I have an alarm with door lock solenoids added, works great. Also lets me know when the trash truck is close by.

 

i simply never lock my car.

whats the point? if any one wants to steal it, its a convertible. slash it and open door in 2 seconds.

 

Turn On Interior Light. Bulb has been replaced with an LED.

 

I tend to stick my key in the tailpipe sometimes. Classic misdirection

 

If you're talking about the ignition key? I'm not sure what the issue is; I stick it in the first time everytime, I don't even have to look down

 

 

muscle memory.

 

I just keep jamming around the general area until it slips in.

 

Don't just keep jamming it around there! Chances are you'll stick it down the wrong hole.
Stick a couple fingers back there and feel around for the hole before you start poking around with your [key] shaft. That usually helps me when I'm having trouble.

 

Put some hair around it.

 

This whole thing reminded me of the elderly lady from Kentucky.
She had vanity plates that read "KY GIRL"

True story.

 

Take a drill and enlarge the hole.

 

I think the best solution is to simply re-wire the ignition to use a start button. A friend of mine did this with an old car. It was super easy and operated EXACTLY how any 10 year old would assume an awesome car would.

switch one: fuel pump relay
switch two: clutch switch
button three: starter

It was pretty sweet. Oh and you don't need the switch one. He just did it so he had more switches. The fighter jet gun red ones with the latch cover.

 

Nope, it isn't that easy on a '01-'05 because of the ignition security setup...as far as I've read. I've been thankful my '01 hasn't suffered any issues but I guess you could always tape the chip key and the ring up behind the dash like many do when they lose the second key and refuse to pay Mazda hundreds to cut and program a second key. If the ECU doesn't receive the signal that the chip key is a match, the ECU will NOT work so wiring in a start button probably isn't nearly as easy as you're thinking.

OP, I find myself frustrated EVERY spring with this very issue. It takes me a while to build up the muscle memory again and height may also play a role but I find Mazda's design of the lock cover is poor. If you notice, many or most vehicles are designed so you get the key close and the convex curve guides it towards the center of the lock, not so with my '01 Miata, nor my previous '99 if I remember. It's been a while since I looked but it might even be slightly concave. It's definitely not user friendly!

 

It's easy if you are running a megasquirt. I pulled the immobilizer a while ago and pulled the blinky light from the dashboard.

 

The last few comments really took this thread off topic. Mods, please ban the above users.

 

You guys ever fantasize about what it'd be like to have cheese graters for hands?

 

There's a Mitsubishi clear dome light cover that fits the '99 dome light that's a light brighter. I bought one many years ago. I think I found the part number on Miata.net..

 

The wrong hole can be just as much fun.