"TeGGer®" <tegger@istop.c0m> wrote in message
news:Xns95E8D2C927E3Ateggeratistop@207.14.113.17.. .
> "Howard" <howardh@nospam-cybrstar.com> wrote in
> news:ldgJd.94738$zy6.32634@bignews5.bellsouth.net:
>
>> Your car is at least 14 years old
>> now. Even a key cylinder wears.
>
>
>
> 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.
>
>
> --
> TeGGeR®
>
> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

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