Lately the Power Lock button on the driver's armrest is not working consistenly. When I get into my car and close the door, the first thing I do is press the lock button, but about 90% of the time nothing happens. I'm not convinced that the button is physically broken because if I press the unlock button first and then the lock button, the lock button will always work. (fyi, I've never modified the locking and unlocking options described in the driver's manual so they are still set to the default settings).

Has anyone else noticed a problem like this before?

yep, i have this problem too sometimes. i'm not certain if there is a correlation with the passenger door having been opened or not.

The next time this happens, note if your key is in the ignition switch, and also if the car has been started.

Honda builds a 'fail-safe' into their cars that tries to help you avoid locking yourself out of the car - if the key is in the ignition switch, the B-CAN (Body Car Area Network) detects this, and will not respond to a 'lock' command via the door switch. It also won't respond to the lock command on the switch if your door is open. You can, however, operate the door lock manually (the slide is underneath the door opening handle), if your key is in the ignition / 'on', or your door is open. This serves as an override.

If you run into this again, and your key is in the ignition, take it out, and retry the door lock switch. It should function. If not - make an appointment with your dealer - they should be able to diagnose.

Before taking it in, you can also check and see if you can lock the doors with the front passenger switch - if that one works, but not the driver's, have the actuator checked on the drivers' side. If the passenger switch also doesn't lock the door, they'll need to run four diagnostic tests, which I won't go into here. At least one of them involves removing the door panel, and another requires the HDS scan tool, so expect that they'll have your car for at least an hour to diagnose the problem.

Mark

Sometimes we could all use a little less

My hybrid automobiles:

Current:
2006 Honda Civic Hybrid (CVT, w/o Nav)
Magnetic Pearl / Blue - 008661, born 12/28/05
Mods: Neck pillows, Garmin C330 Nav, Draw-tite 1.25" hitch (for bikes, not towing!), Pioneer Inno XM receiver via Aux jack, OEM mud flaps, more to come!

Hypermiler status on 3/12/06 @ 3077mi.

Previous:
2005 Honda Accord Hybrid (5AT/Navi)
Desert Mist / Ivory - 001254
Retired 1/21/06 - LMPG 34.1

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Turn on the automatic locking feature, which locks the doors automatically at about 10mph. Then you don't have to worry about it (assuming it works...)

Yes, it works, and it works great. We've also programmed it to automatically unlock the driver's door when the ignition is shut off.

How did you program it to unlock after it is shut off????

Thanks,

Michael

Mike,
I don't have my user's manual with me but it is covered in there.

Mike