Has anyone repaired non-functioning door and/or hatch lock cylinders? The OEM door cylinders are still available from Mazda (for now) but the hatch cylinder has been discontinued. I'm curious if it's possible to troubleshoot and repair a non-functioning cylinder instead of replacing?

 

yep, take it apart its super simple

 

A good locksmith can put new shutters and stuff in it. Most times really they just need to be cleaned and re-lubricated.

Read my thread on the topic -

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...-keys-1143529/

Dale

 

Just as an FYI, if you've already gone thru the drill of cleaning & re-lubing your lock cylinders, and if they're still balky after that, the other problem is usually a worn out key. When I first got my used FD 2 years ago, none of my locks wanted to work right - went to town cleaning & lubing all of them except for the hatch lock, which improved things significantly but I still had difficulty unlocking the doors with the key, or turning the ignition without doing a jiggly kabuki dance. So I gave Ray Crowe a shout to order a new set of Mazda OEM keys based on my VIN #. New keys and all my locks & ignition switch work like new again.

 

+1 the key is a wear part. i'm not sure every dealer has the key cutting machine (they should), but they can get the key code by vin about 98% of the time (in North America). in California you're supposed to show proof of ownership, so an old registration is usually good, its got the vin on it as well

 

As stated in my thread on keys, a good quality locksmith can either cut a new key off your VIN or get the key code off your car and cut it. Typically they will do a much better job than the dealer and will cost less.

You can also get great new key blanks from Garage Alpha if you want to get fancy, including titanium blanks. I have the titanium key and it's awesome.

Dale

 

we had the same key cutting machine the locksmith does, not sure how typical that is though

 

^True. Not knocking your guys or dealer techs in general, but it's worth going to someone that does keys all day every day. A dealership may not do many old school keys like ours. Also some may not have the older machines at this point, they probably don't service many 90's cars .

Also a locksmith will often be MUCH cheaper than the dealer.

Dale

 

so there are kind of 3 types of machines,
there is the one where its like pliers, and it has these things you set, and then it punches out a key. there is a different set of dies for each key type. you need the key code to setting books.
kind of a relic, but it doesn't need power so you can have it at home. takes some skill to set up so that it works, but its pretty simple


second machine is like you put the new key and old key next to each other and it has a grinder on one side and a guide on the other, so it copies a key.
you need a good key to copy from, which is a problem. you put the keys in, and feed them so this one takes some skill, and a little luck, also a relic avoid if possible.


the modern one is just a box with a screen. you put either the old key in or a dummy, and then have it copy the key or enter the key code. its basically automatic, works great.
representative image...


Ilco and Curtis make blanks, and the machines, but for the MZ27 FD key you actually need the Mazda blank, its stronger.

 

I love the "representative image" is of a Theranos blood test vaporware machine

My local locksmith, Ace Unlocks, has a machine that will take the original key code and cut a new key just like the factory would. You typically don't want to make a copy of a worn out key and most FD keys are getting pretty worn by this point.

When I did the titanium key, he cut a cheap blank with the code and we tested it out to make sure it was good. Then he cut the titanium key VERY slowly to get it to cut right. It worked perfectly. Also the titanium keys will probably never wear down.

Dale