frozen doors !!!

[Mole]

just a quikie,
i guess everyone is suffering the same bad weather at the moment ! but didnt know where else to turn, the x5 is sound but less than 2 weeks ago i bought a golf tdi ( s reg 98 plate 1.9) ( a run around and for back an for to work as the mrs is using MY real car ) but i kid you not i cant turn my back on it the last 2 days without the doors freezing ! it will unlock but just cant budge the doors, i left it half an hour earlier came back and just could not open it ! i lost a handle on the x5 last winter so didnt want to pull to hard ! any tips or advice !!!

mole

[millerman1ac]

pooped myself on sat morn before my trip went out to car and it was frozen pulled the handle, door opened but handle stayed out!!
omg i thought tried to shut the door it wouldn't!!...shit i thought, jumped in and pulled the door tight and locked it, the door stayed shut...
climbed out the passenger side, just hoped i didn't break it...
later............after a while driving it arround had the balls to try it again and all was fine ;o)
phew!

any ideas how to stop it freezin?

[gchristofi]

I was wondering why the x5 was so bad for freezing door syndrome aswell! Is there anything that we can put around the sealing edges to stop this happening? Is petroleum jelly a good/bad idea?

[blingsta]

ive never had a problem with pouring warm water all around the doors seals and handle.. not hot, just luke warm, always does the trick

[millerman1ac]

prob be good until you rub yer clothes against it when getting in!!
i used to put that on my mr2 t-bar roof to stop the rubber sticking over the winter...

i think what i was feeling on sat morning was more to do with inside the door, like somethin sticking! don't know how to get around that apart from building a garage lol

[rbell11]

Had this last year and read a lot about it - seems a couple of problems persist.
The door handle carrier on older models can freeze and then break, and on all models the cables get moisture and subsequently freeze. The latter was my issue. Apparently good sprays of silicone lubricant or other moisture repelling spray can help. Lots of posts on american sites where members suffer this type of weather regularly.
Hope mine are okay tomorrow its baltic round here.

Cheers

[millerman1ac]

mmm mighty cold here the night, will let youz know how it goes in the morn!!

[Rusty]

Try making sure the door rubbers are dry before you close the door for the last time. It's usually just the moisture on the seal that freezes.

Worth a go?

[Mole]

yeah i'm sure its the moisture freezing so quick on the rubber seals to ! had to poor warm water all over the door this morning and it opened fine. also thought about vasaline or something similiar but as you say seems a bit messy !!!!

[gmc15]

I try all doors gently and thet get in the one that is free! usually one of the back ones. I then climb in the car, start engine and open the front doors from the inside. Problem then is that doors sometimes will not close
Whatever you do don't pull handles too hard as mechanism inside snaps easily and it's a fiddly repair

[Rick]

[quote=""gmc15""]I try all doors gently and thet get in the one that is free! usually one of the back ones. I then climb in the car, start engine and open the front doors from the inside. Problem then is that doors sometimes will not close
Whatever you do don't pull handles too hard as mechanism inside snaps easily and it's a fiddly repair [/quote]


I have sprayed all door seals with silicon which has helped
My wife[bless her]had broken my door handle pulling to hard i managed to repair yesterday took 1.5 hours

[gmc15]

I broke the passenger handle last year and had to buy a new carrier. Took me hours as well and lost a bit of flesh in the process.
Drivers broke a few weeks later but the door was closed and could not be opened from inside or outside, so I took it to my local indy who managed to repair it
I now take great care when trying the door handles in cold weather. Had -11 C yesterday when I went to work at 06:00hrs in the morning

[millerman1ac]

[quote=""Rick""][quote=""gmc15""]I try all doors gently and thet get in the one that is free! usually one of the back ones. I then climb in the car, start engine and open the front doors from the inside. Problem then is that doors sometimes will not close
Whatever you do don't pull handles too hard as mechanism inside snaps easily and it's a fiddly repair [/quote]


I have sprayed all door seals with silicon which has helped
My wife[bless her]had broken my door handle pulling to hard i managed to repair yesterday took 1.5 hours[/quote]

looks like the wife has done the same to mine... drivers door handle sticks out a wee bit now and wont open the door for the last 4 days now!.. have to unlock car and open from the inside

will invetigate more once/if the frost goes!!

[ChewingBacca]

Same here with the drivers door handle, -17°C last Friday. Got it fixed under warranty today.

[phiggystardust]

fitted a new carrier last week cost £61 +vat from the local dealers , take your time removing handle can be tricky, see sanj's write up .it is as it says .100% very helpfull