Honda Key Won't Open Trunk

I have a '91 Accord. I was having trouble getting the key to turn in
the ignition. I phoned Honda and they told me (correctly) the key was
probably old and worn, and that I should get a new one cut. So I took
my spare into our local Honda dealership and had 2 copies made. They
both work in the ignition. What they don't do is open the trunk.
Apparently this is a known problem across all makes of Honda. Has
anyone else experienced this or is my local dealer selling me a story?

 

(David Macaskill) wrote in

Sounds like your "spare" was the valet key. You need a spare of the regular
key.

If the locks are original, the dealer may be able to get new keys based on
your VIN.

 

-----------------------

Sometimes (even if) you've got the right key, you might be using it in a
lock that's never been touched by a key, due to internal release /
remote key fob. I use an aerosol spray called LockEase in all my locks,
including the ignition a few times a year. . It contains graphite, in a
solvent, and will flush out road salt and grime. Wipe your keys after
giving the lock a good 'massage' with the key, after spraying locks.
It's messy, but it works like nothing else I've tried. I'm not a
locksmith, but I believe I got it at a locksmith.

'Curly'

 

If your key doesn't open the trunk, the glove box and your fuel door release
on the floor by the drivers door, then you probably have a valet key. The
valet key should only open the door and turn the ignition. Usually the
larger of your two keys (if OEM) is the master and the smaller round one is
the valet. The cuts are identical, the key blank is different. If your
dealer copied your old key, he may have traced a worn key and the tumbler in
the trunk probably has very little use and has not worn the same as the
ignition which gets many, many times more use. Ask the dealer to cut your
key by code if he already hasn't. If you do not have your key code, the
dealer can retrieve that from Honda's database of key codes by VIN through
his computer hookup to Honda. The database goes back as far as 1990 but gets
a little spotty at that age. He may charge a small fee for that. The dealer
CANNOT get you a precut key from Honda for your vehicle.
This problem is not a particular single brand problem. It occurs to any
vehicle after long term use. Your car is at least 14 years old now. Even a
key cylinder wears. If your dealer told you it is an across the board Honda
problem, it was a story to stall you from asking for a refund on his keys.
Howard

 

There's a good point.

And it's pretty easy to tell if a key is a valet key or not. In my case,
the valet key teeth are *thicker* than on the main key, but the tooth
profiles are identical between the two.

 

Very true, but sometimes it is...just the key.

I was starting to have problems in my '91 where you had to hold the key
just so to get the ignition and door locks to work, and I was starting to
think my locks were finally wearing out.

Luckily, I had been using a hardware-store key copy the whole time, so my
original keys were unused. Got a new hardware-store copy made (for $3) from
one of the originals, and I was astonished to find that the locks worked
about as close to as-new as I'd ever need them to be.

If there's any wear in the locks themselves, it's minimal. They feel almost
the same as the ones in my wife's '99 Tercel with 55K miles on it.

All my locks get regular dousings with Rust Check, which may have helped
longevity.

 

That squares with what a locksmith told me when I faced a similar problem
with another old car - the new keys I had didn't work because they were
copies of old keys. He could make new keys that worked if I brought the
cylinder from the passenger's door (which had minimum wear). The car didn't
last long enough for me to find out :-(

Mike

 

Wouldn't it be nice if the OP would post back here with the solution (if
any)? Maybe we'd all learn something that way.