[lamrith]

Well this came up in the FOB programming thread and I figured I would bring it to the front in hopes that more people would see it that may normally ignore the FOB thread(s)

I have a Canadian spec car. It has now been imported into the US. Being Canadian specd that means I cannot program fobs among other things. It has been mentioned that I should be able to go to a dealer that has a Tech2 and they can reconfigure it as a US car. I just called one dealer and it was like I was speaking martian to him. "ahh I don't think that is possible or where to even look" and that is one of the big chevy dealer's in the area. /facepalm..

Does anyone have any experience or hard data on that? Even better would be info on where in the tech 2 they would need to go in it to do this..

 

[daddy_o]

Lam, welcome to the US, perhaps you may have asked the seller to the north if they had info on how to do this.

 

[lamrith]

Born and Raised in US, just bought this car from Canada..

I never realized it was an issue until the car was already in customs, and he had never exported/imported a vehicle before. If I had realized it was a problem I would have, or at least mailed him the spare FOB I bought and had him program it in as part of the deal and been none the wiser.. But that is just not how my luck rolls..

 

[Dino1SG]

You should call back to the dealer and ask to speak with the shop foreman and if he doesn't understand, ask him to talk to his most experienced electrical/drivability technician that does the most programming at the dealership. It may not be possible to "set it up as a US vehicle" as simple as that but on the other hand it may very well be. In my experience with importing and exporting vehicles to and from the US and Canada, the daytime running lights need to be programmed "on" for Canada and the US like to be able to read "passenger airbag" on the indicator light instead of the picture and I have never run in to any "US" or "Canada" in setting vehicles/modules up for either or.

Now as far as programming fobs for the Canadian STS - I have only had luck using a tech2, although I do recall some sequence with the driver door lock cylinder that at least for me, never seemed to activate the learning process as it was outlined but that's just my two cents.

 

[ddalder]

Okay, I'm not surprised to hear the response you got from the dealer. With all due respect, most dealers just aren't all that smart. They know the procedures listed in the service manual but beyond that, you may as well talk a completely foreign language. Over the years I've been fortunate enough to develop relationships with specific dealers who have entertained my requests and direction.

The change that I previously suggested to you needs to be made in the configuration settings of the Instrument Panel Module. This is where the country is set, along with enabling the various installed options. The country option is the very first configuration item to select. I have personally changed this in mine to test whether or not DRL's can be disabled so I can assure you that a country can most certainly be selected. In fact, there are probably about twelve different options to select from.

Kind of off-topic for a moment, there is not a lot of difference between the US and Canada DRL configuration. In both instances the DRL's will always come on when the car is shifted out of PARK. The difference is that for US cars, the operator can manually rotate the collar on the signal lever to turn them off while out of PARK but in Canada, this action will not turn them off. There are some countries that can be selected where the DRL's will not come on at all. The problem is that these countries also have different theft deterrent requirements and selecting them may cause other unpredictable behaviour.

So, getting back to the original question... Yes, I know the STS can be reconfigured for a number of different countries because I've done it. What I can't guarantee is whether this will actually change the theft deterrent system to allow user programming of fobs because I have not tried to do this. My guess is that there's a good chance it will work.

Call the dealer (or perhaps another) back again. I most certainly do not recommend discussing this with a front-end service adviser because the chances they'll understand what you're talking about is almost nil. As suggested, see if you can talk to the Service Manager or Shop Foreman. Most Service Managers I've ever met have been a shop foreman at some point so they will likely have some idea where to go. If they don't understand how to accomplish what you need, ask if they will call the Technical Assistance Center. This is a group of support people in place to help technicians at GM dealerships solve problems they have been unable to manage within the dealership. They will have the answer.

----------

Here is the screen where the programming change is made...

 

[lamrith]

Thanks a ton guys. Yes I spoke with a front line guy and he did not know but stated he would talk to his Svc Manager today about it. The challenge is I am not sure I was able to relay exactly what is needed. I was talking with a GM dealer in hopes they might be a bit cheaper than the Caddy dealer, they are also much closer to home.

Ddalder, thanks a ton for the extra info, that should help quite a bit! I have trimmed your info down a bit and printed it so I can take with me to help them. I take it they would just need to change the bottom entry to be US and then save and it would then reset both RIM and IPM to US? I figure worth a shot! I may very well have them reprogram the 2 fobs I have since they are in there as you mentioned previously. Then when I get home I can test the door lock and see if it will let me add a 3rd and be sure to report back to everyone.

 

[mckellyb]

There are some countries that can be selected where the DRL's will not come on at all. The problem is that these countries also have different theft deterrent requirements and selecting them may cause other unpredictable behaviour.

Damn!

I knew they could be turned off, permanently, because some countries do not allow them, but hoped it was a setting all by itself.

It's to the point, I don't even notice how habitually I flick them off at start-up, usually before the engine actually catches. Still annoying to have to do that, however.

 

[ddalder]

I have trimmed your info down a bit and printed it so I can take with me to help them. I take it they would just need to change the bottom entry to be US and then save and it would then reset both RIM and IPM to US?

Hopefully the part about many dealers not being too smart LOL Yes, the country can be changed and the settings saved without the need to alter other configuration items. Changes made in the IPM are automatically updated in the Rear Integration Module as well. The RIM stores a backup copy of the configuration information.

There are some countries that can be selected where the DRL's will not come on at all. The problem is that these countries also have different theft deterrent requirements and selecting them may cause other unpredictable behaviour.

Damn!

I knew they could be turned off, permanently, because some countries do not allow them, but hoped it was a setting all by itself.

It's to the point, I don't even notice how habitually I flick them off at start-up, usually before the engine actually catches. Still annoying to have to do that, however.

Selecting "Europe" will do it, but like I said, I'm not sure what other odd behaviour might start. I'm a supporter of DRL's because I've personally seen them do exactly what they are supposed to do.

 

[lamrith]

Yeah the parts about staff not being super smart.. so what does IPM stand for? You told s what RIM stands for...

Yeah DRL's are not issue for me, in fact my last car was also a canadian car and had DRL. Then the PCM gave out and the replacement must have been US as the DRL's no longer came on.. Yeah up here in grey and rainging land DRL's are literally life savers. Can't tell you how often I see older cars before DRL driving around a 5am in rain without any lights on. /facpalm Better yet when they are a grey or silver car.

It is the FOB programming I am after primarily, but if going to pay to have that done, probably cost the same to have the car changed over anyway and then do it all myself for as long as I own it...

 

[ddalder]

Yeah the parts about staff not being super smart.. so what does IPM stand for? You told s what RIM stands for...

IPM - Instrument Panel Module.

I guess it's perhaps not so much that they aren't that smart as much as I have the expectation that they should know more about these vehicles than I do as someone who is not a licensed technician. The deer in the headlights look just doesn't work for me.

 

[lamrith]

Doesn't work for the deer either most of the time

Yeah everything has gotten that way, and guys not willing to think outside of the box or be creative to help is probably the biggest problem. Good luck going to an auto parts store and asking for the distributor for a 1967 Chevelle.. "What Mfg is that?" Used to be the guys just reach back and toss you what you need..

 

[lamrith]

So I called 2 dealers, one GM one Caddy..

GM guy understood what I needed once I told him reset of IPM/RIM, but he did not know how long it would take, said it could be $59-105. He also said when I asked how much for FOB program that it would be free, so maybe have them do both at once... BUT they are only open weekdays and need car by 2pm to have done same day..

Caddy dealer had not heard of doing that before, never had anyone ask about it, said it does not matter as the car can flip from imperial to metric, so why bother... I gave him the module names, and that all takes is a tech 2, he said well I guess it can be done if you bring it in.. Shop rate $130/hr, didn't know how long it take as never heard of it before, but they are open on Saturdays...

So, Ddalder any idea what typical amount of time that should take? 30min, hour , 1.5hr? They have a Min 30min shop charge, hoping that will cover it and to me would be well worth the investement.

 

[ddalder]

In my opinion I'd say that changing the country is maybe 15 minutes at most. As for the fob issue, I'd think it shouldn't be more that another 45 minutes best guess if the tech isn't familiar with the procedure (since I've not done this part before). They'll of course charge you for the time to walk out, find your car, drive it to the bay, build the car in the system and so on... I think 1.0 is top/reasonable but they may feel a little more time is justifiable. You can always drive to Canada and I'll do it for you

 

[Ludacrisvp]

or over to Minnesota...
When I was doing various testing of IPM settings it maybe took 10 minutes to perform the various tasks needed when the IPM is reset/reconfigured.
(change IPM settings, re-save the VIN, calibrate brake pedal position sensor)

I've had my IPM set to Germany for a long time now to kill DRL the only "issues" I guess this causes is that occasionally the car says there should be more modules on the GMLAN than there are as it is expecting to see the Steering column lock module and probably the auto leveling headlamp modules. but that is just one of those silent codes that dont seem to do anything. I've not had any other side effects of this change that I'm aware of.

I've not tried to reprogram FOBs while in this configuration.