Alright so I have had this project coupe (1996 Honda Civic EX ) going for about a month now. Been fixing a bunch of little nit picking things thats been wrong with it like the sunroof wouldnt open, dash lights didnt work, replacing misc interior parts...simple stuff and in this months time I had never taken it anywhere to lock the doors. Well I locked the doors Saturday and when I went to unlock it...nothing happened. Hadto call the cops to come unlock it for me. So my question is how do I fix this problem. I did my homework on the car today with the previous owner and found that at one time the car had an alarm system on it. But the doors unlock fine with the door switch so I just tossed electrical problem out ( but who knows could be something electrical ). neither door unlocks when I use the key. Could someone point me in the right direction as to what I need to do to straighten this problem out. Thanks guys!

 

..do you have the right key?
do you have just the valet key?
i have a valet key and it only does the ignition

 

That is odd, the valet key is supposed to open the doors. The valet key cannot open the glove compartment or the trunk or fold the seats down, but it should open the doors.

Regarding the OP, when you turn the key it should be a manual physical linkage, ie: if the battery is disconnected the key should still work. You'll have to pull the interior panel and take a look at the lock cylinder and the linkage and make sure everything is how it should be.

Good luck

 

Honestly I have the square one so I dont know if thats the Valet key or not.

 

so you think its possible that both sides could be messed up? Should I disconnect the battery and then try to use the key?

 

ok when you first open the door on yourcar behind the hood latch theres some wires there i think its 2 but one of them is the one for the door locks check that out that might be the problem

 

the valet key is round at the end. i had it copied cuz it was the only key i had when i lost the big one....and the copy opened everything....yes weird.

 

interesting, i am having the same problem, better go check my keys