Frozen door locks - Common Problem ?

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by evertonfc

yep. same here again. frozen this morning. couldn't drive off as the door wouldn't lock. it finally unfroze enough to lock. drove to work and it wouldn't let me out. 10 minutes of gentle persuasion and i escaped. same tonight on the way home. right now it is sat on my drive with the engine running trying to thaw it out.
It's only -6C but with the moisture yesterday the age old design problem rears its head.
I'm buying a new car this year.
It wont be a BMW.

Better to buy a house with a garage, or rent a place with indoor parking.

[StephenVA]

Yep, I pried my out with a small screw driver and a needle nose pliers. It is double lipped so don't push on the center as it will go right through the door skin. It has to come out when replacing the Carrier as that is where that centering screw hides.

Any lube is better than hoping it is not going to fail. I have come to the conclusion that they all fail sooner or later. It only depends on which door gets the most use or abuse. Seen a few postings on "the kids" door failed etc. Guaranteed approach to breaking the carrier: When cold out and the door handle is stiff, pull harder on the handles as it will open with the 5th or 6th really HARD pull.
I really do like the ones who keep pulling and actually break off the handle mount stub. Now your really screwed. Door handle time!!!!

[StephenVA]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Better to buy a house with a garage, or rent a place with indoor parking.

[evertonfc]

Thank you for being so helpful. If you'd taken the time to read the thread properly you would have seen that i have used the WD40 many times to no avail. For the helpful people who suggested spraying through a rubber removal grommet, is that the grommet in the side of the door panel next to the door latch? the one that hides the screw to remove the lock cover?

[StephenVA]

Yep, The real challenge is getting the lube on to the weak points where the shaft spins. I think the only way to actually reach all the impacted areas , is to open up the door panel, as this carrier is all the way up and in the corner.

I was not busting your balls. You approached the issue correctly. My posting was for all the readers who are experiencing similar issues who just pull harder expecting results but getting a broken carrier.

[Ricky Bobby]

^Thanks for reminding me Stephen to go home and pop the double lipped clip off the door and get some lubricant on both front carriers before it really starts freezing up later -

[StephenVA]

I have to do it also

[evertonfc]

Thanks for that.
Unfortunately we have 6 inches of snow in Niagara Falls this morning and its still falling so I wont be popping the door panel anytime soon. I will be pouring WD40 in it though .
The trick to removing the grommet is to prise out the inner blank then pull out the outer rim. reverse that procedure to replace them.

[NYCSterling]

good lord! thanks for reminding me also... this bringing back a real bad memory from last year winter in NY.
Sucks huh? when you cant even close your doors to take the kids to school.

Hey Ricky - what do you spray and what is the best angle to spray at to catch all the important pieces?

[Ricky Bobby]

^Hey man - I have a can of 3-In-1 Garage Door Lubricant which dries quick and lasts - has the WD40 smart straw as well - it works on my garage doors and lubricates my elliptical so it works well enough for me.

There is a small double layered black clip on the side of the door that you can remove and lubricate it well that way