Manual lock broken - what now...

[Bilazaurus]

Hi. My key won't open the lock. It turns just below 90 degrees right/left but never unlocks the door. I've never had problem with it as I opened it remotely but boy what a pain when battery went down. I guess the whole assembly was replaced by previous owner without bothering to get a matching key. But let's not get down that road. It was a long time ago and just thinking about it makes me furious. On the other hand it may be the right key with a broken lock. I don't know. Can you tell giving that I can turn it almost 90 degrees both sides? And what now? The dealer would probalby murder me with a quote. And I can't seem to find a used lock with a key :/

[JARblue]

If it turns both ways with the normal resistance then it's probably the right key. If the key turns loosely, it could be something failed with the internal locking mechanism and it will be difficult to determine whether the key is correct or not. Assuming a working lock, normal operation would allow the wrong key (from another Z fob) to insert fine but it won't turn either direction.

My uneducated guess is the previous owner didn't replace anything and the lock is simply broken. I would remove the door handle and take it to a locksmith first to see what they think. The dealer should be able to replace it but it could be expensive. Seems like you could use the same fob if you changed out the locks with different keys but I'm not sure that will be cheaper if you can't find used sets.

[Bilazaurus]

Thanks for help. So it may be that the key is OK and the lock is broken? I've just found a complete, used lock for attractive price but ofcourse, without the key. It should be possible to switch cylinders on these, right? Switching entire door lock won't need any reprogramming and other stuff?

[cv129]

What an interesting timing. I happened to switch out door handle assemblies on wife’s car yesterday (from the older silver to the darker chrome finish of the 18+ model year).

A mismatch key wouldn’t be able to turn the cylinder. Each lock cylinder is matched with a specific key, wrong key (with the wrong “humps”) won’t fully release the lock, and therefore shouldn’t turn at all. If you are able to turn it that much, I would think the key and lock cylinder are a match. I just experimented with 3 sets of Z/G keys on an unknown Z cylinder lock. I couldn’t turn the lock at all.

The lock cylinder can be replaced. Once door handle is removed, it’s just two screws holding the lock cylinder. But again, a matching key will be needed for the used lock cylinder. Your existing key won’t work.

For your last question: Don’t need to reprogram anything.

[Bilazaurus]

What wonderful forum it is Thanks for your help! Now I wonder how am I to do this myself. So you're saying, to swap cylinders I have to remove the door handle not the lock assembly? Also, just remembered something. For a long time I'm having this CLANK! sound when unlocking the driver's door. Some time ago I removed the door card to see if there's any play on the cables. I think I may have detached and reattached them. I really wonder what could it be. It sounds like a metal ball banging on metal (first thing that came to my mind is ball end of the cable). I've watched some materials on car locks, read this thread and I'm even more confused. The best scenario is broken lock assembly as I can buy an used one and switch cylinders. Or is my cylinder broken? Or my door handle? Geeez, I got so confused xD

[cv129]

Removing the door handle assembly is very easy.

YouTube “remove door handle 370z”

I didn’t even remove the door card.

Door handle and lock cylinder is all in a single assembly. See picture.

First picture, circled part is the lock cylinder. The yellow plastic piece is a holder that’s suppose to pull on a cable with a metal ball tip. It’s possible that’s disconnected/loose, maybe that’s the noise you are hearing.

[Bilazaurus]

Didn't see your pic. Before that I found a pic of a used handle and gave it a go. What a pleasant update to write. It just took removing the grommets to see that the metal rod is not connected to clip. Removed the handle, wrestled a bit with the rod, reattached it and now it works flawlessly. Thanks for your support I was already in the process of buying a used lock and handle. There's still some noise when driving (like a cable touching a glass) but I'll inspect it (again) in a more distant future. Thanks again everyone!