Steve’s 1999 Astro Van: The $593 Quote That Wouldn’t Have Fixed It

Steve Wolfman is the original owner of a 1999 Chevy Astro van with only 102,000 miles on it. He wrote to us in November 2017, and then wrote again half an hour later because he had forgotten the most damning detail. Both messages are below.

The chain shop and the week of grace

“Recently the van would attempt to start and failed so I had the van towed to a national shop. They checked fuel pump and other ‘things’ and did a key relearn. Van then ran for about a week and then again failed to start.”

A relearn that buys a week is Passlock in a sentence: the procedure teaches the BCM to accept the sensor’s current drifted value, and then the value keeps drifting. It is not a repair, it is a postponement with paperwork.

Code 1626, and a dead end at the parts counter

“A mobile mechanic found fault code 1626 indicating ‘passkey module’ problem. Since there is NO replacement module available from GM or after market (other than a rebuilt module), I choose to purchase the NEWROCKIES MODULE since it is a permanent bypass of the defective Passkey Module and I am very HAPPY. I now have a reliable van probably good for another 200,000 miles or so.”

He is right about the parts situation, and it matters. On the 1998-1999 Astro and Safari the security logic runs through an EVO/Passlock module behind the instrument cluster, and GM no longer supplies a new one. When the judging module itself is the fault and no replacement exists, a bypass is not the cheap option, it is the only option that is not a used part with the same clock ticking.

The follow-up email

“Please add to my story something important that I forgot: When I picked up my van from the shop, they suggested that I replace the ignition key and lock cylinders and quoted $593.03 and that would not have solved my problem. NEWROCKIES ROCKS!”

He came back specifically to warn other owners about that quote. $593.03 for new keys and lock cylinders, on a van whose actual fault, per its own diagnostic code, was in the module those parts talk to. The keys were never the problem. This is not usually dishonesty; it is shops repairing the end of the system they can buy parts for.

If you have an Astro or Safari

The module location and full wiring are here: 1998-1999 Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari installation guide. If a shop has quoted you for keys and cylinders on one of these vans, ask them which fault code they are fixing, and then come talk to us about the NEWROCKIES PRO Module.

Related stories on the blog. The other van on the blog: Joseph’s 1998 Express, a year of parts before he found us.

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