Hi,

When it gets cold .... my door handles freeze up. I can open a door, but they freeze open. So what happens is, that when you close the door, the door catch doesn't in fact catch, and won't stay closed. The internal mechanism must be freezing, such that the door opens, but the catch mechanism doesn't return.

Sometimes, I have to hold the door closed from the inside, then operate the door locks to "hold" the door closed. Good job my car is a 3 door model, as sometimes I've had to use the boot to get out !

After taking it to a Fiat dealer, they squirted de-icer or whatever into the door to sort it. But its only a short term solution.

Does anyone know a long term fix ? Is it worth stripping the inside of a door out, and taking a look ? I've not been able to find a diagram of the door, to find what is in fact sticking internally. The handle itself works fine, its whatever it pulls, is not returning correctly. Perhaps a stronger return spring is required ?

A very common issue which is normally resolved with a bit of good lubrication (WD40 etc). Also when it's really cold, you'll find coating Glycerin on the door rubbers works well.

It's only happened to me once in 3 years so can't see I'll ever be bothered to remove the door card to investigate further.

Its the water getting into the mechanism and freezing up. Best to get in there with spray grease or vaseline and that should stop it freezing up.

Ross

Ive had this problem this morning, has usually fixed itself by the time I get to work!

May get the WD40 out!

i boil the kettle

hope you are not using a jet wash/ steam cleaner to wash your car, water gets in everywhere then freezes easily, asking for trouble no matter what you do to combat it !

Well, this is classic.

I just read about the kettle. Shame on you, Red. Try to do that over here, and you are so ****ed until April.

Long term solution is to remove the doorcard (both outer and inner to gain access to the mechanism itself. Then lubricate it with some heavy industrial grease. This will never freeze, except when buried under the north pole. Use WD40 on the door handles, and mechanism from the outside. The door will look like a disaster during winter when this smears down the side, but you will never have problems again.

Trust me. I've dealt with King Winter before.

aww see, thats the advantages of here, gets above freezing Morty

My neighbour did that to her windscreen once :bang:

SeiSporting said:

My neighbour did that to her windscreen once :bang:

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Thats just stupid!!

coyotes_uk said:

Ive had this problem this morning, has usually fixed itself by the time I get to work!

May get the WD40 out!

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No,
Don't get the WD40 out. Use a silicon based spray. It is much kinder to your paintwork, works just as well and is less messy/ smelly. Also put some around the door glass guides and on the rubber seal around the edge of the door. This should ensure you don't have any more frozen out problems.

john55 said:

No,
Don't get the WD40 out. Use a silicon based spray.

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I'll have to remember that

Argonought said:

It's only happened to me once in 3 years so can't see I'll ever be bothered to remove the door card to investigate further.

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Despite 3.5 years and 2 Stilos have only experienced this a few times... I either zap it with de-icer or cup my hands round the back of the door handle and breath on it until it eases enough to operate the handle. Then again I very rarely jet wash or steam clean the car so mine is usually just the handle on the outside of the door that is frozen up...

red-devil said:

i boil the kettle

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Had to do that this morning!

Argonought said:

I'll have to remember that

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Yes good spot!

i have this everyday at the moment (in Norway)

just a touch of door lock freeze in the lock and its ok for around 1 week...

job done...

Thanks for the advice. As these ideas work in Norway, then I'll be fine !
Cheers.

got this the other day, wonderin if its worth me takin the door panel off and grease up everything? or spray de-icer in it?
had to put a couple of halogen heaters to it the other day as door wouldnt open no matter what.

hahaha.... this was a common problem on my stilo, although only seemed to happen on the drivers side door, so id be climbing across from the passengers side in the winters! The joys still miss her though! I tried the WD40 all the time didnt make a difference, saying that our other 1.2 stilo has never done it - weird!

1.8Stilo said:

hahaha.... this was a common problem on my stilo, although only seemed to happen on the drivers side door, so id be climbing across from the passengers side in the winters! The joys still miss her though! I tried the WD40 all the time didnt make a difference, saying that our other 1.2 stilo has never done it - weird!

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oh you got it now

j0nny said:

got this the other day, wonderin if its worth me takin the door panel off and grease up everything? or spray de-icer in it?
had to put a couple of halogen heaters to it the other day as door wouldnt open no matter what.

Click to expand...

There's been mention of silicone spray (which is a good call ) which works well as a preventative measure, I have had the door problem a lot here in the wilds of frozen Aberdeenshire.

Although WD40 isn't ideal due to the water component it will do the job OK provided you take the steps I mention next. That said, TT spray or similar is probably the best choice.

If you wash your car at this time of year (which I tend to avoid now unless I absolutely have to or know it's not going to freeze) then you need to pull the door handles out and spray as far into the door 'pull' as you can - loads of spray, don't be shy. After that it's worth getting some vaseline and coating the parts of the release mechanism you can see with the handle pulled out, this helps prevent more water getting in and effectively creates something of a 'mobile' seal. To ensure good coverage I actually use a small artists paint brush to make sure it's all covered - don't forget to do the tailgate either
The vaseline 'tip' is a goodie, might look a wee bit odd to begin with and don't overdo it but it really makes a difference. I generally do this once or twice over the winter months.

As has been previously suggested it's certainly worth coating the rubbers with silicone spray, I used to use beeswax for the same job but way too much like hard work in the cold But spray a cloth with your silcone spray and apply that way to the seals, saves any messy overspray.

Do all of this when it's not freezing and you should be ok, save taking door panels off until the summer - and by then chances are you'll forget about the freezing door hanles and locks
But if you follow the advice given in the thread (which is generally the same) you shouldn't have too many problems, if any at all