Frozen Doors

You could get a car cover. You only have to use it on the nights where there is a chance of bad weather. I know it's a bit of an obvious answer, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. It may be a bit of a pain though.

You could also consider a remote starter for your car. That way on days when the door is frozen shut you can remote start the car and let it defrost.

By: John Fairchild CMS. Another obvious one is to put up a carport if you own the place you live in. If not, you might try some of those lock de-icers that are alcohol based. If you do own your place and have some money to spend, you could install a set of pipes under her parking space, fill them with an antifreeze mixture, attach them to a pump and heat exchanger which can be heated by the water heater through another pump and some interconnecting tubing. Hook the pumps up to a timer and set it to come on a couple of hours before she has to go to work, and she'll also never have to slip on the ice either!

Your alcohol based antifreeze is the best idea I have seen in this thread. I suspect that a one pint bottle of rubbing alcohol, poured from the top of the door would do the job with no mess.

I too thought of this first but then the door seals may need replacement every year.

Thanks

bwire,

One would want to try it on a small piece of door seal material. I believe that the alcohol is dilute enough in rubbing alcohol (50% - 70%) that the brief exposure wouldn't be too harmful. Prying the door open without any de-icing would probably be more destructive than the brief alcohol exposure.

Dave

The door freezing occurs at the work place.

I thought about a cover but the area next to the car is often also slippery; she may fall .

The basic engine warming (10-15 minutes) doesn't free the door and I'm opposed to prolonged idling.

Thanks

Thanks, how often would you suggest applying the dry spray?

Also silicon spray works very well for this. It has the added benefit of refreshing the foam door seals.

An experienced mechanic taught me this trick. I had water leaking in the sun-roof of my ford escort. One spray and the foam seal around the sun-roof and the leaks stopped. When he gave me the idea he also said that it will keep your doors from freezing shut. He said he does it every year ever since he tried to open a frozen door and ripped the foam seal around the door.

Drew

If the rain to freeze time is predictable enough, a relatively small physical shim or three might degrade the strength of the freeze-seal enough to pull the door open but could create a leak if rain were sudden.

What about taking some waxed paper and shutting it in the gaskets? Non stick and no mess. Re-usable and cheap. Try it, you'll like it.

I like that, she tried dryer sheets but no joy.

Thanks

javelinman,

Perhaps you didn't see this, "The wife is real picky".

Anyway, the thought of waxed paper protruding from the door would never do. Think how it would look! Never mind, looks like she'll go for it. Dryer sheets????????

Welcome to CR4.

How about a disk magnet, just big enough to cover/seal the mechanism. Most cars still have some metal around the lock. Super glue a thin sheet of rubber on one side to act as a seal/anti-scratch pad. Then put it over the lock on rainy days. You might even sell these to others?

Don't know what kind of vehicle you have, but you get the idea.

Good luck.

Look dum* as*, it's the whole door.

Sorry, I live in the desert.

A good idea

Thanks but we don't lock our cars...and it took a year to find the house key so we put it in a safe place and couldn't find it last we looked

That sounds like a good idea - I'm going to try it - those lock de-icers are useless.

Thanks! Let us know how it works.

Bwire,

you could do what they do on the big freezers, add a heater strip around the door. This could be powered by the battery or by an external socket and 12V from a transformer.

Chas

Good idea but there's no plug-in an even a slight drain on the battery in low temps isn't feasible. Though switching it on after the car starts may work...

Thanks

I wonder if you could find a small fuel cell that would run on gasoline? You could put it on a timer so that it and the door heaters would come on at the same time. It could also be used to recharge a run-down battery.

ductape

I'd imagine the water (and ice) to be forming more on the upper portion of the door (top of glass) rather than on the side and bottom. when the collected water freezes, and the missus tries to open the door, the resistance is coming mostly from the top portion, where most of the ice has developed. less ice is expected on the wides and bottom, because water would drain easier at those positions. she'll have to determine where most of the ice is forming.

if this is the case, a plastic sheet stuck between the door and the roof (or at that spot where more ice is forming) would probably prevent the water from "welding" the door and frame together. she could actually also hang a plastic cover over the door, but that would not be a good thing to look at, and she might as well cover the whole car.

it's what we do also in the freezer. we cover or put a sheet of plastic under the meat, so that when it's time to take it out, there's no layer of ice that can "fuse" the meat onto the freezer.

another thing comes to mind, and it is car wax. not only is it's supposed to make your car shiny, it's also supposed to make water droplets slide off the car body. if it is applied on the door frame, water should not be able to collect at that area, and therefore, little or no ice can form.

if that doesn't work, I don't know. I live in the desert, too.

Actually your comment about meat in the freezer lit an idea bulb; no not a ford.

The wife freezes meat and always uses PAM to keep from stick to the pan, I remember to use PAM in a pinch on toboggans/snowboards too.

It is the side close to the bottom of the door that freezes most stubbornly though.

Thanks

^{need take care not to spray PAM on the exterior painted finish}

Ski wax applied with hair dryer or warmed up in a pan and applied with bristle brush. The most durable is used on wet snow conditions.

Pam and silicone sprays good but will flow.

Hi,

rub the rubber-seals of the door with talcum, this will prevent sticking. First trial with baby-powder will give an estimate.

Then you may wet the seals with glycerine and/or glycole but if the rain is plentiful then these may be washed away.

Glycerine and glycole are higher alcohols that are not evaporating at outdoor conditions -as ethanol or isoprop. They lower the freezing poit sufficiently to stay liquid.

I would not try hot water for opening as this may not be enough.

But if electricity is at hands try a hairdryer or a 1 to 2 KW room-heater.

If nothing works set fire below your car.

RHABE

bwire one person has it correct. spray the rubber gasket with silicone spray and mating surface then wipe clean and dry. Then reapply a light coat to both. The doors will open may take just a little effort if ice is heavy over the outside of doors. Plus the silicone should not leave any marks on the clothing if bump. Reapply/clean every so often. Can even use this trick in the window track and squige (sp) strip. just have to get it between the two real good. It keep it from frezing to the glass. although you will need to scrape the ice off the glass but the strip won't stick even the wipers can benifite from the same treatment. Plus the silicone helps the rubber do it job.

Charles

The silicone idea is good but you don't need any special spray, just use an aerosol polish like Mr Sheen on all the rubber seals. They'll still ice up but won't stick to the body.

Also works for lubricating sliding doors, curtain runners/tracks & many other places.

I wonder if rain-X would work.

armor all might work and help protect the gaskets also. It may have silicon in it

1) move to the desert with the CR4 members whose ideas go to show you that they have never had this fun experience.

2) ride the bus.

But please don't pour a hot anti freeze mixture over the car. Pet owners, not to mention greenies, get their undies in a wad with that kind of suggestion.

No one in thier right mind would advocate pouring antifreeze over the door as the kind that you put in your radiator would be too expensive to be affordable, not to mention toxic. My earlier post that said something about an antifreeze mixture was about circulating it in pipes underground, but that wasn't appropriate due to the problem being at work.

If your choice is having a nonstaining lubricant coating on the door contact surfaces try these..

1] Rub out candle wax on both both surfaces "cause dry wax won't stain.

2]Go for a very thin coat of liquid paraffin ,which will have a long term binding, take care to avoid staining of dresses.

3] You may go for a coat of hand lotion or liquid soap, which should also work and the stain part can also be easily washable.

If you happened to try these, give a feed back.

Regards

Surface remedies can be the application of BORIC ACID powder or VICKS VAPOURUB.

*The problem being of seasonal nature ,how about trying localized door area heating by Room heater, Hair Drier or Infra red lamp instead of hot water pouring?

Is there a simple work around? Something I can apply to the door seals to prevent the problem?

This does not solve your immediate problem, but was just thinking.

This has been an issue brought to me a number of times, If the manufacturers can defrost windows and side mirrors, I'm sure you will be seeing a form of heat tape/wire on these seals, that can also be remotely activated like a remote car starter, only activates for a period of time and shuts off.

How hard would it be to do this yourself and still retain seal integrity?

I would avoid puring hot water.

p911

Oil products like paraffin and Vaseline will probably rot the rubber and make it sticky, even in summer.

There are special sticks/sprays in accessory car shops for just this......have you asked?

In Germany they also sell a stick made from the sebaceous gland of some animal the hunters shoot......

My father used a stick for this but I've not seen that type for many years anywhere USA

Thanks

for what purpose do they sell this stick? The mind boggles

Its to stop car door rubbers freezing to the car and it does not dirty your clothes either....

I have never seen it sold in the UK, only Germany...

Its full name in German is "Hirschtalg". Look in a German to English dictionary (online if you wish) the two words "Hirsch" and "Talg".....

A good one is at:-

German to English Dictionary

Here you can see Hirschtalg being sold on German ebay for rubber (Gummi) car door seals:-

ebay

Try this: Use duct tape (as previously suggested) to keep water and snow out of the key slot. Remove duct tape when ready to use the car. Use a small butane lighter to heat the key, which is held with a small pair of pliers. Insert the hot (but not red) key into the slot, wait a few seconds for it to do some internal thawing, then turn the key.

This is OK on older cars, but I would not recommend it on any keys with a plastic fob and/or a remote control or other electronics.

Here a key with remote can cost the equivalent of $150 EACH!!!!! and thats for a cheap model of car!!!

You can buy a flat key with no fob for a few bucks from your dealer's service dept (I store one in my billfold for emergencies).

I used to that with previous cars but now, as mentioned in the previous post, the key has a microchip attached, Using the mechanical lock only will set off the alarm, not popular if I go out early in the morning. I'm not sure if the mechanical key alone will disarm the dead locks on the doors.

There are small (cheaper even than a key, they are usually around 2-4 €, or 3-5 $$) units that have a couple of batteries in them. You insert the "Tongue" in the lock, press the button, it heats up and frees the lock.

Even better is a special lock spray that uses a liquid (it evaporates shortly afterwards) to carry tiny particles of graphite (and other things!) to drive out any moisture and to lubricate the lock for around 2 years at a time. This is especially good if used in the warmer months, prior to frost actually starting......costs a bit more, but there is enough to lubricate 10 cars door locks for 10 years or more......here around €10 in a DIY market, made by Abus...

With the sray, you will never see the problems of a frozen lock if repeated at around 24 months or so.......

Even better is a special lock spray

This one? Good tip, I'll have to get some of that, it should be good for house locks & padlocks as well.

That's exactly the one I use.

Its also VERY economical in use, a 1 second burst (after shaking the container well first) is more than enough for ANY lock type. Don't waste it!!

It appears to have got even cheaper than when I last bought a container (about 3 years or so ago.....)

I've found 2 places in my town that sell it.

Hello Nigh,

I'm not familiar with the ABUS product.....possibly it's very similar to Lockeze that I mentioned. Does ABUS contain ground-up (very fine) graphite particles in a suspension fluid?

Yes it does, amongst some some other excellent ingredients......I would not recommend anything else.

I don't know, I got the name from AndyGermany's previous post. I ended up buying a different lock spray as my local stockist didn't have the Abus. That spray seems to be a silicone based lubricant.

I haven't had any luck with those sprays. I've gotten out of the car at a gas station, gone inside for 10 minutes, maybe, and the lock was frozen and the spray I had didn't work. I went back into the station and got hot coffee water which did work. And it's only the lock that's affected, not the whole door.

Maybe this device is the thing I need to look for, since on further thought, just blocking moisture from the outside for the, possibly brief, period of time that I'm out of the car, doesn't expell the moisture garnered while driving - and evidently internal car heat is insufficient to keep the lock from freezing.

Its also a question of quality, does the little shield come down and seal off the lock for example.

Some low quality car locks are simply dreadful......there is nothing that you can do really to help.

Also, the quality of the spray is also important.

If you have a lock with a lot of water already in it use WD40 first in large (relatively) quantities.....this will clear out any water, but you need to keep further moisture out in some manner.....

Best of luck!

#10
In reply to #7
Re: Frozen Doors

The owner's manual in my old Porsche said to use glycerine on the door-rubber. No need to nitrate it with mixed conc acids first !! A thin film at low temp will not rot it like immersion at 120C might. If you put on a thin enough film, thicker in the areas where she will not rub her clothes, you should be fine. In one of my winter cars, there is pure sliding contact at the top gasket. Even a bit of frost sticks this together. It needs lube, and no one rubs a fancy dress or coat up there.

When I was younger and actualy had my car washed in winter, I would leave the doors open for an hour to freeze the surfaces, and only on the secondary latch for the night. No problems. When I have been frozen out, I am usually able to enter on the leeward (less ice) side of the car. On the worst days, I have been able to open the hatch and climb in that way. Not what you wife wants to do, but for me it was better than not going to work. Calling you for a ride, and leaving her car to thaw for 24 hours would work for some situations .... :o)

The 356A owner's manual with the lube idea was published in Germany over 50 years ago, so this is not a new problem.

I like the diversity of ideas here!

David

She has not cracked a window yet?

If not, you are lucky, I have seen that happen to several Gulf Coast Hands coming up here and your way to work on a gig. (It always works back home)

Use Teflon (Trademark) spray on the seals...

After reading this, I am going to try car wax (RainX fast wax spray) on the door frame and armorall on the seals. My doors were difficult to get open this morning and all we had was some frost. I will let you know how well it works.

Why not just replace the upper wiper rubber seal (at the window) to prevent the freezing rain, rain or slush from getting into the door interior in the first place? It's fairly easy to replace. Basically, trying the other "solutions" offered herein is like treating the symptom and not curring the illness. If OEM rubber wiper seals are installed properly they should last at least 10 years or more, not just a couple of years. Also, they're not as expensive as you would believe if you install them yourself or have a handy and experienced friend helping you out. How old is the car BTW??? You didn't say.....brand of vehicle too??? Also, is it an electronic lock or keyed lock or both????

Having liked in upstate New York state all my life (or nearly all of it) you quickly appreciate what temporary solutions work and what ones do not when it comes to fixing a frozen car door/lock system. We get almost as much of the Winter White S*it here as the states of Minn., N. Dakota, and Alaska, etc. And living in the Mid-Hudson River region, we experience probably more freezing rain more so that the rest of the damn country...every winter it seems like we're always on the cuff between the snow just north of us and the liquid rain just south of us. When Albany get belted by snow storm and NYS gets rain, we get freezing rain most of the time.....I'd say for estimate sake that 9 out of 10 snow storms that occur up in Albany we get the same amount or percentage of freezing rain instead. I kid you not!!!!!!

Also, a GREAT way to prevent the freezing of door locks and locking mechanisms is to apply liberal amounts of "LOCKEAZE" to the lock....I MEAN REALLY LOAD UP YOUR KEY, SOAK THE KEY WHILE YOU PRY OPEN THE KEY DOOR WITH A IDDY BITTY JEWELER'S SCREWDRIVER, AND THEN INSERT THE KEY INTO THE LOCK.......DO THIS 4 OR 5 TIMES UNTIL THE GRAPHITE AND ITS CARRIER FLUID STARTS TO SEEP OUT IN STEADY STREAM. RPEAT THIS PROCESS AN HOUR LATER, & THEN ONCE A MONTH AFTERWARDS!!!

OHHHH, AND MAKE SURE YOU SHAKE UP THE CAN OF LOCKEAZE VERY VERY VERY WELL BEFORE YOU INSERT THE PRODUCT INTO THE LOCK!!!!!!!! Make sure the graphite particles are totally in suspension!!!!!!!!!!

I have done this to every car I've ever owned over the past 35 years and never once have I had a door lock freeze up on me. This is a little trick I learned as a 16 Y.O. brat from a Great Uncle who was a Locksmith for 70 years.

Good luck with the car door locks, and please, have a great sunny day!

====CaptMoosie in the Great White NYS

I thought the OP was talking about the rubber seals around the doors to stop drafts and rain coming inside the car, the door seals......not the window/glass seals......at least that was my impression!!

But I could be wrong!!

The door locks have been working great from the last application of graphite about four years ago.

The window wipers are four years old and functional also but the rain or snow melt then freezing the door seals to the body that's the crux.

Thanks

If she's game for it, you can give her a thin cord/rope that she can install into the opening of the door if it's raining. Then, when she comes out all she has to do is unzip the cord and open the door. Soounds so simple, here in the desert.

When I lived in Hawaii I used a bikini top on the jeep for sun shade. I'm considering placing suitable hooks at the rocker panels to enable use of a similar cover over the doors of the car side to side only.

We'll see how the PAM works first though.

"I used a bikini top on the jeep for sun shade".

Musta come off a really BIG woman if it could cover the whole jeep.

Silly boy!!! Its a TINY RC Jeep!!!! In fact with a DD Bra he can protect BOTH his XXXX playthings........!!!

Pam'll work great. So will silicone spray. Just don't get either on the paint or clothing....

(pssst...._{^{ski wax has no parafin and won't bugger the rubber/neoprene)}}

All winter we use an old blanket, we just lay it across the windshield and down the siides of the doors.

Not only does it keep the dorrs from freezing shut, but the window is free and clear all the time never ever need to scrape! super time saver, Open door,, shake off blanket,, throw in trunk, drive away!

Winter here is 6 months long. It can be less than zero F for months at a time. When it never gets warm, doors never stick shut. Electricity is dirt cheap (a nickel per KWH) so a few hours of a 600w interior heater is cost effective at keeping glass frost-free. By the time the glass cools in 5 minutes of driving, the heater is up to temp.

I used the blanket-tied-on-cover when I lived near the Great Lakes many years ago.

When I have had frozen door gaskets, I have used a heavily gloved fist (on my old winter-beater car) to fracture the ice layer. It works well at expressing your frustration over not being able to get in, plus it sometimes frees the door.

Where is "here"?????

Manitoba (a few hours north of Fargo).

You need to apply something to the rubber gasket and corresponding area of the body that makes contact with the gasket to make both surfaces unwettable. I suggest using a high quality car polish on the body and a rubber lubricant on the gasket. Don't use any petroleum product like vaseline because it will cause the rubber to degrade. A silicone grease might work if the manufacturer states it can be used on rubber products but a brake grease might be better. Brake fluid and brake grease are made with ethylene glycol, similar to antifreeze, and do not degrade rubber.