Locked radio on my 2001 Suburban
Reaching out on what I admit is a long shot. My 1996 Suburban transmission went out last year and I finally bought a 2001 Suburban as a replacement. The problem is when I swapped the dead battery, the...
Forum Discussion
mapguy wrote:
You need a Tech 2 tool or a scan tool like vxDiag Nano that emulates a Tech 2 tool plus an active subscription with GM to retrieve the code. Short term subscriptions are available, but it would be cheaper to have a dealer do the work if you don't need a Tech 2 level scan tool in the future.
Yeah that seems to be the way this is going although I can see from the many postings on the internet the Tech2 tool became a requirement in 2003 (mine is a 2001) because the radios were linked to the VIN. So until GM decided to turn off the 800 number people who had lost their code could retrieve a code out of the radio and dial an 800 number (computer automated, no salaries involved) to retrieve the unlock code. Then somewhere around July this year the number got disconnected.
wnjj wrote:
This whole idea is just plain stupid. Maybe it made sense in the late 90's when the easiest replacement for your then larger, nice fitting OEM radio was another stolen one. These days who in their right mind even wants one other than the poor guy who just wants a cheap (sometimes throwaway) OEM radio.
Why can't the unlock code algorithm/database just be published at this point or at least after the units are 5+ years old?
I agree with you wnjj, I probably couldn't give this 18 year old factory radio away and GM thinks I'm going to pay $150 to unlock it? It's their company and they can do/run it any way they want, but it doesn't seem very well thought out. Anyway I guess I'll be running without a radio until I can afford an aftermarket unit.
