In the first half of 2009, the most successful pickup in America was the Chevrolet Silverado. Now more than ever, people value the ability to drive a vehicle that will last for many years. The Silverado is a dependable workhorse with fuel economy compared to other vehicles in its class. Silverados come with remote keyless entry and OnStar. a one-year subscription to OnStar. OnStar is a one-year subscription, navigation, and remote diagnostic service. General Motors’ parent company owns them, and they’ve been around since 1996. The Silverado features several features, including a driver who can unlock the doors.
This blog will discuss some of your issues with locking and unlocking your 2008 Chevy Silverado.
Contents
Power door locks go on and off issue.
In this issue, power door locks go on and off. Gauges fluctuate, compass display in mirror flashes illegible digits. I had it at the dealer today, and they went through the mega fuse/connections (see TSB below). The truck works well for some time, but the same issue comes back again.
I think the battery on your vehicle is bad. If your vehicle still has the warranty, the dealership will replace it for free or call Pioneer Chevrolet in Marietta, OH and ask for the service department. Tell them your problem, and they will tell you they have seen this issue before. Your battery needs to be replaced. If your vehicle is under warranty, have the dealer replace the battery. If they say, your battery is okay, let them call Pioneer Chevrolet and ask for the service department. Everything will be normal once the battery is replaced.
Before going to the dealer to fix it, you can try them at home. This is what I found in a help guide.
1) First, remove the 175 amp Mega fuse and inspect for arcing. If any arcing is found, replace the components.
2) When you are re-installing the 175 amp Mega fuse, torque fasteners attach the mega fuse to the positive cables to SI specifications.
3) Notice the voltage drop reading on the positive and negative battery cables.
The voltage drop should be performed while the fuel injectors are disabled while cranking the engine. The voltage drop should not exceed 200 mV. If the voltage limit exceeds, replace the affected cable. Follow this repairing process thoroughly and complete each step. If you solve the issue before following all the steps, you do not need to continue the remaining steps.
So here is what I believe in having fixed the issue. Before taking the truck back to the dealer, pull the cables, clean them and tighten them at all connection points. Follow the same procedure to the battery and the ground in front of the motor. I pulled the fuse box to clean the positive connection on the bottom of the box. After releasing the cam lock handles and raising the box, I noticed an area where the plastic looked smashed at the bottom of the box. There are a lot of guideposts to line up the fuse connectors in the top of the box with the wire harnesses in the bottom portion of the box. In the top of the box, one of these posts was bent over, not going into its sleeve in the bottom but instead smashing into the plastic next to the sleeve. Try fixing this with a pair of pliers, aligned everything and put it all back together, and knock on wood. The issue is solved. The connectors from the fuses were not seated well into the harnesses causing the gremlins.
How to unlock the truck?
- You can use the key. Ensure the truck is in Park and insert the ignition key into the lock on the driver’s side. Turn it counterclockwise until you hear a thump. Return the key to its original position. Remove the key from the lock. Now the door is unlocked.
- Use it if you have a remote control for keyless entry. Unlock the doors with your remote control. Press the button that has a picture of an open lock. Press the button once to unlock the driver’s-side door and twice to unlock all the doors.
- OnStar can help you access your vehicle in the event of an emergency, whether your truck is within a certain distance of your current location or not. You’ll have to have an active subscription and will need to know your PIN to unlock it this way. Get a free one-year subscription to OnStar with new GM vehicles. Add on a monthly service fee once the year is up if you want to continue the subscription.
- Get the help of a locksmith to unlock the truck.
- Break the window and unlock the door from inside. If the keys are inside the truck, put them in the ignition key and turn them on to reactivate the alarm. Even though this may be your final solution, don’t try this if there aren’t keys inside.
How to unlock the truck door without a key?
This only works with doors with knobs.
This method is only convenient if you by any chance have dental floss or a string with you. It works better on a string that’s not waxed.
Tie a slipknot that’s not going to slip very easily. Tie the slip now to the middle of the string.
Put it in front of the top of the door, behind the back right where the door closed. It’s actually inside the window.
Slowly drag it down from both sides and bring the slipknot down by the knob.
It would be best to have a lot of string on both sides because it has to go almost flat.
It is kind of challenging to do with one hand.
Once the knob is inside the slipknot, pull up, and there you go. The door is unlocked now.
Please do this in your car because the alarm will ring after opening it.
For a video demonstration, check this video on YouTube from 2:35.
How do you slim jim?
If you want to unlock a Chevy Silverado with a slim jim, you will need to slide the slim jim between the window and the door.
After completing this step, grab the door lock and release the cable located in the door. Pull up the lock.
I would not recommend anyone to use a slim jim on their vehicle because sometimes it can damage your window gaskets or glass. This may lead to water getting into your door and damaging electrical components and the window track.
If you are locked out of your truck, call a licensed locksmith, and they will be able to get into your vehicle for you without causing any damage to any components in the truck.
