My corolla has problems in the really cold weather and the doors like to stick and mostly not even close at all. I realize these doors on this car are very cheap+thin. Once the car is hot inside after warmed up the doors fix themselves and the latches go back to functioning properly. Is there anything I can do to fix this problem? I sprayed some WD-40 in all the doors thinking it might help them not to freeze, that was today so know telling if it will for good.. Any ideas?
I had the same problem with my Matrix about a week ago and posted this in the Matrix forum and also on www.matrixowners.com.
Ok, so this morning with the wind chill it was -37. This is my first real cold day with the car. Driver's door opened fine with the remote. It started just fine but I did have a problem with the door not closing. I couldn't get the door to latch so it kept popping open. I tried a good 15 -20 times pulling it shut, even got out of the car and tried to push it closed from the outside. I thought that I would have to drive to work holding the door shut. I was finally able to get it shut, perhaps because the car had started to warm up.
A couple of people have said to try white Lithium grease on the latches but I haven't gotten around to it yet so I cant say if it solves the problem. If you find out a solution please post it for everyone.
I bought some lock de-icer from a local auto parts store. It's essentially what it's for, you stick it in and it sprays rubbing alcohol all in the lock and over the latches. It should do the trick I imagine. I will let you know when it gets colder if it works like it should. Today it warmed up a bit so my car isn't doing it!
lol it sucks i washed my car and even got in the door jams and everything ened up driving home trying to shift,steer,and hold the door shut dunno how to fix it for good but a hair dryer worked pretty slick
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Isopropyl alcohol, also known as isopropanol, is a colorless liquid with a somewhat unpleasant odor. It is highly flammable. Isopropyl alcohol is found in alcohol sponges, cleaning agents, and rubbing alcohol (though some rubbing alcohols contain ethanol), and is a good disinfectant. Most rubbing alcohol contains 70% isopropyl alcohol. Poisoning can occur through skin absorption, oral ingestion, or inhalation. Symptoms from ingestion, inhalation or absorption of large quantities include flushing, headache, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, anesthesia, and coma. Alcohol baths or sponges to soothe a fever can lead to acute poisoning through skin absorption or inhalation. Instead, the Regional Poison Center suggests using tepid water as a sponge bath to fight fever.
On my 24 year old car the lock and door opener are connected by a rod to a more complex arrangement that is down near the door latch itself. If your problem is a frozen lock (key won't turn) then it's probably ice in the lock cylinder and the de-icer should clear that by squirting where the key goes. This is most likely if it rains before a freeze or if you wash your car on a really cold day. Squirting into the lock mechanism itself will probably not put anything on the latch mechanism though.
If your problem is the door won't close, or pulling on the handle release doesn't open the door, then it's more likely your latch mechanism that's giving trouble, either freezing with ice, rust, or insufficient lubrication. I had problems that my door was rusting from underneath and water was getting thrown up on the latch and rusting it (solution: patch holes in door and/or replace door). I don't think squirting de-icer on the latch itself (unless you see lots of water in that area) will help too much since it may not get all the way inside to all the mechanism. If this is happening to you regularly then see if you can find the source of the water (bad seals around the window, holes in the door, etc.). You could also try lubricating the mechanism itself. You may have to remove the door panel to do this. Again on my 24 year old car, you have to unscrew the door latch release panel and the armrest. The harder part is taking off the window handle. There's a C-shaped (actually more a Greek letter Omega) metal spring/clip between the handle and the panel, that holds the handle onto a post. You have to use a cloth (according to one book) or maybe two screwdrivers (according to how I eventually did it) to try and pop this off (and make sure you see where it goes flying when it pops off). After that the panel is held on by a series of studs and pulls off with some gentle coaxing. Then there is a plastic sheet held on with a rubber adhesive, after which you can usually get to the mechanism. See if this is rusty and maybe what the source of the water may be that is causing this. Somebody else suggested a lithium grease which seems to be a good weight for this job. Household oil won't last long and anything too heavy may just freeze solid in cold weather. If you have to remove rust first then use something specified for doing that. WD-40 is okay but is actually a fairly dry temporary lubricant, and I've had better luck with other things (e.g., something called PB-blaster [or something liike that]) in releasing rusted parts.
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1981 Corolla Wagon, 5-speed, 159k miles-- my winter wheels
1981 Corolla Wagon, AT, 125k miles-- my summer wheels
My wife leaves for work before me in the morning. She wakes me up and says the car door won't close. She takes my truck and when I lookat the Corolla the door will not latch. The latch is made of plastic which surprises me for a Toyota and has a coating of grease. The weather is cold which has probably solidified the grease so a few good shots of WD40 and the door will now close.
lol it sucks i washed my car and even got in the door jams and everything ened up driving home trying to shift,steer,and hold the door shut dunno how to fix it for good but a hair dryer worked pretty slick
An automatic transmission swap is the answer to all your problems.
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