Car Door Won’t Shut: How Fix The Problem?
How shocking will it be when a door suddenly flows open while driving around a road turn? It must be annoying to stop in the middle of the road and discover with horror that the car door won’t shut.
Using child safety locks is the easiest temporary fix but those will work only for the back doors, not the front.
How Does A Door Latch Work?
To open and close the door, the latch and striker plate come into contact.
The door latch function is quite straightforward. The door is opened and closed by a tooth. Every time you pull the handle, the latch’s tooth is dislodged, allowing the door to open.
The tooth has two latching locations. When the door is closed, one of them is in a middle position, but if you try to push it, it still wobbles. The door is entirely latched in the second position.
It is essential to remember that the latch has two locations. Though many individuals believe their door is broken, this is not.
The door needs to be closed with additional power if you wish to close it completely. You have an issue if the door won’t close after that.
Car Door Won’t Shut: How to Fix The Latch
Winter seasons could be another reason for car door won’t close as extreme cold freezes the door mechanism.
However, if the issue persists even after thawing the vehicle, you have to look into the broken car door latch. It is not a rare problem and the solution is also quick and easy.
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Fixing the latch won’t take much time. (Photo: Youtube)
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Detailed instructions on fixing the latch
The latches are the most common culprit when the car door won’t shut. However, you can fix it in minutes with the help of a couple of tools. The following video illustrates the way to do it.
Step 1
The rotating latch will have prongs on the door edge. The rotation should be downward, not upward. Find out if the latch remains in the closed position when you lift the handle.
In that case, ask a helper to hold the handle at that position while you push the latch with a screwdriver to make it rotate downward.
Step 2
If the door still does not remain closed, the problem could be with the door’s alignment with the car’s body. Ask your assistant to sit inside the vehicle and hold the door closed. Take a few steps back to examine the alignment.
If it appears to be misaligned, place a small wood block underneath the lower hinge of the door to make it level. You can also bend the lower hinge by pushing the door from the outside. Stop doing it when the alignment seems to be restored.
Step 3
If the first two steps don’t work, you will have to work on the door frame’s striker to solve the issue. Loosen it with a wrench just enough to move it, not detach it.
Press the striker and move it around until the latch seems to be working properly when the door is closed.
Step 4
Sometimes, the latch gets stuck because of dirt or rust. Use a low-viscosity oil or penetrating fluid to lubricate the parts.
It will enable you to open the latch. But, if it still does not open, you have to replace the latch assembly.
What to do if the car door won’t latch fixing does not work?
In that case, you have to look at the components inside by removing the door panel. These are some control rods stretching from the car handle to the latch assembly.
Check their mounting base to see if they are loose. If this is the case, reinstall the rods to stop the problem of the car door not closing.
Other Possible Reasons for The Car Door Won t Shut
1. Broken Lock Actuator
An actuator is a mechanical part that enables drivers to manipulate the door to open and close even without touching it, by way of pressing a button on a remote control or the side of the driver’s seat.
This electric-powered motor sends signals to the lock at your command. Therefore, when the car door won’t shut electrically, your actuator may not be working due to a broken wire or even an electrical block.
>> See more: Common Reasons Why Car Doors Won’t Lock
2. Broken Door Handles
Turning to operate the door manually, if the car door won’t shut, the handle should be open to question.
Then check if the handle gives you the feel of being about to come off, or at least not being firmly attached to the handle frame. Don’t forget to check both the interior and exterior handle parts.
3. Loose striker plate
What keeps the closed door in place is a hardened metal mechanism called the door striker plate. This plate represents every car door.
When it becomes loose for some unknown reason, you have to slam the door hard several times to do the manual shutting job, which is even sometimes to no avail at all.
Please do not drive before fixing the flying door and quickly drive to a garage to replace one.
4. Tight hinge
Squeaking sounds together with a jammed door that prevents you from closing it should be signs of some needed lubrication on the hinge.
To get back to the street immediately, some cooking oil can even get the job done temporarily before you get access to the machine oil at the garage.
5. Freeze mechanism of the car door (Winter aware)
Probably due to ice, the car door won’t shut for another reason. As you are aware, wintertime temperatures can drop well below freezing.
Consequently, there are instances where the parts within the doors are frozen. Ice is developing around the door parts, which causes the mechanism to simply freeze.
6. Corroded door latch
The rust accumulation inside the door latch is the final likely reason we’ll discuss the issue where the automobile door won’t shut.
This will most frequently occur if you own an antique automobile or if you purchase a project car that was abandoned for years. The locking mechanisms will become wet and damp, which will lead to rust.
The mechanism’s internal corrosion will make it difficult for it to operate correctly when opening and shutting.
A penetrating fluid or a new mechanism replacement would likely be the best course of action in this situation.
How Much Does It Cost To Fix The Stuck Car Door Latch?
How much will it cost to fix the car door wont shut? We’ll go into more detail about it in this chapter. We’ll find out how much fixing this problem will cost you.
The solution mostly hinges on what caused the issue in the first place. If the mechanism gets stuck for an absurd reason, such as a lack of lubrication within or even corrosion.
The quickest remedy is to lubricate the mechanism and remove the impurities using a penetrating solution. For a can of WD-40 or similar penetrating fluid of your choosing, this will cost around $10.
You will need to spend around $90 on a new door mechanism if the internal mechanism is broken.
However, this cost is for home-based work. In certain circumstances, you may easily pay $200 or more for this specific operation if you get the mechanism replaced at a shop.
Moreover, you will probably want some new hinges if the door hinges are damaged and the door is not sealing properly.
If you want to go for a bargain, you may gather these from your neighborhood junkyard. Alternatively, you may spend $50 online and purchase them.
You may need to undertake some structural repair on your automobile if the door won’t close due to body damage after an accident. And the cost can be high.
If the rear quarter needs to be somewhat lifted, you can wind up paying more than $300 for this repair.
Additionally, the price of replacing the electric motors in certain premium vehicles with soft-close doors might reach $500. The cost of replacing or fixing a car door that won’t shut on these vehicles is high.
Wrapping Up
Leaving the open car door or encountering a car door not closing properly is extremely dangerous on the road. In this emergency, pull over and follow the guideline in this article on how to fix a car that won’t shut.
However, if your car door won’t shut completely, after doing some temporary fixing, drivers had better take the car to the garage for the best maintenance.
