Winter Issues, Drivers Door Stuck "OPEN"

[nrs]

Hello All, I've been reading this forum for a while now but never found a need to post ... until now ...

I have an 02 explorer, I got it at the end of the winter last year and though I basically got it in the middle of a snow storm I don't remember if it saw any other cold weather and certainly didn't have this problem until now. It happened a couple of days ago and again this morning.

Basically I get out to the car which is kept outside (no garage unfortunately) and unlock via the remote like I always do. I had to pull a bit to get the door open but it came right open, I start the vehicle, kick on the rear defroster and the blowers up front. I then close the drivers side door only it won't latch, so it's essentially 'frozen open' at this point. I've noticed that if I lock and unlock the door manually from the inside and then slam it pretty hard it'll latch back up ... usually, though on at least one occasion I've been forced to drive about half way to work with one hand on the wheel and one on the door keeping it from flying open.

I'm pretty sure I understand what is happening here it's just frozen, but it's frozen in the open state. I had this problem with my old car (not an explorer) so I don't know if it is maybe something I'm doing that I could prevent either by eliminating that behavior or by some type of spray lube, etc. The only thing I can think of that is the same between the two cars is that I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the map compartment on the drivers side. I'm going to remove that to see if it helps but would appreciate any other ideas.

 

[north/west,ex]

on my 91 sometimes the outer handle does not return all the way to the closed position.I just have to push it in when this happens

 

[brazzle]

Hello All, I've been reading this forum for a while now but never found a need to post ... until now ...

I have an 02 explorer, I got it at the end of the winter last year and though I basically got it in the middle of a snow storm I don't remember if it saw any other cold weather and certainly didn't have this problem until now. It happened a couple of days ago and again this morning.

Basically I get out to the car which is kept outside (no garage unfortunately) and unlock via the remote like I always do. I had to pull a bit to get the door open but it came right open, I start the vehicle, kick on the rear defroster and the blowers up front. I then close the drivers side door only it won't latch, so it's essentially 'frozen open' at this point. I've noticed that if I lock and unlock the door manually from the inside and then slam it pretty hard it'll latch back up ... usually, though on at least one occasion I've been forced to drive about half way to work with one hand on the wheel and one on the door keeping it from flying open.

I'm pretty sure I understand what is happening here it's just frozen, but it's frozen in the open state. I had this problem with my old car (not an explorer) so I don't know if it is maybe something I'm doing that I could prevent either by eliminating that behavior or by some type of spray lube, etc. The only thing I can think of that is the same between the two cars is that I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the map compartment on the drivers side. I'm going to remove that to see if it helps but would appreciate any other ideas.

this happened to me...this summer, actually.

what happened was the latch in the door was stuck in the wrong position (sorry I don't know all the technical terms...), but it was due to some grime buildup that was causing it to stick. the only thing i had on me was some WD-40, but i sprayed it inside the door onto the latch and down the bar, manually pushed the latch in the other position and sprayed some more---soaked it up nice and wet---then left it for about 15 minutes. i came back and i haven't had any problems since

 

[edwx]

I had the same problem in the winter with my '03 xls. Tried spraying etc., but problems kept reoccurring, so I replaced the latch. It appeared to be corroded enough to be causing the problems.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=198230

This "how to" is for the left rear. I also replaced the drivers latch (left front)....it's basically the same procedure.

 

[bel4_20]

Hello All, I've been reading this forum for a while now but never found a need to post ... until now ...

I have an 02 explorer, I got it at the end of the winter last year and though I basically got it in the middle of a snow storm I don't remember if it saw any other cold weather and certainly didn't have this problem until now. It happened a couple of days ago and again this morning.

Basically I get out to the car which is kept outside (no garage unfortunately) and unlock via the remote like I always do. I had to pull a bit to get the door open but it came right open, I start the vehicle, kick on the rear defroster and the blowers up front. I then close the drivers side door only it won't latch, so it's essentially 'frozen open' at this point. I've noticed that if I lock and unlock the door manually from the inside and then slam it pretty hard it'll latch back up ... usually, though on at least one occasion I've been forced to drive about half way to work with one hand on the wheel and one on the door keeping it from flying open.

I'm pretty sure I understand what is happening here it's just frozen, but it's frozen in the open state. I had this problem with my old car (not an explorer) so I don't know if it is maybe something I'm doing that I could prevent either by eliminating that behavior or by some type of spray lube, etc. The only thing I can think of that is the same between the two cars is that I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the map compartment on the drivers side. I'm going to remove that to see if it helps but would appreciate any other ideas.

Don't feel left out my friend I to am in the same boat as you truck outside cold weather door from time to time will not latch untill i fiddle with the latch with my key very frusterating.

 

[thayes]

i just sprayed i some pentrating oil into the latch. it worked just fine. i also had a problem where the door ajar light would stay on. luckily, it took care of this too. i sprayed it about a month ago and no problems yet. even with near 0 degree weather. try that before anything. hope that helped some.

 

[Mussin]

I have this problem as well. I sprayed it good with wd40 but it still exists. It seems to stay closed if you slam it really hard.


Jeremy

 

[97awdx]

Same problem here, when it gets really cold out, no matter what I do the drivers door just won't shut. Once the truck is warmed up it magically closes, I thought I was the only one.

 

[Mitch awsome]

Had the same issue,


I parked inside over night and solved the problem. I try to thaw mine out at least once a week. fixes all kinds of problems when I do.

 

[Aero540T]

so far PB Blaster (penetrating oil) has worked for me, I've had this problem with both of the Fords I've owned so far. Tried WD40 and it worked for one day and came back, but so far PB has worked

 

[StevaXLT]

I have not had a problem with my door latch, but my door sensors say my door is open when its cold. also it says me parking brake is on when its not. any suggestions?

 

[jwright4]

hm glad i came upon this post. this happened to my 03 just once this winter. i was really put off by it becuase it's not like we're driving around vehicles that are 15yrs old..this shouldn't happen. i realize it's just the latch though and penetrating oil should deffinitely cure it. as for the door ajar issue: i'm having that problem on the passenger side but only when it's warmer outside. what would i spray with oil? the entire latch assembly?