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| Grab SKS, go innawoods  |
Hey boys & girls, I have a 2003 Honda Pilot and the ignition cylinder has stopped turning. It's been going bad for awhile now, but after a little jiggling & key reinsertion, it would start. It gave up the ghost today, and no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't get it going. I think one or more of the tumblers has worn enough that it's not moving enough to allow the cylinder to turn. I don't want to pay Honda $750 to make it right, and I don't particularly want to pay $150 + x to put a new cylinder in myself, tow it to Honda, and have them reprogram the immobilizer. I would like to know if either of the following options would work: 1) Open the cylinder & remove the tumblers, so that any key could turn the ignition, but the immobilizer would keep the car from actually starting unless my key was in the ignition. (Is removing the tumblers even something that is possible/will work?) 2) Buy & install a new cylinder, and place my old key near the ignition cylinder when starting the car so the immobilizer will read my key. Thanks for any help you guys can offer, I really appreciate it. Just trying to not put any more money into a car worth <$2000 if I can avoid it. | ||
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Member |
Unfortunately, from what i've read ignition cylinder issue is a common one for the Honda Pilot. If you re-key the cylinder, you're going to have to carry the old key to open the doors unless the new key is cut to match the old key. In order, to not have to pay for a new key's chip to be programmed, you'd need to remove the existing chip from the old key. This link has a discussion about removing & cleaning the cylinder: https://cr4.globalspec.com/thr...ition-Switch-Problem ****if you're going to remove the cylinder, disconnect the battery but before you disconnect the battery, make sure you have the security "PIN" for your stereo if it's the factory one. ...let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. Luke 22:35-36 NAV "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 NASV | |||
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To all of you who are serving or have served our country, Thank You |
Honda and their ignition cylinder.. don't get me started. | |||
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| Member |
If I remember correctly there was a recall on something like that. They also offered reimbursement if you had it fixed. Try a search for recalls as I had a 2003 pilot until 2016. | |||
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I had something similar on my 03 Odyssey. After 240k miles, it locked up and the key wouldn’t turn. Faced with similar challenges, I finally got a local mobile locksmith to come out and install a new tumbler to match the original keys. That way it was already programmed to work the ignition, doors and security system. I think it cost about $180-200 which included a new cut key as backup. Compared to towing and shop rates, this was a cost effective repair. Consult mobile locksmith. I’m sure they’ve done this before. I haven’t had a problem since. I use the new cut key for daily use and keep the original key in the safe. P229 | |||
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Membership has its privileges |
I drove a 2003 Honda Pilot 335,000 miles. I donated it to Goodwill Auto Auction in 2016 and received a tax deduction of $1,800. My Pilot was the best car I ever owned, PERIOD! Original engine, transmission, exhaust, a/c etc.... However, I did suffer from the ignition cylinder issue at approx. 300,000 miles. I took it to the local shop and they gave me the bad news. I was able to find just the right angle and sweet spot, to get it to work. I could not let anyone else drive it, because it would leave them stranded somewhere. Play with it a little, perhaps you will find just that right position. Be gentle, I think brute force will only aggravate the problem. This was really my only complaint about this vehicle, and with over 300,000 miles on it, I really had little room to complain. Niech Zyje P-220 Steve | |||
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אַרְיֵה |
Couple months ago, my delivery truck, 2001 GMC 3500, was running, we could not turn the key to shut if off. The cylinder on the ignition lock was jammed in the "ON" position. Sunday. Close to a full tank of gas, so waiting for it to run out was not a good option. Three hundred bucks for a Sunday call-out for mobile locksmith. New ignition lock, now have two keys: one for the doors, one for ignition. Side note: I'm usually fairly good with identifying speech accents, but Mediterranean area usually throws me. I got lucky with this one, listening to the locksmith speak, I identified him correctly as Israeli. הרחפת שלי מלאה בצלופחים | |||
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| bigger government = smaller citizen  |
This just happened with our 2003 Odyssey. The Pilot shares just about everything with the Odyssey of that year. Our local Honda Dealer/Service said the key was just getting melted after so long and they had to rework the thing and issue new keys. Ended up costing us $590 or so. I wouldn't have been able to sell it and say, "Hey never take the key out or turn it all the way to off." And that would have been IF I would have been able to jiggle the key enough to get it to unlock and turn. Stinks. Honestly, for us, since we know we're not going to really make any money on the vehicle, it's just a matter of keeping it going until we decide to buy something else. For us, the $600 was worth the year or two that I would continue to drive it. I honestly don't give a rip what I drive. I guess 4 kids could do that to you, or it could be that I'm only ever in the thing from home to the office and back, and that's 16-20m one way, each day. I have no real suggestions for you other than to say that I get where you're coming from. “The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it.”—H.L. Mencken | |||
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Call a mobile locksmith. I think you'll be surprised how reasonable a new tumbler installed and have it match your existing keys. I saved the guy a little time by exposing the locking mechanism by pulling over the covers/panels. P229 | |||
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Member |
Not sure if this will help, but whenever I've had similar issues with other vehicles, turning the steering wheel from lock to lock whilst turning the key forward has worked. I'm assuming that the steering wheel lock puts pressure on the cylinder, but that's just a WAG. | |||
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| Grab SKS, go innawoods |
Hey all, Thanks for the replies. My grandma found a spare key to my Honda in her desk drawer, and it appears to be unused, so I'm going to go try that tomorrow. Car is currently stranded at the courthouse. If that's no good, I think I'll check into the mobile locksmith. The prices you guys are quoting are about equal to a new ignition cylinder, and it would save me the cost of towing. As usual, sigforum comes through once again. Much appreciated! | |||
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| Grab SKS, go innawoods |
UPDATE: Got it fixed. Special thanks to Jelly, I used the video you posted as a guide. One tumbler had bent off to the side and was no longer making contact with the key, which was causing the issue. I removed it, along with three other tumblers that showed deformation, and now it works like it's brand new. Somebody go ahead and add ~$200 to the running tally of dollars saved via Sigforum help threads. | |||
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| To all of you who are serving or have served our country, Thank You |
You're welcome. Glad it worked out. | |||
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