Lucerne Lockout

Hi Acp...

Not a mechanic, just an old retired electrical guy, so for what little it may be worth...

Have a Chrysler that would once in a while open the trunk with no apparent reason...

Turned out to be the key fob - the trunk button was much much too sensitive. Just patting my pocket (to see if the keys were there) was enough to open it. I cured it by dis-assembling it and bending that particular contact further away, so it now needs a firm press.

I saw the part where you had left them in the car and still had it happen... possible your spouse has a second fob, and it's the "bad" one?

Just a thought..

Take care.

Ken

Thanks for the input. As you pointed out, with the transmitter in the car and well immobilized I cannot believe that's the problem.

According to the manual with the door lock delay function enabled there is supposed to be a 10 second delay after pushing either the in-car lock button or the lock button on the transmitter before the doors lock.

Well it works as advertised when pushing the in-car button, but when pushing the transmitter button the locks activate instantly. That happens every time. I only mention this as to me it shows the system is not working properly. I'll have to find out if all Lucernes operate like mine.

I have to have the car in for some other service work and will bring up this problem. I can already hear the answer, "no problem found". That's the trouble with very intermittent problems.

It happened to me three times where the keys were left in the car. Had to call On-Star to get it opened. That's OK, but now that the car is over a year old the "free" On-Star service has lapsed. Can't see spending 200 bux to renew it every year.

You can be sure they don't just lock themselves.

Carry the valet key in your wallet or get one made that is flat, no plastic on the end. Or just stop leaving your keys in the car.

It doesnt happen on our 98 LeSabre, but it DOES happen on my Dodge Custom van.

I think it is an electronic logic situation. It was there when I first got the car, and later - when the OEM security system failed - I had it replaced with an aftermarket unit. The aftermarket unit works flawlessly, EXCEPT that sometimes when I exit, the van gets paranoid and locks the car.

I have learned to keep the keys in my pocket, or leave a window open when I get out, AND I keep an extra set of keys hidden in the van body if I forget (1) or (2). I have given up trying to figure when and why it happens. It just doesnt make any difference to me anymore.

Does this happen at random or does it happen in the same area (mall, work parking lot)? I had a problem with the remote start/locks in my van when it was parked in from of a couple stores. I would shut it off, lock it and come back out to find it had started itself! Turned out to be a signal the store used for the security cameras was near the same frequency...

You're right they don't lock themselves, the solenoids do, but something has to issue the command and it ain't me.

Lucernes do not come with a valet key.

Obviously I can stop leaving the keys in car. I only do it at home, it's a convenience thing.

I'm going to the locksmith tomorrow and see if they will made a key to just open the door. The keys supplied with the car are too fat to fit in my wallet and I cannot see destroying it my machining of the anti-theft stuff on the end. I did that with a Park Avenue valet key.

As long as I had the On-Star service in place I could rely on them to open it for me.

Random locations.

I've had four other Buicks, one Park Avenue and three LeSabres, never happened once with any of those.

Well then you may have a problem in the BCM that is telling the locks to trip. Maybe when you talk to the dealer ask them if there is an update for your car. I believe there are already some but not sure if locks are one of the items covered. I know that my dads Lucerne was having a major problem with the lights staying on and killing the battery. He also had a problem with the climate system not holding it's settings. They took care of both problems with an update.

ACP, on wife's car I've been having a door-key cut for years, and been mounting it underneath driver's rear via a stove bolt, fitted snugly with a flat, a lock washer, and double-nuts. Then, put key on this "stud" and secure using a wing nut, so she can unbolt it w/out a wrench. Plan on the spot to drill for stove bolt, so key can be rotated out of sight of the casual 'looker'. Saved me many trips. (Now that I am older, I put one on my ride too!) HTH, s

What is "driver's rear"?

Under the rear of the vehicle on the driver's side--kinda like under rear bumper on driver's side--but further underneath and still reachable-from-kneeling down at rear of car. Sometimes you may even use the bumper itself, running bolt from bottom of bumper thru it with threads above bmpr. Sometimes, bumper position won't allow you to hide the key once bolted in place--hence you then look further underneath vehicle and maybe put bolt thru a 'lip' formed by unibody panels. Lie down on your back & look up & around for easy to reach, yet hard to see location. Really lucky if your doorkey is also your ignition key AND the key carries a microchip AND KMart can cut an old-type key that will open door and will turn on ignition BUT will not allow engine to start and run due to NO microchip--$1.00 item will open door to access keys left in ign. switch but disallow a thief from finding hiding place & driving off w/your car. HTH, s

Actually, some problems with GM's just locking themselves does occur. My brother has a Pontiac that exhibited this problem. Open the door, get out and close the door, and presto, the doors would lock - all by themselves. I know he took it back to the dealer for some work, but I don't know what the dealer did to the car.

This has come up quite a few times on this group. There are some very valid times to leave the keys in the car. The doors should not lock themselves, and this is a problem of the car, not of leaving the keys in the car. There's a good chance, based on the experience my brother had, that the dealer can fix this problem though.

Yes, what I meant was, they don't lock by themselves by design. I'm sure they do by some problem.

This bulletin does not exactly apply to your situation, but it shows there is a software update for the RKE module.

Condition Some customers may comment about one or more of the following conditions:

. The remote keyless entry (RKE) transmitters will not program, function and/or the RKE transmitter low battery message is displayed.

. The Service Tire Monitor System message is displayed.

. The new RKE transmitters cannot be programmed.

Cause Any of these concerns may be caused by an internal fault with the transmitters and/or the RCDLR software/hardware.

Correction DO NOT REPLACE THE BCM OR RADIO ANTENNA MODULE.

Complete the following repair procedures for all vehicles listed in this bulletin:

Important: When programming a new or existing RCDLR, the programming instructions in SI must be followed.

. On vehicles equipped with Tire Pressure Monitoring (TPM), the tire type and tire pressures must be selected in the module set-up using the Tech 2®. If this step is not performed, the RCDLR will not retain the tire pressures after the TPM system is learned.

Tip: When selecting the Tire Type/Pressure, choose the appropriate selection on the Tech 2 based on psi, not kPa.

. Relearn the TPM sensors using the J 46079 and following the procedure found in SI.

1.. Reprogram the RCDLR with the latest software update available through TIS2WEB. Important: New transmitters are identified by a star on the back of the transmitter. It is important to verify that the replacement transmitters have a star on the back. 2.. Replace both Remote Keyless Entry transmitters.