Hi All-

I've been having an annoying issue on my 2005 Mazda 3 for quite a while now. When I park my car, and remove the key, the car believes the key is still in the ignition. When I open my door, the warning beep sounds, and I can't use my keyless entry to lock the doors. Has anyone experienced this? If so, what part needs replacing? The odd part os, this happens only about 75% of the time.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

While this isn't a common problem I have heard of several people who have had it. I believe you need to replace the ignition cylinder. From what I understand there's a metal piece that the key pushes out of the way and tells the car there's a key in the ignition and that piece becomes stuck. It wouldn't really be a problem except that our keyless entry doesn't work when there's a key in. I'm guessing your warranty is up?

 

You mightalso try carefully lubricating the ignition switch with a little silicone lubricant.By carefully, I mean don't over do it and soak it down as there are electronics in there, just try a little at a time.

Once, I parked my car andpulled the key out but it felt kinda' weird, not usual for some reason.I didn't really think twice about it at the time.
Then an hour later I went to start the car again and the key would not go into the switch at all!!The little door would not open to allow the key to pass.
To make a long story short, I finally got it in and when I got home used some sili lube on it. No problems since.

I'm guessing (hoping) that your problem and the one I had are related.
I'm also guessing that your car is out of warranty? If not, take it in and see what the dealers says.

 

Virg, if you worry about the electronics, would the dielectric grease help? just a guess.
________
Sweetayna

 

Hmmm. 'Not sure. Isn't dielectric grease designed/engineered for transferring heat from a component to a heat sink? I suppose it could work, if it could be gotten into the switch far enough to do good, but I'm no expert.

 

Ok, finally figured out what the problem is. The key has a mechanical sensor which is NOT directly part of the Ignition Lock Cylinder (do NOT replace the cylinder for starters it is an expensive part), but it is attached right next to it and senses a little piece of plastic that IS part of the Ignition Lock Cylinder. The solution is actually piece of cake and here it is: To access the *ignition key lock cylinder* and also the key sensor push switch, you need to unlock and pull the driving wheel towards the front (to give yourself some space to work). You can easily pop the top part covering the area of interest. Then remove 3 star screes from underneath the wheel and put it aside. Now you should have a good view of your working area, like so: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...x0OHdXT3lzTmJ3 There are two things connected, one is the transponder (white connector with some red plastic, in the image it is unplugged), and a black connector with two wires. That IS the KEY SENSOR. https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...x0OHdXT3lzTmJ3 The not so elegant, but simplest solution is to unplug that black connector. The car will not beep if you forget the key in the ignition, but the car still starts normally and your remotes should work now. END of story [YOU CAN STOP HERE]. If you want to learn more details continue reading. The unplugging looks like this: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...x0OHdXT3lzTmJ3 https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...x0OHdXT3lzTmJ3 That white little plug IS the key sensor itself. When everything is assembled it matches inside the lock with the white little plastic part that is part of the key lock cylinder and in my case seems to be a bit worn, like so: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...x0OHdXT3lzTmJ3 That white plastic part in turn matches with the GREEN plastic part in the cylinder itself. https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...x0OHdXT3lzTmJ3 When the key is inserted, like in the image it pushes the green part, which in turn pushes the white part of the cylinder, which pushes out the white little plug which is the key sensor and is wired in the second image. In the lock, it looks like of like this: https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...x0OHdXT3lzTmJ3 To recap. If your car always *thinks* the key is inserted maybe because the green part in the cylinder is stuck (dirt), or the white part in the cylinder is stuck, or the little "plug switch" is bad. Replacing the *Key Lock Cylinder* which is a $500 dollar part might or might NOT solve the problem depending if the problem is a cylinder plastic part or it is the switch. If you simply unplug the switch, you won*t get alarms if you leave the key in the ignition, but that solve the problem. I never care for the alarm for forgetting the key anyway. Your call. I hope this help somebody out there. I wish I had found this explanation last week.

 

Chcastan,
Thank you for your post. I followed your tutorial and fixed my 07 Mazda 6 key problem. It took about 20 minutes and total cost was $0.

 

Can you please tell me how to remove the Ignition Barrel from the Ignition cylinder to access the Green key sensor tab as my green sensor tab has fallen out and i cannot install it back into the ignition barrel whilst it is still in the ignition cylinder

 

You sir, are a bloody genius. Had this happen today and was actually thinking of just cutting the keysense wire. I've always hated this function as it meant I couldn't listen to music in the car with the door open. So disconnecting the wire was even better than cutting it and now the only beep my car does is when I leave the lights on. Excellent. Thanks for taking the time and explaining everything in such great detail.