Making Car Doors Feel Like Brand New When You Open And Close Them

[rahjova]

Hey everyone.

I've been browsing around and I have not seen a discussion on this but I am pretty sure I am not the only one thinking about this.

Through natural use, the front doors have gotten worn in, so to speak, and they do not have the tightness when opening and closing like the back doors. My back doors aren't utilized that often so they still have that brand new feel of tightness and they still have that wonderul tight sound of closing a lexus door. I do not know if its possible but I want somehow to restore the front doors to that same feeling. I am pretty sure it would involve the door hinge, screws, seems and so forth. Any insite and/or discussion would be appreciated. Thanks to all.

[1990LS400]

Are you having an actual problem with the doors -- wind noise, air leaks, rattles -- or are you searching for an elusive "feeling"? Cars do tend to get a little noisier over the years.

You could check the "rubber" (not sure what the material really is) door seals. Door seals tend to become compressed over time. I lube the door seals (and the trunk seals) on our 00 LS and 98 Camry every few months with clear silicon spray -- I spray it on a paper towel and wipe the seals down. There are products made specifically for treating door seals -- do a google.

I suppose over time the seals could get so worn and compressed that replacing them could help. Modern door seals like the ones on Toyota/Lexus products don't show extensive signs of deterioration like the ones used many years ago when it was sometimes necessary to replace them after a few years when they started falling apart.

There is a procedure documented in my 00 LS repair manuals on adjusting the doors using a wrench on the four hinge bolts and a hammer on the striker after loosening its two bolts -- likely the same as for a GS or any Toyota product. You could be opening a can of worms trying to adjust the doors -- probably unneeded unless your car has had its doors off during body repair.

Even when new, Lexus doors don't close with the kind of vault like "thunk" of a Mercedes but they sure don't rattle like a jar of marbles like the doors on the only Volvo I bought new and promptly got rid of.

I'll attach the TSIB for the 01 GS door mirror noise problem. The fix was the same as for my 00 LS but I can tell you that the fix doesn't last -- the tape falls off after a couple of years and didn't help much in the first place.

2001_GS_door_mirror_noise.pdf

[GuyTelefunken]

Replacing the door check, the part that keeps the door from opening too far may give you that like-new feeling. Mine was just worn out and the door swung very freely. Now that it has been replaced, it feels more like new.

[rahjova]

Are you having an actual problem with the doors -- wind noise, air leaks, rattles -- or are you searching for an elusive "feeling"? Cars do tend to get a little noisier over the years.

You could check the "rubber" (not sure what the material really is) door seals. Door seals tend to become compressed over time. I lube the door seals (and the trunk seals) on our 00 LS and 98 Camry every few months with clear silicon spray -- I spray it on a paper towel and wipe the seals down. There are products made specifically for treating door seals -- do a google.

I suppose over time the seals could get so worn and compressed that replacing them could help. Modern door seals like the ones on Toyota/Lexus products don't show extensive signs of deterioration like the ones used many years ago when it was sometimes necessary to replace them after a few years when they started falling apart.

There is a procedure documented in my 00 LS repair manuals on adjusting the doors using a wrench on the four hinge bolts and a hammer on the striker after loosening its two bolts -- likely the same as for a GS or any Toyota product. You could be opening a can of worms trying to adjust the doors -- probably unneeded unless your car has had its doors off during body repair.

Even when new, Lexus doors don't close with the kind of vault like "thunk" of a Mercedes but they sure don't rattle like a jar of marbles like the doors on the only Volvo I bought new and promptly got rid of.

I'll attach the TSIB for the 01 GS door mirror noise problem. The fix was the same as for my 00 LS but I can tell you that the fix doesn't last -- the tape falls off after a couple of years and didn't help much in the first place.

Thank you for the info. Im going to take your feedback and guytelefunken's below and put it to good use. Let you know how it turned out.

[rahjova]

Replacing the door check, the part that keeps the door from opening too far may give you that like-new feeling. Mine was just worn out and the door swung very freely. Now that it has been replaced, it feels more like new.

That sounds like it would really do the job of bring back that like new feel. appreciate and thank you for the useful feedback. I will let you know how things turn out and post a topic on it.

[eatingupblacktop]

Replacing the door check, the part that keeps the door from opening too far may give you that like-new feeling. Mine was just worn out and the door swung very freely. Now that it has been replaced, it feels more like new.

That sounds like it would really do the job of bring back that like new feel. appreciate and thank you for the useful feedback. I will let you know how things turn out and post a topic on it.

Please don't start a new thread on this. When you have solved your issue or have news, just post it here to continue this thread. That way readers will have the history to put things in perspective without the need to hunt down your original post.

[sakataj]

Please don't start a new thread on this. When you have solved your issue or have news, just post it here to continue this thread. That way readers will have the history to put things in perspective without the need to hunt down your original post.

i agree.....help keep the clutter down