Last couple of weeks it has been very cold and even though I try not to get water in the door handle area when I wash the car, it happens. That being said when I open my doors they will not latch shut. I have to sit in the car with the heat on for about 10 min before they thaw out. I have noticed that the latch itself moves freely but will not lock once in the close position. I am left wondering which part of the mechanism freezes and was wondering if anyone has had any success spraying some de-icer into certain spots?

 

That happened to me last year when I washed the car on a regular basis. The soultion this year - don't wash the car. So far, so good....

Bob

 

LOL I don't wash my car --Mother nature makes it dirty and she is responsible for cleaning up her own mess. I'm not her mommy!!!

Seriously, I have the same problem and don't have an easy fix. It only sticks when the weather is too cold to work on the car, so I'll probably live with it.

 

Maybe try spraying it with lithium grease to keep the water from sticking to it.

 

Where do we spray the grease?

On the outside handle?
On the lock mechanism?
Inside the door panel?
On the latch?
On my PB and Jelly sandwich?

 

common on any brand of cars.

Don't wash it when it's cold.

 

I have all the door latches sprayed with grease but like i said before those move freely so thats not the problem. It must be something under the door handle, maybe ill try feeding some gunk in there... I cant stand letting the car sit with 100lbs of salt and ice deposits on it, so this is going to be an on going problem for me unless I find a fix.

And as for the any car comment, my STS doesnt have this issue.

 

Woodshoe -- Sorry but comparing an Audi to an STS is like comparing the Queen of England to the chairman of my local school committee. The are not in the same catagory. We Audi people have true snob appeal. Very few can claim roots that go back to the Auto Unions etc.

Maybe your STS's doors don't stick in the winter but it is just another piece of metal designed in Detroit.

 

Sorry to disagree, but we've had 6 Saabs, 2 Volvos, 1 Buick, 2 Pontiacs, 4 BMW's, 1 Audi, 2 Chevy's, 1 Mazda, 1 Dodge, 1 Nissan, 2 Honda's, 3 Toyota's.

Pretty much all of them experienced a frozen door that would not close in the winter. I think my 850 never did it and I had that for 3 or 4 years.

The worst was our prior e36 BMW, that think f-ing froze almost everyday. The Audi has done it once, maybe twice.

 

NH-USA, I wasnt comparing anything here, I was simply saying my sts didnt freeze. As a matter of fact none of the Cadillacs we have owned have ever had this problem....

Ps. The auto union era blows.