ok, so i bought an old 90 accord for a daily driver, and i noticed last year when i bought the car it was fine but when winter started coming around and it was getting cold outside, i can put the key in the ignition drive, and when i park it, i turn the key back to remove it, well, it will not fully turn to the off position. it only does it correctly maybe 1/5 times if i'm lucky.
Once i have the key turned back to the on position, i have to wiggle it, push in and out of key cylinder while turning back and after about 20 seconds to sometimes 2-3 minutes, i will finally get the cylinder to roll back so i can remove the key.
i thought this was a new problem but when spring came around and it was warm outside the problem completely disappeared, until this week, it started getting cold outside here and the problem started again,
has anyone every had such a problem, because this is pretty much caused by cold weather, maybe tolerances in the mechanisms change due to metals? who knows, if anyone has an idea, please share..
p.s., i have tried spraying wd-40 etc in the keyhole just taking a chance that maybe it would help, but it did not.

 

get a new key cut and squirt some graphite in the cylinder.

edit: oh sht, WD40 is the worst thing you can do. you need to blow it out as best you can. compressor/shop air or even an electronics canned air.

 

ok, well your idea just gave me another, i think i have a spare key to the car somewhere, now i'm curious if it will have the same effect using it. I guess if worse comes to worse, just replacing the ignition and key with oem parts.

 

IF this is an automatic, pay particular attention to what the cluster located shift quadrant indicates when you put the shifter into park. You may find that when cold, the indicator doesn't immediately show the lamp lit in the "P" position. If you see this:

You will need to replace the transmission shift position switch in the console. The grease thickens when cold and doesn't allow the worn contacts to do their jobs. If the system doesn't see "Park" "P" or whatever, it won't trigger the column key release. This is to make sure that the column isn't locked while the car's in gear.

P

 

I dont want to thread hijack but you know what, P Adams, you have to be one of the, if not the most logical and intelligent person here in this Accord area of the forum. Most people act like dicks to get their point across like they owe them something or other people post random useless stuff, but, I think, I haven't seen a single post from you that doesn't have a viable solution or trick in it that actually works. Kudos.

 

Thanks for the kind words.
I too won't contribute to some topic I'm not completely familiar with. If I'm not absolutely sure of the accuracy, I won't say anything. There are enough urban myths out there already, we don't need more.

P

 

i've never seen that. only thing ever happens with auto's is the brake switch gives out not clicking the shifter release.
but you are far north, we barely see freezing here.
i also have a habit of forgetting about automatics at all.

 

yes, my car is an automatic, thanks for the idea, i will check that this evening when i get off work.