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Fixed - Key Won't Unlock Driver's Door

stooge

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It's so if anyone tries to break into your car the alarm goes off ???
if they smash a window no but if they open the door the horn will start beeping.
 

wetwork65

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Well I had more of a fiddle with the lock. B***ger me it's fixed!
Thought I would do a how-to to help others. Sorry I'm an Engineer, not a Tradesman, so I worked it out by trial and error.
The photo shows the lock retention screw (small torx head). To access, remove the round plug in the side of the door, near the lock.
Unscrew the torx until the lock drops out in your hand.
20191008_150649_resized_1.jpg

When I played around on the workbench, I inserted the key and tried turning the lock. I found it turned by a gnat's amount when fully inserted, but obviously the key worked in the lock, or it would not turn at all. The lug that rotates with the lock barrel was impacting on the cage, stopping it rotating. See the photos.

20191008_150625_resized_1.jpg20191008_150634_resized_1.jpg
Seems the plastic piece behind the lug (keeps it tight?) had expanded over time, pushing the lug against the cage (will be obvious when lock is out of the door). Also small crack in the plastic part.
I filed a very small amount of metal from the cage to prevent the interference, and used silicone spray to help clean off the metal filings.
Reinstalled by putting back in place and tightening the torx screw, replace the plug. Works perfectly now with both keys.
Job done and glass of wine in hand (later on).
 

David Collis

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I would like to add just one final note to this thread because of my experience with my VX Commodore.
The two keys both worked fine in the ignition but wouldn't turn at all in the door lock barrel which hadn't been used for years.
I tried cleaning any gunk off the keys with a wire brush which was suggest earlier in this thread but with no luck.
My next obvious idea was to spray a bit of CRC or WD40 on the key and in the door lock barrel and yes, this worked magic, problem solved,
I suggest to try this approach before you decide to disassemble and remove the car door handle.
 

wetwork65

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I would like to add just one final note to this thread because of my experience with my VX Commodore.
The two keys both worked fine in the ignition but wouldn't turn at all in the door lock barrel which hadn't been used for years.
I tried cleaning any gunk off the keys with a wire brush which was suggest earlier in this thread but with no luck.
My next obvious idea was to spray a bit of CRC or WD40 on the key and in the door lock barrel and yes, this worked magic, problem solved,
I suggest to try this approach before you decide to disassemble and remove the car door handle.
Good suggestion but I'm personally not a fan of spray on diluted grease. Good to displace water, which was its marketing position years ago when I was even younger that I am now. It can be a short term fix and often just cleans away metal grit. Then it attracts dirt and smutz (a @Fu Manchu term, I believe) which can makes thing worse, unless the item is sold or a proper fix is carried out.
If the spray works - good, but the removal and "dressing" of the door lock was within my attention and patience span of about 15 minutes tops.
 

Fu Manchu

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Yes. A locksmith I worked with (had won a few industry awards) told me to always use silicone lube in locks. They don’t attract as much schmutz that way and the pins and barrel don’t wear out prematurely.
 

Skylarking

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Yes. A locksmith I worked with (had won a few industry awards) told me to always use silicone lube in locks. They don’t attract as much schmutz that way and the pins and barrel don’t wear out prematurely.
A locksmith has told me that specific greases gets applied to specific places within the lock during assembly and never simply squirted down the key barrel… So the best approach according to him was thus removal, disasembly and reassembly with the correct lubrication applied at that time.

But their are other views for other experts so the following video may be interesting.

 
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Fu Manchu

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He used to use silicone paste/grease
 
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