How to remove straw from car lock?

[JT20]

I would think or hope that bending up a small paperclip (probably not a larger one) into some kind of general J-shape (a la a fishing hook) hopefully you could dislodge the plastic pipe, others have suggested a vacuum cleaner to suck it out but maybe two bent up paperclips you could get behind it and somehow maneuver it out. If it is one of those door locks there there is a cover over the slot, you'd have to put some kind of again, I am thinking bent up paperclip to keep that aside while you work.

Maybe the idea of somehow melting it out is either not a good one or some kind of last resort, PB disintegrates styrofoam I do not know about plastic, please be very careful.

I believe you can get it with two small paperclips.

Does the door close?

 

[RDMgr]

Try two bent up paperclips.. like chopsticks?

Maybe melting it out would work if you used the key.

And some penetrating lube after...

Or needle-nosed pliers...

A couple of ways this could go..

Be careful, but it's just plastic...

"Try two bent up paperclips..like chopsticks", a unique tool called an improvised discontinuous tweezer

 

[ripcord]

"Try two bent up paperclips..like chopsticks", a unique tool called an improvised discontinuous tweezer

Or a single piece of wire bent in half to form a continuous improvised tweezer.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

BTW, just for the record, WD-40 is not in any way a lubricant.

It's not, but I use it on locks anyway. The locks work great for a couple of years.

 

[maverickfhs]

Is it possible that cold weather or heat during summer can eventually disintegrate it? Door closes fine and as of now, just an annoyance and no other issues.

 

[maverickfhs]

I'll probably add some PB and hoping it'll help in breaking up the plastic straw

 

[spasm3]

So was lubricating a door lock on the car where key can be inserted manually to unlock the car using an extension straw.

For some reason straw got stuck and broken inside the door luck, now when I try to insert the key, it's not going all the way.

Is there a trick or a way to fix it? I know, totally an idiotic question, but learned my lesson to not push it too much!

Thank you

To which of these cars did this happen?

 

[Chris142]

If it was on the tumbler area and you jamned a key in you stuffed it into the back of the lock. No idea how to get that out.

 

[JimPghPA]

WD-40 lubes up lock cylinders quite well..

I wonder if shooting some PB blaster in there will help the situation.

From what I have read about WD-40, it is the solvent that makes the parts move better while that solvent is present. But the solvent is not an oil and in a week or two it will completely evaporate. WD-40 leaves behind chemicals that protect against rust, but not lubricate once the solvent evaporates.

It may flush out contaminants, and that may help the lock work better even after the solvent has evaporated. But it is not an oil. An oil would not evaporate in only a week or two.

 

[JimPghPA]

BTW, if you could manage to straighten out a long skinny fish hook, without having it snap, that may leave you with a long thin wire with a nice barb on the end that would snag the plastic if you could insert it in the center hole, if you can find it.

There are some fish hooks that are still very skinny but much longer than the average fish hook. That is what you should start with. And you might heat it to enable it to be bent without snapping. It will loose some of its strength from annealing it with the heat, but it will not need much strength to pull out the plastic.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Could get a pick and try it too maybe the straight one and maybe give it a little bend at the end and do it that way.

 

[JC1]

If that lock is like my Civic lock, you may need to remove the door lock. There is that little flap that springs closed to keep water and debris out and you may need to play with that while trying to the plastic out.

On my civic I needed to remove the lock by taking the interior door panel out and accessing the lock that way. It's not a fun job. There is access from the bottom of the tumblers (I guess the design is to let moisture and such to be able to drip out.

Good luck with this.

Here is a video for removing the door handle. The mechanism is similar to the Civic. That U shaped clip can be a pain in the neck to get back in.

 

[eljefino]

I just changed the door locks on my chevy and like said above there are holes for the tumblers you can see once you get it out of the door. You can also turn it all kinds of upside down and rap it against something solid to try to shake things loose.

This is most of the way to replacing the unit. May be able to order one to your key code if you care about such things. Is there a passenger lock you can use for emergencies, like if your battery dies?

 

[maverickfhs]

Is there a passenger lock you can use for emergencies, like if your battery dies?

That's one of my biggest concern, don't want to be stuck in a situation where fob or battery is dead.

There's no passenger side lock, unfortunately and that's why I am being upset on the dang straw.

If I just use a small punch or flathead screw driver with brute force inside the lock, would it help or will damage the lock?

Thank you all, appreciate all the help.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Bend up a paperclip?

Every time I've lubricated locks with WD-40 (you'd be surprised how much smoother they turn,) I always just sprayed some, including some on the key, then put key in.
.the last car I had, I never used the key on the doors at all. Simply keyless with the fob.

That's exactly what I do, spray a small amount on the key, then insert the key. I got two free cans of RP Maxfilm years ago, so that's what I always use.

 

[ZeeOSix]

If I just use a small punch or flathead screw driver with brute force inside the lock, would it help or will damage the lock?

Danger Will Robinson !!

 

[kschachn]

If I just use a small punch or flathead screw driver with brute force inside the lock, would it help or will damage the lock?

What do you think? This reminds me of when the cylinder froze on my BMW once, and my daughter remarked (after she broke off the key) that she was "turning it as hard as she could". The thing about that BMW problem was that the lock has a heater on it, all she had to do was lift up and hold the handle for 30 seconds.

I would not use a punch or screwdriver in the lock with "brute force".

 

[Astro14]

Look, you’ve got a piece of plastic in there. If you want the lock to work in the future, it requires physical removal. You’re not going to dissolve, or melt, or vaporize it. None of those will work.

So, a tiny screwdriver to hold the lock open, a very bright light, some magnifying glasses, and a thin pair of tweezers - and some patience - to fish this out of there. A fishhook with barbs is a good idea, but there is no way other than painstaking, precise, delicate work.

 

[maverickfhs]

Thank you all, I'll use some PB today, let it soak for a few days and then will try a vacuum, tweezers, etc.

Hoping for the best.

 

[Astro14]

By the way, I would never use WD-40 in a lock. WD-40 turns to hard, brown gum over time. Absolutely horrible stuff.

I used to use it, then, years ago, I ruined a set of taps that I had sprayed with WD-40 (to keep them from rusting). A year later, they were so covered in that gum that they were unuseable. WD-40 wouldn’t dissolve it. Neither would acetone, kerosene, alcohol, or mineral spirits.

I’ve since seen firearms that have been ruined by use of WD-40 and the subsequent gum.

Spraying WD-40 in a lock is asking for future trouble. Kroil, or a lock lubricant, perhaps, but no way I would ever use WD-40 in a lock.