2005 Malibu unlocks spontaneously, now the car won't start

10

Asked by Holly Nov 08, 2018 at 10:53 AM about the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Over the past month I noticed that my car doors unlock by themselves when
I'm driving and when the car is parked. When I'm driving, the doors will unlock
over and over. Different doors will unlock at different times. I can't lock the
door using the driver side button. When I park, I'll lock the car with my key fob,
only for the car to unlock by itself shortly after. I thought it might be a faulty key
fob, but now the car won't start. When I turn the key in the ignition, the lights
come on and the doors make unlocking sounds. Basically the car spazzes out
and the dash lights flash, but it won't start. I tried jumping the car, but it didn't
work. I want to get some advice to see if the problem can be fixed my me and
my grandpa before going to a mechanic. Another note, I had the bumper and
front left quarter panel replaced about a month ago when I started noticing the
problem, so I'm wondering if wiring was messed up during the repairs.

3 Answers

43,020

This is a tough one. I first thought the key fob is acting up. The body shop probably didn't do any welding for that repair but while welding on a car, the battery is to be disconnected so not to damage the electronics. I would have a parts store scan for fault codes before disconnecting the battery a few minutes to reset the computer. (Fault codes can be lost when disconnecting battery.)These are things you might try until someone can give you a more concrete answer. I'm an "old school" mechanic and don't know much electronics. Wish you the best.

1 people found this helpful.
10

You were right Hornet_2497! My grandpa neglected to tell me that he put aluminum foil in the key fob to make the circuits in it work better, and the aluminum under the "unlock" button was shifted, causing it to short out. After charging the battery for a few minutes, the car started just fine! Not sure why it wasn't working Monday night. The unlocking issue went away as soon as I put the aluminum foil in the fob back in place.

1 people found this helpful.
43,020

Holly. I am always thrilled when someone is able to diagnose the problem and avoid a costly repair. If it happens again, you will know what to look for.

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