Door sticking

[richardb]

Not for the first time, during hot weather my drivers door becomes stuck - when the temperature drops the door operates again - but in the mean time the central locking malfunctions and even when pushed from inside it does not always open. Only once ( some years ago) has this happened when I was inside the car, but on that occasion I managed to eventually/embarassingly force the door open - I guess the heat causes expansion of the door but I cannot see where it is binding. Has anyone else had this problem and got any ideas as to what to do - other than not use the car in hot weather?
Its a good job we dont have many hot days!

[jimmybondi]

Not for the first time, during hot weather my drivers door becomes stuck - when the temperature drops the door operates again - but in the mean time the central locking malfunctions and even when pushed from inside it does not always open. Only once ( some years ago) has this happened when I was inside the car, but on that occasion I managed to eventually/embarassingly force the door open - I guess the heat causes expansion of the door but I cannot see where it is binding. Has anyone else had this problem and got any ideas as to what to do - other than not use the car in hot weather?
Its a good job we dont have many hot days!

Hi Richard,

I and another mate have the same problem. I think the lock mechanism is binding somehow. I have no real cure for this phenomen, but I do pull on the door opener with the one hand and on the upper window frame with the other hand simultaniously. Most of the time the door can be forced open like this.
The CDL actuators are crap so I will change to modern actuators soon and will check if the problem has dissapeared.

[steven popay]

I have just sorted this out on mine, and what caused it is the striker plate did not come far enough out and the door catch is binding on the inside edge of the striker loop.
To cure this i took the striker plate off rested it on an open vice with the loop facing down between the jaws and hit it with a blunt chisel and a big hammer and it bent enough for the door to close sweetly, hope this helps
funnily enough it only jammed properly this weekend in the hot weather

[nigelrobertson]

Would it not have been easier to enlarge the holes in the "B" post?

[John G]

Hi Richard,

I know the problem/frustration well, although until now I thought it was unique to my car.

I think that the root cause is a combination of latch adjustment and expansion of the door itself. I've never proved it, but the substantial door beam may well play a part in the matter.

Lubrication of the latch and careful alignment of the stricker clearly helps. In the past I have tried to maximise the clearance between the latch and the stricker plate.

However a word of caution. I've found that by pulling the stricker plate really tight into the body the problem can actually get worse. I guess that this is due to local distortion effects on the bodyshell. By backing off a fraction I seem to have found a compromise that works. Good luck.

[steven popay]

Would it not have been easier to enlarge the holes in the "B" post?

the problem is the loop does not stick out far enough, you can adjust the catch for hours (i speak from experience) with no effect.