Has anyone else had this problem? Honda Customer service online just can't wrap their heads around this experience. They keep telling me that anyone should have been able to open the car, but can't tell me why no one could,

Apparently left a single overhead lamp on for 6 hours.
Returned to find car dead. Key fob light lit, but didn't open doors.
Mechanical lock was broken; key still only goes in half-way.
Called Honda Care # on window--twice.
First tow operator used an air bladder and huge jimmy stick to try to unlock car, but couldn't, so he left abruptly
Second tow operator did the same. Used the air bladder, tried to tap the lock, but couldn't, said sorry, call for a tow. I said, you ARE a tow, but he wouldn't help anymore and left.
The hood couldn't be opened without getting inside the car to use the lever.
The key wouldn't go into the mechanical lock.
The hood had no mechanical way to open it.

I had to break the small passenger side window to reach in and open the lock. Once inside, I pulled the hood lever and was able to jump the battery. No problems since.

I think Honda should reimburse me for the $300 window I had to have replaced because their Honda Care people couldn't take care of this seemingly minor problem.

 

Bummer of a situation to find yourself in! I guess I should occasionally check that my door lock turns with the key.

I think I side with Honda on this one, though. They ought to cover the repair/replacement of the lock cylinder in the door (assuming that's a covered item), since that's clearly broken and apparently not due to misuse or abuse or whatever.

However, I'm not sure what you'd expect them to be able to do when the two ways of unlocking the door can't be used. The key fob of course requires a nominally charged battery to power the receiver and lock solenoids in the car. It's not Honda's fault that you left a light on, assuming that's what caused the battery to discharge; nor can they reasonably open the car without unlocking it, as that would render the locks useless. It's not as though the window broke through some fault of theirs.

 

First, I'm wondering if others have had a similar situation.

The here's my question: Why wasn't there a way to get under the hood? My key fob was working, but the door didn't open. The mechanical lock was apparently broken, so that didn't help. I couldn't jump the battery without getting into car which I couldn't do because the hood wouldn't open because the battery was dead.

I think it's a design flaw. Does nobody else see the problem with this?

 

I see what problems you are asking us all to see but here my professional opinion as a 25+ yr experienced technician.

The dead battery wouldn't allow the key fob to activate the locks and the mechanical lock was not working so you couldn't use the built in back up system to allow access when the battery is dead. Or could you have if the right help arrived???

Manufacturers use a key as a backup plan for dead batteries. Ex. My other car is a Range Rover Evoque. It has no visible door locks. When you approach the vehicle it unlocks when it senses the key fob nearby but only when you pull the handle you are near and not on the other side if you arent carrying the fob. To lock it you touch the handle when you exit and it locks. So the Evoque has true keyless entry built in. So you ask "how do i get in if the battery is dead?" Well, hidden inside the key fob is a single blade key that is similar to the look of our Fit keys. The lock is hidden under a small plastic cover at the end of the door handle. Remove the cover, open the end of the key fob and use the key inside the fob to get in.

So, why am i telling you about a Range Rover Evoque? So that you understand there is a key built in with keyless entry on vehicles. The manufacturers understand the need for it with a dead battery.

If I had your vehicle at the shop I would have first tried to spray the proper lubricant into the lock to free up the sticky mechanism before breaking anything to get into the vehicle. Locks dry out when unused and many times can be restored by spraying the proper lubricant into the lock.

There are also lock out kits that have very long rods that can slip between the window and frame or door frame and body of the car to reach into the vehicle and unlock it. Some of those lock out kits have bendable ends so you can form a desired shape to grab an inside handle and pull it to open the door. You can also press the power lock button to open the door if the battery is not dead or maybe even hook the hood release handle and pull it to pop the hood and jump the battery. The lock out rods can be 5-6 feet long and could reach the hood release.

Long ago I used an 84" long 5/16" fuel line to get into my 1989 Trans Am GTA. I slipped it between the window and the body and pushed the power lock button on the opposite side of the car. A was in in less than 2 minutes and got my keys back.

So its about the person trying to get in and what ideas they have to get in. Looks like to me the people that came out weren't resourceful enough to help you and neither of them tried to get the lock to work. Tow drivers historically don't fix vehicles or they don't get paid because you drive away. A lockout is a quick thing for them or they leave to go make money towing something. Its not personal to you but a long call makes them lose money and they don't like that. A locksmith would have most likely gotten you in without breaking the window.

As far as why you couldn't open the hood from the outside. Hood releases have been moved inside of the cars since the late 70's or early 80's. Im not even sure I can think of an 80's car with a release on the outside. Some trucks yes but cars no. I also remember hearing of a lot of stolen batteries from back then. People would steal your battery when their battery went dead or was old. You don't hear of it anymore because you need to break into the car to get the battery. Pretty much why I think the hood releases were moved inside the car.

All in all I don't see Honda at fault here. There were other solutions that may have helped you. I wish I could side with you here.

 

Thank you for the first complete explanation I've heard from anyone. It isn't that I've been trying to get someone to "side" with me, but that I just haven't understood why it could have happened. The two tow operators did use the lock-out rods you mentioned and neither was able to unlock the doors, but I give them credit for trying more than once. I think it must have been a "perfect storm" of problems.

 

Yes, the lesson I just learned from this- use the key once in a while to make sure it still works, because otherwise if the fob stops working or the battery dies, there's no other easy way into the car.

 

If it is possible to get at the positive battery cable from underneath the car, you could connect a trickle charger to it. Depends on the car and where the starter is. I know it is difficult on some Hondas because the starter is higher up on the transmission.

 

Here's a crazy idea: if the driver's side lock won't unlock, don't give up hope because there are two other locks that you can try to unlock with the key: the hatch and the passenger door. Unless my Fit has an extra two keyholes for funsies.

 

That varies from year to year (and maybe with trim levels too). My 2012 has only one external lock cylinder, on the driver's door. No keyholes on the hatch or the passenger door. I can only assume the original poster's Fit was similarly equipped...or rather unequipped.

 

next time this happens to a GE fit owner, you can just jack the vehicle up quite a bit and attach an alligator clip to the alternator post. Its accessable.

Just be careful that you do not ground the power out on the alternator casing

EDIT or remove that cable with a 10mm socket

 

Pretty sure the 15's only have a mechanical lock on the drivers door.

 

This is an opportunity for an improvement. The key seems to be a fairly good failsafe option but obviously in this case it did not work. Perhaps in the future adding a charge port to the car behind like the little door that hides the tow port. Could be a nice addition, make a little cable adapter that the customer can plug in if the car will be at idle for a while or if power failure happens on the road a tow driver could use the port to get power to the car at a minimum so you could open it up.

 

Hearing this story made me go outside and use the key in the door lock several times. I've owned the car several weeks now and this is the first time the key has been in the lock. With a key fob, it's easy to get lazy. A little TriFlow lubricant wouldn't hurt once in a while either.

 

I squirt a bit of WD-40 every few months. Ive used the key in the door maybe 3 times, so far, so good.