Hard To Turn The Key

[Jor-el]

Guys, this happened ever since I bought the car. After heavy rains I find it rather difficult to turn the key on the drivers side door lock. It goes away after couple of days, and it happens only when locking the door. Is this normal? is this a sign that water drainage vents of the door are clogged somehow?

J.E

[harshansenadhir]

It isn't normal, It could be due to a little layer of rust (ferrous oxide) foaming (due to moisture gets in after exposing to rain water) on internal parts of the locking mechanism.

Try spraying WD40 through the opening of the key insert.

as for the drainage veins, if those are blocked, you can find water on floor boards as doors are not water tight.

[NRX]

Happened to me a few times with my extra key which was duplicated from the original , few sprays of WD40 fixed the thing. But it reoccurs after exposing to heavy rains again.

Edited March 16, 2015 by NRX

[Rumesh88]

Could be due to rust forming on linkages. Remove the trim and spray some WD40 on the lock mechanism. Inspect the drain holes and if they are clogged wash the area near drain holes to remove any dirt that may have gathered over the years. If the paint is intact just leave it to dry but if you find rust forming on the panels spray them with WD40. I have seen servicemen spraying penetrating oil through the drain holes but that is a total waste of money and effort. If you need to keep your door lock mechanisms last longer, remove the door trim once in every two years or so, clean the interior and spray with WD40.

[Jor-el]

It isn't normal, It could be...

Thanks Harshan. There is no water on floor boards thankfully I'll try WD40.

[Jor-el]

Happened to me a few times...

Then WD40 isnt a permanant solution innit?

Or Maybe I should get a remote door lock fixed as a permanant solution

[Jor-el]

Could be due to..

Thanks Rumesh. It might not be dirt cause I bought the car B/N for the permit, this issue was there from the first day I exposed the car to rain. I was thinking maybe the agent clogged the vents up before delivery by spraying grease or something to the door.

I'll get the trim removed an sprayed with WD40 on next service.

Thanks for the quick replies guys...

Edited March 16, 2015 by Jor-el

[Sierra Charlie]

Then WD40 isnt a permanant solution innit? Or Maybe I should get a remote door lock fixed as a permanant solution

Mate, be careful when you spray the WD40. It can damage the paint. Would reckon masking the area is the best before going ahead with the WD40.

[Jor-el]

Mate, be careful when you...

Thanks for the advice sierra. I was thinking to get the trim removed from the inside and spray WD40 during my next service session. should talk to my mechanic about this. I'll keep your advice in mind Edited March 16, 2015 by Jor-el

[Rumesh88]

Thanks Rumesh. It might not be dirt cause I bought the car B/N for the permit, this issue was there from the first day I exposed the car to rain. I was thinking maybe the agent clogged the vents up before delivery by spraying grease or something to the door.

I'll get the trim removed an sprayed with WD40 on next service.

Thanks for the quick replies guys...

If u bought the car B/N from agent why didn't you claim the defect from their warranty?

Mate, be careful when you spray the WD40. It can damage the paint. Would reckon masking the area is the best before going ahead with the WD40.

WD40 woudln't damage auto paint AFAIK. Do you have any experience to the contrary?

[Davy]

What's the car Jor-el? Lancer CS?

[Sierra Charlie]

If u bought the car B/N from agent why didn't you claim the defect from their warranty?

WD40 woudln't damage auto paint AFAIK. Do you have any experience to the contrary?

Yes. Happened on a hinge on one of my rear doors. Wanted to get rid of a squeak and sprayed some WD40. Initially some rust came off. Which was intended. A few squirts more, the residue began to look pale blue and I noticed some paint flakes too. Could be the rust reacting. I'm none the wiser.

I know WD40 is not supposed to harm auto paint. But in any case, i reckon it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more careful when handling it.

[The Don]

WD40 does not harm auto paint. But cover the area anyway to avoid having to clean up afterwards.

[Schiffer]

WD40 or Silicon Spray will do the trick.

[Jor-el]

What's the car Jor-el? Lancer CS?

Yes bn a cs3

[Jor-el]

If u bought the car B/N from agent why didn't you claim the defect from their warranty?

Rumesh that idea never crossed my mind, when it was out of sight it got out of my mind

[Jor-el]

Yes. Happened on a hinge on one of my rear doors. Wanted to get rid of a squeak and sprayed some WD40. Initially some rust came off. Which was intended. A few squirts more, the residue began to look pale blue and I noticed some paint flakes too. Could be the rust reacting. I'm none the wiser.

I know WD40 is not supposed to harm auto paint. But in any case, i reckon it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more careful when handling it.

Thanks pal

[Jor-el]

WD40 does not harm auto paint. But cover the area anyway to avoid having to clean up afterwards.

Will do. thanks for the advice don!

[Jor-el]

WD40 or Silicon Spray will do the trick.

Crom where Can I buy silicone spray?

[Davy]

Yes bn a cs3

Thought so. I removed the upholstery and greased all four doors because of this issue.

Water drains directly over the central lock actuator (which is sealed), but the actuator motor shaft (and linkage) tends to corrode and get stuck when water comes into contact with it. The photo below is of a CS door actuator. Note the metal tip at the top of the actuator - this is what gets stuck - most of the time. Due to this all the linkages up to the lock cylinder "freezes" in one position making it hard for you to turn the key. At least that was the case in all my doors.

Not sure if using WD40 on this part is a good idea because if the chemical gets inside the housing, it might damage the moving components inside. So I suggest spraying some WD40 to a piece of cloth and cleaning the shaft with the cloth. Then apply a liberal amount of grease to cover the entire shaft (and the linkage that looks like a small metal plate) so that water does not come into contact with it. Did the trick for me on my CS3. You can spray WD40 onto the rest of the mechanism as others have suggested.

[PerfMad]

well..to solve your Problem, you can put a security system... after that you just need the key, only to start the vehicle... (just a suggestion)

[Jor-el]

Thought so. I removed the upholstery and greased all four doors because of this issue.

Water drains directly over the central lock actuator (which is sealed), but the actuator motor shaft (and linkage) tends to corrode and get stuck when water comes into contact with it. The photo below is of a CS door actuator. Note the metal tip at the top of the actuator - this is what gets stuck - most of the time. Due to this all the linkages up to the lock cylinder "freezes" in one position making it hard for you to turn the key. At least that was the case in all my doors.

Not sure if using WD40 on this part is a good idea because if the chemical gets inside the housing, it might damage the moving components inside. So I suggest spraying some WD40 to a piece of cloth and cleaning the shaft with the cloth. Then apply a liberal amount of grease to cover the entire shaft (and the linkage that looks like a small metal plate) so that water does not come into contact with it. Did the trick for me on my CS3. You can spray WD40 onto the rest of the mechanism as others have suggested.

Woah, thanks heaps davy. So this is a common issue in CS3s. DIY'ing is not my cup of tea unfortunately, it looks like a simple job tho. I'll deffa get it done in my next service.

[Jor-el]

well..to solve your Problem, you can put a security system... after that you just need the key, only to start the vehicle... (just a suggestion)

Thanks for the suggestion perfmad. But as davy pointed out if an inside part is corroding I should address the corroding issue b4 doing anything else ne

[Schiffer]

Crom where Can I buy silicone spray?

i bought from arpico.

i had the same issue for my boot key hole. a bit of silicone spray solved it.

[The Don]

WD40 or Silicon Spray will do the trick.

Silicon spray might work because its plastic over metal, but WD40 and silicone spray actually does different things. WD40 is a penetrating oil which will cut through rust and losen stuck metal items. Its not really a lubricant. Silicone spray is a lubricant whose primary use is on rubber and plastic.

But in SL I have noted that the effects of silicone spray dies out quickly. For lubricating something like this you need a more permanent lubricant like a type of grease safe for plastic (would rubber grease or normal grease work?).