is causing harm to GM, et al at the dealership level.

I honestly do not know about Honda's literature but I do know that the concept of a theft-lock code is present in the owner's manual of every GM car potentially equipped with such a radio. I also highly doubt that every Honda dealer provides this service for free. Now, with GM's systems, this isn't a procedure that most service writers can perform. Because it is a security measure, lost codes necessitate a dealer tech calling into a support center with the right information in order to retrieve the code. If Honda's method is as simple as encrypting the code into a number on the glove box door, I really question how secure and useful the technology is.

It is important to remember that dealerships are not owned by the automaker. GM owns no dealerships, nor does Honda. They are indeed independent businesses. Some may choose to offer such a service free of charge as a courtesy while others may charge a nominal fee. The amount that iiipopes dealer wanted does seem quite high to me BUT they still have every right to set that fee for that specific service. I suspect that iiipopes could've shopped around a bit and found a dealer to handle it for $30-$50 or maybe even no charge at all. Instead he found it easier to spend who knows how much time on the internet tracking down the codes himself and then ranting here about how his dealer's poor customer service is what led GM into bankruptcy.

[steve_decker]

Okay, it seems as though a few points need to be settled here since there have been some interesting comments and gyrations in this discussion.

First off, the bankruptcy of GM (and Chrysler for that matter) was not a result of poor dealership service or even poor quality automobiles. There were many, many factors that weakened GM over time to the point that it could not sustain the near-collapse of the banking industry. They needed the cash flow that comes from the previously very common short terms loans that occur with most large corporations. When the credit market tightened, banks stopped lending to GM because of their weakened state. That, along with interesting manuvering in DC, led to their bankruptcy. The fact of the matter is that GM could've returned to profitability within a few weeks by stopping production of cars and only buidling/selling trucks and SUVs. However, the buying public did not want that nor did the current administration.

Secondly, with very few exceptions, dealerships are NOT owned by automakers. GM, Ford, Toyota, whomever, does not control the service that a dealership provides. That is up to the individual dealer and, in many cases, the service manager. What most consumers do not understand is that services such as changing light bulbs (as mentioned in an earlier post) cost the service department money. Using the lightbulb example on the Silverado, it truly is about a 10 minute job with bulbs in hand. In a service dept. though, a bay is tied up for at least 10 minutes while the parts dept pulls the bulbs and gets them to the tech. He/she then has to spend a few minutes swapping out the bulbs. That results in about 15 mins pulled away from a higher paying, higher profit job. Now, at book time for swapping out those bulbs (say 0.3 hours) at a shop labor rate of $80/hr is $24 plus parts for the job. It really isn't worthwhile for the service dept. to pull someone away from another job for 15 minutes in order to bring in $24 in revenue. As such, some dealers will bump up the prices on such jobs so that they don't have to deal with that type of work. Other dealers feel as though there is enough of a customer service benefit to offering such services, sometimes for free. Both types of dealers exist regardless of what brand they represent. There are as many lousy Honda, Toyota, and Kia dealers as there are lousy GM, Ford, and Chrysler dealers. When I was a service manager, we swapped most bulbs, wipers, and batteries out for free. In the instance of unlocking a radio, I charged for that. It took a solid half-hour of a tech's time so I charged the customer a half-hour of labor (and never had a customer complain about it either). On the flip side, there are some customers who are so difficult that they are well-known within the dealer and the difficulty that they present necessitates some latitude with price to adequately compensate for the additional time required to deal with them.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

FWIW, $100 is about the minimum amount many dealers will charge for any service to your vehicle. Even changing a fuse or a bulb. The minimum at many dealers is 1 hour labor, and that rate at dealers is right around $100/hour.

The OP should be congratulated for taking the initiative to fix his own thermostat/housing assembly and also for the creativity to find a code that worked for his radio online. I'm glad it worked out for him without having to spend the money on labor he obviously could perform himself.

But I also see Steve's side, as well. Car forums are all populated with folks trying to avoid the labor costs and get "free training" so that they can do such procedures themselves. In some cases, despite the best intentions of those who offer free advice, they make the problems worse. Dealership-level service is a premium and carries a premium price. There's no reason to expect it for free.

I don't see the need for the outrage, either. The OP solved the problem with minor inconvenience. I would think the logical outrage against GM would be against the poorly thought-out security system that allows thieves to retrieve a few possible four-digit codes off the internet to make their stolen radio functional.

[lgb&dtuba]

FWIW, $100 is about the minimum amount many dealers will charge for any service to your vehicle. Even changing a fuse or a bulb. The minimum at many dealers is 1 hour labor, and that rate at dealers is right around $100/hour.

Then they are rapidly pricing themselves out of business.

Personally I don't give a rat's *** what rationale they use to "justify" that rate. What I know is that it's not worth $100 of my money to have 3 light bulbs changed. If they cannot stay in business by charging rates that people are willing to pay, then they'll go out of business.

It's that simple.

As for using the the high price to discourage people from getting that type of work done there then just don't offer that service. At least that would be honest. Anything else is either a blatant rip-off or an insult.

[iiipopes]

I stand by my posts. I contacted the dealer. The one I purchased the car from. I did what they said. If they were too shallow to tell me everything I needed to know when I asked up front, even after purchasing the parts from the dealer, then it's still all bullshit.

This wasn't a head gasket change, or major surgery on the main bearings, a tranny rebuild, or anything else that required at least some modicum of technical ability or specialized training or tools, although I have changed the head gasket on my 1967 Jaguar E-type, pulling the head, shimming the clearances on the valves, then subsequently rebuilding all three carburetors and linkage, and so forth to make sure it was done comprehensively and properly, and doing everything else in the tech manual suggestions, and it runs great.

It's still the damned attitude of the USA auto companies, as personified by the poster who insulted the hell out of me by being so damned condescending instead of trying to find out the whole picture of what happened, who don't want to give real customer service after the average consumer has made, when purchasing a new automobile, the second largest investment that the consumer usually ever makes in their life after a house. Until that changes, the foreign car companies will always have the advantage.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

Personally I don't give a rat's *** what rationale they use to "justify" that rate. What I know is that it's not worth $100 of my money to have 3 light bulbs changed. If they cannot stay in business by charging rates that people are willing to pay, then they'll go out of business.

It's that simple.

As for using the the high price to discourage people from getting that type of work done there then just don't offer that service. At least that would be honest. Anything else is either a blatant rip-off or an insult.

Naturally, that's why you wouldn't choose to go to a dealership service department to have 3 light bulbs changed. You'd probably do it yourself.

But that doesn't mean there aren't many other folks who do find the work done at dealer service departments "worth the extra money." It would be silly not to offer any service on a proprietary vehicle when you have dealer mechanics fully trained to handle any such service with the proper tools and information to provide those services. The fact that there is a minimum service charge doesn't make the smallest services a rip-off or insult, particularly to those who prefer their dealer to take care of those minor problems for them rather than get their own hands dirty.

Besides, dealer service departments stay in business just fine by providing those services that are only available through certified dealerships...particularly on vehicles less than 5 years old.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I stand by my posts. I contacted the dealer. The one I purchased the car from. I did what they said. If they were too shallow to tell me everything I needed to know when I asked up front, even after purchasing the parts from the dealer, then it's still all bullshit.

I don't understand this. You expected them to warn you not to remove the battery cable when replacing your thermostat and housing? Or that if you did to plug in a memory saver into the power outlet? Or were you talking about something else that they should have told you about the procedure? Why should they? DIY (do it yourself) at your own risk. Many mechanics still have this old sign in their businesses:

LABOR RATES:

$50/hour
$75/hour if you watch/assist
$100/hour if you worked on it first

This wasn't a head gasket change, or major surgery on the main bearings, a tranny rebuild, or anything else that required at least some modicum of technical ability or specialized training or tools, although I have changed the head gasket on my 1967 Jaguar E-type, pulling the head, shimming the clearances on the valves, then subsequently rebuilding all three carburetors and linkage, and so forth to make sure it was done comprehensively and properly, and doing everything else in the tech manual suggestions, and it runs great.

But again, as Steve explained, it was a matter requires specialized knowledge and access to secure information. That takes a technician's time, and that costs money.

It's still the damned attitude of the USA auto companies, as personified by the poster who insulted the hell out of me by being so damned condescending instead of trying to find out the whole picture of what happened, who don't want to give real customer service after the average consumer has made, when purchasing a new automobile, the second largest investment that the consumer usually ever makes in their life after a house. Until that changes, the foreign car companies will always have the advantage.

Foreign vehicle dealerships don't give away procedures for free, either. Their parts are often much more expensive and take longer to procure.

Steve tempered his response with an apology first, and everything he said was true. You lost the code. You chose to disconnect the cable without using a memory saver when it wasn't at all necessary. You directly caused the problem with the radio because of your lack of knowledge. That's not an insult, it's merely the truth. Sorry if it upsets you, but I don't agree with your anger at the dealership or at Steve's attempt to explain their position.

Again, I applaud you for buying the part and doing the repair yourself. I'm also glad you were able to get the radio functioning again through your own research efforts. I still fail to understand, however, why you feel like purchasing the part from the dealer entitles you to other free services or free training to correct your own mistakes.

[tofu]

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