Can't lock the car with the keys

[Kodiak]

The lock cylinder just will not let me turn the key to the right (clockwise). Turning left is no problem. Same goes for the front passenger door.

Why can't I lock my car!?

[karlblues2]

The lock cylinder just will not let me turn the key to the right (clockwise). Turning left is no problem. Same goes for the front passenger door.

Why can't I lock my car!?

If it happens on both doors then my guess is it's something central such as the central locking relay or fuse maybe although I would assume that would not prevent you locking individual doors I had butchered the new window regulator on the drivers side which prevented me from locking it prior to some 'manual' adjustment with a hammer I could, however, still lock it from the passenger door, but the drivers side would remain open
I am guessing you can't lock it with the remote either
The only other thing I can think of is maybe a damaged key Have you tried the spare
Hope this helps
Karl
Oz

[Kodiak]

It was working right up until today. I can't turn the key clockwise in either front door, so I know it's not just a jammed lock cylinder.

I can use the central locking button to lock the passenger doors, but not the driver's door. Because of the car's anti-lockout 'features' I cannot get the driver's door to lock.

I think I've lost the remote, but I'm still looking.

The key is not damaged. I've tried another with the same problem.

What conditions, if any, would cause the car to disable the clockwise turning of the cylinder locks? Seems like a pointless 'feature' to me, if it is indeed a feature and not a malfunction.

Anyone have a line on cheap remote replacements? The best price I can find is somewhere around $130 USD. Ouch.

[s2avant]

Kodiak,

You have a 1996 S6 IIRC.

Does it lock from inside? i.e when your in the car can you lock it from the door button?

Will it lock from the boot(trunk)/tailgate lock?

Does the central locking pump run continuosly?

Sounds like something in the drivers door lock has failed. If it's the version I think it is then it's all integrated into the door latch module. I don't have a lot of info on the locks though but I'll do my best if you can answer the questions above.

It sounds like the central locking is reacting against the turning of the door cylinders. Could be a dead microswitch making the central locking think the car isn't unlocked.

Ben

[4WheelDrifter]

I had this problem once. Though I can't be any help. The problem suddenly disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared. I think the pump ran on for some reason.

[Kodiak]

Yes, it's a 1996 S6.

Yes, I can lock the car, including driver's door, from the inside by pressing the button down.

The tailgate lock is jammed. The previous owner had the car for 4 years and never put a key in the tailgate lock. Now I can't get a key to go in all the way.

How would I know if the pump is running continuously? Does it make a noise or something?

The remote worked fine until I lost it yesterday. Still looking for it, but in any case I would like to have this key issue solved, as I don't want to rely exclusively on the remote. I had noticed this problem with the key earlier, but in those time I either removed and reinserted the key once or twice with good results, or gave up and used the remote. But now I don't get any action with the key at all.

Many thanks.

Thanks for your help, Ben. Let me know if you need any more clues.

UPDATE: The key now works fine. The problem seems to have fixed itself. I'll post again if it returns.

What could this have been?

[4WheelDrifter]

It sounds as mysterious as my experience. That was about 2 years ago, and it's never reoccurred.