Author Topic: Need help breaking into my clown car...  (Read 3255 times)

FireHiker

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Need help breaking into my clown car...
« on: September 09, 2017, 11:12:05 AM »
We have a 2009 Honda Pilot...yes, I know this is a clown car. We've had it since it was brand new, back in mid-2008. We don't drive it very often, in favor of our 2008 Honda Civic, but still keep it for long trips, hauling stuff, carpooling.

Non-mustachian disclaimer out of the way, we have a situation we're not sure how to resolve. The door locking mechanisms are messed up, and the car will constantly try to lock itself while driving, often on curvy roads. This is a pain in the ass intermittent problem. We've replaced both front door locking mechanisms and it still occurs. Anyway, that is the root cause of the problem, but not the immediate dilemma. The constant locking effort drains the car battery. We last drove the car on Monday (helping FIL get his new water heater home), and it has sat in the garage until last night. My husband intended to go get gas since we'll need to drive it once this coming week, but the doors were locked and the battery was dead.

So, after hours online trying to find a way into the engine compartment to charge the battery with a trickle charger enough to get the doors unlocked and jump it, we are at a loss. All of the various videos for breaking into the car have yielded nothing. My husband has removed the bumper and tried to get the hood popped that way, without success. We've evaluated trying to get to the lock through the window/door, no luck. We're looking now at breaking the cheapest window to get into the car and just replacing it afterward (keeping a window down, meanwhile, until we resolve the actual locking issue).

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions for breaking into the car without sacrificing a window? I hate this damned car!

Dave1442397

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2017, 04:40:46 PM »
You can't use the actual key to open the doors or rear hatch?

Once you do get into the car, remove fuse #29 (a 20A fuse) from your interior fuse box - see link below and scroll down. That will stop the locks trying to engage all the time. You'll have to use the key to lock/unlock the doors, but that sounds better than what you're dealing with now.

http://www.autogenius.info/honda-pilot-2009-fuse-box-diagram/

Clean Shaven

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2017, 05:45:46 PM »
Are the keys locked in the car? No spare key?

Or is the hood release electronically controlled?

Not understanding exactly why you aren't able to open the hood...

FireHiker

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2017, 06:55:18 PM »
The mechanical key isn't working; we tried it already at the front door already before we tried taking off the front bumper to get to the hood release (no success there either). The electrical system has been messed up for awhile and I think when we replaced the lock mechanism awhile back that it wasn't set correctly, otherwise the actual key should work, right? The rear hatch is controlled electrically also; we've had a few times where we can't get it open at all, even when the car is unlocked and it should work. We're running out of options aside from breaking the cheapest window to get it unlocked. As it is now, the car locks itself randomly, and the electrical problem(s? there are multiple symptoms) are clearly draining the battery, which we just replaced under warranty a few months ago.

Thanks Dave for the link for when we do eventually get into the car...


sparkytheop

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2017, 09:23:40 PM »
Would a locksmith be cheaper than a window replacement?  I'd also find out if they can reprogram your keys/locks at the same time so that you don't have to deal with the keys not working again.

Clean Shaven

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2017, 08:47:29 AM »
Roadside assistance? AAA or similar to help you break into the passenger compartment (slim jim to open the door), then you can charge or replace the battery. And get your mechanical lock replaced...

FireHiker

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2017, 09:17:57 AM »
Yeah, we may be going the AAA path today.

FireHiker

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2017, 01:55:31 PM »
My sister in law came over with her AAA and we are back in the car. AAA definitely is the cheapest option in the future...time to reinstate ours (old payment credit card got compromised and never got around to updating before it expired over the summer). Now to finally troubleshoot and fix the electrical problems for good.

ender

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2017, 06:07:40 PM »
Some credit cards have roadside assist types of things, too.

moof

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2017, 09:44:02 PM »
At least for my old truck the key had to be turned a little beyond normal to open with a dead battery.

paddedhat

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2017, 05:06:11 AM »
Did you do any research on the issue using any of the Honda enthusiast sites?

 I had one of the first CRVs that suffered from a really odd "croaking" rear differential controller. This is a bizarre situation where it sounds like there is a frog under your rear seat, that croaks as you pull out from a stop. The dealer didn't have a clue about it, and changed the diff. fluid, which did nothing. I then researched, learned what the problem was, and what Honda of North America was doing about it. It took a few months of encouraging the dealer (sadly, the largest seller of CRVs in a multi-state region, BTW) to read and educate themselves on the topic, using the technical service bulletins from the manufacturer, that they had ignored, and wait for Honda to finalize a replacement part, but the issue was resolved. Without the Honda owner's site I would of never gotten rid of the frog.

FireHiker

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #11 on: September 11, 2017, 09:35:22 AM »
Did you do any research on the issue using any of the Honda enthusiast sites?

 I had one of the first CRVs that suffered from a really odd "croaking" rear differential controller. This is a bizarre situation where it sounds like there is a frog under your rear seat, that croaks as you pull out from a stop. The dealer didn't have a clue about it, and changed the diff. fluid, which did nothing. I then researched, learned what the problem was, and what Honda of North America was doing about it. It took a few months of encouraging the dealer (sadly, the largest seller of CRVs in a multi-state region, BTW) to read and educate themselves on the topic, using the technical service bulletins from the manufacturer, that they had ignored, and wait for Honda to finalize a replacement part, but the issue was resolved. Without the Honda owner's site I would of never gotten rid of the frog.

I spent hours researching on Honda enthusiast sites actually; piloteers.org had 82 pages of "problems". It was pretty enlightening, but none of the recommendations to get into the hood were successful. We saw how the AAA guy opened the door though so I think we could improvise in a pinch if necessary.

Our actual root cause problem is either a door actuator or a grounding issue. We have suspected a door actuator problem and have swapped out the front two, but it still occurs so it may be one of the back two doors.

We did discover why the mechanical lock didn't work! When my husband replaced the actuator mechanism on the driver side door, he missed re-connecting it. It works now...and at least it didn't cost anything but some time and frustration.

Dave1442397

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Re: Need help breaking into my clown car...
« Reply #12 on: September 11, 2017, 04:42:22 PM »
We did discover why the mechanical lock didn't work! When my husband replaced the actuator mechanism on the driver side door, he missed re-connecting it. It works now...and at least it didn't cost anything but some time and frustration.

That's good - at least now you can get into it with the key :)

I don't know if you came across this on the forums, but if you have a sunroof, check that the drains are clear and water isn't getting into the interior of your car. My FIL had a 2008 Cadillac where the doors would lock and refuse to open, and the rear passenger window would open itself and not go up again.

I found out that there was water getting in from the sunroof and down into the doors, and once the electronics got wet, weird things happened. I was able to fix the problem by cutting bigger drain holes at the end of the four drains coming from the sunroof. Once the car dried out for a few days, everything worked again.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!