Great video, so well done, step by step,, got my old 2003 pilot beast fixed. One idea that worked well for me, before putting the disabler back on was I notched the hole on the disabler for the difficult screw. I put that difficult screw on and tightened it down 3/4 of the way, then I was able to put on the disabler slipping the notch over the difficult screw and tighten it the last quarter of the way. 340k miles, original engine and trans! She refuses to die!!
Very helpful! 2004 Honda Pilot. One thing to note is that darn cotter like pin has to come out in order to get the cylinder out (this video does not show that @5:34). My ignition cylinder would not come out. I read the comments and kept seeing comments about a small cotter pin. Finally found it by laying on my back upside down basically under the steering column. It is small and black. I ended up pushing on the cylinder slighting inward and using a 1/16 drill bit to drill at an angle into the pin itself. It popped out. But not seeing that in the video…man that took me forever to find that. Note…This was the first time doing it in the vehicle that is why the cotter pin was in there. Thanks for this great video though. Followed all the steps. I ended up popping all the tumblers out and leaving them out. Put it back together and fired right up! Cheers!
Thanks for the note as it will likely help others. I'm certain I did no such thing on mine but perhaps mine was an older production model or perhaps mine was broken. Regardless, I'm glad you figured it out and added to the comments.
@@alexhoover3210 It is ridiculously hard to find. You can see the hole, but you almost have to knock it out blindly since it is hard to see. I had to get upside down under the dash. Watch this video link below and at 2:24 /25 he shows the pin. The problem is when you are under the dash it is hard to see. but it is there. I kind of blindly had to knock it out. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CNYHcSEY3TY.html
Thank you very much for your assistance with this video, I spent the whole morning trying to get that back screw out but my father was able to help me out. Once I knew which pins were the problem it was a cinch to fox the entire thing. I remember my mother telling me when I got this car that it had a faulty ignition when there is too much weight hanging off of it. So to anybody who has these cars, don’t put too much on the keychain and it probably won’t be an issue.
Awesome step-by-step explanation and breakdown! Saved me in a jam when my daughter couldn’t get the key to budge in our Pilot in her dorm parking lot. Took everything apart with a basic toolkit on hand, and some ingenuity, and got it back on the road. This video was the real hero!
This is the best video I've seen out of a dozen videos on this subject. My key was stuck in the ignition so removing the top plastic part was a significant problem! I figured it was worth breaking it in order to get it past the key. Fortunately, that material is very strong and pliable. It didn't break despite using all my strength to deform it so it would get past the key and this was in the cold, (0°C or 32°F), where is could have been brittle, (but wasn't). For the hard to reach - hidden - 4th screw: A small piece of double sided sticky tape, (ex: 'carpet tape'), should also work instead of the 'glue dots' for the 4th screw. Long needle nose pliers and a "multi-screw driver Philips bit" should be able to remove/replace the 4th screw
Thanks for adding to the discussion. While this is a common problem, it seems like everyone's experience is a bit different. I seem to have had it relatively easy! I'm with you about breaking stuff to fix it - a benefit of working on a 20-year-old car. I've had good luck using a dremel with a disk-cutter to cut through the dash material. It is incredibly resilient.
Thank you for this video!! I did this repair on my 2003 Pilot this evening. Ran into a snag on that 4th screw, but your bent screwdriver idea was a stoke of genius. I grabbed a cheap one from the dollar store, heated it up with a Mapp torch, took my time with it (quarter turn at a time) and voila!!
Thanks very much for the comment and so glad the video helped! Congratulations on getting it working again. I've had no problems with mine since I made the repair.
Is it still working correctly? How does the key stay in one position? My Key won't press into the Ignition anymore but I don't really want to order a new Ignition Switch and have the new Key reprogrammed.
Finally got the ignition cylinder to come out for my 04 Pilot. There is a small black cotter pin on the backside closer to the dashboard above two screw holes. Helped me to just take the entire assembly off. Screwdriver and hammer to remove the two sheer bolts was easy for me.
Hi. I have been working on my 04 Honda Pilot trying to remove the ignition cylinder for quite some time now. Could you tell me how you got the pin out to release the cylinder?
Got it done works perfectly! I removed all the wafers and it starts flawlessly. Thanks for the great video!! Only thing I had to figure out was removing the cotter pin to release the ignition column.
@@alexseeley8573 removing the cotter pin was a nightmare. There is a small hole on the top of the ignition housing that goes through to the cotter pin. I used a dremel to drill out the hole out towards the engine so there was a complete space/opening to work in above the cotter pin. I laid on the ground under the drivers seat. While pressing in the ignition to release tension on the cotter pin, I then used an ice pick to work it out. Quite tedious and difficult given the working space, but it eventually came out!
I got everything off ok but couldn’t get that pin out. So I was able to unscrew the shear bolts and take the whole assembly off and now I’m unfortunately replacing the whole thing. Found it for $160
Great video! I did it this afternoon in about 4 hours. Got around the nasty 4th screw bending the cover up enough to get the encoder and key assy out. The wafers became too much of a problem to keep working so I took them all out. I figured put it back together and try it. And it works just fine. The key turns like it should and pops out when you remove it. Thanks again!
Does anyone know if using the valet key makes a difference.we have been using the valet key for over a year because the main key is missing. 2004 pilot, had the issue where the key would not turn. Remove the switch and the wafers put everything back. Still does not turn.
Watched the video in full and completed the project in 2 hours. Way better than replacing the entire ignition like I was going to do. Time to burn one.
This worked for me thanks. I did however remove all the tumbler thingys. Also I didn't bother putting back the 4th screw on the key housing that was difficult to reach. Now I have an extra screw ;-)
I just did the same exact thing. I did however leave in just the last tumbler thingy, you know the big one, just because I was certain where that one went. I also didn't put the 4th screw back in.
The most thorough video ive watched on this. Need Ridgeline video, so hopefully its enough the same. Also, best quality filming of the process and details. Thanks!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!! Your video was so well done and easy to follow - WOW. You just saved me $571 the Honda Dealer wanted to charge to replace the "steering lock assembly", and I would have had to get a new lock on my drivers door to match the new keys that come with the steering lock which they said would cost about $250!! Crazy. And once you get to the messed up wafer, such an easy fix!. That 4th screw was really hard to get to. I got it mostly loose by clamping the sides with a needle nose pliers and turning it little by little. You idea of using a glue dot to put it back in place was awesome. I didn't have a glue dot, so I improvised and used a small piece of a 3M two sided Command Strip on the tip of my finger....was able to use two fingers - one top down, and one bottom up - to slowly turn the screw back in place. Thanks again for taking the time to make the video!
Great Video. Knowing that it can be done helps so much when doing a task like this. Ran into one complication. Our 2003 Pilot key was stuck inside the ignition switch and the cover / wiring does not fit over the key. After setting up a makeshift bench in the car to punch out the pin, I was able to remove the key by systematically removing the wafers while inside the car.
Thank you man, took me forever because i didnt have a small right angle screw driver so i took off the bracket instead but my god all the pieces were falling off and i was freaking out not recalling how it went back on lol. But i fixed it. Thanks
BTW: The Pilot has a small plastic cover on the top part of the steering column cover. It you remove this, you can stick your key, or a screw driver down, to press the yellow lever and shift into neutral (or another gear) and easily remove the top cover.
I got to put this to practice recently, when the tow truck driver didn't know how to move our Pilot onto his flatbed. After receiving a quote from the mechanic for approximately $1500.00 CDN for a new ignition switch assembly (incl programming), it will be worth my effort to follow these instructions.
Thank you. Wife called today having issues and being stranded. Our other vehicle is a 3/4ton manual tranny longbed and she refuses to drive it lol. So hoping I can get this issue resolved tonight so she can get to work tomorrow!
Good luck with it! Please note that some others have said that they struggled to get the cylinder out whereas for me it was a breeze. I'd look through the comments because people have figured out some good tricks for various issues. I haven't had a single issue with mine in the two years since I did the fix so it's worthwhile.
@@ravraid funny you mention that. I’m sitting here trying to figure out how the cylinder is supposed to come out of the column. It doesn’t seem to want to budge
Thank you very much for making and posting this video. There are several others here dealing with this same issue, but I found yours to be the best of the bunch. It has excellent videography and clear explanations of every step. Prior to viewing these videos I was apprehensive to attempt the repair - even with 20+ years of experience as a maintenance technician (and even longer working on vehicles) under my belt. Your video in particular gave me the confidence I needed to dive into it. I did, however, deviate from your techniques in that I opted to unbolt the ignition assembly "collar" from the shaft so I could manipulate the key mechanism. This gave me easy access to that 4th screw - both for its removal and (especially) its replacement. To do so I used a small needle-nosed vise grip pliers to grasp the outer perimeter of the base of the shear bolts with the tips. It was tedious, but worked fairly easily and IMO was certainly worth the extra time and effort. Once removed, I also cut channels into the heads of the shear bolts so I could use a screwdriver to reinstall them - and if need be to remove them again in the future. I highly recommend using these tricks rather than doing as you did in the video. Anyway, after about 3.5 hours the repair was completed, and the ignition switch is now working well. Again, thanks a million. Liked and subscribed.
This is so darn cool! Thanks for your comments! I'm so glad you dove in and I hope others read about your improved methods. I absolutely hacked my way through but I'm glad that you found a better way. I'll be sure to point others in the future to your post. Too bad you didn't video it for YT!
Gracias por este vídeo ya mi carro quedó al toque muy bien explicado únicamente tube problema al querer sacar el último cilindro pero al final lo logré mucha gracias
Other comments are right about the cylinder not sliding out easily. There is a roll pin stopping it from coming out - however thanks for the video! Helped me otherwise
Thanks so much for this video. Honda Pilot 2004 and key would not turn. I've replaced all the failed door actuators so was about due for another major failure. For future viewers, I got the fourth screw out with a Husky offset screwdriver I bought at Home Depot (still took over an hour to get it unscrewed) and a 1/16 punch out to take the cylinder pin out. Pretty easy with a hammer, vice, and daughter holding it in the vice. All told took abiut four hours (not including trip to HD). I did remove all the wafers except for last one (single that looks like a double). It now works flawlessly! The Pilot will never die. Muhaaaaaaa. And yeah, F that fourth screw. Definitely did NOT put that back.
Thank you very much for sharing your experience! Very helpful to people who want to save some money. Nice filming and elaborate description and demonstration.
I took out the steering lock and cylinder pins and unlocked the stuck key hole.put it back in.Works great Nobody gonna steal my old high millage Honda Pilot!! 🤣
Do review the comments and suggestions from others. Some have reported that they have trouble pulling the key cylinder out though it came out easily for me. Good luck!
For anyone interested I was able to complete the repair without removing the 4th difficult screw by bending the plastic slighty and pushing it up. I also ran into the cylinder sticking in there due to a large buildup of grease and was able to wiggle it out with slip joint plyers.
5:34 --It shouldnt come out that easy unless its been taken apart before and the small roll pin that is on the backside (towards the dash) has been removed from previous repair or just falls out. some are hard to remove..
Is there a trick to get the tumbler out? Does the key have to be in and in the on position? I got the immobilizer sensor off but tumbler seems to be stuck…
I've heard that from a number of people. Please read through the comments as some folks have posted how they got it out. The cylinder came out without a hitch for me. One person noted that it was jammed but they shook it loose with a pair of pliers.
Licenced Locksmith - the #1 cause of this is the key. Due to the design of the key tip wearing it damages the wafers and also can push them out of their spot. Without replacing the key and wafers it WILL fail again . I rebuild these all the time and with a programmed key that is cut to factory key code, and a rewafered cylinder I charge about $500 Canadian.
Much appreciated. Very helpful. Looks like you didn't have to deal with the small pins on the side of the ignition switch that have to be tapped out. I didn't have to deal with them either, they may have fallen due to vibration?
Yeah, I see comments about that but I didn't have to deal with them. Maybe there was a change in production? Mine is a 2003 so one of the very early models.
@ravraid my pilot is 2008 and I saw one pin, but pretty much as an afterthought because I was already putting the key barrel back on lol. It didn't stop me from getting the job done. Again, thank you very much for taking the time! You've helped a lot of people I'm sure.
-Turns out its electrical of sorts. Upon disconnecting battery and in process of removing airbag-I had to put the key in to try and get the wheel to turn because it had frozen via theft detterent. And I could tell the key fit perfectly, and turned perfectly. After verifying that it would not take the key once the battery was connected, I am just going to leave the key in lol the remote just has a screw i removed so i can always have that.
I have a 2011 but it seems more complex to remove the shroud on the newer model. So far its looking like the whole steering wheel will have to come off
**Edited** I did find there is a cotter pin behind the cylinder, dashboard side (2004 Honda Odyssey w/chip). I'm not in a position to be able to try and drill it out. So I decided to just remove the whole ignition switch. While using a flathead and a hammer to remove the headless bolts, the cotter pin just popped out on its own and the tumbler came out! So for those of you that don't want to drill out the cotter pin, just give it some love taps and it should start working its way out as it's not wedged in there. You can probably put your key in to shift the cylinder to remove pressure off the cotter pin while you give it some love taps. Good luck!
Unfortunately, it did for me so I didn't focus on it. If you read through the comments you'll see that it did stick for some other folks too and you'll see what they recommend. I think it mostly involved a bit of WD40 and jiggling or prying with pliers or a screwdriver.
Yeah, it wasn't a problem for me as just a bit of wiggling brought it out. If you look through the comments below, you'll read that some folks used WD-40, pliers, screwdrivers, picks, etc. to get it out. I would try channel lock pliers to grab onto the protruding part and just keep wiggling. I'm not sure what might be binding in there. If you figure it out, please post back.
Give a read through the comments. Mine came out without trouble but some other folks have commented that the cylinder was sticky. One person wrote that they wiggled it lots with pliers to get it out.
Thank you for your detailed and clear video, how did you remove the 1/16" black pin? I am hay hard time with it, did you Hammer it from the top until it came at the bottom
Ah, this comes up frequently. On my 2003, there was no pin for me other than the one at 5:51 in the video but look through the comments as many other folks have mentioned another pin and how they dealt with it. I think you could also message some of these folks if you want further details and I'm confident they'll help out.
@@ravraidyes, I was talking about the same one you had at 5:51, it looks like you used a pin punch tool, Did you just tapped on it with the hammer, hopefully it wasn't a nightmare to get out.. thanks again
Thanks for the very detailed video! I got all the way to the point that you should be able to easily slide out key cylinder. But for some reason it won’t slide out. So frustrating. Any suggestions?
I removed all the wafers. Put everything back together in the vehicle but now the key won’t turn. It seems like something is locked up. Any suggestions?
@@yomozingo Even without putting the cylinder in the car, does the key turn within the cylinder? The key needs to turn easily within the cylinder shell when inserted.
@@ravraid I ended up having a locksmith look at it. He confirmed it was a faulty steering lock as well. It was a mess. I ended up buying a whole new assembly. He put it in and reprogrammed the key for me. Overall, I did the right thing for the cylinder problem but somehow another problem was created with steering lock. I was full ready to use old key without wafers, lol. Now I have new key and just leave it in the ignition and lock the doors with the old one.
That has come up in many of the comments. I encourage you to read through the comments as folks solved this in various ways: with WD-40, slip-joint pliers, prying with a screwdriver, etc. It turns out I was lucky but it should come out with some persuasion. By the way, no problems with this since the repair - over 2 years
Some comments from others have indicated that the cylinder didn't come out as easily as it did for me. Please check through the comments to see if there are any hints. The only suggestion I can make is to perhaps squirt some lube in there and see if it will wiggle free. Perhaps others will also have suggestions.
Please read through the comments as I think other folks also had it stick. Certainly try giggling and twisting anything possible to see if it helps. Spraying some WD-40 around the edge might loosen it up. I don't think I needed to insert the key but that's another possibility.
I have this problem with my 2003 Pilot. Thanks for the video and your clear instructions. On a different note, do you have any ideas on making the doors not lock so quickly? Also I was hoping to find a way to keep the interior lights from turning off after just a couple of seconds when you take the key out. From what I understand, it's a safety mechanism but for me it's more of an issue. Those are a couple of the minor issues I have with my Pilot (a long with a few major) and I thought maybe you nipped those in the bud right away with yours! Thanks for any advice.
So when do the doors lock too quickly? I want to say mine only lock when I signal from the key-fob. For me, the interior lights stay on for 10 seconds after I remove the key and close the door. If I use the key-fob to lock the doors, the interior lights turn off immediately unless the handle-light switch is on. Because of that, I suggest you watch my video on altering the interior light circuit since, to my mind, the interior light design on the 2003 Pilot risks draining the battery since any of the handle-lights can be left on all the time - i.e. they don't turn off on their own.
@@ravraid My doors lock in about 5 seconds after taking the key out of the ignition. Whether I get the door open or not (to get out). It's very easy to lock the keys in the car if I don't make sure they are in my hand. Another example is getting in the car..once in and the doors close, they lock after 5 seconds. But then if I try to the start the car, it sets off the alarm when I turn the key. I have to unlock the driver's door before turning the ignition key. But when im not quick enough and the alarm sounds, in order to turn the it off, I have to get out and put the key in the driver door and turn it as I would to unlock the door. Unfortunately for my sleeping neighbors, It took me a good 3 or 4 minutes to figure out how to stop it. As for the lights, they go out between 5 and 10 seconds after taking the key out of the ignition. Occasionally they come on for those few seconds when I unlock the driver's door from outside the vehicle. I hope all that makes sense. I've read about this happening to others in a "piloteers" forum but couldn't find a solution.
@@lkmsaint Hmm, that sounds strange. I think the "auto lock" feature is when you unlock with the key-fob and then don't enter the car within perhaps a minute, the car will re-lock. I haven't heard of your situation where it locks when you remove the key from the ignition but I see how that would be annoying. It sounds like something isn't working correctly. I would post a detailed question on Piloteers to see what comes back. It is a great community.
Another user mentioned that they had trouble removing the key cylinder until they put a flat-bladed screwdriver under the cylinder to gently lift it out
I had no issue taking out the key cylinder (once I got all the screws out) but other people have commented that they did. Please read through the comments below to see how they dealt with it.
Any recommendations or things to watch out for when attempting this? I noticed in your video you didn't show pushing out or punching out the actual pin. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I have a 2007 Honda pilot. The key wouldn't go in very easily then it went in with some pushing and lubricant. But it will not turn.
For me, the trickiest part was the back-side screw I point out. Read through the comments because people have solved that in some other ways that might be easier. The cylinder on mine came out without any effort but it has been sticky for several people so you might need to do some wiggling and/or use WD40 to get it out. Punching the pin out is easy as long as you have something with the correct diameter. Be careful with the wafers and don't get them mixed up. Good luck!
The only pin I can recall is the one I pushed out to remove the actual key cylinder. The housing for the key cylinder just popped out as shown in video (time 5:32). If you read the comments below, some folks have said that the housing was stuck and they had to jiggle it or pull on it with pliers.
one question for you. I have 04 honda pilot. key wont turn, i saw another video on here where the guy just replaces the immobolizer. he didnt show us the fix because he was tackling something else but he said if your key doesnt turn all you have to do is replace the immobilzer and reprogram the key. do you believe thats true?
I believe there are at least two security measures to this: 1) the key itself needs to match the ignition so that it can turn and start the car and 2) the immobilizer chips in the key and car need to match or the car won't be allowed to start. My problem was with measure 1 and I assume the other person is referring to measure 2.
Can anyone come over and perform this magic on my 2005 Pilot!! I'm good at taking crap apart but sure I wouldn't be able to put back together! I don't want to take to dealer but I'm guessing I would have to take to a locksmith?
One of the comments below indicates that a locksmith did this work for $300. If you find a willing locksmith but can afford to have the Pilot unavailable for some time you could try the repair yourself and if it doesn't work out, call in the locksmith.
Thanks, hadn't read all the comments and if I could find someone for $300 I would do it.I'm in So.Ca.and probably going to pay upwards of $500 on a 18 year old car with 155k. I just did major svc plus more with independent @ 2K@@ravraid
@@papodac36Ditto. I put in about $2k last year at 180k miles but it is still going strong so I'm fine with the investment. Maybe call a couple local shops to see if they have any comments about the key problem? I think it was common on several Honda models in that era so a good shop has probably seen it many times. The beauty of doing it yourself is that others might be hesitant to just remove wafers due to liability.
It's a pretty common problem though I didn't have it. Check through some of the comments here for ideas. Folks have mentioned WD-40 and lots of jiggling among other things.
Yeah, some other folks said the same thing. I'd suggest reading through the comments as people had various suggestions like using WD-40, wriggling it back and forth with pliers, etc.
Check the comments below. I think someone said they decided to get a locksmith. You could give a locksmith a call and describe the situation, though. I'll bet they see these regularly.
At time 6:28 I did need to insert the key in order to remove the key cylinder from its housing. The key going in causes the wafers to retract so the cylinder can turn. Prior to that in the process, I didn't need the key in.
In the beginning of the video you talked about the shifter being stuck and pushing the lever down to move it. I’ve experienced that issue and was wondering what causes that problem? Do you know what malfunctions for one to have to push the lever down? Thanks
If you're referring to the gear shifter not moving then I do know of one other circumstance that has caused that on my Pilot, even when the ignition was on. The issue was the brake light switch was flaky. The brakes must be engaged in order for the gear shifter to be moved out of the Park position. If the brake light switch fails, the gear shifter won't move AND your brake lights won't work. The failure is common on early Pilots. Fortunately, the switch is easy to replace and only costs about $40. There is likely a video on RU-vid on it.
Not sure. The Pilot and Odyssey are based on the same platform but the Odyssey changed generations in '05. You could take off the trim and see whether the ignition parts look like the Pilot's.
Just when I was about to give up and put it back together, the module finally came out. Completed the job in 1.5 hours thanks to this video.. Thanks for posting!!
This has come up in the comments for some people. Feel free to browse the comments but they've mentioned WD-40 and using needle nose pliers to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, etc.
@@jameswellborn7242 Hmm. The only roll-pin I saw you can see at time 5:51 in the video. Is that what you're referring to or is there another one? Maybe on a different year of Pilot?
The question is whether they will - i.e. liability and such. The only way to know is to call a few and see what they say. If you do, could you post back here so others can see your comment?
@@ravraid Had a mobile locksmith come out and he spent a little over an hour disassembling and removing the wafers.Cost me $300 but worth it to me as my '04 Pilot is the best vehicle I've ever owned and it's a lot less troublesome than the new $35000 Pilots.
How tf does the cylinder slide out??? I've removed all the screws and PCB etc, but the cylinder is stuck af!!!! You kinda skip over the part where it suddenly is in your hand!!
For me, it popped out with almost no effort but if you look through the comments, it's been sticky for some people. In their comments, they mention WD-40 and lots of jiggling but read through them. To my knowledge, there is no fastener involved - it's just friction.
@@ravraid No there is another pin that secures the whole cylinder into the cylinder housing. Without removing that you will NEVER have a cylinder in your hand. It prevents the cylinder from falling out of the housing during daily use. So ALL the comments saying "Thanks you helped me" are most likely not being honest. Not one of these people will have that cylinder in their hand without removing the pin that stakes the cylinder into the housing. Watch any video here for the same model/year from a locksmith, and you will see what I am talking about.
