[sumeethaldankar]

My mechanic long ago had advised me against using heavy key chains ,as per him the weight will cause not only the edges of the key but also of the inside of the lock to wear out as the two rub against each other.Once the lock's insides smoothen out my mech said it becomes easier to steal that car using stuff like a knife blade etc.

Don't know how true but paid heed to his advice and removed the heavy key chain for my 800.It's been 15 years and the key has shown little signs of wear and is almost as the spare key which has been rarely used.

I also remember our old Premier Padmini's keys faded and smoothened out over the 18 years we had the car .The key-chain had a bunch of keys attached to it.

[TRAUMASURG]

Yes ,it does damage the ignition tumbler because of constant weight and swinging,especially true with electronics ignition/immobilizer equipped vehicles. Because of this ,one may end up replacing the entire ignition tumbler/module and re-code all the keys which may be very expensive.just my 2 cents.

[R2D2]

The key and lock assemblies are pretty sensitive to weight being hung off the ignition key. It acts like a lever and over time causes the lock pins to wear off unevenly.

Also, in modern cars locking systems have a security sensor/chip embedded into the keys that allow for starting the car. Adding too many metal objects to the key chain could interfere with the security system. My car's manual clearly specifies this.

I would recommend never hangng more than 2-3 keys including the ignition key on the keychain.

Regards,

[malq]

I have a strange problem, related to the above - the ignition cum steering lock of the Swift VDI that I drive, 45k/4 years, has started getting jammed. When locked, it is difficult to release and then turn, and then after it releases the steering wheel, while driving it has jammed the wheel with the key still inside. Luckily this happened twice while the car was being reversed out for the day, so no issues, but drove it very carefully to MSM/Naraina where they 'advised' that I should replace the full set - ignition, doors, hatch, immobiliser is one unit for about Rs 8k.

There is nothing wrong with the immobiliser part of the key and unit.

Spoke to some friends, and (1) sprayed the insides with WD-40 (electrical contact spray was not available . . .) and brought the car home. Then (2) commenced a correspondence with Minda on the possibility of totally removing the steering lock part, since that is fairly useless anyways. (Total of about 1200 combinations, all of which can be beaten by one Master key as a local chaabee waallah showed me, in less than 30 seconds).

My point is,

1) If the steering lock part of the ignition cum steering lock cum immobiliser is so useless anyways, then why do automobile manufacturers thrust it down our throat?

2) Some taxi operators who use Eeko vans into the mountain have removed the steering lock part of the combo unit (apparently they remove a square profile metal block inside, and then the steering wheel is "free"), and claim they do this because otherwise the steering lock "jams" on bad roads.

3) Some of the newer cars simply don't have this - the immobiliser is separate from any door key mechanism and there is no steering lock.

Any views on this, please? Am holding the car unused, waiting to see if Minda or MUL take this up further, before dis-engaging the steering lock part. Only thing is, the transponder unit is inside the lock, so need to understand that also.

rgds/VM

[Samartha]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

That's close to 500g of pendulum weight on the poor ignition lock barrel & key! Have some sympathy for them! They're NOT made of titanium.

What about the following pictures? I think this much weight would be fine, no? The red dragon you see is actually very light. In addition, I just have the house key.

Also, the Punto key seems to be differently machined than the regular "edged" design.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Samartha

What about the following pictures?

Difficult to predict but only time will tell.

[nozzlering]

Car keys have become bulkier than before (Integrated immobiliser). Adding anything else would difinitely damage the key slot over a period of time.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by deky

I was wondering if we have a heavy key chain or lots of keys attached with the key chain to the main key of the car, will it blunt or spoil the ignition lock of the car over a period of time? Say 5-7 years?

I was thinking this because with the key in the lock and the key chain with all the weight hanging on it, would it not blunt the teeth of the lock with all the pressure and the friction? And once the grooves/ teeth get a little bit of play it will only increase with time with all the weight. And reach to a point where the lock teeth will be totally blunted?

Or it should not matter, because the locks and keys are made of really hard metal and can withstand a lot of pressure and weight?

Anyone felt the same or had a problem because of heavy key chains?

Won't the lock and levers and pins wear out because of repeated (multiple times) insertion/withdrawal of the key?
Every time you take out the key, there is a wear
Every time you plug in the key, there is a wear

I believe that wear and tear because of this, would be orders of magnitude higher than wear & tear caused by swinging keychain - trying to move the key few fractions of a mm (the key which is already sitting snug).

So do the lock get "blunted" with due course of time? Of course!
Does it make difference to us (meter sized creatures) with respect to operation of the lock? NO!

[nozzlering]

Originally Posted by Samartha

What about the following pictures? I think this much weight would be fine, no? The red dragon you see is actually very light. In addition, I just have the house key.

Also, the Punto key seems to be differently machined than the regular "edged" design.

Definitely the time will tell. And that time is not far, I feel. Try to keep the ignition key separate, if possible.