Am I the only one that hates this feature? I haven't found anything else on the forum relating to the door locks other than newbies not understanding how to lock them.

First, a little bit of background. My first FD was a 93 with many miles on it and as it turns out, had worn out door latches so I could lock it from the inside, close the door and be on my merry way without having to hold the handle. (More on this to follow)

Several years back, I bought a 94 with far fewer miles, which meant my door latches weren't worn out and now I am forced into the 80s lift to lock BS. I wanted my door locks to work like a modern car (although keyless entry would be another solution) so I bought a spare latch mechanism to try to understand how to bypass this hated feature. The spare latch I bought is worn out too which helped explain why cars with higher mileage or more use may not have to lift to lock.

Below is an explanation of how the locks work and why I didn't have to lift the door handles on my old car to lock the doors. With the fragility of our exterior handles and, IMO, the minor hassle of having to hold on to them when leaving your car, I figure this might be of interest to some of you.



Note that item 5 is shaped like a dog leg which isn't apparent from my description or the picture.





The operation of the latches wasn't the easiest thing to describe so if anyone has any questions, ask away!

I haven't "fixed" my door latches yet but some method of eliminating item 5 would take care of the problem. I can't see anywhere that elimination of the tabs would create any long term problems.

 

??????

I just lock my door with the key....what is this "lift to lock" you decry so much?

 

I don't have to lift anything either... Just use the key and done.

I did have to do this on my Miata if I was locking the door with the inside lock and wanted to door to stay locked after closing the door. I think it's a feature to stop people from locking their keys in the car.

 

Yes that's what he is talking about. Open the door, lock from inside, exit car, and then when you shut the door you must hold handle up or the door will unlock when it closes. I find it annoying also

 

It's not an annoyance, it's an idiosyncrasy

 

I'm in a fixing mood today, let me help you out.

So maybe my made up term to describe it wasn't clear enough but regardless Andre hit it on the head. If you're using your key every time to lock it, that's even more reason to hate this design! The only thing more feeble than the door handles are the keys, well...except maybe the map pocket, door panels, radiator, AST, 5th gear syncro and passenger handle.

I guess the Japanese in the 80s and early 90s thought that tow companies didn't need another reason to make an RX-7 call. Ironically, I locked my keys in my 94 shortly after I got it, lol.

 

The FC had the same design. It's done like that so you don't push down the lock then accidentally close the door locking your keys in the car.

Most FD owners just lock with the key, it's far less stress on the door handle. Or, do keyless entry - I did on my car, so much easier.

Good job documenting this, I've pulled and re-installed door latches many times and that is NOT a fun job.

Dale

 

Many cars of the era had such a feature not just RX7s.

I just lock the car with the key.

Cool hack if you like to lock your car in that manner.

 

This posts is about over thinking a simple solution for something that is not needed.
I give POSS the DUH award. .

 

After 10 years of FD ownership I never knew the doors were supposed to function that way haha. I guess mine were worn out when I bought it with 80k on it but I lock from the inside and close the doors like any modern car and they stay locked. It would annoy me to have to hold the handle too, never liked that on older cars.