98GS300-2

I've put up with this problem for awhile now but it's really starting to get on my nerves. Once the thermometer drops below 32, the rear drivers door won't lock when I hit the lock button on the car, forcing me to go back and manually lock that door after all the others have locked. Then, once the thermometer drops below 0 (one month of the year straight usually, at least) the door not only won't lock but also won't latch! Last night I sat outside in -10 weather manually locking the stupid thing and then slamming it shut. Every time I slam it shut it just bounces back open about an inch, occasionally it looks like it's going to latch and lock but if you try open it with the handle usually in about two tries it will "unlock" (don't think it locks to begin with) and then opens. Not exactly the security I want in my car for 1+ month of the year. Any ideas why this would be happening and where I should start looking to fix the issue?

I figured I should note too that it unlocks just fine like all the other doors when I use the pads on the drivers door. Just has issues locking. Also, the pad on the drivers door where all the window/lock controls are has detached too so every time I try raise or lower a window or lock the doors, the pad sinks into the door and I have to pull up on the window tab to pull the entire assembly back up.

98GS300-2

Here is a video of it that I took today. It warmed up to 8 so it finally decided to latch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4uoiOSsOWE

Enigmatic

I have a similar problem with my rear passenger side door. In the warmer weather the lock buttons (fob/doors) get it to lock but when it's really cold the buttons do not work at all and I need to lock it manually. It is kind of annoying but I do not think it is the alternator because it is so fickle.

98GS300-2

Yeah this has been going on for the last 2 years and only happens in extreme cold, which makes it that much more perplexing. I figured if there was moisture in some place it shouldn't be that the summer heat would evaporate that, electrical and mechanical would not be so heavily dependent on temperature...which is why I am at a loss currently as to why. I'll probably douse it in WD40 and see if that helps but IIRC I had tried that last year and it didn't really help.

Enigmatic

I actually do think it has to do with moisture being in certain places interfering the locking mechanisms. I'm **** about keeping my car clean and whenever I get a good amount of grit on the sides from the roads during the winter I wash it. Sure enough it's cold out and I can tell some of the remaining water has frozen and of course my door locking acts up. As a matter of fact the first time I started noticing the door not locking/unlocking was after I got a six dollar car wash when it was REALLY cold out.

Also, today I rinsed my car with high pressure and some water must've gotten into the lock on my driver door because my key wouldn't fit all the way in to unlock/lock the door on my way home from a friend's house tonight. I needed to use the fob in order to unlock the door which annoyed me. Tomorrow I will let the car sit in the garage in the hope that it will melt and evaporate the remaining moisture. I imagine my rear passenger door lock will also work afterwards. Just some thought.

98GS300-2

That's where WD40 has come in handy, I too have had issues with moisture getting into the key slot so my key won't fit. Push the guard open on the lock and douse it with WD40 and that'll break up the ice fairly quickly due to the low freezing point and the fact that WD = Water Displacement

Enigmatic

Ah, thanks for the tip. WD-40 has a fair amount of applications it seems.

driver1988

Is it just me or what? It's in the low 10 degree to negative here in MN and when i insert my key into the car attempting to unlock it, it wouldn't open? Same for trunk key hole as well =/

listen2thi

I see that this thread is a bit old but I am having a similar issue with the front that door closing in cold weather. I have to slam it to get it to stay shut. What did you end up doing great to correct that? Was is just the moisture that was causing that?

karolgt

I had the same issue, I used WD-40 and after about 24 hours everything works fine.