6 Common Honda Civic Door Lock Problems (Explained)

In matters related to reliability, the Honda Civic has a rating of 4.5 out of 5. This is why it is amongst the top choices for most car owners shopping for economical cars.

However, the civic is not perfect. It still has some flaws and today we are going to focus mostly on the door lock problems.

Door locks in a car play a crucial role. They reduce theft and are a useful safety feature, especially when carrying kids in your Honda Civic.

Door lock issues can be quite annoying. And that’s why you should be able to distinguish the different door lock issues, their causes, and how to fix them.

Below are the common door lock problems that affect Honda Civics.

1. Sticky Door Locks

This is a problem that mostly affects older models of the Honda Civic. And a sticky door lock can leave you stranded outside your car. It is therefore important to deal with this problem as soon as possible.

Sticky door locks on a Civic aren’t a problem that happens right away. It occurs gradually. The first signs include the key not going in smoothly.

Next, the key stops going all the way in and if you wiggle it gently, it enters the lock cylinder and unlocks your door.

If not fixed, however, this problem easily gets out of hand and one day, you may have to unlock the car through the passenger door.

If you have sticky door locks, WD40 is the answer. This product lubricates the inside of the door lock allowing the key to effortlessly move through dirt and grime to open the door locks.

There are three causes of sticky door locks. The first culprit is grime which can be dealt with using WD40. The second one is low temperatures.

If it’s cold, the doors can easily get frozen. There are easy remedies for this and they include; applying some petroleum jelly to the key and turning it gently as it penetrates the lock. Or, you can heat the key with a lighter and use it to melt a frozen door lock.

The last cause is faulty tumblers in the lock. This is the hardest to fix as you will have to visit your dealer for a replacement.

Depending on whether there is a warranty or not, you or the dealer may have to cater for the replacement costs.

Even if the dealer declines to pay for door lock replacement, you shouldn’t hesitate to do so because one day, that sticky door lock can leave you stranded outside your car.

2. One of the Locks Unlocking Halfway and then Going Back Down

This is a tricky yet common door lock problem that several Honda Civic owners have complained about. This problem manifests itself when you unlock the doors using either the switch, remote unlock, or key.

What happens is, that the lock seems to be straining to unlock, and halfway through the process, it locks once more.

This is a frustrating issue, and if you are unlocking the door using a key, it is very easy to break your key when attempting to unlock the doors.

There are a couple of things that may cause this problem and one of them is if the door sustains a huge impact.

If that side of the affected door shows signs of damage, there is a big chance that the lock mechanism inside the panel may have been affected and something is preventing the lock from unlocking completely.

This problem has been reported to occur in Civics whose owners may have forgotten the keys and the door had to be slim-jammed.

The only way for you to determine what’s preventing your door from locking is by opening the door panel and inspecting the behavior of the lock mechanism.

If the door, as mentioned earlier, had received some impact, an obstruction may be getting in the way of the locking mechanism. While still inspecting the lock mechanism, have a look at whether the motor is still functional.

Understandably, if you have no prior experience with taking the door panel off, you may be reluctant to do so.

But if there is something that is hanging on your locks it must be removed. A mechanic can help you with that, especially one who specializes in door locks.

3. One Door Not Locking When You Press the Lock Button on the Remote

It may not be easy for you to know when one door fails to lock with the rest especially if you don’t have an alarm on your Honda Civic. It is impossible to arm an alarm when one door is not locked.

So, if your Honda Civic at times fails to arm the alarm after locking the doors, there is a huge chance that one door isn’t being locked.

The biggest culprit when it comes to one lock not communicating with the rest is a faulty actuator.

For those who may not be aware, an actuator is a motor that turns electrical energy into mechanical energy. This is what happens when you press the lock command on the switch in your car or remote control.

You can test if an actuator is working or not. But you will have to remove the door panel. To test whether it’s working, confirm if the electrical cables sending power to the actuator are working.

If they are working fine, send power to the actuator and if you don’t get any response then it’s faulty.

A multimeter can come in very handy during such occasions. If the actuator is not working then it should be replaced as soon as possible.

4. Key No Longer Fitting into the Key Slot

There is a difference between sticky door locks and not being able to put your key through a key slot.

This can be a very big problem especially if you don’t use the keyless remote. And if your key no longer fits into the key slot, WD40 won’t be of much help.

There are a couple of things that can cause this and one of them is a collapsed key pin in the slot. This could prevent the key from sliding in.

Unless you are a locksmith, this problem requires professional help whereby the lock barrel is taken out and whatever is inside is removed.

5. Sluggish Door Locks

This problem should come as a surprise because all mechanical parts are bound to wear out after a while. Have you recently realized that the door locks of your Honda Civic have become sluggish? That is, sometimes they may lock or unlock fully.

If this is the case, before rushing to the locks themselves, you may want to check the state of your battery.

If your battery is dying, the locks may misbehave and so will other electrical functions in your car. If the battery is in good condition then you are dealing with another problem.

This is more of a general problem, so there can be a variety of causes. The first one is the actuator we were discussing above. An actuator that is on the verge of collapsing will behave in that manner.

But rarely will you have the actuators of two or three doors malfunctioning at the same time.

While you ponder on that, you should also check the status of the multiplex integrated control unit. This system is responsible for controlling the actuators.

Because it is almost impossible for you to have a mechanical problem with nearly all the door locks at once, you should check if the wiring from the switch is working properly.

6. Doors Locking Themselves without Being Commanded to

Though not a common problem with Honda Civics, those who have encountered this issue can testify to how traumatizing it can be. This is a problem that affects the 97 to 01 models.

This issue is yet to be reported on newer Honda Civics. Doors locking themselves without being commanded to can make you feel like you are starring in a horror movie.

A faulty lock and unlock switch on the driver’s door is the main cause of this problem.

And if you are worried about the car locking you in or out, the quickest solution is to disconnect this switch until you find a replacement or resolve this problem.

Mechanical and electrical changes to the car can affect the car’s locking mechanism. If you have done either of the above in the past, you may want to go back to the mechanic who did the changes and have them inspect the vehicle.

If the previous owner had an aftermarket alarm that wasn’t properly uninstalled, it may cause your doors to lock themselves without being commanded to.

Has Honda Ever Recalled Civics for Door Lock Fixes?

We were shocked to find out that Honda has never made a recall related to door lock issues on Civics. However, they have made recalls to fix faulty ignition-lock systems, and fuel leakages, and replace driveshafts.

Considering the many complaints Civic owners have made against faulty door locks, Honda should have stepped up and made a recall. We can however applaud their effort in fixing most of these problems in their most recent models.