Focus 06 front Door lock doesn't work in freezing weather.

[scallywag]

Hi all, When the weather is frosty and cold the front Door of my 06 Focus won't open. When you unlock it from the Key remote all the Locks unlock as they should, but when you pull the Door Handle it doesn't seem to have any resistance,like it,s not connected to the Cable that connects the Handle to the Lock,however,if you wait a couple of hours and the temperature has risen a bit it works fine,anybody have any ideas please,thanks in advance

[StephenFord]

6 hours ago, scallywag said:

...anybody have any ideas please,thanks in advance

Yes, do what I do and fill a watering can with hot/warm water, and pour over the doors seam and lock - it will unfreeze all the internals and you'll be good to go very quickly.

[alanfp]

But exercise a little caution, as I had a problem with a 2004 Focus C-Max (which I think is pretty much the same mechanicals as a 2006 focus) . I once opened the doors on a frosty morning, but the door wouldn't then latch closed, so I couldn't drive the car (well, not without holding the inner door handle with one hand!!!).  It turned out it was frozen in the unlatched position. I think that I may have poured some warm water that got into the mechanism, freed it, and then that water froze the mechanism in the open position......

[StephenFord]

24 minutes ago, alanfp said:

... and then that water froze the mechanism in the open position......

You mean, you don't regularly lucubrate the mechanism, and expect it to work? You do realise it's a Ford, right?

[mjt]

16 hours ago, StephenFord said:

lucubrate the mechanism

That's an interesting-sounding procedure. What does it involve?

[StephenFord]

5 minutes ago, mjt said:

That's an interesting-sounding procedure. What does it involve?

🤣

 

[Jimpster]

the mechanism, floppy bit of link steel stretches over time, remove inner panel have a fiddle and adjust my mk2 focus had this intermittent issue

[StephenFord]

2 hours ago, JImpster said:

the mechanism, floppy bit of link steel stretches over time, remove inner panel have a fiddle and adjust my mk2 focus had this intermittent issue

...or... just squirt oil through key hole 😂

[Jimpster]

squirting oil didnt solve it, eventually had to open the door up, hence why i commented, a bit of LUBE doesn't cure everything LOL

[alanfp]

In my case, I suspect it was the mechanism that is visible when you open the door that had frozen up (i.e. the latch, rather than any linkages inside the door).

BTW when you get to my age, a bit of lube DOES cure everything!