mgags7

Some 4th gen preludes have a problem where the passenger door lock has enough play in it to trip the power locks and unlock the whole car using any key. This writeup is on how to fix the lock so it will not unlock for any key, only the right one.

Sorry, no pics, but i will use the majestic honda part diagram to clarify.



This is all on the passenger door of course, but theres my idiot disclaimer. All directions are given facing the door from the inside of the car.

Im going step by step even with the basic stuff so sorry about the length.

1) Lower the window.

2) Take all the screws off the door panel(extreme top right and bottom left, little hand pocket, behind handle), pop the plastic trim off from behind the mirror.

3) Take out the trim behind the handle with the window/power locks switches, be careful here to not crack the trim around the handle, start toward the front of the car popping the clips out and then pull the handle to get the last part off. Disconnect the connectors to the switches.

4) Now to remove the door panel just pull towards yourself starting at the bottom and after all the pop-clips are out just pull straight up and its off. Now put the window back up.

5) Pull the white plastic free from its sealing around the door handle area, and then directly behind where the keyhole is, there is a little hole covered in black plastic, pull that out of the way.

6) Loosen the two 10mm bolts that hold on the door handle assembly, the first is through the big hole behind where the white plastic was, the second is through the little hole.

7) Go to the other side of the door and get the handle assembly out, pull the bottom out first, then go down and out with it. As soon as you get the handle rod out of the hole, pull it back as far as you can.

8) Use a flathead screwdriver to pop the rod out of the white clip on the back of the key cylinder. Mark on the other rod how far it is screwed down, then spin the whole assembly off it.

9) (part diagram, rod right above #18) Take a pair of pliers and grab the lock rod right before it bends to go into the clip, where it is at an angle, and bend it down and toward the front of the car, try to make it flatter. What you are trying to do is make it so it is higher up all the way through its travel, i went about 1/4 inch and it works fine.

10) Hook the lock rod back up and put the handle assembly back in, and test it to see if it works, if not, go back and bend it more. If it does, go ahead and put everything back together.

let me know if i need to clarify anything....

Now our **** is secure again!

SiRLudeVtec

Great Write-up

SoOHiGH

you 4th gen guys better do this before you get jacked

HooTeNannY

nice write up man...my car is saved...

PrecisionH23a

added to the essential links

95greenlude

weekend project

MeUglyDuckie

saved by the writeup

optikal_blitz

many props to you on a quality writeup

mgags7

95greenlude just notified me of a honda TSB out on this where they will give a new lock rod, and he has step by step instructions, he is sending them to me and im posting them up in a few days....

HooTeNannY

^ Any news yet on the Honda TSB???

95greenlude

nope...i am sending it out tomorrow.....work called me in early, and papers got piled on top....sorry

herovueboi

I wonder if the owner before me did this already to my car. Apparently, I've tried several keys and only the key to my car opens it easily. Good write up though, if mines was safe before, I would do this right away!

95greenlude

postmarked and ready to be dropped in mail

specialedition

will honda make a tsb on it -- I would much rather have them do it then have to mess with it at all...

95greenlude

there is a honda tsb, but its only covered under warrenty

95PreludeSi

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mgags7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
1) Lower the window.

2) Take all the screws off the door panel(extreme top right and bottom left, little hand pocket, behind handle), pop the plastic trim off from behind the mirror.

3) Take out the trim behind the handle with the window/power locks switches, be careful here to not crack the trim around the handle, start toward the front of the car popping the clips out and then pull the handle to get the last part off. Disconnect the connectors to the switches.

4) Now to remove the door panel just pull towards yourself starting at the bottom and after all the pop-clips are out just pull straight up and its off. Now put the window back up.

5) Pull the white plastic free from its sealing around the door handle area, and then directly behind where the keyhole is, there is a little hole covered in black plastic, pull that out of the way.

6) Loosen the two 10mm bolts that hold on the door handle assembly, the first is through the big hole behind where the white plastic was, the second is through the little hole.

7) Go to the other side of the door and get the handle assembly out, pull the bottom out first, then go down and out with it. As soon as you get the handle rod out of the hole, pull it back as far as you can.

8) Use a flathead screwdriver to pop the rod out of the white clip on the back of the key cylinder. Mark on the other rod how far it is screwed down, then spin the whole assembly off it.

9) (part diagram, rod right above #18) Take a pair of pliers and grab the lock rod right before it bends to go into the clip, where it is at an angle, and bend it down and toward the front of the car, try to make it flatter. What you are trying to do is make it so it is higher up all the way through its travel, i went about 1/4 inch and it works fine.

10) Hook the lock rod back up and put the handle assembly back in, and test it to see if it works, if not, go back and bend it more. If it does, go ahead and put everything back together.

let me know if i need to clarify anything....

Now our **** is secure again!
</TD></TR></TABLE>


My 95 had this problem. So today I dedicated to performing the steps in this write-up. Worked great, no more security problem now.

My only additional advice is to take your time. Things get a little hairy in steps 8 and 9. We have to be honest with ourselves as our cars are about 10 years old now. Plastic pieces are getting brittle so be careful. I didn't break anything, but I almost did. The clip on the handle is a PITA to get off.

All in all it took me about 1.5 - 2 hours going slow.

Big to mgags7

Televator

iTrader: (1)

I wish I saw this before my stereo was riped apart and my center console destroyed.

specialedition

it takes like 2 hours to do this however it is very worth it.... make sure that you screw the handle down into the rod or the door will not OPEN ... just double check that before you close it....

h23prelude

I took a picture of the lock rod before and after i bent it to show where to bend. Notice the bottom of the rod and how it is bent so the total length of the rod is shorter, i verified its operation, nothing could trip the un-lock switch other then the prelude key.

before, (OEM rod)


after bending the rod to correct problem


hope this helps out


Modified by h23prelude at 8:30 AM 7/28/2008