Hello all

car had been sitting for a few days in deep freeze. went out this morning and unlocked it. 

Drivers side Front door was stuck so gave it a yank, it opened ok. Went to the passenger front door same thing, pulled hard and it opened (i thought they were just frozen round the seams)

Went to close the door and the locks would not engage. Got pretty flustered thinking something was broken. 

Anyway took the hairdryer to the locks for a few mins and everything started working again 

There is a little cap that pops off so you can blow air directly around the locks (actuators?)

 

This is just for info really and for folk not that clued up on cars like myself,  who might be searching the internet for solutions. 

 

anyone else experienced this?

13 minutes ago, NorthernSky said:

anyone else experienced this?

Yep, all the time, my old Mk2 is very susceptible to frozen locks. I simply pour a watering can of warm water over the door seems, and if door doesn't latch once opened, use same warm water to pour down lock, works every time in seconds.

(No amount of greasing etc prevents this, it's just a poor design, and car parked heading North in driveway...)

4 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Yep, all the time, my old Mk2 is very susceptible to frozen locks. I simply pour a watering can of warm water over the door seems, and if door doesn't latch once opened, use same warm water to pour down lock, works every time in seconds.

(No amount of greasing etc prevents this, it's just a poor design, and car parked heading North in driveway...)

yeah does seem a bit of a bad design, never had it happen on any other cars. 

will keep the hairdryer on standby, set to stay cold round our ways 😅

-4c here this morning, doors frozen solid. Poured warm water all round door seam and door handle, opened instantly. Door wouldn't latch closed again, so poured some warm water over locking mechanism, worked instantly. It's a well rehearsed & quick routine...

2 hours ago, StephenFord said:

-4c here this morning, doors frozen solid. Poured warm water all round door seam and door handle, opened instantly. Door wouldn't latch closed again, so poured some warm water over locking mechanism, worked instantly. It's a well rehearsed & quick routine...

That's ok provided you can find some water. I was up at our caravan one day the winter before last (doing some maintenance, not for pleasure!) and stopped the night. Next morning car doors were frozen solid, as was the site water supply. 2pm before things thawed enough to get in the car and leave!😀

 

3 hours ago, StephenFord said:

It's a well rehearsed & quick routine...

Have you applied for a patent ? 🤣

Hey, have you found a solution for this problem? Have same exact problem for my 2020 Focus mk4. Front passenger door doesn't close shut in freezing temperatures and only after good 15 minutes closes fully after thawing out. Need to secure it with safety belt or else it would fly open during turns. I just avoid opening it now in the freezing temperatures. Wondering maybe it's possible to disassemble it and clean it out. I have a suspicion that water is somehow trapped somewhere in the mechanism and it freezes the latch. Has somebody tried fixing this issue? My mechanic doesn't want to start searching for solutions because he says it's going to take a lot of labor (at least 200eur just in labor) for him to begin looking. 

8 minutes ago, 3k4peikos said:

Hey, have you found a solution for this problem?