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Door Not Closing In Cold


focusdriver
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Hi,

Yesterday morning and this morning the drivers door on my Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi won't close. When I try to close it it's like a latch doesn't catch.

I spoke to a garage today and they said that sometimes if the door cover has been taken off a membrane might not have been replaced..

Anyone else had a similar problem to this? And was it easy to fix?

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do you feel the latch click at all? and has the door closed correctly since then? if so, if you have managed to close it properly, it could be the latch needs fresh grease, as maybe the cold caused the current grease to sieze?

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The last 3 mornings it would not close but then, later in the day when the temperature is a bit warmer, it worked perfectly normally.

I took it to a garage yesterday who sprayed a load of WD40 in the door latch (on the door) and said that should do it.

It didn't. It was the same this morning but by the time I'd driven to work (30 mins) it was working normally again.

jeebowhite - when it doesn't work nothing catches at all - it's like the latch isn't even there.

I'll see if I can get a socket set with the star screws tomorrow and open it up.

Thanks

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Very weird indeed.

A very fafetched Idea, (otherwise I am stumped!), but if there is water in either the latch mechanism, or the catch, if it gets cold, and the water expands, maybe it is mis aligning the setup, obviously on driving your cabin will warm up, transferring the heat from the cabin to the door / mechanism's, warming up any moisture, and maybe settling the setup to its required position?

Other than that, I have never experienced this issue, so I cant offer any first hand advice I am afraid...?

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I had the exact same problem......

...but that was on my last car, a Pug 306. It was exactly the same, always a cold morning and after opening the door won't close. But for me it was only when it was very cold with frosts. Is that the case? Because unfortunately I don't have the answer as it only happened to me on a few occasions.

Not all is lost though. Do you park on a drive or near to buildings? If you're, or anyone else is, struggling to find an answer just simply park the drivers side door closest to the building and you'll be amazed how different it is. It might solve the problem but it will help with frost anyway.

Hope that helps.

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I was out warming the car up for the wife this morning. Opened it with remote, popped it in the ignition fired it up, heated screens on, and demist setting on blower/aircon. Goes to lock the car with the non remote key, and the lock was frozen, in that key would not turn. So I hung about scraping the ice of the nearside side windows [off side clear as facing south] after a few minutes I was able to lock the car with the non remote key, just as the wife turned up ready for the off...........

Funny that the south facing side windows were not frozen but the actual handel bit of the lock on the drivers door was. Obviously rear window facing East was frozen, Windscreen facing West, and 5 foot away from house wall, was hardly frozen, just on the turn you could say. So position of the car can matter, as WHITEyy118 points out.

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Thanks for the advice - I think facing my car the other way will probably fix it - that way the drivers door will be near some trees and it's always less frosted that side.

I didn't try putting hot water into the lock - I'll give that a go if it happens again.

Interestingly I found this thread about the same problem on an Audi..

http://www.jamesmaurer.com/car-door-wont-close-or-stay-shut.asp

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My mk1 has done this to me but that was because the latch was completely frozen up the door just bounced back open (rather amazed me at the time and became quite a fun game), remote locking wouldn't work etc chances are its just frozen up. Make sure its well greased and park your car the other way round and see how it goes. Exactly what the others have said in summary but it adds a post to my over all score :P

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  • 2 years later...

I had the same problem this morning - it was a hard frost. It was like there was no catch on the door, so kept springing open!

I boiled the kettle and then poured it onto the outside handle and also on the actual catch on the edge of the door (sort of sloshed it to get into the crevice). Lo and behold, that worked!

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I would try cleaning the mechanism with some wd40 then grease it right up with some copper grease or lithium grease.

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Ford OC mobile app

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somethings amiss as last year we had minus 18 degrees and my doors open and close fine i wouldnt pour hot water on the lock as it can crack the cars paint due to it being so cold ide take it back to be honest and insist its looked at under warranty

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  • 7 years later...

Exactly same problem in my 09 Fiesta. Freezing morning. Drivers door opened but wouldn't close. Hot water eventually freed it and it closed, de-icer wasn't working. Only issue was I could not get out from the inside! Interior door handles had no affect. Luckily my wife could open from the outside. The electric windows frozen jammed. Passenger door had same problem and would not close until hot water was pored over. Assuming it is all down to frozen parts but getting locked inside isn't good. It was like the dead locks where on.

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Just had this happen to me today on my ‘08 Focus. Driver’s door wouldn’t latch shut. Had horrible visions of trying to take door trim off and fiddle about with lock actuator in the frost BUT -
 
solution I found online is dead easy - 1) warm latch with a hairdryer or heat gun for about 60 secs( NOT hot water!!) You may even see the latch move back into the correct position 2) door should now latch shut correctly 3) apply WD40 to latch to disperse water then apply lithium grease to the latch and the striking post on the door frame.

it’s getting down to minus 6 or minus 8 at nights up here at the moment, so I have done all the doors, not just the driver’s!

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2 hours ago, Yorkshire_Ford said:

1) warm latch with a hairdryer or heat gun for about 60 secs( NOT hot water!!)

 

You'll find that hot water will work perfectly, I have to do this every time we have a frost! No amount of greasing the latch as a preventative measure works and is futile...

1626758987_pourhere.thumb.jpg.a0f475d036b4c8d6cd515f4c7b62eacf.jpg

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Have just had this happen on my Mk4 Mondeo over the last few days. Eventually it unfreezes during the day, but a hairdryer does the trick if in a hurry.

Did some googling and found this on Youtube which explains that the problem may be water getting past the window glass seal and running down onto (and somehow into) the latching mechanism below. Once water has got in it is likely to freeze during very cold weather, and although it will usually open ok, the spring is unable to make the latch set again until it thaws out. The remedy is to either replace the lock system or take it off, dry it out and lubricate as best you can. The guy in the video advocates trying to use a plastic bag to reduce the chance of further water ingress and this is what I'm going to try when the weather improves a bit. I'm assuming that the lock setup on a focus will be fairly similar in design, so this approach might help others. Incidentally, on my door there is rust forming around one the 3 torx screws which hold the latching mechanism against the end of the door, so it sounds feasible that this is the likely problem on mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vlErW80wgg

Hope someone finds it useful!

 

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7 minutes ago, Formond said:

 

Hope someone finds it useful!

 

Great first post buddy, welcome to the forum...

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not read all above so may be answered....

ice is a bugger, often water builds up and freezes and or mechanisms work slow

if its smashing in to something and not closing for anyone - usually a physical obstruction - like a seat belt buckle or somehow the catch is closed - always worth looking
if its just being odd, wd40 on the hinge and lock and check if the catch is operating feely - it could be frozen open, and you need some heat and then lube to displace moisture and get the mechanism to work correctly

and silicone spray all over the door rubbers is a great one to stop water freezing on the seal and the door refusing to open in frosty weather

all above is called servicing - few seem to bother

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

f the latch is frozen  undo one of the top    three screws  of the latch get a can  of silicon lube or any lubricant with a extender straw push in the hole wear you took the screw out and blast lube inside the mechanism job done  sorted my 2010 ford focus opens and closes fine easy fix  its a T30 torx bit
it was driving me crazy i had to tie some rope to the door and sit on it to stop the door opening  when the cabin got warm after driving approximately 10 mins  it would latch again 
i thought it was the cable from the door handle to the latch its not . 

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On 2/12/2021 at 6:55 PM, StephenFord said:

Great first post buddy, welcome to the forum...

See what your words of encouragement did !!! 🤣

Formond has never made another post since.

  • Haha 2
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