Replacing ignition and door locks?

[KatM]

My 30 year old key is just about worn out, and this car is about to be my daily driver ('85 300 TDT) and I'm curious, have any of you replaced the ignition and the door locks all at once, so as to have one key for the entire car?

I didn't find a kit anywhere online, but this is possible, right?

Thanks!

[SD Blue]

The easiest way is to take proof of ownership to the dealer and order a lock tumbler that is keyed for the original set. IIRC, it was ~$25 when I replaced my ignition tumbler.

[Zacharias]

As the OP is in the US, based on previous threads, dealers charge somewhere in the range of $25-$50 for a new tumbler with a VIN-coded key.

[KatM]

Oh, so I can't just order a set with a new and different key? I didn't know the dealerships would have VIN numbers saved back to '85.

[Zacharias]

Originally Posted by KatM

Oh, so I can't just order a set with a new and different key? I didn't know the dealerships would have VIN numbers saved back to '85.

Why would you prefer to change all the locks?

The dealer does not have the VINs. The dealer looks at your paper to check that you actually own the vehicle, then sends your VIN to an area at head office where someone actually goes and pulls out the master data card from the day your car was produced, from a filing cabinet. The key code is on that card.**

Until recently, you could order a VIN-coded key from Mercedes for a car produced 50 years ago. I think it is a bit less now, but you can for sure get one for a 1985 w123.

** could be that the process is less manual now, but when I ordered the key for my 1960 220s, that was what I was told would happen

[KatM]

Oh, because the passenger side door has a different lock and different key. The main ignition key is very worn and I thought that since we're repairing a lot of things on the car, why not throw that in, too, and find a kit. There just doesn't seem to be a kit out there that matches all the locks up to one key.

[ROLLGUY]

What others have said, I have done this several times. You can order the keys and/or lock cylinders to match. If you wanted to change all the locks for some other reason (keys got stolen or something like that), I don't think it is possible. However, If you had two cars from the same era, and wanted them keyed alike, it can be done with the same method mentioned above (just use the VIN from the other car). I suppose you could also have someone else order replacement locks for their car (using their proof of ownership), and you use them on your car. The worst problem with changing all the locks to a different code is that if you loose all the keys, you are completely out of luck. The best way is to go back to the factory coded keys so if all of them are lost, you can still get replacements.

[KatM]

Ok, I can get factory keys, but can I get locks WITH them?

[ROLLGUY]

Originally Posted by KatM

Ok, I can get factory keys, but can I get locks WITH them?

Yes, just more $