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I was gifted a 94 firebird that has no key for it. I have possession of the title. I need to know how to get a new key made for hopefully not too steep of a price. Does anyone have any advice on where to start?
You probably need to pull the ignition cylinder from the column and take it to a locksmith or GM dealership. If the car has VATS (or whatever anti-thief system is called that has the resistor pill in the key), the locksmith/dealer will likely need some additional info like your VIN# in order to get the resistor value right.
I agree with Johnny the best bet is a dealer or locksmith. You could always get a cylinder already keyed to a key that is cut in a box from an aftermarket store but you could have to still see a dealer if you have a theft system. Also if you dont want to travel to your local dealer I would suggest just calling their parts department with a VIN number ready and ask them if they can cut a key by vin in house and ask if the car has a theft system (they will need to program the key if so)
Unfortunately, the non-destructive way to remove the ignition cylinder involves having the key that matches it first. Without having the key, removing the ignition cylinder becomes much more difficult and/or destructive (e.g. using a slide hammer).
A good locksmith can determine the needed cuts in the key in order to cut a key that will turn the ignition cylinder but not the resistor value necessary to keep VATS (Vehicle Anti Theft System) from preventing starting. There is no programming involved (or even possible) - you just need to match the resistor on the ignition key to the value expected by VATS. That part is not overly difficult although it is time consuming. Once you get a key that turns the ignition (either from a locksmith or by replacing the ignition cylinder with a new one and its matching key) then you can crawl under the dash with a bunch of resistors or one of those VATS bypass kits to determine the correct resistor needed by trying each of the 15 possible values until you find the one that works. Then all you need do is get a key blank with the correct resistor and have it cut to match the ignition cylinder. Or you could bypass VATS using the resistor value you found and then not worry about the resistor in the key.
On the earlier 4th generations, VATS was a separate module mounted behind the right kick panel. Later models (97+) incorporated VATS into the BCM (Body Control Module) mounted behind the glove box.
If the title is in your name, take the title to your dealer and they can cut one for you. Can't remember if you had to have a registration. As far as price, better ask, sometimes they are high but it is to the vin. Only downside is if it was changed at some point and not original.
My car came with only 1 set of keys but 2 key fobs. I was able to record the value and cross reference it online. I went to the local GM dealer and they didn't have the keys in stock and told me it would take months to get them.... what they could do was confirm my key resistor value, for free! The parts guy did check local inventories and found 1 dealer with the key I needed, 40 miles away. I got there and they told me their key reader was broken but I had the value so I had the keys made, I believe it was $35 a key, I had 2 made. Without the value the advise above I believe is best. Take the title to a dealership and see if they can look it up for you, and the door key as that is needed for the rear hatch and t-tops if you have them. I believe the cars originally came with a set of plastic keys on a card to be used to make copies in the case of an emergency. I have heard differing anecdotes on dealers being able to retrieve these.
You can buy the keys on Amazon and ebay. I bought a spare on Amazon. Just make sure you buy one that matches the resistor pellet in the one you have now. Any locksmith can cut them.
A lot of info and guesses here. Here's how it works.
The title or registration must be in whoevers name is trying to get a key code from the dealer along with an ID. They will make a copy of it to keep on file per GM rules. But being a 94 I highly doubt GM still has the code on file. Also if the cylinder had ever been changed out to to the VATS wires commonly breaking, a new cylinder comes with it's own trace key that new keys will be cut to.
As for getting the proper resistance key and not having a key to check, A dealer will have a tool called VATS interrogator that get plugged in and has to have a working ignition. Its manually switched through the 15 different positions until it starts. It's a PITA.
If you search the web, theres ways to bypass it permanently.
I am a GM tech and also work in the Parts dept as backup. So I know both sides of the counter.
Hello all! I bought a ‘91 RS Camaro at a lien auction that didn’t have keys. Yes the dealer can cut a key for the doors and ignition, as long as the previous own didn’t change them.
GM stopped maintaining codes after 10 years, so unless you have a lot if time(and Patience)
under the dash panel below the steering column, there are two white wires that are the leads coming from the Ignition key lock, unplug these and you’ll have to plug in a resistor value for the “15” possible vats keys-
you can get a variety of resistors and download the list of vats key resistor values and try each value one at a time.after you plug in the resistor combination for the vats key, turn the ignition key to start, if the security light goes off, your good, if not, it will lick you out for 10 minutes. Then you try the next value,etc…
i got lucky, got it on the second try.
Hello all! I bought a ‘91 RS Camaro at a lien auction that didn’t have keys. Yes the dealer can cut a key for the doors and ignition, as long as the previous own didn’t change them.
GM stopped maintaining codes after 10 years, so unless you have a lot if time(and Patience)
under the dash panel below the steering column, there are two white wires that are the leads coming from the Ignition key lock, unplug these and you’ll have to plug in a resistor value for the “15” possible vats keys-
you can get a variety of resistors and download the list of vats key resistor values and try each value one at a time.after you plug in the resistor combination for the vats key, turn the ignition key to start, if the security light goes off, your good, if not, it will lick you out for 10 minutes. Then you try the next value,etc…
i got lucky, got it on the second try.
I’ve got a 93 TA I’m working on. My key shows 3.815. Their chart list a 3.74 and a 4.75. Which one should I go with? Thanks
Those numbers would be in k-ohms... GM published its numbers in ohms so that would be 3740 and 4750 ohms respectively. VATS has a 10% tolerance so the 3740 value allows between 3366 and 4114 ohms which is where your key falls. If you're doing a bypass, remember that the resistors you use will have a tolerance value which tightens with increased cost... a 1% tolerance resistor will cost a lot more than a 5% or 10% resistor.
There is no 3740 resistor commonly available so you will need two common resistors to do a VATS bypass. You can use a 3600 and a 150 in series, a 3300 and a 430 in series, or two 7500 resistors in parallel to produce 3750 ohms - well within the 10% tolerance the system will allow. Still, you should get at least 5% tolerance resistors to avoid the possibility of going outside the range by being unlucky and getting two 10% resistors where both just happen to be at the extreme of their tolerance range.
So a lot of newcomers on here. Here's some old school stuff.
Go to shbox.com he has all the answers you're looking for. Be nice and donate a few $. He has been doing this since before Windows 95 and most of you were born. LOL
So a lot of newcomers on here. Here's some old school stuff.
Go to shbox.com he has all the answers you're looking for. Be nice and donate a few $. He has been doing this since before Windows 95 and most of you were born. LOL
So a lot of newcomers on here. Here's some old school stuff.
Go to shbox.com he has all the answers you're looking for. Be nice and donate a few $. He has been doing this since before Windows 95 and most of you were born. LOL
02-19-2021, 08:57 PM
Getting a key made for a 94 firebird formula? 
