on my '87 124 wagon, the driver's door lock recently failed. so this door will not open with the key. have 2 original keys, both look OK, neither work.

so the key stopped opening the door without any warning. it didn't get sticky or difficult to use over time, just stopped a few days ago. this is a bummer because there is a keyless entry / alarm system installed also, that has worked perfectly for about 7 years, and about 2 months ago that failed, burned component on the board, so we had to go back to using the key to open and lock the doors. now the only way to get in the car is the passenger door, the hatch lock doesn't work either. it's a mess :-( this is otherwise a car a car that's in really good condition and well maintained.

the ignition lock did the same thing a few years ago, however the ignition cylinder, in retrospect, probably gave some warning before it fail however i didn't recognize the signs 'til it was too late. now i have to get the bad cylinder out and replace it, have searched on doing it and it looks like by taking the door apart and loosening the latch i should be able to remove the cylinder without the key being able to turn it.

i am wondering what people's theories are as to what makes the lock cylinders fail.

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punkinfair