Your GM radio shows LOC. You enter the code with the MIN and HR buttons, not the presets — and any zero in your code is not displayed at all. Full steps below — free.
Theftlock is General Motors' anti-theft system. It uses a secret code to disable every radio function the moment battery power is removed. If the battery is disconnected, goes flat, or the radio is taken out, the radio will not work again until that code is entered.
When it is locked the display reads LOC. With the ignition off you may also see the Theftlock LED flashing — that simply means the radio is secured.
These are the steps for a radio that is already showing LOC. Do not pause between them — see the timer warning below.
SEC at the end is the good result — it means the radio is unlocked and secured to your vehicle.
If your code contains a zero, the display will not show it. You count the button presses instead.
Example: for the code 0216, press MIN 21 times and HR 6 times. The leading zero is simply disregarded.
More people get stuck on this than on anything else about Theftlock. If your code has a zero in it and the display is not doing what you expect, this is why.
If more than 15 seconds passes between any two steps, the radio gives up and reverts to showing the time. You then have to start the sequence again from the beginning.
Read the steps through before you start so you are not looking things up half way.
INOP appears after eight incorrect attempts. The radio has locked you out.
Wait one hour with the ignition on before trying again. After that wait you get only three more chances, so do not go back in guessing. Make sure you have the correct code first.
For GM we work from the radio serial number. On many GM units you can bring it up on the display: with the ignition on and the radio showing LOC, press and hold presets 2 and 3 together (on some units 1 and 4) for around ten seconds, and the serial appears.
If it will not display, the serial is on the label on the radio casing.
Theftlock is fitted across the GM range — Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Hummer and Saturn. The unlock sequence above is the standard Theftlock procedure used on these radios.
Chevrolet codes are ordered through the same GM page.
How long does a GM radio code take?
Usually 30 minutes to 24 hours once we have your radio serial number. Express orders are prioritised.
How will I get the code?
By email, to the address on your order.
Nothing has arrived after 24 hours.
Usually the serial never reached us, our email bounced, or there was a typo in the email address or the serial. Check spam, then contact us.
Is the code the same for every GM car?
No. It belongs to that individual radio.
Send us the radio serial number and we email your Theftlock code back. Supplied by us directly.
Express service $24.99 — prioritised
The order page asks for your radio serial number.
