Door lock cylinder broken. Remote not working. Can't open car.

My first real issue so far. I bought my '07 recently and the only problem it had was the key remote did not work. No big deal, I just lock and unlock with the actual key, old school. Today I went to lock my car and felt the lock cylinder go limp. I can turn it left and right with no resistance. So it seems like the lever/hinge inside probably broke. Apparently a common problem. My issue is that I cannot open the car, therefore cannot take it apart to fix it. I'd like to avoid the dealership, but... I guess we'll see. I welcome your suggestions.

I am not sure about this as I normally do not use the key to unlock... But check to see if the car has a feature where you turn the key to the unlock position in the drivers door and hold for a few seconds. A lot of cars will unlock all doors when this is done. Then you can access the inside of the car from the passenger side.

Unfortunately this won't work. Turning the key does nothing. The lock cylinder just spins freely. I am going to contact a locksmith. If they can get into my car through the window or something, then I'll be okay. I wonder if anyone has had that done before?

If the remote is dead did you put a new battery in it? Try the second remote?

I've replaced the battery in both remotes. Both still did not work. I was just going to replace the remotes, but was in no hurry. I just need to see if a locksmith can open my car up.

Without working remotes I guess you know the alarm will trigger. So I suppose if once the car is opened by a locksmith you'll have to put the key in the ignition to hopefully cancel the alarm. Strange that both remotes have failed and now to make things worse the lock cylinder fails. Since the cylinder appears to trigger an electronic lock/ unlock I would think a locksmith will be able to open the car. Good luck.

Yup. I too thought it was weird that neither remote worked. Yet, the car recognizes each key as "key 1" and "key 2". Why would the spare key not work? I went to the dealership and they didn't think it was strange. They just said it'd be 250 a key plus programming. I think the lock cylinder mechanism broke because I've been using the key so much instead of the remote. Apparently it's made of plastic. Anyway, yeah, I want to try to get a locksmith to get it open, I'll pop the key in the ignition to kill the alarm, and then I can pull the door panel and replace the mechanism myself. Just wondering how the heck the locksmith would get into it.

Okay, so a locksmith came out and got my car open. He just used an air-wedge to make a gap at the edge of the window, insert a metal rod and was able to pull the door handle. Only took a few minutes. Cost 150 bucks. Next step is removing the door panel and seeing what the culprit is. I've read about a couple of different possibilities.

That's exactly how the re-po guy got into my son's car when he came to collect it. At least you've made some progress without too much expense.

I did this to myself one week after buying my car, a used car with a missing 2nd key. On a photo shoot with a friend, I accidentally left the only key in the front boot, and shut the lid. Not having opened either passenger door, the car auto-locked itself. The tow guys pulled the window out enough to leverage the interior door pull. Of course, this set off the alarm and disabled my front lid access. GENIUS! I had to get towed to the dealer.

I found some DIY on how to pull the door panel off, and with a little trial and error I figured out how to remove the inner panel, window motor, and door handle. The culprit is a broken lock cylinder pin. It sticks out right from the back of the lock cylinder. I suspect you have to replace the whole door lock "support" which is gonna run me 300+ dollars. If anyone has any cheaper solutions, let me know. Also, what is the cheapest/best place to order OEM Porsche stuff? Thanks.

I order all of my parts from suncoast motorsports in Florida... You can maybe contact suncoastRic who is a member here with that pic and maybe he can identify just the broken plastic part.

Alright, so apparently this is a dealer only part - $225.00 and it's a special order, so it takes a while.

My friend suggested this...

Apparently you can't just buy that broken part. You need the whole assembly w/lock cylinder. It's not real clear from the parts catalog, but I think you may even need to specify the lock number. So, yes, it will take a while to be keyed. door handle. Fits: Porsche | Jim Ellis Porsche Parts Note: same as used on a 911, so maybe you could find one from a salvage yard. But can you remove and replace just the broken piece with your old cylinder? However, if it were me, I'd be finding out why your key FOB(s) aren't working. Then it wouldn't matter as much (I've owned a 987 for 3 yrs and I've never inserted the key). Also makes it easier to get into the trunks. It might be as simple as replacing the battery in the FOB (some do have a battery, not sure about 2007).

Thanks, RSchwerer, those were my findings as well. I will be ordering a new support and lock cylinder. Since I have to wait a while to receive it, I followed a friend's suggestion to repair the broken pin and get my lock working. I epoxied the pin and sleeved it (pictured above). Theoretically, this should be stronger than new. As far as my key fobs, I'm not sure what the problem is. I bought the car used and the key fobs not working were the only problem. I changed the batteries and tried following instructions for re-activating the system, etc. None of it did anything. It doesn't make sense that both keys don't work. Yet the car recognize them when they're inserted into the ignition. I went to the dealer and they said the "remotes were bad" and I needed new ones. Why would they both go bad? Not sure. All I know is buying new ones seems like the only solution.

I have my new door lock assembly. $225+tx from the dealer. I got a random key, because getting a lock assembly that matched my VIN would have taken 2 months +. Getting the lock re-keyed is only $45, so I went with that. My epoxy solution shown in the posts above would have worked if it didn't have that curve in it... something to keep in mind if this happens to you. Anyway, here is the new piece. I will install it this weekend.

Install my new door lock assembly with new pin. I got a snapshot of the assembly. As you can see, the pin sits curved in position and must flex when you turn the key. Hopefully this is helpful info for whoever runs into this problem.

Glad you got if fixed. Thanks for the pic. That flex is probably going to gradually weaken the part over time. The nylon (or whatever) will eventually get brittle. I guess most people won't have a problem since they rarely use the key to lock/unlock. Are you going to get the problem w/the remotes straightened-out?

That flex plastic pin is a POS design. I guess Porsche figures it would rarely get used. I cant think of one time I have used the actual door lock to get in my car. I would seriously consider getting the key fobs straightened out, because that pin will surely fail again. Its got to be just a programming issue if the car recognizes the keys and it happened to both keys. There may be a DIY on reprogramming. In my Bimmer you go through a little key-in-the-ignition on-off dance to reprogram.

I was thinking the same thing. The key fobs broke a long time ago and the previous owner started using the key. That curved part got weak and as Murphy's law predicts, broke after you bought it.

Replacing and programming the key remotes is next on my list. I still find it very strange that both keys stopped working. As far as re-programming myself, I already tried every version of that I found. Nothing has worked. Took it to the dealer to have them do it and that's when they said I need new remotes.

Its virtually impossible that both keys failed. I would take it to a different dealer. Or if you have to go to the same one, give the service manager a serious silent glare if he says both keys need to be replaced. People cant handle silence.

Did both these key fobs get wet somehow, like in a flood or something? I just can't imagine both failing either. I suspect there's a lot more to this story than you know. Good luck.

The key remotes may not both be broken. One of mine died so I bought batteries that come in a pack of two. Figured I might as well replace both. Afterwards niether of them worked. Even replacing the original battery back into the key that was working did not restore the remote function. Tried every form of voodoo reprograming I could find online. None of them worked. Used the key in the door for about 6 weeks now the door mechanism is broken. I suspect the plastic cylinder.

when i bought my 06boxster one key remote did not work , the other worked intermittently. new batteries did not fix the problem. ended up having to get the dealer to order and recode 2 key heads, note: the remotse can be ordered seperately from the key portion, and you just reuse the metal portions so that saves cutting fees and the cost of the blank.

still on warranty at the time so POrsche paid the bill

I had my both remote keys failed 2years ago, and reprogramming may not work, so I did not do it. so I use key fobs, the lock fail yesterday finally....

I have 07 Cayman too, I also have the problem the 2 remote control keys failed...it is about 2 years now.

I have 07 Cayman too, I also have the problem the 2 remote control keys failed...it is over 2 years now. I do suspect it is Porsche problem....

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Plastic key?

I believe the official nomenclature is "emergency key." Made of plastic or Delrin or something similar. https://www.dropbox.com/s/v74ovdlj7s4u7dk/IMG_4813.JPG?dl=0 jD