Lock acuators on Acura 1.6

[slybry]

I have owned my 1997 Acura 1.6 since it was 1 year old and over the years have had every single lock actuator fail on this car. All failed within the extended warranty I had bought. As a result I have no idea what it will cost to replace.

Now the lock on drivers door is acting up again. This one will be on my tab.

Great car but these lock mechanisms are definitely a weak spot for Honda products.

If they all fail and then fail again you would think Honda should do something for its customers. I guess they would laugh me out of the dealership if I complained about a 11 year old car.

[dr_spock]

You can try to see if the dealer will fix it on good-will if you have been a reg at that dealership for the past 11 years.  I find that the will is not so good now that the dealerships are in hard times.  The will was better when times were good.

Here the door assembly for the 1997 Civic EX, no EL in the States.

http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com/auto/jsp/mws/prddisplay.jsp?inputstate=5&catcgry1=CIVIC&catcgry2=1997&catcgry3=4DR+EX&catcgry4=KA4AT&catcgry5=FRONT+DOOR+LOCKS

[carsncars]

Do you still hear the motor whirring "trying" to lock/unlock the door? This happened on my '98 Civic Si, and I fixed it by taking off the inner door trim, cleaning up the actuator assembly, then re-lubricating and re-aligning it. Took a Sunday morning, saved $91.

[johngenx]

Might try a car stereo shop.  They often sell jobber actuators that are probably much less than the Honda OE units if you end up paying for them yourself...

[Squishy]

I'd actually grab a bunch of them from the junkyard if they fail that often.

But before you do, take off the door trim and look at your lock assembly.  Does it look corroded?  If the actuators fail often, it is usually because it needs to work that much harder from gummed up mechanisms.  Any time I have the door trim off, I spray the assembly with a penetrating lubricant like Honey Goo.  If you roll down dirty windows a lot, I would switch to a dry lubricant like graphite or Teflon to keep dirt from collecting.

[barrie1]

I agree with spray cleaning all the old grease off of it as quite often when cleaned and relubed they work just fine again for a long time. Its common in other brands as well. 

[slybry]

I do hear the thing trying to work. Right now it unlocks (most times) but does not lock properly. I see the button move just a bit but it does not engage into lock position.

Might try doing what is suggested and take door panel off. I think I read in another forum that to get access to the actuator you would have to remove window. That scared me off.

Is there tricks to remove door panels?? Do the clips just pop out? I know there are screws around door handle and or arm rest to remove.

I have my car treated with Krown like rustproofing. I wonder if that could be gumming things up.

I am a little confused about what to use to lubricate it with.
I have all these products on hand. Can you advise which I should use.

WD40, Fluid Film, Silicone spray or white lithium grease.

[Squishy]

Fluid Film is a lot like Honey Goo; that's what I would use.  WD40 doesn't really last long on moving parts; I only use it to cover the lawnmower/snowblower while in storage.

[barrie1]

WSD40 has a magnetic base somewhat and is known to attract dirt on the parts it is sprayed on. Thats why they say never use it on a carborator linkage as it will only dirty up again and get worse then it was. I would not use it for this purpose as well. The silicone spray would be good for it after it has all the old grease cleaned off of it. The grease is getting stale and hardening up over time and probably is the cause of this problem. 

[Squishy]

What I like about Fluid Film and Honey Goo is that they have penetrating properties and will get into small crevices and, to some degree, "re-form" a protective film when it gets scraped off a moving part.  Non-penetrating lubricants and dry lubricants generally don't do that.

I have never heard of WD40 being magnetic; but just how much dust is magnetic anyways?  I never get dirt stuck to my magnets.  All of the wet lubricants will attract dirt, but they also last longer.  I have a shelf of about 15 different lubricants because each type has its own purpose and application.  Our windows stay up all the time because we have A/C and no swipe-card entrance like an apartment building - thus the inside of the door stays clean enough for a wet penetrating lubricant.  If the windows will be covered in dirt or salt and then rolled down a lot, then a dry lubricant will attract less dirt but won't last as long.