My friend is locked out of his 2012 Honda Civic, well, sort of. He opened his car, stuck his key in the ignition and it would not turn. So he thought, maybe the steering wheel is stuck on the lock. So he went to turn the steering wheel and sure enough, it is locked. So, the trying moving it to unlock it and it simply will NOT unlock.

He called me and I asked him to step out of the car and try to lock and unlock the car with the key, thinking that may reset some security system/feature. Well, the car would not lock or unlock with the key. So I proceeded to tell him to use the remote, the remote is also dead.

He asked if disconnecting the car battery would help. I figure, what do you have to loose, so he goes to do that and you need tools, which the car does not have. So now he's looking through the owners manual for info on "how to over ride the security system" or whatever is causing this issue.

I think that maybe, something happened to his key and it's simply not working. That really doesn't explain why the door remote wont work but that's where we are.

Sorry for the long story but I thought if there is a chance for someone to help us get this car running, the more info the better. The sad thing about it is that he is trying to get out of the town he's in because it's one of the top crime cities in the country and it's now dark.

 

Does the remote pop the trunk or anything? Even put the car in panic mode? Any response at all or just no locks?

 

No, the remote is dead.

 

is the car battery dead? also if he has another key for the car try that

 

change the battery in the remote?

 

Nothing seemed to work so he had it towed. I'll post what the dealer says happened tomorrow.

Thanks for the suggestions. I also suggested that he go get another key and try it but he was 50 miles from home and it was not easy for him to do.

 

Wow! Are you guys ready for this one??? The driver was using the WRONG KEY. They also have a Honda van and was trying to operate the car with the van keys. This went on for hours after I asked them if they had another key AND suggested that they get home somehow and get home and try their other key.

Problem solved - OPERATOR ERROR!!!

 

Make sure the loose nut behind the wheel is tightened next time.