Hi All,

First Post, I've scoured the forums looking for an answer, and it seems that there are similar issues but not exactly. I'm really hoping that someone may be able to help me out here.

I have a 2007 TL Type-S, the battery is dead and the car is on the street. Since the battery is dead, of course the KeyFOB isn't doing anything, so I stuck the key into the keyhole of the drivers side door, and it won't budge. I've tried the two main keys and the valet key as well, with no luck. They'll all go in, but won't turn. I've tried to hit it several times with WD40 and Graphite Lock Lubricant, both had no luck.

I'm kind of stuck here, I need to get the car off the street before street cleaning, otherwise I get to pay a parking fee... lol

Thank you in advance!

 

if you have AAA, or insurance policy carries a locksmith...call them. they will pop the door open with an airbag type device, in order to grab the lock with a coat hanger type device

that's your only quick solution....
then you can get into the car and replace the battery

also, i wonder why the key didnt physically work. as it's supposed tooo

 

Thanks! Yeah I was trying to avoid that, but reading the other threads on here, that seems like that may be my only option.

Was hoping may be someone had the same issue, and knew a trick to get the door open. Without destroying it, obviously... haha

 

now i want to go try my physical lock.....
thats super odd tho. lol i believe you, but go try again really quick

and hope you didnt stain anything with the dry graphite lube....
first time i used to get at a sticky lock, i spilled it every where!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

have you tried the passenger door?

 

forgive me, as i dont daily drive the TL...but i believe the lock is only on the drivers side door.

 

me neither


Sounds like the connecting rod between cylinder and locking mechanism may have gotten lodged.




If i had to guess, maybe #5: 72118-SDA-A01 is broken somehow? Once you get AAA or a locksmith to open door, you'll have to take the door apart to figure out what's broken

 

unfortunatley no passenger side key hole or trunk key hole.

 

thanks for the diagram! Once I get the car unlocked, the next task is definitely fixing the lock.

 

A buddy of mine has an air bag kit which he can open the door with. Once I get the car charged and started, I'm going to see what we can do about the lock. I'll post back here with the results once we have it figured out, just incase anyone else comes across the same issue.

Thanks for the responses guys! Cheers!

 

ive always wanted to buy the airbag kit! but i think you have to have a lock smith licence or something.
i've never had it performed on the TL but on previous cars it always worked without damaging the door.

 

Update: I had a buddy of mine come by, and of course as soon as he tried the key, it worked... WTF!?! I was trying it for days, and nothing... Think the car hates me. After we got the door open, we tried the key again and it wouldn't turn again. So weird. Anyways, I went ahead and put a new battery in and a new terminal on the positive wire (the stock one was busted and corroded), and she started right up. Once the new battery was in, I tried the lock on the door with the key, and it worked every time. This has to be some kind of security feature or something?

I shut the car off, waited a while, then went to try and open it with door and all three keys, and again, it worked every time. I want to take the battery terminal off and try it, to see if it stops working, but that will be a test for another day.

Not sure why the key hole won't work when the battery is dead? I mean what happens if your battery dies while you're out at a store or something? How the hell do you get in to jump it?

Thanks for all the replies!

 

There is no such security. I've had dead batteries and even NO battery in the car and the door was still able to be unlocked. Chock it up to unexplained mystery or user error

 

Definitely could be either or. Haha.

I think I'll eventually take apart the door and see if there's something wrong with it. I have to replace the mirror anyway, and have a feeling it's going to turn into a might as well job. Haha

glad I found this forum, I've already got a lot of information on this site. This car turned into a project car once I had the engine rebuilt.

 

My left rear door lock stopped working but was unrelated to any battery issue. However, with a search of this forum I quickly found out that the issue almost invariably is the door lock actuator. I purchased a replacement for about $40 (I think rockauto.com) and spent about 2 hours making the repair. Many contributors here have detailed descriptions of how to perform this fix. Good luck--it can be done in far less time but I erred on the side of caution throughout the process.