My rx7's key is very worn down ( as is expected with a 21 year old car)... Has anyone replaced the ignition barrel and door locks on these cars? is it easy, what is involved? where did you get the barrel/locks?

Thanks.

 

There's a far better option.

A good locksmith can find the original key code and use their machine to cut a factory original key. Jon, one of the FD guys here, is a locksmith and has told me about this.

You may have to call around in your area to find a locksmith that has the right equipment, but a good large locksmith that does a lot of car keys should be able to make that happen.

WAY easier and cheaper than replacing all the cylinders. The real pain in the *** is the hatch cylinder, you have to pull the bumper to get to it.

Also, if you have 2 keys - one for door, one for ignition - the barrels can have new gates put in them so you just have one key. I've done that before on other FD's. It's typically SUPER cheap and while-you-wait to do.

Dale

 

Thanks Dale. I've been doing some research on here, and its seems like a horrible way to spend a afternoon ( or several).

 

The key code is stamped into the side of the passenger door lock cylinder. Write it down in a discrete place in the owners manual for future reference. Then a dealership could cut you a new key off that. If the new key keeps working in your old cylinders, then it's the cheapest option. A good locksmith could also cut it by code.
When I first got my car it only came with one aftermarket key that was poorly cut. Copies of the key would not work at all. New keys cut by code work perfectly.

 

the FD style keys wear out, most of them have a big first cut which makes them weak and prone to twisting.

the dealership should be able to get you the key code from the vin #, or like posted above it was on the passenger door look when it was new.

key code is 5 digits, usually starts with a 1.

these days everyone has the same automatic key machine, you just tell it what key blank (or car) you have, and the key code and it can do the rest.

the Mazda OE key is made of a better material than the aftermarket ones, although its more expensive too.

FD01-76-201 is the primary blank, FD01-76-202 is the secondary (non plastic headed i think)

 

I replaced all of the locks on my black FD just last week. Start to finish took about an hour & 1/2.

The door locks swap out in about 5 mins each. The trunk hatch is a pain because you have to remove the bumper skin (you can get away with removing only one side).

The ignition cyl is actually a complete assembly that needs to be swapped -- you need to remove the steering wheel & clock spring assembly, then use a Dremel with a cutoff wheel to cut grooves in two bolts (so you can use a flathead screwdriver to unscrew them).

Here's a photo of what those units look like when they're removed:





Just FYI, the one on the left is out of an Automatic FD, and the one on the right is from a 5-Speed FD.

 

the upgrade would be to find a set of locks from a 1996 or later FD, they use the newer style key

 

The later style 99+ key works fine on the earlier cars - I have a 99 key blank that I had cut. The profile of the key is the exact same, just shorter. I really wish it was an easier blank to find, but from what I've been able to uncover there's no other US Mazda that uses a shorter blank.

Dale

 

lol, i went looking for key numbers, and i was having flashbacks to this one day i spent cutting keys for a protege, i'm a little hazy on what happened, but i think we had the car and the key code, but it was right after they changed from the early MZ27 key to the newer MZ31 key, and of course the 1998 cars were on the lot already, but we didn't have the parts catalog yet, so we had no way of finding out that they changed keys.... it was a hot day, and it took like 4 hours of running between the key machine ad the car to figure it out...

anyways the 96+ FD key blank is an F1Y2-76-201A, which isn't available through MazdaUSA. the non immobilizer miata/626/protege used an GD7B-76-201A which should be the same key, but maybe its got the flying M instead of the Rx7?

 

Good Info, thanks. I'll try getting a new key cut, before going the replacement route....

 

My drivers door lock doesn't match the rest of my car so I pulled the passenger cylinder, and I don't see any stampings at all, except on the arm that actually activates the lock. am I missing something?

 

This. I've done it before. I gave them the VIN# and brought in a blank key, and the dealer cut it while I waited. Though, I may have gotten lucky on the dealer cutting a key I brought in. I did have to show proof of ownership of the car, though.

 

I did the same, and while I was there had them pull the entire service history, which stated that the number on the arm of the lock is indeed my key code. So, now begins the search for a new barrel or a locksmith to replace the wafers

 

I just went through something like this for an FD I am looking to buy from a friend. The car was locked. Both keys were lost and in addition to that the ignition had once been replaced so it had a different key to start it than to unlock the doors. The solution. We got the key code by taking the vin to a dealer. They looked up the code and cut the key for around 30 dollars I think. If you manage to get the key code nearly any locksmith can do it and probably cheaper. Next step, we pulled the ignition and took it to a lock smith to have it rebuilt to match the key for the doors. Some shops wanted over 100 bucks to do this. We found one to do it for $30 and it turns perfectly. Now the car has a matching original key to operate everything.

 

Is there any way to get key cut without code, is there any locksmith who can made it for me?

 

Best way to find out is just ask a locksmith what they can do. The guy I used rebuilt the ignition to match the doors. I imagine one could rebuild an ignition and make a key to match. I believe they could probably decode the lock somehow too.

 

Home depot has an automatic key copying machine now that worked great for copying a spare for me. I brought my own key and got it done for free because the car wasn't in the system or something. I think they normally only charge a few bucks.

Also, changing the trunk cylinder is a pain, so if you're going to do that prepare to disassemble a lot of stuff and spend a decent amount of time on it.

 

My door locks are super fiddly, but my trunk and ignition are both pretty smooth.
I am considering getting a new key cut to code, since I think one of my keys might be a copy, and my spare key is a copy of that key.

 

Best to remove your door locks and have them serviced. It can be done easily in a day by a locksmith.

 

or you, if you have any tools at all. the door locks on these cars are very simple, there is one E clip and the whole thing comes apart

 

Read up here -

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

Dale

 

I think I meant to post here, but the forum send me past the end of this thread…