Last week, temperature in New England was very very cold, 3 F, in the morning. My 2003 camry driver side door could not be closed. It felt like the door latch stucked. I had to closed it very hard. This door was replaced when the car was new due to an accident. This door closing problem happened before, and garage just spray something into the latch. It worked better but still felt it once a while.

Any suggestion of the cause of this door latch problem and any fix is appreciated.

Thanks,

Ching-Ho Cheng

 

could the accident before have caused the frame to be bent slightly and therefore misaligning the door with the frame latch? it only takes a little bit to throw things off.

You can try spraying some WD-40 or similar lubricant onto the latch and seeing if it works. Or use a blow dryer to heat up the latch.

 

I believe that lubricant worked but not lasting. That was what the garage put into the latch when I told them the door closing problem. What about ajusting the door strike ? The door strike is held by 2 Torx bolts and it maybe able to adjust.

Thanks,

Ching-Ho Cheng

 

how about taking it back to the shop that originally replaced your door?
i would do that before fiddling with their work. if they wont do jack for you then by all means try something...but i dont think there's much room for adjustment there (its not like a lot of home cabinets).

 

OK, thanks for the suggestion. I took it back before, the garage just spray lubricant to make the door working again !!!! So, I may need to adjust the door strike myself even though there is not a lot of room to play with.

Ching-Ho Cheng

 

I would suggest using bearing grease instead of WD-40. It will last longer.

 

It is possible that the body shop didn't either, A: tighten fully the latch assembly on the door or, B: tighten fully the D ring on the chassis and it has moved to far inboard. Check all screws and use a impact driver if possible with some blue lock tight(don't use red in case you have to readjust in the future). Then adjust the D ring at the chassis out outboard till the door closes securly with little effort.. Hope it works for ya.
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