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-   -   Would a heavy keychain spoil/blunt the teeth of the Ignition lock? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/116467-would-heavy-keychain-spoil-blunt-teeth-ignition-lock.html)

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?

Have used a heavy key chain with the following cars contessa,cielo, Maruti 800, indica and logan. Never faced any issues, just ensure that the ring is of good quality and can take the weight of the keychain.

For older vehicles like 800/omni etc with side hanging keys, it was an issue. But, with really heavy ones. Like some would hang miniature idol's in key chains. Almost ALL the older Maruthi's I have seen have worn out keys, which can be even removed while driving.

So: I think Yes, hanging heavier keychain is bad.

Also, most of the OE keychains from auto companies are light. and, it wouldn't make sense carrying around a heavy one in your pocket.

Yes you are right, for men it does not make sense to carry heavy key chains in the pocket. But what about women who like to dump everything in their purse and lug it around.

Like my wife likes to have the main gate keys, the house keys, her almirah keys (2 No's) along with the autocop remote with her car keys. And no she does not want to separate the bunch.:Frustrati

Hence I was wondering, if it will spoil the Ignition set in due course of time!!

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.

I too have heard and think it might be right that a heavy keychain will spoil the ignition lock due to constant pressure as the keychain moves in a moving car.

One can attach a small magnet on dash near ignition and stick the keychain to it, this will save the lock from getting spoiled :)

Yes, it does. Have seen it happen with my old Kinetic Honda several years ago. Haven't had such an experience with car keys though.

This problem will be more pronounced in cars equipped with an Immobilizer, wouldn't it?

My experience: Yes, it does.
Both the key and the levers/ barrel wear out faster, and after sometime, the key can be pulled out (will slip out describes it better) even in the on position.

Regards
Sutripta

This was very prominant on Kinetic Honda's and the likes, where the key would almost fit in the lock at a vertical angle. Down the line, the lock grooves did get spoilt, and the ley would actually fall off. Same was the case with M800's too.

So, yeah, they may be bad in the long run.

Good option, but wouldn't it cause problems for the immobilser coded keys with magnetic interference?

No I don't think it will cause any harm to immobiliser coded keys as they have RFID chip (something like pendrive and not magnettic tape like in ATM cards) so it does not get affected by magnetic field :)

Heavy weights on ignition key is bad for the lock even in modern cars. My friend's Camry had this issue of key bunch falling off and car getting locked during drive!! It had happend once. The problem never repeated as soon as he had taken off all the unnecessary keys from the ring.

However for new cars with dedicated key fobs and remote start stop options may not have this issue for understandable reasons.

100% this is a problem. I used to have a heavy pewter golf bag as my keychain in my Bolero and over some time, found that the key was loosening a bit in the ignition. I immediately stopped using the heavy key chain.
The heavy keychain also tends to swing and rattle about which is irritating, however attractive the said keychain per se, may be.
In the Scorpio I used only a simple key fob.
In the Yeti I just use what the Skoda fellows gave me - the flippy keyfob. No need of any additional extra key chains for me, however attractive and desirable they might be!