Front Door Latch

ko90ls · January 19, 2006

when it's cold outside and i open the passenger door it freezes open and will not close until the car warms up. unfortunately i do not have a garage so i am open to the elements but i am thinking that a new latch may fix the issues but i just wanted to check with anyone who may've had this issues and solved it another way? when it is open i try to lock the doors and see if it closes and try to open the door handles while i close it and i also can play with the lock and notice some putty on itand i loost as if it will close but no good until i drive a while and the heat warms up? any suggestions!

RFeldes · January 20, 2006

Hi ko9ols,

Could you please be more specific..."My" interpretation, could only be that your door lock is mis-behaven. If I am wrong, correct me..otherwise we will go from there...Would like to help... please tell me your "door" is not physically stuck open in cold weather!!! And you wait for the car to warm up... to close it. Just kidding, and I think I know what you meant to say. Please clarify..

SKperformance · January 20, 2006

I agree ,i am not following what you are saying.

The door will not close to a latched postion keeping it from staying closed/locked

the lock won't open/close causing the door to not even close fully

The handle won't stay down

have you tried lubing the lock mechanism?

vyhanh · January 20, 2006

Hi,

In Minnesota winter, my 91 LS400 front passenger door will not lock or unlock. Only the other 3 door locks work. I have to manually unlock the front passenger door. I tried lubing but it did not work. I guess in summer I have to open the door panel and lube/tighten everything !

W201 sweden · January 20, 2006

Seems like a dangerous problem, if I understood your description correctly.

I suggest that you (or a shop) repair it properly ASAP. Don't wait. Of course it's not MY car, but I would not risk myself

or any passanger in a car where the door locks can not be trusted! <_<

Just my two cents...Good luck with your car!

best regards,

Alexander from Sweden

RFeldes · January 21, 2006

Alexander, We aren't even sure about his problem and haved asked for his clarification, but no reply, as of yet. But you are "okay" and I enjoy your posts as they are sincere...Great to have you be one of us.. How are you doing with your Lexus? Is it growing on you yet?

W201 sweden · January 21, 2006

Alexander, We aren't even sure about his problem and haved asked for his clarification, but no reply, as of yet. But you are "okay" and I enjoy your posts as they are sincere...Great to have you be one of us.. How are you doing with your Lexus? Is it growing on you yet?

LOL, ok when I read my own post today I feel a bit blunt... :blushing:

I sure meant no offence, even if it sounded harsh.

I've seen some pretty horrifying things done by careless drivers, when I was working as a mechanic, so I guess that's why tend to overreact.

Thanks for "OK:ing" me. I think the people on this board are great, and I hope not to upset anyone - at least not unintentionally... ;)

My Lexus? No stuck doors here! ;)

Runs very good, has some things on the "To Do"-list. I do not feel disappointed at all, just a bit detached/uninvolved (?). I think it is changing for the better, though.

But the qualities of the car really shines through, and I do feel it's a good car!

I'll get back with a full report when we have had some more kilometers together. :)

ko90ls · January 23, 2006

SORRY I HAVEN'T REPLIED I WAS AT A BUSINESS MEETING IN TENEESSEE! GOOD STUFF. BUT ANYWAYS SK IS CORRECT "The door will not close to a latched postion keeping it from staying closed/locked" OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.what happens is when it is very cold and for any reason at all i open the front passenger side door it will stay open! you know when you try to close a door and the seatbelt is in the way? same effect without the seatbelt. i can slam the door with all my might and it will pop open(tried many many times). what i think is that the latch gets frozen open! it is stuck in the open position so it naturally pushes the door open then it tries to engage. recently i replaced the trunk latch (long story) and i noticed that the iron hook are the same and when you open the trunk, the latch is removed and a piece of metal pushes the trunk lid off of the iron hook. but it is stuck in the open position until the car warms up and the heat is blowing pretty consistently. what i think is that the heat blows through the door panels and warms the latch so that is operates correctly. and i was thinking about lubing the latch because i was seeing some putty like stuff on it but wasn't sure if it would help and don't know what to get. BUT THANKS FOR THE HELP! :cheers:

p.s. very cold means below freezing, normally when there is snow on the ground(and on car) and the door would be frozen shut before i open it, and no it is not garaged

Edited January 23, 2006 by ko90ls

sapper_daddy · January 23, 2006

hey i actually have the same problem as i have noticed in a few other posts! My car A) the front passenger lock doesn't operate correctly when it's cold outside, when the other three will work just fine B) the door when someone tries to close it will not stay closed, when it's cold outside, HOWEVER, when you try to slam it even harder it has no effect, i would take it and gently close then pull the arm rest firmly!!!! and the door would latch.

Take it top a body shop and have them adjust the door back properly from the hinges or maybe just move the striker a little bit. I took my door apart then put lubriplate all over the components. That may or may not be it but that's my two cents. Have a good one!

ko90ls · January 25, 2006

sapper it sounds like we both were in the same boat. did the Lubriplate work or does it still happen occasionally?

sapper_daddy · January 26, 2006

yeah the lubriplate worked for me and i think it'll be a while before the door needs adjusting but i was just saying that if it's noticeable that the door is stressed when closed or that there is play(door open grab the bottom lift up and down, should'n't be play) that there may be some adjusting but yeah lubriplate worked okay, door really isn't too hard to take apart so i'd consider lubing first