Originally Posted by G-4ce_Banger

Pretty sure I have the answer you guys are looking for. It won't help you get into your car with it dead, but it should solve the problem once you get it opened. If the handle has ever been taken off there's a good chance the mechanical locking mechanism wasn't properly reassembled. I have removed my handle before when I vinyl wrapped my car and I almost overlooked it but for whatever reason I double checked to see if the mechanical lock was still working. It wasn't. There is a shaft that goes from the lock portion of the handle to the locking mechanism of the door. This shaft has a lot of free play and if it isn't lined up to the doors locking mechanism it will just turn freely inside the door. To fix this, you need to be able to open the door, and on the jamb there is a rubber grommet parallel to the handle. Remove the grommet. Straight through the hole is a torx screw that needs to be unscrewed. Be careful backing it out so you don't lose it in the door. I can't remember whether or not there is a stop to keep the screw from coming all the way out or not. Now you can pull the lock portion of the handle out. You may need something plastic to help you dislodge it, just be careful not to scratch the paint. Once it's out you will see the shaft. Look through the hole in the door to see where that shaft lines up with the locking mechanism. If I remember correctly, all I did to line it up was make sure the shaft was pointing straight without drooping or pointing to either side and slowly inserted it 'til it engaged. Double check that the entire mechanism works and you should be good to go.

Originally Posted by cnj4ever

ok for a little update.....

I got bored today and my wife said I should try and start the car with my key and the keyfob in the house. So i unlock the doors with the keyfob and went out to the car and put the ACTUAL key in the ignition. Low and behold it will turn everything on like normal BUT when i pressed in the clutch to actually start the car, it wouldnt start?!?! So know I am really puzzled and bewildered about this issue.

So i think maybe the insides of the door came un-done or disconnected somehow, but the dealership can figure that out when they fix my fuel line in a week or so.

Also on a side note I was told by Father in law yesterday, who went to a dealership, that there is a fuse that you are suppose to pull if you are storing the car for more than 40 days. Some yellow one? I bought it used so there wasn't an owners manual.

So the confusion continues...........

Originally Posted by trentan

I know this is a very old post but I think you just solved all of my problems. Car got repainted and key hole stopped working but still spins. Thanks!!

Originally Posted by brandobaggins

read the thread before posting. OP probably has a bad key.

Originally Posted by AleighS

The car 100% is made to require the code from the key, and with a completely dead battery, there is nothing powering whatever unit within the car is made to receive the signal and will not open!

I have had this issue happen multiple times around when I first posted this last winter, which was also the first winter I owned the vehicle, and now again this winter. I live in Minnesota, so the winters can get harsh. My battery will go from 100% to 0% within 5 days if I do not drive the car (which is not that uncommon since I work less than a mile away.) If I only make trips nearby, that will keep the batter kicking an extra 1-5 days depending on frequency, and if I at least get out on the highway for 5-10 miles the car is just fine.

The fact is, however...someone thought it would be smart to design annoying locks on doors as annoying as having coded keys for starting cars without considering a situation where a battery can unexpectedly die due to lack of use.

Anyone skeptical, go ahead and open a door, press lock on the door with it still open, unhook your battery with your door still open and wait for all the lights to completely shut off indicating all juice is completely lost and test your key in the door. Not gonna work without a little drip of juice.

Another fun incident was the last time I had this happen (a week ago) I had a locksmith unlock the door for me, and he offered me a jump upon explaining my story. I said "no, I have a direct a/c charger now, I will be fine." Typically, I have used this to keep my battery charged up around my short trip schedule, but happen to forget about it for a while which caused my battery to once again completely deplete. With the doors now unlocked and open, I popped the hood and hooked up my charger. The car would start honking for a few seconds and then completely die, and the battery charger would disengage. (the car alarm was going off because of the locksmith releasing the lock from the inside and this fluctuation in energy being noticed by the charger triggered it to shut off to help insure there wasn't any sort of terrible battery issue)

I ended up having to unhook the battery from the car, charge it with my charger, then reconnect it to the car, so it had enough power to set off the alarm without draining the battery immediately so I could click lock on the remote to stop it (and of course have enough energy in the car to actually receive the command from the remote)

I do not know the basis behind the idea of all of this, but it is a fact that the car needs to have at least a little juice to unlock, even manually, and the car will also not even attempt to start without at least a 50% charge.