Lock Cylinder in Door won't turn

[mahhdd]

My Advanced Keys work no problem; it's the physical key that goes into the door lock that won't turn. All the cut keys seem to match the car and they turn the other mechanisms in the car (glovebox and trunk access from cabin). Dealer said the keys need to be cut for those to work, so it seems the problem seems to be isolated to the car door.

My car came from NY, so the driver side cylinder being seized isn't impossible. My gut says the car door has been replaced at one point and they didn't rekey the lock...

1) What's a reliable way of seeing if the door has ever been replaced?
2) How much does it cost to have the door lock cylinder replaced?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Got it! Read f1torrents posts and my final post

[f1torrents]

- The door locks on Audi's are notorious for seizing/gumming up do to long periods of no use.
- You can spray a oil like WD40 etc. to free it up, I spray it on a old key as well to help it get deeper into the lock.
- You may have to let it sit a few days and then hammer on it with your palm to persuade it in.
- Once it's free you have to add grease to the lock like white lithium, graphite etc. as the WD40 will have washed all the grease out.

I have to do this with almost every door lock I run into that's 5+ years old.
It's even worse when I have to pick the lock when the customer has lost all their keys.

[mahhdd]

- The door locks on Audi's are notorious for seizing/gumming up do to long periods of no use.
- You can spray a oil like WD40 etc. to free it up, I spray it on a old key as well to help it get deeper into the lock.
- You may have to let it sit a few days and then hammer on it with your palm to persuade it in.
- Once it's free you have to add grease to the lock like white lithium, graphite etc. as the WD40 will have washed all the grease out.

I have to do this with almost every door lock I run into that's 5+ years old.
It's even worse when I have to pick the lock when the customer has lost all their keys.

Thanks again man!

[mahhdd]

So... I've been progressively trying to get my car's door cylinder to turn for months (since I bought the car in December). I've been spraying WD-40 in the lock, tried lithium grease, more WD-40.. It just never turns... I assume the car has been damaged before and they forgot to key the lock.

I installed a dash cam and I think it's been draining the battery, because it'll die over the span of 6 days.

Well, I go down to my car after not running it for a few days, and the car is so dead that I can't even get the key to open the door... I try the key and it won't turn... CRAP!!! I can't get in the car!!!! The cylinder won't turn. I'm royally screwed, because I'm not sure if a slim jim will work on our cars, it's late at night, and if I get a locksmith to come out to do the work, I might as well get the door cylinder rekeyed while I'm at it... If the battery goes all the way dead, I'm killing the battery life too.

So, I cuss and call myself a moron for a good 5 minutes... After I flush that out of my system, I walk up to the door lock a second time and try the key again, and pray to God that he just allows the key to turn in the door.


























I give it a twist... The key freaking turned. For the first time since I've owned the car, the cylinder turned.

I turned to my girlfriend and was like, "Dude, I just prayed that God turn that lock." And she was like, "I DID TOOO!"

LOL.

Keep God in your lives, people f1torrents, thanks for your help.

[f1torrents]

I'm so glad you stuck with it until you got it.

I know it seems like it never going to work but after you do a few dozen you realize you just have to give it time and it will go.

Good job..

[vincent9993]

What would we do without the Internet? Just wanted to thank you for having taken the time to answer this question. My lock cylinder had been stuck for well over a year on my B8.5 S4 and wanted to address the issue. My keyless was still functional but felt I should have a backup way to get in car. I took the lock out of the door and it felt as if the lock pins were not even engaging. No matter the amount of penetrating oil I used made any difference. After reading your answer, I built up enough courage to use a pair of plyers on the opposite end of the lock with the key inserted. Sure enough it freed itself. I greased it up good and re-installed it.

This should be a TSB for all our aging B8/B8.5 to check that lock yearly.

Thanks again.