Purchased a 2003 Civic LX coupe with 37,000 miles on it. Only got one key (black) with no key fob. Drove the car home, but stopped at the store first. Tried to lock the car with the switch inside. Didn't realize that the car didn't lock, but got lucky, as when I came out and put my key in the door lock, it wouldn't turn either way. So then I tried the passenger side - it wouldn't turn either. Key would go in perfectly, just wouldn't budge. So, back to the driver's door I went and continued to attempt to turn it, and finally it did. So, I got in and drove home. When I got home, we wanted to see if it would work. Key wouldn't turn in either lock again. Got it to work one time in driver's door, but that's it.

Key works in the ignition perfect, and works in the trunk perfect. Key looks well worn. After searching forums, I came across a thread that said that the key might have worn out, and that a new one is needed. Can this be possible on a car with such low miles, and would it make sense that it works fine in the ignition and trunk?? Any idea how I go about getting a new key since I don't have the metal plate with the id number on it?? And no....the owner doesn't have any other keys.

Thanks!

 

It's possible that the locks just need some wd-40 or something sprayed in them to get them moving again. If you were able to make it turn in the door once, that proves that the key works. If I recall right, your generation of Civic DOES have a computer chip in the key so you'd have to either go to a dealership for a key or get a lock smith to make you a special one. They are a lot more expensive than just a normal $1.00 copy.

So first, I would spray some wd-40 into the outside locks to see if that frees them up. If that doesn't, you can have a normal key copy made AS A TEST ONLY to use in the outside lock to see if the worn key is actually the issue. If a normal cheap copy works perfectly (DONT USE IT IN THE IGNITION), then you will know that you need a real copy made.

 

OK....tried spraying WD40 in both of the lock cylinders this morning. Didn't make a bit of difference. So...after work, we stopped by the Honda dealership and the guy at the parts counter said he would make us a new key just to see if by chance that was the problem, and if it didn't work, he wouldn't charge us. He cut it first and wanted to try it before he programmed it. Tried it in the door and it worked PERFECT. Turns out the key was extremely worn out. Not sure why it worked in the ignition and trunk, but it could have been days away from not working anything.

To shed some light on pricing for these keys, we paid $36 for the first one and $19 for the 2nd one (can't remember exactly why the 2nd one was cheaper, something to do with the programming). He said that if we didn't have an original key with the chip in it, it would have been $100 for one key....but since we had our original one with the chip, it was way cheap.

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. Hopefully me posting the results will help someone out down the line.

 

very surprising especially with the low miles. the person must not have had a keyless entry so was constantly locking and unlocking with the key.

 

You're exactly right...no keyless entry. We figured it did have it, and that we just didn't get the key fob. We asked the guy in the parts department to check our vin to see if it did come with it and he said no....

 

That's different from the 6th gens. all LXs came pre-installed minus the remote. are you sure?

 

The guy told us that the LX's did not come with keyless entry.... Where should we look to verify whether ours came with it or not? Is there a box of some sort either under the hood, under the dash or somewhere else?

I just looked on the owner's link page and based on my vin#, it shows under Exterior Features - Remote Entry System: Accessory....does that mean that it came with it or if it was an optional accessory???

Thanks for the help.

 

So you probably already tried this, but we all might be waaaay overlooking the issue.

I kept locking my keys in the car, actually only twice, but still (woohoo)...and once I was up at school, a good 20-30 minute drive, one way, and I did it. I was like forget it, I'm getting a couple spares and handing them out like candy to my family and close buddy.

When I got the new keys, I noticed sometimes they wouldn't turn the locks, I thought that was silly. Anyway, I tried it, didn't work, so I flipped the key over and it worked perfectly fine. I don't know why it does that, doesn't do it with the original, only the copies, but who knows.

It's like checking to make sure your computer is plugged in before you buy a new one because it won't turn on.

If you haven't tried that, just try it. Next time it doesn't work, flip it over 180 degrees and try it again. Who knows, it might be worn out, it might be some high-powered super sensitive ultra intelligent chip inside a key, or it might just wanna be facing a specific direction. At least humor me

 

only one way to find out. see if you can find the remote transmitter. see this thread for a diagram though it applies to 99-00 I doubt they changed it in your yr.

https://www.hondacivicforum.com/foru...ad.php?t=70136

otherwise, go to my link and download your yr's service manual and see if it is any different. if the remote transmitter is there, then you only need to purchase an oem remote which are relatively cheap. I bought my set of 2 for $69 or so.